director's cut

American  

noun

1. an edited version of a movie that has not been altered by a studio and over which its director has complete artistic control.

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director's cut British  

noun

1. films a version of a film which realizes the artistic aims of the director more fully than the original version

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Example Sentences

Army’s propaganda command—Wilder starts by tackling the director’s cut of a documentary called “The Death Mills.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 17, 2026

In the expanded director’s cut, we’re shown the way The Company punishes Ripley for being a working mother, blaming her for drifting for 57 years and missing the chance to raise her daughter.

From Salon • Jul. 4, 2025

Think of a gene as a movie; an isoform would be like a director's cut, with different scenes cut, extended or inserted while maintaining major similarities to the original.

From Science Daily • May 3, 2024

It ran more than three hours when it was first shown; a 1994 director’s cut stretched to nearly four.

From New York Times • Mar. 8, 2024

But sometimes I have different versions of the dream, like when you can see two versions of a film, the ordinary one and the director’s cut, like Blade Runner.

From "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon