Learn Hardcore Russian: Режиссёрская версия фильма кажется длиннее, чем обычная. - The director’s cut of the movie seems longer than the regular one.

The base noun is режиссёр.
The suffix -ск-
- the feminine ending -ая gives режиссёрская = director’s (feminine).
It is feminine, singular, nominative to agree with версия (also feminine singular nominative).

So режиссёрская версия = director’s version / director’s cut. In English we usually say director’s cut, but in Russian the adjective form is natural: режиссёрская + версия.

You could also say версия режиссёра (literally version of the director), but режиссёрская версия is more idiomatic for “director’s cut” as a fixed phrase.

Why is версия in the nominative case, but фильма in the genitive?

The grammatical subject of the sentence is режиссёрская версия фильма. The head noun is версия, so it appears in the nominative singular: версия.

Фильма is in the genitive singular because it means “of the film”:

версия фильма = version of the film
In Russian, relationships like X of Y are usually expressed by putting Y in the genitive:
- книга студента = the student’s book
- окно дома = the window of the house

So the structure is:
[режиссёрская (adj.)] [версия (nom.)] [фильма (gen.)]
= the director’s version of the film (as one noun phrase).

What exactly does кажется mean here? Is it like “is longer” or “seems longer”?

Кажется comes from the verb казаться = “to seem, to appear”.

So кажется длиннее literally means “seems longer”, not simply “is longer”:

Режиссёрская версия фильма длиннее, чем обычная.
= The director’s cut is longer than the regular one. (objective fact)
Режиссёрская версия фильма кажется длиннее, чем обычная.
= The director’s cut seems longer than the regular one. (subjective impression)

Using кажется softens the statement. It suggests that this is how it feels or appears, not necessarily an exact measured fact.

What is the function of the -ся ending in кажется?

The -ся ending is the reflexive/postfix -ся, attached to the verb казаться (to seem).

Historically, -ся comes from a reflexive pronoun (“oneself”), but in modern Russian it has several functions. Here it:

turns казать (an old verb “to show”) into казаться – to show itself (as) → to seem, to appear.
does not mean that the subject is doing something to itself in a literal way; it’s just part of the verb’s lexical meaning.

So you simply learn казаться as a separate verb meaning “to seem”, always with -ся:

мне кажется = it seems to me
фильм кажется длинным = the film seems long

Is длиннее an adjective or an adverb? How is it formed?

Длиннее is the comparative form of the adjective длинный (long). In traditional Russian grammar it’s called a short comparative form of the adjective.

Formation:

Base: длинный (long)
Comparative: длиннее (longer)

Key points:

Длиннее does not change for gender, number, or case. It always looks the same.
It can describe nouns (“longer [one]”) or function somewhat like an adverb (“more longly” ≈ for a longer time in some contexts).

You could also make an analytic comparative:

более длинная версия = a more long version (grammatically correct but stylistically heavier).

In everyday speech and writing, длиннее is by far the more natural comparative for длинный.

Why is it длиннее, чем обычная, and not длиннее, как обычная or something else?

With real comparisons of degree (longer than, bigger than, etc.), Russian normally uses чем (than), not как:

длиннее, чем обычная = longer than the regular one
выше, чем он = taller than he is

Как with adjectives usually means “as … as” or introduces a comparison of similarity:

такой же длинный, как обычная версия
= as long as the regular version (same length, not longer)

So:

To express “longer than X” → use длиннее, чем X.
To express “as long as X” → use такой же длинный, как X.

Why is there a comma before чем here? Is it mandatory?

In the sentence:

Режиссёрская версия фильма кажется длиннее, чем обычная.

the comma reflects a common stylistic choice, but it is not strictly obligatory in modern Russian for such simple comparisons.

General idea:

When чем introduces a clear comparison with an adjective/adverb in the comparative, many style guides allow you to omit the comma:
- Кажется длиннее чем обычная.
When the second part feels more like a separate clause or has additional emphasis, a comma is more natural.

So both are seen:

кажется длиннее, чем обычная
кажется длиннее чем обычная

For most learners, it’s enough to remember: in everyday comparisons with comparatives (выше чем, лучше чем, длиннее чем) the comma is often left out, though you may still see it used.

Why is обычная in the feminine form, and why is версия omitted after it?

Обычная is feminine singular nominative because it refers back to версия, which is also feminine singular nominative.

The full version would be:

Режиссёрская версия фильма кажется длиннее, чем обычная версия.

But since версия is already mentioned, Russian (like English) often omits the repeated noun:

English: The director’s cut seems longer than the regular (one).
Russian: ...длиннее, чем обычная. (elliptical for обычная версия)

So обычная is feminine to match the understood noun версия:

feminine: обычная (версия)
masculine: обычный (фильм)
neuter: обычное (кино), etc.

Could you rephrase this sentence without кажется? Would that change the meaning?

Yes, you can simply say:

Режиссёрская версия фильма длиннее, чем обычная.

This states an objective fact: The director’s cut is longer than the regular version (e.g., in minutes).

With кажется:

Режиссёрская версия фильма кажется длиннее, чем обычная.

you express a subjective impression: it feels longer (maybe because of pacing, extra scenes, etc.), even if the actual runtime difference is small or even non-existent.

So:

with кажется → seems/feels longer (subjective)
without кажется → is longer (factual statement)

What tense and aspect is кажется, and how would you say it in the past?

Кажется is:

present tense,
imperfective aspect,
3rd person singular of казаться.

To put this sentence in the past, you’d typically change кажется to казалась (feminine, agreeing with версия):

Режиссёрская версия фильма казалась длиннее, чем обычная.
= The director’s cut seemed longer than the regular one.

In the past tense, казаться agrees in gender and number with the subject:

фильм казался длиннее (masc.)
версия казалась длиннее (fem.)
новые версии казались длиннее (plur.: казались)

Is there any difference between режиссёрская версия фильма and версия режиссёра фильма?

Both are grammatically correct but feel different in style and typical use:

Режиссёрская версия фильма
- Very common, idiomatic phrase for “director’s cut”.
- Adjective режиссёрская tightly linked to версия.
- Neutral, natural, what you see in film descriptions.
Версия режиссёра фильма
- Literally: the version of the director of the film.
- Sounds more formal or descriptive, emphasizes the person (the director) rather than the type of cut as a standard edition.
- Less common as the standard name of a film edition.

In practice, for movie editions you would almost always say режиссёрская версия фильма when you mean “director’s cut of the film.”