I didn't know that the Director's Cut of this film was even planning on being re-released as part of A24's fan favorite re-release program, however after loving the first film so much I knew I had to see the extended version, especially in IMAX! I'm going to put a spoiler warning in advance since I will be comparing the original film to this one and how the extra scenes changed the story in some cases. Starting with the run time, it was 23 minutes longer, with most of this being from two added scenes and a lot of slightly longer camera shots throughout the film. The main concern from many people was that the ending was 'ruined' due to the two extra scenes since it basically spells out how bad the relationship between Christian and Dani was along with explaining a mystery on how one of the friends ended up already dead. I had no problems with these extra explanations as it just emphasized things more rather than flat out saying 'the couple had problems' which the audience already knew. The first added scene was an entirely new ritual (around 7 minutes of added content), and while the ritual itself had no meaning to the plot, it did include a lengthy fight between Christian and Dani as she foreshadows the end of the movie and Christian of course puts her down and emotionally gaslights her. More importantly, it showed that Christian is still hesitant to leave Dani which explains the later parts of the film when he choses to stay for his thesis. This is also why they partially extended the scene of Christian talking to one of the Horga members responsible with mating since he was told he can mate with a girl named Maya without being caught and it showed him still hesitant to cheat on Dani. Many people collectively said this version showed more of their negative relationship, especially with a few new fights in the beginning about going to Sweden in general, however the added scenes shows how Christian didn't always want to leave her which was a big change from the theatrical version. The second added sequence was an extended fight between Josh and Christian after Christian copied Josh's thesis statement. Honestly this scene can be kept in or taken out, and it wasn't that big of a deal in the long run. It does show the distance between each of the characters growing wider, but that isn't important that early on in the film. The main things I liked that were included are all the extended shots of the commune. Whether it was eating scenes, dancing sequences, or even the drug sequence when they first reach the place, all the elongated shots added to the general oddity of the Horga community, which helps sell the shocking moments even more. Also, the visuals are stunning to begin with in the theatrical version, and this extended version showed even more sequences of the long dinner tables overlooking parts of the commune which were absolutely stunning. For some of the things I did not like, I will say for sure the stuff with Mark and his added dialogue was really bad. He was always the rude character even in the theatrical cut, but this version added scenes of him saying crude and sexual remarks for cheap laughs from the audience and his friends in the film, and all of that could have been taken out. I also think the ritual itself that was added was not necessary at all, although you could argue it did add to the growing distrust of the Horgas, but I think it was too early to show distrust considering the cliff scene hadn't happened yet. Also, the decision to show this extended version in IMAX was an incredible choice. While I never saw the original in this format, the visuals alone were stunning as it was filmed in a 1.90 AR, and this filled the entire IMAX screen (it was a Liemax screen but it still had the normal sound system). Speaking of the sound, I was worried that the soundtrack would not utilize the IMAX 12 channel system well, but surprisingly it was nice and loud and added to the tense moments with the high pitched noises and sudden drops in tone. Overall, I do not think this version was better, but for fans of Midsommar it is a lot of fun comparing the symbolic differences from the theatrical cut to this extended version.
Comments