 According to a 2003 article, there were two separate test  screenings: the short version, which was the studio cut, and the  long version, which was Michael Cimino (qv)s cut. Cimino claimed  he paid the projectionist to sabotage the screening of the studio  cut by ruining the projection. Test audiences subsequently saw  Ciminos version and gave it good scores, and it soon became the  theatrical release.