The reason it was a flop is because the studio released the cut down version with the cheesy voice over. I think everyone these days acknowledges that the Director's cut is the only version worth watching...
I dont think so, not really, they did test screenings without the voice over and the audience didnt get it, the film makers didnt get it and they made it. Not the place for this though, so I'll leave off
there is a BR thread if you want to dig it up. It was the final cut that I watched last night btw. Oh and it was also a flop because it got no publicity and didnt get put into enough theatres and so vanished without a trace, the studio basically killed it.
My point in saying so though was that even though this film might be a flop or maybe not work on first viewing, it might well go on to become a classic like Bladerunner, which at the time people did watch and ask what the fuck it meant, with each version those questions got larger and larger. Which is a theory, I agree with, that the likes of Terry Gilliam say is actually the mark of a great film really.