Un monde sans terre

The preferred three-hour cut of director Kevin Reynolds was drastically edited back to a 135-minute theatrical version by Kevin Costner and the studio, probably in an effort to recoup the film's inflated $175 million dollar budget (since Costner's previous 3-hour movie Wyatt Earp (1994) had been a box office bomb). ABC later broadcast an extended TV version that restored almost 40 minutes of deleted scenes, which explain more about the world, the people who live there, the Smokers' religious beliefs and their ability to refine crude oil. The additional scenes also tie up several loose ends in the theatrical release. Being a TV special, this version was also censored for violence and language. A fan-edit of the film, called 'Waterworld: The Ulysses Cut' (named after a restored scene at the end), was later made in an attempt to create the most complete version of the movie. It was compiled from several broadcast versions, containing all of the additional footage from the TV version while restoring the previously censored parts. In an unexpected turn, the original distributor officially sanctioned this fan-edit by releasing it in a box-set with the other two versions. This Ulysses Cut was remastered in high-definition though, created with original footage rather than lower-quality broadcast material.

The crude oil contained in The Smokers' tanker would not be able to power their boats, jet skis and other engines without refinement, or high octane required for the seaplane. It would stand to reason that The Smokers possessed the ability to minimally refine the crude oil so that it would run their engines, but not burn efficiently & smoke - giving them the name "Smokers".

The Earth in the Universal logo zooms into the Mariner's boat, with the ice caps melting and causing the world to be flooded.

The ABC television version restores nearly 40 minutes of material Universal Pictures and Kevin Costner cut from the original release against the will of director 'Kevin Reynolds'. It explains more clearly the relationship between the Mariner and Helen, and the secret behind the origin of Dry Land. The additional material includes:

Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Clueless/An Awfully Big Adventure/Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home/Living in Oblivion/Bandit Queen (1995)