GregAlex said:
Several versions out there, a bit confusing. I tidied up the Wikipedia entry. When you say 3rd DC you mean soderbergh?
For clarity, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd Director's cut terms are just my own to try and make sense of it. e.g.
1st Director's Cut = The original 216 minute version that Cimino rushed to complete for the release date in November 1980. After very poor reviews and it was pulled from Cinemas in the US after a week. This was at the request of Cimino himself and not imposed by the studio. This was widely released on DVD for decades and I saw a very poor quality print of this a few years back. I don't actually own this cut as it's almost exactly the same as the Blu-Ray.
2nd Director's Cut = In April 1981 after almost a further 6 months spent working on improving, tightening, recutting and remixing the film, Cimino released this 149 minute cut (67 minutes shorter and with many alternate angles, takes and sound elements). Sadly the poor reputation of the first cut meant that the critics and the public largely ignored this version and it sank without trace. I have the low quality French 'La Porte Du Paradis' DVD which is the only release this cut has ever had and the unique elements will have to sourced from that DVD.
3rd Director's Cut = Digital restoration of the film done in 2012. Cimino elected to restore the 216 minute version despite having done away with this cut in 1981. For some reason he removed a single shot from it... one second of John Hurt realing after Sam Waterston slaps him. So the 1st and 3rd Director's Cuts are more or less the same cut (There are a few more subtle differnces). The liner notes for the Criterion Blu-Ray seemed designed to give the false impression that this was the "definitive" cut of Heaven's Gate. In fact Cimino had so little regard for it in 1981 that he effectively destroyed the original negative to make the 2nd Director's Cut. The Blu-Ray is therefore sourced not from the O-Neg but from the colour seperation masters.
There was also a 5.5 hour Workprint (Never released), a 2005 recut by MGM that was screened once and then shelved and of course Soderbergh's 'The Butcher's Cut'. Hope that's a little clearer.
GregAlex said:
What version do you like? Would you create something different now you're more intimately familiar with the choices made in various edits?
I probably prefer Soderbergh's cut but then again I've barely watched the 2nd DC as it's not a nice experience to watch it on the poor quality DVD (After seeing the glorious Blu-Ray transfer). So part of why I want to restore the 2nd DC to as good as possible is so I myself can watch it properly for the first time.
I've tried a few times to cut my own version without success. Maybe after finishing the two current cuts I'll be familiar enough with the material to know what I'd want in my version.