Thoughts on Extended Cuts for Movies

I’m starting to think movie makers are doing it wrong. Why are movies still two hours long? What’s the point of a movie if we have ten plus hours of streaming (per season) for popular shows on a half dozen streaming apps? Do movies even make sense anymore in that context? I had some thoughts after watching the extended version of “Justice League” and “Batman versus Superman”, as well as the “Lord of the Rings” extended versions. I, and my family, all agreed the extended versions were better than the theatrical cuts and it made me wish those were the releases. I came up with a few reasons that movies, especially those around IP that people care about, should be longer. Here they are –

1. More bang for the buck – it’s crazy how much footage is tossed onto the editing room floor. After watching a few extended movies I’ve realized there are entire character arcs that were cut out (Cyborg got robbed) and incredible side characters (Mouth of Sauron) that I found entertaining. OK, maybe editing puts together a more cohesive arc (not always) but if you are a fan you want to see more of your favorite characters, and what’s the harm in having more scenes showing the hobbits exploring the mines of Moria? But also think of it in this perspective – all of that cost money. There was an amazing extended Batman fight scene, for example, that was cut out of “Justice League”. That cost money in stunts, actors, and CGI. Once you realize how much is wasted, you see how two hours of film cost $100 million to make. Making the movies longer just makes sense.
2. More universe building – it’s common knowledge that Jared Leto’s Joker is the least favorite Joker of DC fans. Why though? In my opinion, it is because he gets very little scene time. In the extended versions that changes for the better for him. If you’re a movie producer, wouldn’t you want more characters that could spin off movies of their own? I personally liked Leto’s Joker. It was a different take on it. In the comics, the Joker takes on a ton of different traits, most absolutely terrible. Sometimes he’s a gangster and a thief. Sometimes he’s a psychopathic killer who targets the weak and vulnerable. The DC comics Joker is sick. Leto’s Joker was the celebrity villain ruling the underworld, tearing around town in stolen sports cars. There was more there that went to waste. A longer movie would make people like that character more, and maybe we’d get a Leto spinoff for his character, like “White Knight” or something crazy like “Injustice.” That would be awesome.
3. Less risk – as a DC fan, it is heartbreaking to see a DC movie flop. I don’t blame the characters, they are too good. I blame the Warner Brothers producers who want to get involved and chop up the film. There’s no double “Batman versus Superman” suffered from bad editing. The movie didn’t make a ton of sense and did not do the source material justice. The extended version makes the movie more coherent. It made me realize that there are really good films out there that suffers from bad editing. Take “Blade Runner”. The Director’s Cut is clearly the best.
4. Better for the theaters – why not just bring back intermissions if you think longer movies would bore theater audiences? Let people go to the bathroom and get a popcorn refill after two hours. I’ve been to plenty of movie theaters recently. They are often 2/3 or more empty. I get that shorter movies get more turns in the movie theater, but people don’t care about getting in and out anymore. They want an experience, that’s why they go out. Plus, people happily blow away a Wednesday night watching 6 straight hours of “Stranger Things,” so I’m not buying the short attention span argument.

There are probably more arguments that I can make in favor of it, but these four came to mind.