In 1997 The Saint opened to mixed reviews but a healthy box office. Over the years its fanbase has grown and its popularity has endured on cable, home video, dvd, blu ray and streaming. But we’ve never seen the original version as submitted by the director. Could this darker version with an entirely different third act with an action packed finale and different fates for almost all of the main cast have been even more popular and better critically received? It’s time we got to find out. 

Director Phillip Noyce stated that he doesn’t know why his director’s cut has never been released as it is finished and sits in Paramount’s vault. There’s even a third version that was released on Russian home video that is a hybrid of the U.S. theatrical cut and the director’s cut. Scenes from the explosive finale from the director’s cut are in the theatrical trailer. The movie exists. It just has to be released. 

With Val Kilmer’s passing there is even more interest in his work. After the acclaimed documentary, Val, aired on Amazon Prime there was a renewed interest in his career. His performance as Doc Holliday in Tombstone is still imitated and often quoted in pop culture and social media. Audiences were moved to tears when he reunited with Tom Cruise for Kilmer’s final big screen appearance in Top Gun Maverick. Films like Willow, The Doors, Heat, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang remain topical and popular in no small part because of Kilmer’s presence. There is an interest in seeing him in his prime in a version of a film no one has seen before. 

Kilmer has a long relationship with Paramount from films like Top Secret!, Top Gun, The Ghost and the Darkness, Top Gun Maverick and of course The Saint. What better way to memorialize that relationship and Kilmer’s legacy than to make available an exciting alternate version of an action thriller featuring Kilmer in a memorable performance? 

Fans want a physical media copy of this alternate cut, but there are even easier ways to have released including Paramount Plus or digital retailers like iTunes, Amazon Prime and Fandango/Vudu. Or it could be licensed to a boutique retailer like Shout Factory (who already handled Ghost and the Darkness). 

Releasing this alternate cut is good for the fans, it’s good for Paramount and it’s an excellent way to celebrate the work of a gifted performer.