Based on The Hunter:
Payback (bootleg version)
Movie: Not rated (see below)
Depiction of Parker:
Disclaimer: I absolutely cannot get you a copy of this. First, I don't have the facilities to dub tapes. Secondly, it would look and sound even more like garbage than my tape does. Third, the thought of being sued by Paramount scares the heck out of me. I really wish I could help you but I can't. Best of luck, however, in tracking down your own copy. They are out there.
There are several explanations for what Mel Gibson did to Payback. He said (if I recall correctly) that it was to make the movie good. Most people believe, however, that he thought playing a character this cruel and remorseless would hurt his good-guy image. He may have been right. Payback is the darkest thing he's done since Mad Max, perhaps the darkest thing he's ever done, and he was taking a risk by playing such a part. However, he may also have been missing an opportunity to cement his reputation as an A-class actor, not just an A-class box office draw.
The morality of what Mr. Gibson did should not be in doubt. He saw the script before he signed a contract. He probably read the novel, too. He knew what he was getting into. He chickened out, destroying an Oscar-winning screenwriter's creative vision and directorial debut in the process. Although Payback turned out to be a pretty good movie despite Mr. Gibson's meddling, there can be no doubt that what he did was just plain wrong.
Strangely, Mr. Gibon's changes did not make the movie less violent. He added a torture scene which is perhaps the hardest thing to watch in the movie, a kidnapping scene where the victim is chained to a radiator in a hotel room, and several deaths. (Mr. Gibson seems to like to be tortured on film. Previously he has been tortured in Lethal Weapon, Braveheart, and Conspiracy Theory.) It isn't the violence, but the tone of the movie that he apparently objected to. His changes turned Payback into a violent action-comedy rather than the dark work of art it was intended to be.
The Payback bootleg may be the closest thing we'll ever see to a director's cut, although it is obviously not what was submitted to Paramount prior to Mel's meddling. The score seems to be library music, and there is a Beastie Boys instrumental ("Pow," from Check Your Head) repeated several times that probably would not have been used in the final cut. A couple of scenes seem to have parts missing.
Judging the quality of the movie was very difficult for me, for several reasons. The primary problem was the quality of the bootleg tape I viewed, which looked and sounded awful. I assume it was at least fifth generation, and it is very difficult to compare a fifth generation VHS tape to a 35mm film with THX sound. Another problem was overexposure to the source material. In order to do write-ups this site from the freshest perspective possible, I had in the past two months viewed Payback in the theater, read The Hunter, and rented both Point Blank and Full Contact. I had just about every element of the story memorized, in all versions.
I can say, however, that the original version of Payback is a good movie, in large part because it closely follows a very good book to the point where several passages of dialog are quoted word for word from the source material. Additionally, Mr. Gibson's personal shortcomings aside, he is an excellent actor and makes an absolutely terrific Parker. He has the looks and the charisma to pull off the part like no one else has done before. He may have hurt his own career by not allowing this performance to be seen. The reasons the depiction of Parker does not rate a full five bulletholes are two minor changes to the character made by the writer: Parker obviously cares a certain amount about Rosie, a change from the book, and in the end gives away his money, indicating that it was more a matter of principal than an actual desire for the cash. In The Hunter, Parker's feelings on this issue were unclear; by making his interpretation clear, Helgeland deviates slightly from Parker by-the-book.
Seeing a director's cut of this movie seems unlikely. Paramount apparently has a reputation for not releasing director's cuts, and Mel Gibson's clout would probably keep the movie unreleased even if Paramount desired to release it. However, we can always hope, and if you care to fire off a letter to Paramount, it certainly couldn't hurt.
If you would like to find out more, check out this article from the terrific Cashiers du Cinemart magazine comparing the books that have been filmed to the films that have been made of them, including both versions of Payback.
To Payback (theatrical version)
To Point Blank, the other movie based on The Hunter
To The Violent World of Parker