McGrath: "Sooner or later they always seem to put out "directors cuts" of big films when they reckon everybody has seen the film, as a way of getting them to see it again."

Not really. Theatrical "Director's Cuts" are extremely rare in the film industry. This is because the studios already rejected the "Director's Cut" on the grounds that it would not be popular. The only times you get director's cuts released in theaters is when the director has a sharp rise in political power in Hollywood, eg. Spielberg with Close Encounters. Other than that, that's how Hollywood perceives DVDs--a way to sell the footage they decided wasn't good enough for the big screen!

One thing that does tend to happen is "special editions," when the special effects are updated with new technology. Even THOSE rarely make it to theaters.