The Cotton Club Smoke & Rhythm – An Extended Fan Edit by Fran García
The Cotton Club Encore (2019) is a director’s cut of Francis Ford Coppola’s 1984 film The Cotton Club. With a runtime of 139 minutes, it is 10 minutes longer than the original theatrical cut (129 minutes). This version adds approximately 24 minutes of new footage—mostly musical numbers and expanded character arcs—while also removing 12 to 13 minutes from the original.
Coppola, feeling “less frightened, less easily bullied” than he was in 1984, personally invested $500,000 of his own money—earned from his winery—into restoring this version. A “Presented by” credit also goes to the family of Las Vegas real estate mogul Lorenzo Doumani.
Key improvements in the Encore cut include:
Restored musical sequences
Expanded storylines, particularly for the Williams brothers and Lila Rose
Greater (though still not equal) emphasis on African American characters, whose stories were previously minimized at the studio’s request
Despite the original film being a box office disappointment, and even earning a Razzie nomination for one of its leads, The Cotton Club Encore—benefiting from 35 years of hindsight—is now widely regarded as a significantly improved film.
My goal with this fan edit is to create the most complete version of The Cotton Club, using all available footage and reinserting it into the Encore cut.
I’ve titled this extended version:
The Cotton Club Smoke & Rhythm.
Some of the scenes reinserted or extended into the Encore cut include:
Original opening credits with the dancing girls
Frenchy informs Owney Madden that the Dutchman has arrived
Rooftop pigeon coop scene.
Dixie meets Gloria Swanson in The Cotton Club
Sandman and Lila discuss her private life
Dixie talks to his brother in the car after Vincent is shot
Bub Jewett offers help to Madame St. Clair and Bumpy
Extended scene with Dixie and Vera behind the white curtains
Irving announces the presence of Chaplin, Brice, and Cagney at the club
Versions and Runtimes:
Theatrical Cut: 129 minutes.
Cotton Club Encore: 139 minutes
The Cotton Club Smoke & Rhythm (Extended Fan Version): 151 minutes
Time added: 12 minutes
Available in HD: Yes
Release: 1080p MKV Audio 5.1 AC3
The Cotton Club Encore Blu-ray serves as the base for this fan edit. To restore the missing scenes into the Encore cut, I used the Spanish Blu-ray edition of the theatrical cut. While this edition’s image quality is not ideal, I employed Topaz AI to enhance detail and extract more information, which was crucial for recoloring the scenes to better match the Encore’s look.
Additionally, I used my Cotton Club DVD to rip the audio track, which—surprisingly—features a 5.1 surround mix not available in any Blu-ray editions. This track was essential for maintaining consistent and immersive audio throughout the extended cut.
A complete list of changes and additions will follow in due course