Warner Brothers’ announcement for Terminator Salvation on Blu-ray suggested the only way to see the much desired director’s cut would be in high definition and, per Warner’s own press website, the run time would be 135 minutes.
Prior to the announcement, director McG had sounded off in interviews claiming the home video release would include 30-40 minutes of footage not seen in theaters. The 135 minute run time, while 10 minutes short of the claim, seemed to fall in line with the director’s intent.
Though Warner has the ultimate say on what will appear on the discs, McG seemed confident in his remarks. He shouldn’t have.
The rear cover art for Terminator Salvation on Blu-ray has been released definitively confirming that the R-rated director’s cut will not run 135 minutes but 117, a mere 3 minutes longer than the 114 minute theatrical cut. It will be R-rated for “some violence and brief nudity” but will include a fraction of the footage McG claims was cut.
Is this really the “director’s cut” or the final footage trimmed to achieve an R-rating for the sake of marketing it as such? Are there legal issues afoot behind the scenes keeping McG’s intentions from coming to fruition? For now we do not know, and the unfortunate mishandling of a once proud franchise continues.
Sound off with your thoughts on the Terminator Salvation: Director’s Cut debacle below.
