Question (possible spoiler)

In the theatrical version, Leo becomes a witness and testifies about the corruption, etc.

Given what we know about Leo (he took the wrap for his friends before the movie started and was the only one who went to jail), it's pretty out-of-character for him to name names, but when I first saw the movie, the theatrical ending didn't bother me.

There's also a dolly shot where the camera is parallel to Whalberg. In the theatrical version, this is the one of the last shots (maybe second to last). I remember the shot ending with the camera tracking, then stopping and Leo walks out of frame. In the Director's Cut, this shot appears in the beginning (when Leo is on his way to his interview with James Caan), but the shot ends earlier (before the camera stops tracking).

I kinda liked the way the last two shots of the theatrical version worked (although overall, the new ending is obviously much more appropriate). I like James Gray's movies a lot, but I think the wake scene where Erica's little brother is embraced by Faye Dunaway isn't very effective (much like the scene in "Little Odessa" where Tim Roth drags his father out but doesn't kill him).

Also, the more I see "The Yards," the less I like Faye Dunaway and Ellen Burstyn's performances. They're OK, but when I heard that Gray wanted either Burstyn or Gena Rowlands I started thinking the latter would have been so much better. The male actors are all incredible though.

I also heard James Gray, on the commentary track with Soderbergh, say that he won't shoot with anamorphic lenses again because he didn't like the way they handled with the low light levels, but I thought this was unfair since the lenses he used (Panavision C series) are not fast lenses anyway.

I'm expecting James Gray's new movie to get him a lot more (very deserved) attention. Let's hope he makes movies more often then once every 6 or 7 years though...