Todd Russell’s review published on Letterboxd:
Director's Cut. 30 more minutes added. Purchased on VUDU for $9.99 (on sale). This was my second favorite movie of 2019 and curious what the additional scenes and padding around the theatrical version added. Read my Doctor Sleep theatrical review on Letterboxd here.
I won't spoil all the specific director's cut changes in this review but will point out a couple notable moments and comment overall if the director's cut is an improvement, unnecessary padding or somewhere between, as well as mention if you should see this instead of the theatrical version, if you have the choice.
There is an added scene when Ewan McGregor as an older Dan Torrance is working in the hospice that better shows his "shine" ability to look into the past. This is what this director's cut does to better flesh out specific character backstories.
The director's cut clocks in at a hair over 3 hours of runtime, which is still a good 30+ minutes shorter than The Irishman.
Quickly, I was reminded of the tremendously well done slowly, inexorably building dread and atmospheric horror in this film. Rose The Hat's villainous performance is legendary.
"Well, hi there."
The little add-ons and embellishments sharpen the image. It doesn't change the movie that much, but particularly the ending has a little more juice to it. Some might complain about the length, but certainly none of them would be Scorsese fans. This is an epic work of horror, especially considering it's a horror sequel. I raved about the sequel aspect in the original review.
I'm adding a half star to my original review for this director's cut. If you have the choice which one to watch, definitely watch this. Both versions are great, this one is greater. Highly recommended.
