When Steve interviewed Martin Scorsese‘s longtime editor Thelma Schoonmaker for The Wolf of Wall Street, she revealed that the assembly cut (i.e., the editor’s first cut of the picture) was about four hours long, and while a lot of people “loved it” at that length, it was too long meet the distribution demands of the studio, which capped out at three hours (the final cut was 179 minutes). They were able to reach their target not by cutting out whole scenes, but by trimming down what they had. Today, we’ve learned that the four-hour cut will be released on Blu-ray and DVD. Producers Joey McFarland and Riza Aziz say that while the most extreme moments remained in the final cut, there will be more uses of the word “fuck” (the movie already holds the record at 506, which is still 231 less than in Jordan Belfort’s memoir) and the sex scenes will run slightly longer.
Hit the jump for more. The Wolf of Wall Street will be released on Blu-ray and DVD in the spring. [Update: Unfortunately, Paramount and Red Granite Pictures have informed us that the home video release of The Wolf of Wall Street will be the same cut that was in theaters, meaning the four-hour cut will not be included on the Blu-ray. It’s sad news but not entirely surprising given that Scorsese isn’t known for releasing alternate cuts of his films.]
Talking to the Daily Mail at the Directors Guild Awards, McFarland says “I think we are going to have some good surprises to be honest with you the movie is not much different in its longer form, it’s just longer versions of scenes.”
While I enjoyed The Wolf of Wall Street, I’m not sure how another hour of sex and swearing will make the film more enjoyable. At some point, it’s likely to be exhausting, and perhaps the distribution demands requiring the film come in at less than three hours (it was 179 minutes) worked to the finished product’s benefit. However, I’ll admit to being curious about how the longer version compares to the theatrical release.
