Does anyone have the long version?

Though most movies will never be as good as their book counterparts, the 3-hour version, as opposed to the 2-hour version (the only one that's available on DVD), is somewhere in the middle as far as quality, and some of the scenes for the longer version seemed to have been written exclusively for the film version (not in the novel) and therefore is its own movie when viewed, and it sure does give it a whole lot more that the 2 hour cut. Here's what I can remember:

1. After the opening credits, there is a pretty unique car chase scene. It starts with Alan and his deputy Norris trying to fix Norris' police jeep broken down on the side of the road into Castle Rock. As Alan is able to fix the jeep, Gaunt's old black 50s car seen in the beginning and end of both versions speeds past the two police, smashing Norris' driver side door right off its hinges. Alan gives chase while radioing in to the station as he drives off after the car. Norris' jeep once again breaks down so Norris is unable to help Alan chase Gaunt. After a few awkward (possibly even supernatural) moves Gaunt does in his car, he finally crashes. Alan gets out of his police car to see if anyone in the car survived. The car is on fire and Alan gets a brief, hazy glimpse of Gaunt through the fire when the car explodes (pretty awesomely). This blows Alan off his feet. As he regains his composure Norris finally pulls up to see the aftermath of the explosion.

Back at the station, Alan gives the female dispatcher the twisted and blackened license plate from the black car and tells her to run it through the computer so they might be able to find out whose car it was. Alan goes on lunch break and walks up the street to Polly's cafe. During his walk we first get a good view of the town, a green car passes Alan on his walk. Alan tries to get a look at the driver (obviously this car isn't a regular fixture in town) it drives up to Needful Things store, and we assume that the owner (Gaunt) is in the car and is the new store owner. Also, on his walk, Alan spots Buster's car parked in a handicap space. Norris drives up in his police jeep (with the door still missing) so Alan tells Norris to write Buster a ticket. (finally after all this we get to the actual opening scene from the theatrical cut so quite a bit is left out, maybe a good ten minutes or so!)

The middle part of the movie has quite a bit of extended scenes put back in, and even a few completely new scenes mentioned in certain parts of the theatrical cut (none of these are essential to the plot but they add a whole lot more substance and character) a few scenes from the middle are:

The town's people, namely Brian Rusk's Mom and the extra waitress that never gets a whole lot of screen time in the cut version, talking about the new store over the phone. During this scene we get a glimpse into the neglected home life of Brian and how he is not very high on his mother's priority list.

Polly visiting Alan in his office as he talks to the tax guy about the missing money from the town treasury. Alan knows Buster has done something wrong but covers for him so Buster has a chance to make things right before he gets himself thrown in jail. Polly refers to this scene in the theatrical cut.

A drunken Hugh (nothing new there) nearly runs over Brian Rusk in his pickup truck after Brian leaves the store with his new Micky Mantle card.

Brian's mom (an obssessed Elvis fan) buys the bust statue of Elvis and begins her surprisingly sexual affair with the inanimate object.

extended scenes of the crime scene at Wilma's house, the conference room scene where Alan and his deputies speculate over the double murder. Norris and Alan find Nettie's skinned dog still hanging in her closet. A extended bar scene where Brian's mom flirts with Buster, while feeding his paranoid delusions at the same time. Reverend Rose is seen planting the stolen money on Alan's boat. Alan investigates the store the last night in more detail in the 3 hour cut. etc...

Here's where, like the opening of the 3-hour cut, the ending is lead up to in greater detail:

Gaunt tells Buster to plant an explosive charge in the belfry of the Catholic Church (which explains why it exploded after being struck by lightning.)

After Alan storms out of the bar where the bodies of Hugh and Henry, the bartender, lay he sees that a significant number of town's folk have gathered outside the bar door, as if they're waiting to here what Alan says next. He says he needs to stop what's going on. Wilma's husband asks him how. Then Alan spots Gaunt a short ways from the crowd, standing on the bridge in the pouring rain. This scene that was cut is even partilly seen in the theatrical trailer for the film. Alan confronts Gaunt and ends up beating the crap out of him until his deputies manage to pull him away from Gaunt. Gaunt says, in his usual confident and cool way, that Alan's crazy but he won't press charges.

Immediately after Alan leaves Gaunt and his men on the bridge, he comes into Polly's cafe, that's already closed for the night. There he tells Polly he still loves her, but Polly criticizes Alan for beating up Gaunt. Alan says that the town is going mad and Polly tells him that he's part of the madness.

From there we have pretty much the same leading moments to the climax with a few different shots added in from time to time.

After Buster blows himself and the store up trying to kill Gaunt, Gaunt emerges and tells Alan, seen in the theatrical cut, that he'll be back. This next part is great and it makes me mad to see they didn't add it in the theatrical cut. Alan confidently says, "Not here Gaunt." As Gaunt drives off in his resurrected black 50s mercedes, Alan and Polly kiss. That should have also been left in because it just confirms to the audience that Alan and Polly will get back togther and get marrid, and one day have kids... and grand kids. It also shows (and symbolizes) that Gaunt (aka the devil) wasn't able to break Alan's and Polly's (along with the town's) steely resolve.

Hope you get time to read this so you can see what a mistake it was to not go ahead and put the director's cut on DVD instead of the two-hour, bare bones version!


"So there is now no condemnation awaiting those who belong to Christ Jesus" Romans 8:1

Why are there two versions of this exact same post?