“Dirty Work’s Forbidden 4K Cut Finally Surfaces—And It’s Wilder Than a Mercury Retrograde Hangover”
Added on May 3, 2025 inEntertainment News Cards, Movie News Cards
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If ever there was a cosmic clash that screamed “misfire,” it’s gotta be the story behind Dirty Work — a movie destined to launch Norm MacDonald, Saturday Night Live’s dry-witted oracle, into the sunlit realms of Hollywood glory, only to get eclipsed by a last-minute studio meddling that trimmed the movie’s edge like a butcher wielding a dull knife. Talk about Mercury retrograde messing with your career trajectory! The studio’s decision to recut Bob Saget’s (yes, that Bob Saget!) R-rated, mean-spirited romp into a PG-13 “family-friendly” comedy erased the film’s mischievous spark — and, oh boy, MacDonald is not Adam Sandler. The result? A $10 million theatrical whimper instead of a blockbuster roar. Yet, like some rebellious Scorpio lurking in the shadows, Dirty Work found a second life as a cult hit once it hit VHS and cable, proving that sometimes the stars just have to realign before things shine right. Now, with both MacDonald and Saget gone, Vinegar Syndrome is throwing the film a resurrection party on 4K Blu-ray, unearthing the original unrated cut—and a whole treasure trove of extras that’ll satisfy the biggest Dirty Work fanatics and completists out there. So, the real question is this: Are you ready to get your hands dirty… again? LEARN MORE
Dirty Work was supposed to be the movie that would propel Saturday Night Live’s Norm MacDonald to movie stardom. Sadly, it didn’t work out that way, with the film only earning a modest $10 million theatrically. One of the reasons the movie tanked was that, at the eleventh hour, the studio forced director Bob Saget (yes – THAT Bob Saget) to recut what had been planned as a raunchy R-rated comedy to a PG-13, much more mainstream effort. This was a big mistake as MacDonald wasn’t Adam Sandler, and this mean-spirited movie about petty revenge and scheming was never meant to be a family flick.
Even still, despite the cutdown there were still some pretty funny scenes in the movie, and when it hit VHS and cable, it became a bit of a cult hit. With both MacDonald and Saget having passed away, the good folks at Vinegar Syndrome have undertaken a massive restoration of the film, and have re-assembled the original, unrated cut and are releasing it to 4K Blu-ray Disc this June. The unrated cut only runs one minute longer than the theatrical cut, but it apparently contains a lot of alternate footage, as when Saget made the PG-13 version, he used a lot of alternate takes, jokes, and tame deleted footage for the cut. Thus, the two versions are distinct. As a bonus, there’s also a 2-hour assembly cut of the movie being included, although it was sourced from the best possible elements, which, in this case, is an old VHS transfer. This assembly cut was never meant to be released, so it’s being included as more of a curiosity.
Here are the rest of the extras (courtesy of our friends at Blu-Ray.com)
Also, kudos to the label for making what most be the most disgusting 4K Blu-ray cover of all time:
UUUUURGH. Will you add this one to your shelf? Let us know in the comments!
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