Compared are the Theatrical Version and the Director's Cut (both available on the US Blu-ray by Shout Factory).

With her husband Carter, Jenny, a doctor, believes to have found the perfect husband and father for their daughter Amy even though she thinks he takes a little too much care of her. Not being recognized by anyone in his life, Carter suffers from schizophrenia. One of his multiple personalities is Cain who makes him abduct children in order to hand them over to his father for psychological experiments. On a shopping tour, Jenny runs into her ex Jack and they start having an affair. Carter figures it out and tries kill his wife but she survives. With the police, she tries to figure out where Carter took children - one of them being their daughter Amy.

After 8 years, Brian De Palma shot another suspense thriller: "Raising Cain". The critics were both good and bad. Completely unjustified because the movie is shot elegantly, the story is being told in an elaborate way, the acting is well and it is incredibly suspenseful.

The Blu-ray release by Shout Factory contains the Directors Cut. Originally, this versions ia fanedit made by Dutch director Peet Gelderblom and based on a script he found on the internet. On indiewire, Gelderblom made his version public and Brian De Palma, who also saw it, was so thrilled by it that he asked Shout Factory to release it as Director's Cut on their upcoming Blu-ray release. Gelderblom was also involved in the production of said Blu-ray: He was given the chance to make a new edit of his version based on a new HD master. It is very unusual that a fanedit becomes a director's favorite version and that this fanedit also gets to be called Director's Cut.
The main difference betwen the Theatrical Version and the Director's Cut is the new order of the scenes. The Director's Cut begins with Jenny and Jack who bump into each and start having an affair. Then the scene on the playground: Carter meets an acquaintance, sedates her, abducts her son and hands him over to his father. Since the movie focuses on Jenny at first, the affair appears to be captivating because in the Theatrical Version, Carter's story is the center of attention. For a better transition, a part of the coversation with an acquaintance on the playground is being repeated when Jenny meets with Jack. For that reason, the Director's Cut is longer. When scenes are interchanged, there are often transitions in the Theatrical Version which is why those scenes are 1-2 seconds longer in the Director's Cut - not being mentioned in the foloowing comparison.
All in all, the Director's Cut is the better version. If you have not seen the movie yet, watch the Director's Cut first. If you have, the Director's Cut is a very nice addition.

Besides the two here compared version, the US Blu-ray also contains lots of bonus features which makes this release highly recommendable. Unfortunately, both Blu-rays are region A.

Running times:

Theatrical Version: 91:31 min
Director's Cut: 91:58 min

[00:02:18][00:02:18]

Th Director's Cut begins with the scene at the watch shop where Jenny sees her ex Jack again.

In the Theatrical Version, the audience is aware of Carter's schizophrenia when he mets an acquaintance on the playground and sedates and kills her in order to hand over her child to his father to experiment on the kid.

--> [00:17:45][00:02:18]


[00:38:17][00:22:49]

After Carter suffocates his wife with a coushion, the Diretor's Cut now contains the sequence from the beginning in which Carter abducts the child.

--> [00:02:18][00:00:22:49]


[00:17:45][00:38:16]

After Carter suffocates his wife with a cushion, the Theatrical Version cuts to Jenny and Jack in the park.

Due to continuity reasons, the Director's Cut repeats a shot on the playground and also Jenny's conversation with her friend at the park when Jack shows up.

Director's Cut: 30 sec
--> [00:38:18][00:38:46]