And Spielberg has re-edited the movie so many damn times, I don’t even know what his preferred cut is anymore.
Well, in fairness to him, he really only re-edited it once, which is his preferred “director’s cut”.
Since the theatrical version had to be rushed into theaters to save Columbia from Bankruptcy, Spielberg didn’t have time to shoot everything and so he requested extra money the next year to finish his cut.
As for the third “special edition” cut with the footage from inside the ship, Spielberg was 100% against it from the beginning, but the studio would not give him money for his cut unless he agreed to do it.