Hello Dick Baker!
Please check out:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0015881/alternateversions?tab=cz&ref_=tt_trv_alt.
Paraphrasing IMDb, the story as they relate it, in a nutshell:
"The original version ran for 9 h 11m." (That's 551 min.) It was only shown
once before being destroyed by the studio. It was described as "wonderful"
and "brilliant."
Version 3, edited by Erich von Stroheim, is considered the "Director's cut",
running at 5 h 15m. (That's 315 min.) The studio forbade the director to
touch the film again, and called for further cuts. Versions 1 to 4 are
considered lost films.
Version 5 had exactly 4 hours running time. (That's 240 min.) It cut off all
derivative stories about supporting characters, concentrating the story on
the character McTeague, and adding a number of inter-titles to explain what
happened in the deleted scenes.
Version 6 is the final version and was released by MGM with a runtime of 2 h
15 m. (That's 135 min.)
It sounds like you're looking for version 6. Given that it's 135 min, and
the original was 551 min, you want a version that is less than 25 percent of
the original runtime.
Of course you're welcome to watch anything you want. But for my taste, since
over 75 percent of the original film has been cut, I wouldn't be interested
in the released version.
Most of that 75 percent is gone. Lost. History. But please watch the 1999
restored version. I am not a Silent Film fan, but I enjoyed the restored
version. Yeah, it's on the long side for one sitting by today's standards.
But it sounds like it includes the same storyline, subplots, and character
development that Erich von Stroheim had envisioned.
It also sounds like the released version may, in some senses, border on
incoherent, and constitute a disrespect for Erich von Stroheim's talent. It
sounds like the restored version uses much of the 75 percent that is gone.
My opinion.
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