Originally posted by: Windexed
Man, now I'm going to go back and watch the KoH director's cut again. I didn't care for the theatrical release, but heard good t'ings about the director's cut. Watched half before I fell asleep. Can someone please tell me, in more detail, why the DC is so much better than the TC?

Let me give you an example:

The theatrical cut opens with some guys burying a woman (Orlando Bloom's wife); a priest comes by and tells them to cut off her head because she was a suicide. Then Liam Neeson shows up with some men and meets Orlando Bloom; he says he's his father and to come with him but Bloom turns him away. That night the priest visits Bloom, Bloom sees he has stolen his dead wife's necklace and he suddenly stabs him and runs away.

The Directors Cut is much more lyrical and drawn out, allowing characters to breath and detail to be dwelt upon. One of the first shots is the gravedigger finding an apple, opening it up and finding a worm inside--a sort of metaphor for the state of the world. They have some dialog together and then the priest comes by, and they exchange words. After stealing the necklace he orders her head cut off, but the men protest--she's his brother's wife. The priest is actually Orlando Bloom's brother. Then we meet Orlando Bloom--alone in a dark house, staring off; we go into a brief flashback and see him and his pregnant wife in a sunny homestead, planting a garden. Back in the present again we realise he's had an emotional breakdown because of his lost child and wife, and doesn't speak anymore. He goes and visits the fresh grave and his brother the priest comes by, and berates him out of jealousy, pushing him but Bloom remains unresponsive. Liam Neeson arrives and theres a scene of them staying at the local castle, as they feast and discuss the political scene--but Neeson stares out the window remembering his old life, as we learn he used to live here. The next morning Bloom finally decides to get his life together and summons his apprentice and they revive the metal workshop, as we learn Bloom is a blacksmith. Neeson and the men visit him (one of my favorite bits here in the DC is a shot of the scandavian guy wiping his mouth with his hair--just little details like this that make all the difference) and Neeson reveals he fathered Bloom (he actually says it in proper terms, "I knew your mother", rather than the more obvious language of the theatrical version, "Balian, I'm your father"). After sending him away, his brother visits him that night and provokes him some more, and when Bloom sees his wife's necklace he kills his brother and then runs off.

Its a pretty different film. And this kind of thing is characteristic of the entire movie.

As for Bloom's swordsmanship, in the scene where Neeson and his men visit him in his shop he explains that he was a soldier once and fought for a king over some long-forgotten dispute. So he's not just some tradesman, he actually has combat experience. Neeson just gives him some pointers.