The Criterion Collection director's cut on LaserDisc includes the following additional footage:
- An extra shot of bullets leaving the back of the guy Samuel L. Jackson kills
- An extra shot of Awax holding the gang member while he shoots him
- An small scene showing how Caine and O Dog brake into the car in the garage
- Two extra shots of bullet wounds during the final scene
- It also includes two deleted scenes; the funeral of Caine's cousin and a scene at his grandparents' house after the funeral
UK video, LaserDisc, and the initial DVD versions were cut to remove footage of O-Dog unlocking a car door by using a metal strip. The cuts were restored to the 2003 DVD.
The Hughes brothers, when queried about the film's explicit content, have often talked about a "prison riot" scene that studio execs forced them to cut in order to avoid an NC-17 rating. The scene has yet to appear in any of the released versions of the film.
