The director's cut restores the narration by William Richert, which was replaced by a narration by River Phoenix in the theatrical release at the insistence of 20th Century Fox. The studio decided to market the movie to a teen audience and thought that Richert's narration sounded "too grandfather like." River Phoenix was brought back a year after filming had wrapped to record his narration for the released cut.
The director's cut also fully restores Ann Magnuson's line to River Phoenix's Jimmy: "I want to f**k you."
River Phoenix's parents asked William Richert to remove the line because they thought it would hurt sixteen-year-old River's relationship with his young fan base. Richert refused to the cut the line completely, but agreed to mute the sound when Ann Magnuson says the f-word.
In the director's cut, there is no sound drop when she says the line.
