Last week I watched the director's cut of Dances with Wolves on Bravo. (Unfortunately, the director's cut doesn't seem to be available on DVD.) I haven't seen too many "director's cut" versions of movies with which I am so familiar, so this was an interesting experience. I was acutely aware of all the new scenes and dialogue, and it was amazing how just a few scenes changed the whole movie for me.
If you remember the movie, you'll recall that when Lt. Dunbar (Kevin Costner) arrives at the fort, it's abandoned and he doesn't know why. I always found that particularly creepy, wondering what had happened to the men, and wondering if a similar fate would befall Lt. Dunbar. (Did they starve? Desert? Get killed by native Americans?) In the director's cut there's an additional scene showing men at the fort who pack up and desert because their reinforcements never arrive. The addition of that one scene changed the balance of the film for me. Now I as the viewer had more knowledge than Costner's character, so I wasn't equal with him. I couldn't share in his fear nearly as much. And that changed the experience of viewing the film for me, if that makes sense, which it may not since I seem to be sucky at writing these days and unable to express myself effectively. My apologies.