That a movie production doesn’t always go smoothly is daily routine for the industry. After shooting the actual movie, a reshoot is often required because scenes are missing or because they’re not entirely satisfying. Sometimes, it’s the director, sometimes the studio. That’s pretty common. But sometimes, a reshoot causes fear regarding the quality of the movie. It looks like especially blockbusters are under heavy surveillance. The prognosis for Men in Black 3 became worse and worse when the fact that the shooting had begun before the screenplay was actually finished was made public. Lots of rumors about alterations and reshoots were caused by it. Didn’t hurt the movie, though, and critics were basically satisfied, as well. And people had even more concern about the Brad Pitt zombie flick World War Z. The shooting of the movie with production costs of 190 million USD under supervision of German director Marc Forster (James Bond – Quantum of Solace) was finished pretty fast. But when the people in charge at the studio saw the first rough cut, they got scared. Especially the third act (after the Jerusalem sequence) taking place in Moscow was troubling them. Here, we see Pitt’s character a few months later after previous events. He’s taking down walkers with the Russian army in a huge battle scene. It’s all very sinister and not so typical for a big budget Hollywood production. The studio decided to spend 20 more million on the movie and hire Prometheus writer Damon Lindelof. He came up with a completely different ending. Naysayers were having a field day. But it turns out they had been wrong.

World War Z made approx. 504 million USD worldwide. That’s a large number, so it’s not surprising that a sequel is being discussed. Getting such an excellent box office result was of course only possible because of the PG-13 rating in movie theaters which was considered a banana skin by some people. It should be common knowledge which aspects are important for the zombie subgenre and most of the zombie films are celebrating these with pleasure. The very graphic hit show The Walking Dead on AMC is probably the main reason the undeads have become more mainstream again these days. Keeping that in mind, the PG-13 rating sounds almost like a threat to genre fans. That World War Z is quite good anyway is also based on the plot and the decent acting. Thanks to the big budget, the SFX are satisfying and the movie doesn’t get boring despite the common rules for a zombie flick.

Last but not least, we have the lack of graphic violence, which is an absolute no-go for some people. But for that, we have the retail version on Blu-ray and DVD. The first implication that the Blu-ray version might be more satisfying was made by Marc Forster in the German magazine “Focus”. When the US releases were announced, leading actor Brad Pitt made a statement as well and he appeared to be very happy about the upcoming Unrated Version:

"I’m really excited for fans to see the new unrated version of World War Z on Blu-ray. We were thrilled with the audience response to the film in theaters and wanted to give viewers even more of the action and intensity that they loved when they watch the film at home."

This statement describes the Unrated Version of World War Z very well. It’s almost 7 minutes longer and it perfectly illustrates how many alterations were required for the PG-13 rating. There are no further plot or character developments, the alterations had only affected the violence and suspenseful moments. Sometimes, one acted very meticulous in order to tone things down (scars in a walkers’ face, 4 instead of 2 falling zombies in a single shot etc.). Combined with the additional action and violence, the reversed censorship is quite an improvement, though it still isn’t just about showing as much violence as possible.


Compared are the Theatrical Version (PG-13) and the Unrated Version (not rated) (both available on the US Blu-ray by Paramount Pictures).

121 differences, among them
79 extended scenes
29 Szenen scenes with alternate footage
6 additional scenes
3 extended scenes in the Theatrical Version
2 extended scenes with alternate footage
2 recuts


The Unrated Version is 408.88 seconds / approx. 6 minutes 49 seconds longer than the Theatrical Version.

Extended Scene
0:07:06: Further shot of the cop being hurtled through the air.
0.92 sec

Extended Scene
0:07:09: Shot of scared Constance.
0.96 sec

Extended Scene
0:07:16: The truck is whirling around a cab.
0.68 sec

Extended Scene
0:07:23: And another cab is getting smashed.
1.28 sec

Extended Scene
0:07:28: The turned truck driver steps on it a few times without any control.
0.92 sec

Extended Scene
0:07:31: The truck thrusts aside a huge amount of cars. Why not showing it if the necessary budget was available?
2.96 sec

Extended Scene
0:08:03: The shot of the Lanes' car approaching the crash site starts 9 frames earlier.
0.36 sec

Alternate Footage
0:08:04: Different footage when the Lanes' car crashes. The Unrated Version is more focused on the car damage. Doesn't make it more intense though.
Unrated 0.64 sec longer

Alternate Footage
0:08:06: The crash with the second car is different as well. But at the end of the day, there's only more shot of the other party involved in the crash. Not really worth showing on screenshots.
Unrated 0.56 sec longer

Alternate Footage
0:08:25: Quite subtle. The Theatrical Version shows the approaching bald walker quite blurry and fast. In the Unrated Version, there are two further zombies plus there's more focus.
Unrated 0.24 sec longer

Theatrical Version	Unrated

Extended Scene
0:08:43: Extended shot of Rachel and Constance looking scared.
3.04 sec

Extended Scene
0:09:22: A female walker approaches the guy in tha car pretty fast.
1.4 sec

Extended Scene
0:09:27: She keeps running to the car.
1.24 sec

Extended Scene
0:09:30: Several attempts of getting the head through the windshield. Gerry is watching from a distance.
5.6 sec

Extended Scene
0:09:37: One more headbutt.
0.76 sec

Recut
0:09:39: In the Theatrical Version, Karin turns around and watches. In the Unrated Version, Gerry and Karin are both watching the car. Soon after, it's the other way around.

Extended Scene
0:09:43: A few more frames of the walker crawling in the car.
0.48 sec

Extended Scene
0:09:56: More biting action.
0.64 sec

Extended Scene
0:10:27: The first extended eating scene. The recently turned guy immediately gets to worl and smases a car window. A woman is still in the car, she screams in panic. Meanwhile, the Lane children are in the camper and Gerry is watching the woman outside getting bit and turn.
9.76 sec

Extended Scene
0:10:42: In the Unrated Version, the undead who attacks Gerry behind the wheels may turn first and then run to the camper.
5.92 sec

Extended Scene
0:10:49: Screaming daughters and an angry zombie.
1,52 sec.

Additional Scene
0:10:59: Some more feeding with a lot of CGI blood.

Extended Scene
0:11:12: The camper scrapes along the bus a bit longer.
0,36 sec.

Extended Scene
0:11:22: Additional shot of the jets.
1,24 sec.

Alternative Footage
0:14:40: When Gerry discovers the young man with the pistol, the UDC features a cut to a shot person lying in a puddle of blood on the ground. In the Theatrical Version, he keeps looking at the man and the dead one cannot be seen.
The Director's Cut runs 2,96 sec. longer

Theatrical Version	Unrated Director's Cut

Extended Scene
0:15:32: Two men are holding Karin down to the ground and obviously want to rape her.
1,96 sec.

Alternative Footage
0:15:42: Theatrical: Gerry goes towards Karin, rifle in hand, UDC: more fighting between Karin and her assailants.
The Director's Cut runs 0,52 sec. longer

Extended Scene
0:15:43: Surprised looks when Gerry disturbs the situation.
0,8 sec.

Alternative Footage
0:15:45: Karin either rolls away (Theatrical) or kicks one of the men in the belly (Unrated Director's Cut).
The Director's Cut runs 0,56 sec. longer

Extended Scene
0:15:48: Karin crawls away.
0,56 sec.

Extended Scene
0:15:51: In the Unrated, Gerry's first shot misses. However, his opponent is also not the best shot and hits the oil barrels instead of Gerry several times. Our hero now has time to reload, fires, and hits the man, who now falls to the ground as in the Theatrical Version.
4,28 sec.

Extended Scene
0:17:25: Karin and the children run into the skycraper. Gerry sees a zombie shoots it in the head.
9,2 sec.

Extended Scene in der KF
KF: 0:16:25: Zombies running in the street a few frames longer.
-0,76 sec.

Extended Scene
0:17:53: Gerry barricades the door a bit longer.
3,32 sec.

Extended Scene
0:18:03: The zombies are bashin at the door longer and manage to get in. Screaming, they pursue the Lanes and Gerry throws a refrigerator down the stairs, trapping a zombie under it. When another one tries to climb over it, Gerry shoots it.
42,4 sec.

Extended Scene with alternative footage
0:19:00: Gerry and Karin are running longer through the corridor in the Theatrical. The Unrated DC shows her entering an apartment, finding the former occupants dead in it and leaving again.
The Director's Cut runs 13,16 sec. longer

Extended Scene
0:24:21: Gerry shoots a zombie in the staircase.
2,72 sec.

Extended Scene mit alternativem Bildmaterial
0:24:37: The Theatrical shows the scene with Gerry throwing a refrigerator down the stairs at this point. On the other hand, the Unrated DC shows Gerry taking care of two zombies. He stabs the first one several times in the breast and then shoots it, the second one gets stabbed as well before receiving a rifle butt in the face. Constance watches and is shocked.
The Director's Cut runs 12,16 sec. longer

Extended Scene
0:25:26: The undead is falling down longer between the pipes.
1 sec.

Extended Scene
0:25:29: The shot of Gerry lying on the ground and keeping the zombie away from himself using his rifle is longer.
0,68 sec.

Alternative Footage
0:25:31: Even the face of the zombie is less scarred in the PG-13 version, the studio obviously was very thorough in its censoring.
No difference in running time

Theatrical Version	Unrated Director's Cut

Extended Scene
0:25:31: The Zombie snaps at Gerry another time.
0,68 sec.

Extended Scene
0:25:33: Gerry can be seen a bit longer screaming.
0,32 sec.

Extended Scene
0:25:41: It is more clear in the Unrated that the zombie is impaled, it also tries to get to Gerry more savagely.
3,56 sec.

Alternative Footage
0:25:46: In the Theatrical, it seems as if Gerry kills the zombie. However, the Unrated reveals that it was actually Tomas saving Gerry using his pistol.
The Director's Cut runs 3,12 sec. longer

Alternative Footage
0:27:04: The zombie seems to have blue blood when he gets shot in the breast, which is almost not discernible.
No difference in running time

Theatrical Version	Unrated Director's Cut

Extended Scene
0:27:12: The soldiers shoot charging zombies.
3,88 sec.

Alternative Footage
0:27:18: Theatrical: The zombies run out of the house. UDC: The soldiers fire.
0,56 sec.

Extended Scene
0:27:22: The zombie jumps from the high-rise building.
0,84 sec.

Alternative Footage
0:27:22: In the Theatrical Version, it seems weird that the soldier does not shoot the female zombie clinging to him. The Unrated delivers the explanation: it was censored and can only be seen in the longer version.
No difference in running time

Theatrical Version	Unrated Director's Cut

Extended Scene
0:27:24: A few frames more of the zombie falling.
0,24 sec.

Alternative Footage
0:27:25: Only two zombies instead of four are falling from the building in the Theatrical. The Unrated also shows them five frames longer.
The Director's Cut runs 0,2 sec. longer

Theatrical Version	Unrated Director's Cut

Extended Scene
0:39:47: Overview of the zombies on the airfield.
3,68 sec.

Alternative Footage
0:40:06: The young scientiest flees into the plane in two different shots, an insignificant difference.
The Theatrical Version runs 1,16 sec. longer

Alternative Footage
0:40:08: Only the Unrated shows some blood when the scientiest accidentally shoots himself in the head during his fall. His head wound can also only be seen in the Unrated. Gerry also runs towards him a few frames earlier.
The Director's Cut runs 1,4 sec. longer

Theatrical Version	Unrated Director's Cut

Alternative Footage
0:40:11: Theatrical: Gerry approaches the dead scientist a bit longer; UR: free view of the dead.
0,56 sec.

Theatrical Version	Unrated Director's Cut

Alternative Footage
0:45:07: A coming violence extension can be felt coming already. However, the former CIA agent needs one tooth for it, which is why he still has one in the Unrated and is already toothless in the Theatrical Version.
No difference in running time

Theatrical Version	Unrated Director's Cut

Extended Scene
0:45:39: The former CIA agent pulls his own toot. This is hard to watch, both for the vierwer and for Gerry. The agent triumphantly holds the tooth up and says that the people in the north successfully took the zombie's power. He explains the how in the Theatrical as well.
38,2 sec.

Alternative Footage
0:46:25: The man spits blood into the sink, the Theatrical shows it from further away.
The Director's Cut runs 4,48 sec. longer

Theatrical Version	Unrated Director's Cut

Extended Scene
0:46:40: Plus one for the tooth collection in the UDC.
2,76 sec.

Extended Scene
1:00:37: The zombies fall a few frames longer from the head.
0,8 sec.

Alternative Footage
1:00:39: When the falling zombies hit the bus, it can be seen from a closer view which also makes it look more brutal. The Theatrical shows it from further away and some of the zombies even get up and crawl towards the soldiers.
The Theatrical Version runs 1,84 sec. longer

Theatrical Version	Unrated Director's Cut

Extended Scene
1:00:48: Another extension, this time concerning the scene of the falling zombies that could be seen in the Theatrical Version shortly before. The soldiers form a line and shoot a few undead, CGI blood can be seen and then Gerry and the others flee.
25,6 sec.

Extended Scene
1:01:21: More undead jump from the wall and land roughly, the surviving ones get shot by soldiers, but some of them manage to bite a few soldiers.
11,76 sec.

Additional Scene
1:01:37: Several civilists are being attacked.
4,6 sec.

Additional Scene
1:02:13: And some more.
7.36 sec.

Additional Scene
1:02:33: Zombies jump down a narrow street canyon and collide with people who are fleeing down in the streets. The latter get even more panicked.
15.68 sec.

Extended Scene
1:02:52: The escaping undead on the roof are getting shot from the helicopter.
2.72 sec.

Extended Scene
1:03:04: Some more escaping in the street canyon.
1.44 sec.

Extended Scene
1:03:24: A soldier shoots at a zombie off-screen.
0.72 sec.

Extended Scene
1:03:26: The soldier holds the grenade a little longer.
0.76 sec.

Extended Scene
1:03:28: Then we see him looking a little longer while the zombies eat him.
0.8 sec.

Extended Scene
1:03:30: The explosion of the grenade throws a zombie backwards slightly longer.
0.36 sec.

Extended Scene
1:03:31: The bars collapse.
2.64 sec.

Additional Scene
1:03:37: A man lies on the floor and is obviously in deep pain.
0.8 sec.

Additional Scene
1:03:40: A helicopter veers.
2.12 sec.

Extended Scene
1:04:04: Gerry and a few soldiers rush into the building.
1.04 sec.

Extended Scene
1:04:08: A few soldiers follow.
1.04 sec.

Extended Scene
1:04:14: Gerry and the others go down the stairs.
1.96 sec.

Extended Scene
1:04:18: A soldier shoots at several zombies and then runs off.
5.12 sec.

Extended Scene
1:04:27: The soldiers shoot at the zombies behind the lattice gate (off-screen). Then you see Segen who shoots at a few zombies on the balcony.
5.68 sec.

Alternate Footage
1:04:35: In the Theatrical Version you now see the scene of Segen on the balcony, however, you don't see the bullets hitting their targets. In the Unrated Version you instead see zombie attacks and impressions of the mass panic.
The Unrated Version is 2.96 sec. Longer.

Additional Scene
1:04:54: The zombies behind the lattice gate are being shot at.
7.84 sec.

Additional Scene
1:05:14: An undead successfully attacks a soldier but when he tries to do the same to Gerry, he gets kicked in the face.
7.04 sec.

Alternate Footage
1:06:02: When Gerry cuts Segen's hand off, both versions show this off-screen. However, in the Unrated Version, you see blood splashing.
No difference in time.

Theatrical Version	Unrated

Alternate Footage
1:06:04: The same goes for the shot where Segen looks at her armstump. In the Unrated Version, blood splashes out of the wound, while in the Theatrical Version everything is quite clean.
No difference in time.

Theatrical Version	Unrated

Alternate Footage
1:06:09: When Gerry bandages the wound, the Unrated Versions shows more shots of the armstump.
The Unrated Version is 0.88 sec. Longer.

Theatrical Version	Unrated

Extended Scene
1:06:26: The bloody armstump is bandaged.
3.68 sec.

Extended Scene
1:06:33: Some more bandaging.
1.36 sec.

Extended Scene
1:06:56: Many zombies hang on the helicopter.
3.32 sec.

Extended Scene
1:07:05: A lot of them get shot off.
1.4 sec.

Extended Scene
1:07:12: Ditto.
1.12 sec.

Re-Cut
1:07:42: The flight of the helicopter over Israel is shown earlier in the Theatrical Version. In the Unrated Version it is shown at timecode 1:10:17, however, slightly shortened.
- 3.76 sec.

Extended Scene
1:10:22: The zombies attack the people. Cars crash or explode because of the bullets coming from the helicopter.
18.64 sec.

Extended Scene
1:16:20: The bitten stewardess transforms.
1.8 sec.

Alternate Footage
KF: 1:10:33: In the Theatrical Version, Gerry goes along the hallway. He also does this in the Unrated Version, however, there you also see the zombified stewardess attacking a passenger.
The Unrated Version is 5.28 sec. longer.

Extended Scene
1:16:39: Some more bad service on a plane.
1.24 sec.

Extended Scene
1:16:46: A zombie takes a bite and blood splashes.
2.32 sec.

Extended Scene
1:17:00: Some more panic in the front section.
6.08 sec.

Extended Scene
1:17:08: Very unnecessary extension: Some more frames of a panicked woman.
0.4 sec.

Extended Scene
1:17:10: Gerry looks around, seeking for help.
3.04 sec.

Extended Scene
1:17:40: Some more undead turn around when the suitcase falls to the ground.
2.16 sec.

Extended Scene
1:17:48: A few passengers run to the cockpit and hammer against the door.
2.88 sec.

Extended Scene
1:18:02: More tumult in the passenger section.
3.04 sec.

Extended Scene
1:18:14: Ditto.
3.4 sec.

Extended Scene
1:18:18: Two people are bitten in bloody detail. Gerry fights off a zombie a littlel onger.
7.8 sec.

Extended Scene in the Theatrical Version
KF 1:11:53: Parts of the tumult from the Unrated Version are now also shown in the Theatrical Version.
- 3.92 sec.

Extended Scene
1:18:31: Gerry uses suitcases to fight against zombies. At a different part of the plane you see a guy being torn apart for making noise – that will teach him!
10.44 sec.

Extended Scene
1:18:55: The man that was attacked by the zombie bleeds in the Unrated Version. This is a real framecut in the Theatrical Version.
2.32 sec.

Alternate Footage
1:18:57: Blood splashes against the wall in the Unrated Version. In the Theatrical Version, everything is clean. Additionally, there's some more zombie eating action in the Unrated Version.
The Unrated Version is 1.36 sec. longer.

Theatrical Version	Unrated

Extended Scene
1:19:02: More biting for a few frames. No violent details.
0.48 sec.

Extended Scene
1:19:18: Three more people are being thrown out of the plane through a hole.
1.04 sec.

Extended Scene
1:19:20: Wow! The turbine can be seen for 3 additional frames!
0.12 sec.

Alternate Footage
1:19:37: A rather curious thing: both versions exclusively show a part of a shot of more people being pulled out of the plane. The Theatrical Version starts earlier and the Unrated Version continues. None of the scenes are particularly more violent.
The Unrated Version is 0.6 sec. longer.

Alternate Footage
1:20:11: In the Theatrical Version, Gerry and Segen sit in their seats rather distressed. In the Unrated Version, Gerry is also attacked by a zombie and has to fight him hoff.
The Unrated Version is 2.24 sec. longer.

Theatrical Version	Unrated

Extended Scene in der KF
KF: 1:13:33: Another shot of Gerry and Segen in their seats waiting for the crash.
- 1.48 sec.

Extended Scene
1:21:33: Gerry groans and you can see his wound.
9.52 sec.

Extended Scene
1:41:52: Gerry hits the zombie in the head with the crowbar. Blood splashes.
1.52 sec.

Alternate Footage
1:42:25: When he finally pulls the crowbar out of the zombie's head (off-screen) some blood flies through the air in the Unrated Version. Not so in the Theatrical Version.
No difference in time.

Theatrical Version	Unrated

Alternate Footage
1:42:27: Detail work to the fulles: When Gerry hits the attacking zombie with the crowbar, the Theatrical Version not only misses out on the blood, but also exactly one frame that shows the zombie being hit by the crowbar. You also don't see blood when the zombie collides with the wall and falls to the ground. The Unrated Version has the blood effect.
The Unrated Version is 0.04 sec. longer.

Theatrical Version	Unrated

Alternate Footage
1:42:30: A nice conclusion: In the Theatrical Version, Gerry kicks on the zombie's head offscreen. The Unrated Version instead shows it in full detail, which is quite a gory sequence. Also, the shots of Gerry breathing and then moving on are a little longer in the Unrated Version.
The Unrated Version is 3.2 sec. longer.

Theatrical Version	Unrated