by Stephen_Campbell » 31 Dec 2014 01:07
Okay. I've gotten the following reliable info regarding this film. The original cut was 160 minutes. This was the version released in theaters and subsequently on VHS. The DVD version is 148 minutes. So 12 minutes have been cut from the film. According to my colleagues, there are a couple of scenes which have been entirely removed and several scenes have been shortened. The info on Amazon.com regarding what scenes have been removed is patchy, but partially accurate. What's weird about it is that no one seems to know exactly why the film was cut. I spoke to Richard Burt, who is an expert on Shakespearean adaptations, and he told me when the DVD was first released, he contacted Warner to ask them why the cuts had been made. He said he contacted them three times but they never responded. So there you go, the DVD is definitely cut by 12 minutes. The uncut 160 minute version is only available on VHS.