Director's cut or collector's edition: version vs release

The front of a box often carries a tag under the title: "Director's Cut", "Unrated", "Collector's Edition", "4-Disc Special Edition". Two different things hide behind those words, and it helps to keep them apart.

A cut belongs to the film

A cut or version is a change to the film itself: scenes added, removed or re-edited. Theatrical, Director's Cut, Extended, Unrated, Uncut, Final Cut. Two releases with the same cut show you the same film, whatever box they come in.

When the Filmogs community worked through this in 2013, auboisdormant (then posting as mirva) went through their own shelf and listed the names they found:

• Alternate Cut
• Censored, Uncensored
• Director's Cut
• Edited, Unedited
• Extended Cut
• International Version
• Original Version
• Producer's Cut
• Rated, Unrated
• Recut
• Restored
• Theatrical
• TV Version
• Uncut
• Workprint Version

They also noted that films were cut differently from country to country to satisfy local censors, and that tags combine, as in "Unrated Director's Cut".

An edition belongs to the product

An edition describes what you bought: Collector's Edition, Special Edition, Anniversary Edition, a 4-disc set, a SteelBook, a store exclusive. It says nothing about the cut. A "Deluxe Edition" might hold the theatrical version with more extras, or the extended one, or both.

Some boxes carry one of each. A Blade Runner tape might say "The Director's Cut" and "Special Wide Screen Edition" on the front, one tag about the film and one about the product.

What to do on ctlgs today

There is no version or edition field on a release yet. Until there is:

Put the tag in the release title when it's on the front of the box. The release title is what the product calls itself, so Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas - Director's Cut keeps its tag. Write it the way the box does.

Link every cut to the same film. A film entry is the film as a whole, not one cut of it. The theatrical, Director's Cut and Final Cut releases of Blade Runner sit under one Blade Runner film entry, which is where someone looking for a particular cut can compare them side by side.

Say which cut it is in the notes, especially when the box doesn't. A censored release rarely says so on the front. If you know the cut from the run time, a review or the menu, write that and how you know.

Record the run time. It is often the quickest way to tell cuts apart. Remember that a PAL release runs about 4% shorter than the same cut on NTSC, so compare like with like; the region codes guide explains why.

Put product details where they belong. A SteelBook or slipcase goes in Packaging, the disc count in Format, and the extras in the notes.

Search for more than one spelling

Because the tag lives in a free-text title, the same cut is written several ways. Search the catalog for Blade Runner and you will find "The Final Cut" after a colon, after a dash, in brackets, and as "Final Cut" without "The". They are all the same cut. When you search, try more than one.

A version field would fix this, and the old forum got as far as agreeing one was wanted. If you have a view on how it should work, the forum is where it will be decided. For when a different cut or edition makes a separate release, see what makes a separate release.