9 Films That Forced You To See The Wrong Version In The Cinema

6. Kubrick Cut It For Europe - The Shining

It's highly regarded now as one of Stanley Kubrick's best works, but upon release The Shining was a stinker. It only broke even after word-of-mouth helped it spread and the critical response was tepid; not only was it the first of the director's films to not get an Oscar nomination in decades, instead in contention for two Razzies. Kubrick (and studio Warner Bros.) were so displeased with the performance that for the European release (think back to a time when different territories got films at completely different times) he cut a whopping thirty minutes out of the ghost story. There's less set up of the Overlook Hotel and Wendy seeing the skeletons in the blue-hued bar is gone, but the big change is the focus on Jack's alcoholism and abuse of Danny; it's stressed a lot less in the shorter cut. Kubrick actually went on record saying he preferred the cut version, although that could be due to disappointment with the film's domestic performance. The European cut is still a chilling movie, but for our money the longer version creates a slightly more uneasy atmosphere and is thus the superior one. After thirty years the US cut was finally screened in UK cinemas, so big fans on the film could finally experience the full terror. But if you're in America don't go thinking you saw the proper film either; a short coda was cut from all copies three days after release. Showing Wendy and Danny after the events of the film, we hear that Jack's body was never found and get a strong implication the staff of the Overlook were heavily involved in what happened.