Old 2008 list. Check newer list from 2011.
The internet message board
Asian DVD Guide (ADG) had a very useful section called
"Alternative Versions of Hong Kong Movies" but, unfortunately, the ADG forum is no more.
About a month ago it went down and all there is left now is a text message stating the account has been suspended. Although most members had drifted off to other boards there was still a lot of very useful info from many past forum discussions. Now it's all gone. :(
One feature that's sure to be missed is a huge section of info on alternative versions of HK films. I've been kicking myself in the head on a daily basis for not having made a copy in due time, however, today my mate Ian F. suggested I try the
Internet Archive Wayback Machine site and, lo and behold, they had a 2009 copy of the site stored!
Their copy of the Alternative section was last updated in 2008 but as I mentioned the forum hasn't been used all that much during the last few years. I think it's hardly more than a handful of new entries that are missing from this version.
I'm re-posting the section here because it would be a pity if it were lost for good. Needless to say, I take no credit for any of the hard work that went into putting it together. However, this list is by no means meant to be a museum piece so if any of you have updates do let me know and I'll add them. I should point out I will only add fully proven info that you have researched yourself! No hearsay or rumours! And no corrections based on faint memory of a version you saw a long time ago.
All EDITS in square brackets are by me.
You'll find the Wayback version of ADG
here (when you click the link it may take a moment to gather the old info).
----------------------
Alternative Versions of Hong Kong Movies
All For the Winner
Two scenes cut from the Mei Ah DVD that were present in the complete Star LD. 1. Chow Sing Chi and Ng Man Tat meet a former bar girl on the street: She says she's going to be married and Chow says he's definitely going to "come" (to her wedding); an innuendo. 2. The original "happy" ending has been shortened to make it more solemn. Originally Chow is asked to have dinner with Cheung Man. He smiles and shakes his head, followed by some preparatory questions. The DVD ends with Cheung claiming that she and Chow come from diffferent worlds (the implication being the end of their relationship). Mei Ah have reissued this DVD in an uncut state with different packaging (Chow sitting in a chair).
All Men Are Brothers
The new Celestial print is based on the cut HK theatrical edit, but has most of the violent footage restored (with new foley/vocal effects added). A number of short bits are still missing, most of which can be found in the long OOP German VHS: Most notably from a Wang Chung fight, which is missing him killing about a dozen additional enemies. This missing footage amounts to about 1:30.
All Men Are Brothers: Blood of the Leopard
Taiwanese DVD is longer than HK prints.
An Amorous Woman of Tang Dynasty
Celestial's DVD uses the shortened 103m theatrical version rather than the reported 180m director's cut that played in Taiwan.
Angel on Fire
117m version available via bootleg. Theatrical prints run 81m.
[EDIT: the info about a 117m version came from only one fan who apparently had had a friend who once had this version (!!!). However, he didn't have a copy and nobody else seems to have seen this version. I say we call it an urban legend!!!
/Jack]
Armour of God 2: Operation Condor
Mega Star's re-issue DVD deletes a non-nude back shot from Eva's towel removal. This is present in all other versions. Many HK prints use a medium non-nude shot of Carol Cheng (body double) in the shower. The original English dub (EIV, UK) briefly shows her naked rear. The Disney cut (re-dubbed) is butchered to 91m (87m)., removing much of the comedy and even some action. The latest DVD from Fortune Star is the full uncut version.
As Tears Go By
The DVD editions are missing the last 15s of the movie: the final shot of Andy Lau is made slow-motion to compensate; originally it ran normal speed, thus the music stays intact and there's no difference in running time. The end credits are also very slightly different (the spacing between the Chinese characters during the song credits). The UK VHS (MIHK) is cut by 17s for violence and features the altered ending as per all re-issues. The Tartan R2 DVD has previous cuts waived, but is dubbed into Mandarin. Korean VHS ends with a montage showing Andy's character in jail.
Ashes of Time
Taiwanese print contains some brief footage of Joey Wong shot before she left the production. The HK print omits this footage amounting to a mere 15s or so.
The Assassin
The Winson DVD/VCD (and World Video LD) editions feature a shorter variant, omitting not violence, but a whole narrative segment that was present on the unsubbed Star LD and VCD.
The Avenging Eagle
Celestial DVD is missing a minute of footage from the final fight between Ku Feng and Ti Lung & Fu Sheng.
The Beasts (aka The Flesh and Bloody Terror)
Pearl City VCD is cut to 83m as per the HK theatrical version. The rape has been shortened as well as some of the stronger violence. An alternate 72m version was released on tape in Germany as The Flesh and Bloody Show; this print contained the uncut violence and added hardcore porn inserts during the rape. These were likely not shot by the director Dennis Yu.
Beheaded 1000
Original Taiwanese cut runs 124m compared to 101m HK edit.
A Better Tomorrow III
The Mainland DVD (WA) contains an extended 124m (130m) edit. No Cantonese language track exists for this long version; it has been released with Mandarin dub via Long Shong VHS (Taiwan) and an English dub from HKV VHS (France).
A summary of additional scenes not in the 111m theatrical cut are follows:
1. Chow Yun Fat and Anita Mui witnesses a mugging on the street.
2. Chow and Tony Leung Kar-Fai discuss their admiration for Anita.
3. Chow, Tony and father watch the news on President Nixon's resignation.
4. Extended opening of the scene where "Ling" nervously talks with Chow.
5. Before the club scene we see Anita at work; Chow and Tony wait for her in the lobby.
6. Chow watches Anita and Tony dancing and in a jealous fit we see him order in hostesses.
7. After Anita rushes out of the club, she passes out in the car and Tony asks Chow to help take her home.
8. Next scene sees Chow looking back at Tony driving Anita home, clearly regreting his behaviour.
9. "Ho" discusses the constant danger around him while he was on the run, which is intercut with another shot of Tony and Chow opening the car repair shop.
10. After the bombing, Tony's father is pronounced dead.
11. Extension where we see Chow and Tony fight back more in the confrontation with "Ho".
11. Funeral ceremony for Tony's father.
12. Tony tells "Ling" that she has to leave Hong Kong because she too is in danger.
13. Tony reveals to Chow that Anita has gone back to Vietnam.
14. Extended scene where "Pat" learns that Tony's father has died.
15. Slight extension to the scene after Chow storms out of Anita's hotel room.
There are two slight differences between the Chinese WA DVD and the Taiwanese Long Shong VHS.
1. When Anita's song plays the first time, the footage shown is different for about 8s. On the LS, Tony kisses Anita's hand and takes off his hat. On the WA, various military/political scenes are shown (33.13 - 33.21 on the WA DVD).
2. "Pat" yells 'Mun!' after the tank fires at her (Anita). This 1s line is missing on the WA. It should occur at 113.25. The Fortune Star DVD runs a longer 119m and contains scenes #3,4,7,8,11,13,14 & 15. (Five, but not all, of the remainder appear as extras only).
There is an even longer cut that can be found on a Mandarin dubbed VCD in Taiwan
that runs 145m, which tells more about Chow's business in Hong Kong. The cut footage existent in the Taiwanese print is available as deleted scenes on the Korean Fortune Star DVD box set.
[EDIT: I have the Taiwan VCD which on the cover is listed as running 145m, HOWEVER it ONLY runs 130m!!! I highly doubt there is another Taiwan VCD that runs 145m
/Jack]
The Big Boss
All current release versions have been taken from the circa 1973 abridged English print, later dubbed into Cantonese. The original Mandarin track, as heard on the IVL DVD, has been cut down to fit in with the shorter length. Many mins of plot and character business have been deleted, as well as multiple cuts made for bloody violence. No uncut prints have seen the light of day since a 1979 festival screening. The US DVD from Fox (as Fists of Fury) substituted the shot of Bruce Lee stabbing his fingers into Han Ying Chieh's ribcage with a milder alternative to achieve an 'R'. It does, however, include bits of dialogue missing from the Chinese re-issues.
Black Mask
The Mei Ah DVDs represent the Cat-II HK theatrical cut minus roughly 1m, 40s of gory violence. These trims include: bloodspurts from the opening sequence; a leg being squashed; neck-breaking; a zombie losing an arm in the hospital; blood-draining; various bullet impacts (eg. shooting of Francoise Yip and assorted cops) and other moments of strong violence. Taiwanese DVD (Ritek) is uncut, but dubbed into Mandarin. The English dub contains some of the edited violence, but has been otherwise abridged. The US print replicates this, but replaces the original score with hip-hop source.
The Bodyguard From Beijing
World Video DVD cuts 'Billy' diming the lights; short repetition at the end with 'Michelle'. Video/Audio fades away quickly near the end of the credits.
Boys Are Easy
DVDs from Mei Ah and Mercury are missing approx 12m of footage from the theatrical release: including a bowling alley musical number and the Triad Olympics. The uncut version was available on OOP VCD and Laserdisc; a new VCD is similarly cut. The Tai Seng DVD, despite having 87m listed on the package is, in fact, the longer, uncut version of the film. It has burned in subs.
The Bride With White Hair
Bloody violence trimmed for Cat-II theatrical release. All DVDs appear to be uncut.
The Bride With White Hair 2
Bloody violence trimmed for Cat-II theatrical release. All DVDs appear to be uncut.
Brother of Darkness
Universe's DVD re-issue restores Billy Tang's film close to its uncut status. Although it's still missing a small detail from an oral sex scene (the fleeting shot of pre-seminal fluid dripping from Lily Chung's mouth). The OOP Ocean Shores edition represented the significantly cut theatrical version.
Bruce Lee & I
IVL DVD is cut to remove all full-frontal nude shots. Surrounding material has been slowed down to compensate. The German VHS is uncut.
Bullet in the Head
All DVDs contain the long 131m (125m) version, featuring the extended car joust/bicycle juxtaposition ending.
The long OOP Mei Ah VCD used an abridged edit (also seen on the Cinema City LD and Tai Seng VHS) lasting 100m., and featured an alternate, single bullet ending set in Waise Lee's boardroom.
A suggested director's cut (with deleted urine drinking sequence) was shown at festivals pre-release; but this 136m variant has never been made legally available. A list of relevant scenes follows:
1. Tony Leung Chiu-Wai walks through some numbered footprints taped to the dance floor to demonstrate a dance. (8s).
2. Tony gives some dance instructions to his students. (7s).
3. Tony watches as Jacky Cheung's mother beats him with shoe and is subsequently thrown out by his parents. (32s).
4. After Tony and Jacky tell Waise that they killed "Ringo", the scene wipes to another of Tony's wife, "Jane", at home alone. (36s).
5. After the bomb disposal worker gets injured there are a few extra shots of protesters clashing with police. (12s).
6. After a Vietnamese youth is shot in the head the boys ponder what they've just seen; Jacky vomits. (37s).
7. The camera pans Simon Yam's room. (16s).
8. More of Tony watching the riot. (8s).
9. Extra shots of demonstration. (4s).
10. A protester is beaten bloody. (2s).
11. The protester is dragged away. (2s).
12. People hang on the consulate gate. (1s).
13. Tony saves the HK singer from a riot; He has a flashback to his wife in HK and realizes that both places are in great turmoil. (29s).
14. After Jacky drinks a whole bottle of liquor the boss makes the boys drink a glass of urine each. (1m, 41s).
15. Once the gunfight breaks out, Tony pours a glass of urine over the boss' head. (6s).
16. A quick shot of Waise's foot on top of the box of gold. (1s).
17. Paul observes the gun fight; grabbing the box of gold. (3s).
18. A car drives towards the beach; into the camera. (3s).
19. On the beach Waise yells at Simon; Jacky yells at Waise. (43s).
20. Jacky encourages Tony to run faster towards the boat. (3s).
21. More of Tony running towards the boat. (9s).
22. When the singer's passport falls into the water, one of her songs plays.
23. Waise attempts to grab the gold before he jumps off the boat. (8s).
24. The solider with the bazooka reloads and fires. (8s).
25. More of Simon using an M-16. (7s).
26. A G.I. attempts to escape from the POW camp and is killed. (36s).
27. Soldiers run through a field in search of the POW camp; The actors run towards camera. (12s).
28. Waise flees in a boat after shooting up a small village, leaving Tony for dead. Tony is rescued by Monks, who nurse him back to health. (2m, 4s).
29. After Jacky's 'hit', he buys drugs, shoots them, and returns to his dwelling. Simon and Tony find him. (1m, 50s).
30. Tony tries to get through to Jacky, talking about being "brothers" and relating to their experiences and Jacky's parents. (2m, 34s).
31. Tony returns to HK; He walks in a crowd, tanks and people all around. (This scene is in the HK version but is shorter. (1m, 19s).
32. In the boardroom Tony grabs Waise and shoots him in the head.
33. Tony waits for Waise in the parking garage, gently patting Jacky's skull. When Waise appears, Tony kills all of Waise's men. Waise drives out of the garage, Tony following. (1m).
34. The racing cars are intercut with flashbacks of the three friends racing their bikes. (54s).
35. Credits (1m, 35s).
131m "bootleg" tape has every scene except 18, 27, and 32;
Mei Ah VCD is the only version that has scene 32;
Taiwanese tape is missing around 10m of footage;
HK DVDs are missing scenes: 1, 2, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 32, and 36;
MIHK VHS (UK) is a PAL transfer of the 131m cut, as per the HK DVDs.
Scene 32 - The alternate ending: Tony returns from Vietnam to find the traitorous Waise is now an important man. Tony visits Waise in the middle of a board meeting. Waise introduces Tony and they pretend to like one another for a moment. Waise tells everyone in the room that if it wasn't for Tony he wouldn't have gotten out of Vietnam. Tony asks Waise why he doesn't give Jacky any credit? Waise fumbles his words and concocts a lie about what happened to Jacky. Tony bursts the bubble of deception, reminding Waise that Jacky was shot in back of the head. Tony places Jacky's skull on the table, claiming he kept his promise to bring him home. Tony pulls out the bullet and shows it to Waise, asking why he didn't make sure to shoot to kill. At this point Waise gets defensive and rude. Tony forces Waise's head on to the table and pulls out a gun. A scared Waise begins to pound the table frantically with his hands. "Don't shoot," he screams. Tony looks at Jacky's skull on the table. He then pulls Waise's jacket over his head (intercut with Waise doing the same thing to Jacky previous). Tony gets a faraway look in his eyes. He gazes at the skull and we see a flashback of Jacky being shot. Tony imagines Jacky's screams. Close up of the gun resting on the back of Waise's head. (BANG). Fade to black.
It's alleged that John Woo prefers this ending. It is the one that was the one shown on opening night in HK. After the movie received terrible reviews, the decision was made to re-shoot the finale. The bootleg version has a different soundtrack.
[EDIT: you could argue, and many do, that since this "boardroom scene" was the ending that was shown when the film premiered in HK it is indeed the original ending, not an alternative ending. And personally I tend to agree, how can a later shot ending be the "original" ending. It doesn't make sense.
/Jack]
Burning Paradise
Uncut version of Ringo Lam's martial arts film available only on DVD from Mo Asia. The HK Cat-II prints were cut for bloody violence. Siren's Australian VHS is also uncut. The French DVD is similarly intact but has no English subtitles.
Butterfly & Sword
The original suicidal ending was shorn from all HK prints. Only the Taiwanese DVD is intact. The MIA DVD (UK) uses the same abridged Cantonese dub and has an additional 7s compulsory cut for animal cruelty.
The Butterfly Murders
The 85m Mei Ah DVD (89m, NTSC) is missing a brief scene in which a female reads her husband's "last will": it decrees that the fortune of the deceased should be equally shared between three men and the wife. Explaining why somebody wants to kill her and the subsequent fight sequence. This footage is present in the UK TV print (last screened in 1993); most complete at 89m (93m), but dubbed into Mandarin. The German VHS offers a completely different score, sometimes footage too. It's cut, but has material missing from the French HKV DVD; taken from the same print as the Mei Ah disc.
Centre Stage
HK discs contain the abridged version running 121m. The Mandarin dubbed tape is most complete with a running time of 147m (155m @ 24fps). Most of cut footage shows interview segments with the older actors. AKA: Actress. A restored Director's Cut has been subsequently released by IVL/Fortune Star.
C'est La Vie Mon Cheri
Taiwanese cut lasts 100m compared to slightly shorter 98m HK version.
The Chinatown Kid
New Celestial Mandarin print uses a butchered-to-86m (90m) cut of the movie, with an alternate "happy" ending not seen in theatres. The original cut should run 110m (115m) and have the proper "hero dies a noble death" closure. The Ground Zero DVD utilized a similarly butchered US TV print; though it did contain the original ending. The OOP Pan Media disc is uncut and letterboxed, but dubbed in English. The old UK Warner tape is the long version, but censored.
The Chinese Feast
The Malaysian Mercury and Japanese DVDs include the fight between the two rival chefs missing from the HK Widesight DVD. The Korean DVD (Yedarm) is a port of the JP disc, but with the addition of optional English subtitles.
A Chinese Ghost Story
The HKL DVD is cut where Leslie Cheung falls down the stairs. The Fortune Star print is uncut.
Chinese Iron Man
The Mei Ah DVD appears to be cut for violence in a few places.
A Chinese Torture Chamber Story
Some footage was cut from the original Mei Ah DVD release. The Universe DVD reissue is fully uncut.
Chung King Express
The Miramax (US) and ICA (UK) DVDs contain the extended 102m (98m) "International version" with longer scenes involving the Indian drug mules and an altered soundtrack. The Ocean Shores (HK) DVD is trimmed by a few mins as per the HK theatrical version.
City Hunter 1
The Japanese version has a longer opening that includes offensive shots of the comic that were absent from the HK version (the Ryu character putting his head against a woman's breast). Unlike the HK opening, the Japanese equivilent uses a mixture of artwork and live action clips; containing a few shots of the red bathing suit beauties that don't actually appear in film. 2. In the HK version Jackie shoots a bluish-green clock with Chinese characters on it. In Japan the clock is instead silver with no writing; a Nikon camera has been added next to it (obvious product placement). 3. In the Japanese end credits, Japanese companies (Suntory, Nikon, etc) get top billing over the actors. 4. After the original HK end credit bloopers are shown, the Japanese LD has an additional 3-4 min blooper reel.
Clans of Intrigue
IVL's print shows a censored version; the stronger theatrical version, with added nudity and lesbianism, played in HK.
The Club
There are two UK PAL-VHS releases from "Eastern Heroes". One is an edited version in Cantonese with English subs, the other one (released in their "God, Gamblers and Gangsters Collection") is, supposedly, the "Full uncut version" in Mandarin. The edited version might have been mastered from the Ocean Shores LD, which has the exact same edits (mostly to delete sex scenes and nudity, the uncut version also has a few extra shots of violence). However, the edited UK-tape has a sort of "deleted scenes-montage" at the end of the film, which features some, but not all, of what has been removed. There are two HK-VHS tapes from Ocean Shores, both uncut, one featuring subs, one dubbed in English without subs. The dubbed version uses some different music to replace American rock songs used without permission.
Code of Honour
Two cuts were made for strong violence to the original theatrical release: Lung Ming Yan is stabbed through the cheek, then has his fingers cut off with a steak knife. The Tai Seng DVD is uncut as per the Ocean Shores VHS. The Chinese audio tracks are missing a brief section of dialogue found in the English dub. Tai Seng altered the Chinese tracks to keep the sound in sync. The Mandarin track contains an alternate score to the Cantonese original. The UK VHS (MIA) has been censored by 2m, 8s.
Coolie Killer
In the DVD version: Ko (Charlie Chin) takes revenge on the one who betrayed him (Siu), and a couple minutes later the cop on Ko's case shows up and he is arrested. In the VCD version the cop shows up before Ko has taken revenge and is killed by Siu. Ko then kills Siu and walks away scot-free. The VCD also contains the original credits unlike the DVD's newly generated ones.
Cop on a Mission
Cut for violence as per cat IIB theatrical release. A neck-break has been trimmed. No known uncut version available.
Dangerous Encounter of the First Kind
French DVD offers the full uncut version as a bonus on Disc 2 of its collector's edition; the restored footage was taken from a poor-quality tape and edited into the remastered bulk of the film. The standard HK theatrical cut is featured on disc 1. AKA: Don't Play With Fire.
Daughter of Darkness
Four sequences edited from the Ocean Shores disc: 1. After a man falls into a truck full of mud, he and Anthony Wong share sex jokes about the smell of his wife's underwear. (12s). 2. The first rape scene between William Ho and Lily Chung (2-3m). 3. Ho tortures/rapes Lily for a second time whilst singing "Row Your Boat" (3-4.5m). 4. In the uncut version, Lily, after being raped, stabs her brother in the back with a pair of broken scissors eighteen times; the cut print only shows four stabs. (10s). The Universe DVD reinstates two of the aformentioned cuts.
A Day Without Policeman
Reports state that approx 20m were edited for the HK VCD when compared to the complete theatrical print.
Devil Face/Angel Heart
Mei Ah DVD cut as per Cat-IIB theatrical release. Missing are bloodier details of the torture scene (when a man's nose is severed). This edit is done very crudely with jumps in the score.
Diary of a Big Man
The Universe DVD's soundtrack has almost completely changed. Chow Yun Fat's monologue is supposed to start immediately when the movie begins. Instead many shots of a young Chow go by first. The opening line is still present, but his monologue starts late and is missing a few lines from the middle. The score is all wrong, except for the title theme and Chow's musical number "Very Nice". This applies only to the Cantonese soundtrack; the Mandarin dub has the missing lines (also subtitled), which suggests that the music on the Cantonese track may come from the Mandarin mix. The Deltamac VCD contains the original Cantonese audio.
Dr. Lamb
The Winson DVD is missing the full version of the breast-stabbing scene as per the theatrical release. Cuts apply to the original scene and later the TV playback. Manga (Spain) released an OOP uncut VHS, dubbed into Spanish.
[EDIT: now released fully uncut on German DVD, subtitles in English]
Dr. Wai in 'the Scriptures With No Words'
The International edit (English dubbed) plays as a straight-forward Indiana Jones-style adventure, eliminating the present-day framing scenario with Jet Li as a novelist; instead the remaining time is padded with exclusive period sequences.
Dragon From Russia
In the original theatrical release - and laserdisc - directly before the church sequence in Macau, there is a short sequence on board a ferry where Nina Li Chi, in mourning garb, meets Pai Ying. The explanation for why this scene was removed from the international edit - which is the only one to make it to DVD - is that Cinema City felt it made no sense that Pai Ying does not recognize the nun in the church as the woman who he just met on the ferry* *This doesn't make much sense to me because in the version I saw, Pai Ying makes a joke about the nun looking like the girl on the ferry
Dragon Inn (1967)
Two versions of King Hu's 1967 swordplay exist: The original, running 111m (available on Japanese and German DVD), and a heavily abridged cut, lasting 87m, shown on the HK VCD release. No HK DVD is currently available.
Dragon Inn (1992)
Two versions of Raymond Lee's 1992 remake exist: The International Cut, which runs 102m, is the most commonly seen, as it's available on DVD from Mei Ah, Tai Seng and HKL (latter with Mandarin dub only). The 89m version, reportedly from the original theatrical release, has yet to be issued on DVD.
Dragon Lord
Universe DVD eliminates the final comedy scene involving Jackie Chan, Mars and a loaded cannon. The HKL disc is the uncut cinema version. The English dub deletes the conversation between Jackie and the town matchmaker and shortens his poetry reading. A longer Taiwanese version switches the order of the opening sequences and eliminates the cannon gag as well as adding a few minor bits and pieces throughout.
Dragons Forever
Like most prints the HKL is missing two scenes with psychiatrist Fung Shui Fan that played theatrically. They appear in the English dub, itself shorn of some footage (Jackie Chan's extended interrogation in court of Pauline Yeung; Jackie's slo-mo kick to a henchman's head whilst breaking into the factory). The HKL includes them as extras.
Drunken Master
Originally filmed, but never released, was a second (or possibly alternate) Drunken Boxing training sequence in which Wong Fei-Hong practices additional techniques on the front lawn of Sui Hat-Yi's (Sam Seed's) straw home. During the sequence were various Chinese symbols representing each different attack that Hat-Yi would call out. Even though the scene was deleted, a still image from the scene with Jackie Chan standing with his left leg raised and holding a tea cup and wine vase has been used on various VHS and DVD covers around the world. This scene is featured on the Hong Kong Legends DVD release as well as the UK/US documentary "Cinema of Vengeance"
Drunken Master II
Warner (HK; no subs) and Disney (US; English dubbed) DVDs delete film's final scene where Jackie Chan shows the severe effects of industrial alcohol. The Mei Ah (with subs) VCD is uncut. The Thakral DVD is also uncut, but cropped to 1.85.
The East is Red
The Taiwanese edition contains the full "flashback" sequence at the film's beginning, with all the shots of Jet Li from Swordsman II present. These were chopped out of the Mei Ah HK DVD and possibly the theatrical prints too?
The 18 Bronzemen
The Mei Ah HK DVD is of a completely different edit to the original release and uses footage taken from other Joseph Kuo features to re-organise the narrative to give Carter Huang more screen time. The MIA dubbed edition may be as close to the original as is currently available on disc format.
Ebola Syndrome
Tokyo Shock DVD replicates cuts required for explicit violent and sexual content as per the HK theatrical version.
Escape From Brothel
All of Ocean Shores' HK prints are snipped 17s by the censors for a Cat-III rating. Cuts as follows: All shots from the Sofia Crawford/Billy Chow fight that reveal more than her pubic hair; Rena Murakami's gang-rape is intact, but the subesequent electrocution is missing two full-frontal shots of her (with the camera placed near her knees looking up) squirming as she is electrocuted (complete with animated electrical currents arcing about her nipples in both shots); Billy Chow's death is trimmed by the final two blows to his head with a brick from Alex Fong, removing a single shot of his bloodied face and brain-matter strewn across the ground beside his head. The Dutch 4-Bidden Asia VHS (Eastern Heroes) is fully uncut, but matted to letterbox. The UK tape is heavily butchered - close to 7.5 mins - by the BBFC including distributor pre-cuts and the removal of linking shots.
Farewell, My Concubine
The following scenes were cut from Miramax's US theatrical release of the film and their subsequent VHS: 1. After Laizi's death, Douzi and Shitou mourn next to the coffin. We see the coffin being carted away. (1:24) 2. We see Douzi being carried atop the servant's back to Old Man Zhang's quarters (0:09) 3. During the "deflowering scene" with Old Man Zhang, after the woman leaves, until "Come here." Douzi urinates into a vase, as the old man looks on, getting quite excited. (0:21) 4. After Cheng and Duan are accosted by rioting students, after the photo session. They are being carted through the streets on handcarts. Na Kun is following, on foot. They discuss first the student revolutionaries, and then the incident at Old Man Zhang's house. We are reminded of the sword. (0:51) 5. After Cheng and Duan meet Yuan Shiqing for the first time, and Cheng is presented with jewelry. Brief dialogue as Yuan and then Duan leave the room. (0:19) 6. After Cheng and Duan argue in the makeup room, right before Juxian leaves the House of Blossoms. Juxian watches a performance of "Farewell". (0:55) 7. After Cheng and Duan argue during the "engagement" scene, right before Cheng tucks the baby Xiao Si into bed. Yuan presents Cheng with an elaborate pheasant headdress in his dressing room. (0:51) 8. After Japan's march into Beijing, right before Duan gets into a fight with the Japanese. Another opera scene. (1:31) 9. Scene of Cheng singing to Japanese continues, right before Duan is released. Interior shots, Cheng holding a fan. (0:47) 10. More graphic detail in the bloodletting scene, where the turtle's neck is sliced to make soup. 11. Brief shot of Duan caressing Juxian's cheek, right after Cheng and Yuan makeup scene. 12. After our first glance of Cheng smoking opium, right before Cheng and Duan visit their old teacher. Cheng steps out of his home, smoking and looking quite listless. He chokes as a car passes. Then we see Juxian showing a group of Duan's friends to the exit of their home. (2:02) 13. After Juxian visits Cheng in his cell, just before trial. Beginning of the trial dialogue cut, where Peking Opera is described as "pornographic music", and the formal charges of collusion with the Japanese Officer, Aoki, are described. (0:43) 14. Later, in the same trial scene, after Na's "testimony", Yuan rebuts the idea of Peking Opera as "pornographic music". (1:01) 15. After the communists march into Beijing, Cheng and Duan are performing "Farewell" to an audience of communist troops. This scene cuts into what seems to be one large crowd scene in the U.S. release -- everything depicting Xiao Si (the foundling) skipping through the streets of Beijing comes after this scene.(1:52) 16. After Juxian's suicide, and before we cut to the present day, we get a short scene where the traitorous Xiao Si seems to get his due. He is sitting alone with the case of jewelry given Cheng by Yuan, and singing from "Farewell". Behind him, communist troops begin to file in, and Xiao Si is startled to see them in the mirror. One of them approaches and hands him what seems to be some sort of summons. (1:11) The Ocean Shores and Miramax DVD editions present the 171m director's cut.
The Fatal Flying Guillotines
Vengeance's letterboxed UK DVD is taken from an abridged German VHS print missing 11 mins of footage. The uncut 88m version was available in the US on tape and disc from World/CAV.
Fight Back To School
An epilogue was filmed but cut before film's release.
Fist of Legend
Taiwanese Ritek DVD contains additional footage not present in the HK release prints. The dubbed Disney DVD is missing brief footage available in other versions.
Fong Sai Yuk
There are notable differences between the Tung Ah (Mainland) and Universe (HK) editions. The TA disc has no English on the credits and completely different background music. Also contains some shots during the initial assault that have been edited out the HK DVD (a women attempts to attack the emperor with a shoe-knife and gets her leg chopped off in the process). In the TA edition there's a closing freeze-frame on Fong Sai Yuk riding off into the sunset... roll credits... whereas in the Universe his father says: "Wait a minute! You forgot this!" and throws a scroll to him, which opens up and scrolls hand-written credits. The Tung Ah lasts 140:11, while the Universe lasts 145:21. The "remastered" Universe is missing a bit of dialogue between 'Sai Yuk' and 'Tiger Lui': "OK!", "Siu Wan, try him out" and a snippet of the fight between 'Sai Yuk' and 'Or Yee Tor' as the former attempts to grab for the rope.
Fong Sai Yuk II
Taiwanese DVD runs longer than the HK prints. The biggest difference is in the song that Mrs. Fong sings in the beginning. On the Taiwanese cut, the flashbacks aren't monotone and degraded, and there are more of them. There are several other additional shots in this segment as well. The credits are different - HK has English, Taiwan does not. There's a blue tint during the night fight scene between FSY and the bald guy on the Taiwanese print, but not on the HK (even though it looks like this scene is tinted in the HK trailer). In the second flashback, Li Goubang literally disappears on the HK cut as he's trying to get away from Mrs. Fong (complete with sound effect). This gag is missing from the Taiwanese cut, as he just walks off-screen. The montage of FSY arriving for the wedding contest is different on the two prints (different shots). The from-the-back nude shots of Li Goubang in the tub are missing from the Taiwan version, but this has a couple of additional shots during the scene where FSY's head is being ground into the ladder during the scaffold battle near the end.
Forbidden City Cop
Mei Ah DVD is cut from a scene where Carman Lee (or a stuntman) pours hot wax on her wrist for real (easy to notice as there is a jump in the film/soundtrack at edit point). The Australian 'Siren' VHS has this sequence uncut.
The 14 Amazons
The Celestial DVD is minutes shorter than the uncut version, which is currently unavailable anywhere.
Full Contact
The Mei Ah DVDs are uncut despite the inaccurate Cat II rating on the packaging. The theatrical release trimmed some of the more violent moments such as stabbings, bullet impacts and blood spurts. The US Columbia disc is also intact, but has an alternate music track. The MIHK VHS is cut by 34 secs for banned weaponry. The other violence is intact. The HKL DVD is uncut and contains the same workprint soundtrack as Columbia edition.
Fulltime Killer
An alternate ending played in Malaysia. It ends before Inspector Lee exits the café and realizes that Miss Chin's version of the story may not be the real one. Also, new footage is inserted of the authorities apprehending one of the killers after their climactic duel.
Girl on Fire (aka Girl on Rock)
Eastern Heroes tape is missing approx 4m of footage found in the uncut Hollywood East tape. BBFC cuts required the removal of a knife being run down a female drug courier's back; the forced stripping and subsequent rape of a gangster's moll. Distributor pre-cuts are likely to have removed more of the knife being run over the courier's body, specifically her naked breast and groin area. Any further cuts are unconfirmed.
God of Cookery
Universe DVD is cut from its original theatrical version. Small snippets of jokes throughout the film have been trimmed. In the scene where one of the gang members reveals to Stephen Chow that Karen Mok has always been in love with him, they joke among themselves first; and one of the lines refers to how one of the guys enjoys one of the other guy's mom's cooking. The Universe VCD is almost the same cut as the DVD, but contains at least one addition: an SFX sequence during the cook-off.
God of Gamblers
The original HK DVD release of this popular title was abridged to under 2 hours. The remastered DVDs from MIA (UK) and Mei Ah (HK) are fully uncut at 120/126m.
Going Home
Panorama's release of Going Home - Director's Cut adds about 4m of new footage and re-edits a sequence late in the movie. 1. Cheung asks about the significance of the clock but Chan opts not to answer. 2. Cheung has trouble sleeping and after having seen the little girl, fears going out to the hallway where the toilet is. 3. Cheung offers to buy his dad a new clock when he grows up; and Chan later correcting Cheung's way of eating. An added long shot finishes the sequence. 4. Cheung and the little girl in red play. 5. Extension to the sequence where Chan is looking for his son: He calls the police HQ and asks them to keep a look out. Subsequently, after climbing the stairs, we see signs of Chan's asthma. 6. The scene in the photo studio plays out in full now as opposed to the original version that broke up the shots; adding the photographer asking Cheung if he wants his picture taken. 7. The final scene is now: Cheung arriving home, putting a blanket over his father and finally going to sleep; fearless.
Handsome Siblings
Scholar's Taiwanese DVD is approximately 6-7m longer than Mei Ah's HK DVD, which represents the original theatrical cut. There's an extra scene where Ng Man Tat and Deannie Yip try to bribe Begger So to throw his competition with Andy Lau, and then beat him up when he refuses; also Andy's speech about his "poor family," sometime later when he offers to kill the villains, is longer on the Scholar. The introductory titles at the beginning are different on the two DVDs (and not translated on either). The end titles scroll on the Scholar disc over a freeze-frame of the last shot, but in the HK edit they fade to black, then the credits roll. Some differences in the burned English Subs: for instance, in the last title Ng suggests to Sissy that she finds a dog to make them equal; in the Taiwanese version, it has "cow" instead. The Scholar DVD is in Mandarin only and is open-matte, but the Mei Ah DVD crops the image a lot more and comes near to cutting off some of the subtitles.
Happy Together
Taiwanese cut lasts 98m, slightly longer than the 96m HK version.
Hard-Boiled
Taiwanese DVD runs a few mins longer than the HK cut and has lots of extra/extended scenes and a few sequences that have been edited together differently.
The most glaring differences between the two cuts are during the hospital evacuation sequence and the ensuing shootouts: they are edited together completely differently with shots added to and deleted from the Taiwanese disc. The DVD is Mandarin dubbed (English spoken parts intact) and it contains a different music score, at times playing music where there is none on the HK cut. Previous minor censor cuts made to UK versions have been waived for the Tartan/Prism DVDs.
Heart of Dragon
The Universe, Mega Star, Fox and HKL DVDs use the HK theatrical version of the film. The Japanese LD version contains two additional fight sequences; set in a hospital and a car park respectively. There is also one additional snippet of violence in the showdown, as Jackie impales a bad guy with a pick-axe, whom he only punches in the theatrical version. Only the Japanese version has the following: a completely new music soundtrack (no Julie Su Rui songs) with two exclusive Jackie songs sung in Japanese. Also exclusive are the out-takes. An English subtitled extended version, that has no out-takes and contains the original music, exists, but has never been legally available.
Hell'z Windstaff
Eastern Heroes DVD is letterboxed, subtitled, but cut at the very end, missing the killer blow to Hwang Jang Lee's groin. An uncut version exists in full frame and is dubbed only.
Her Vengeance
Deltamac VCD is cut for its Cat-II rating. The finale has been trimmed to remove many of the strongest moments of graphic violence. An uncensored Mega Star VCD is OOP, however that print had been shortened to 78m (PAL) as per the Cat-III theatrical release.
Hero - 1997
Universe DVD is cut for bloody violence, especially during the finale. Metrodome UK is in comparison almost uncut. The Taiwanese LD, however, features a much bloodier version of a man having his head ripped off, not present in any other edition. Here you see the actual act, blood spraying out of the body, then cut to the audience, then his falling body. The HK edit only shows the Horse Riders, then the bloody pulp of the man falling to the ground. The Chinese WA DVD is minus Anita Mui's song and is cut for Violence; mostly minor stuff, not the most bloody scenes cut in HK, although the head-ripping is even shorter than in any other version.
Heroes Two
was originally preceeded by a short subject entitled Three Styles Of The Hung Fist, which detailed the styles pertinent to Chang Cheh's Shaolin cycle, as choreographed by Liu Chia Liang. It's missing from IVL's remastered DVD/VCD releases, but appeared on pevious VHS editions.
The Heroic Trio
Disney's US DVD cut by up to 3m; to tailor the film to the American market and presumably to secure an R-rating. Eg. A fight between Invisible Woman and Number Nine results in the latter losing one of his fingers. In the HK version, Nine retrieves the severed digit and pops it into his mouth. This small bit was cut from the Miramax disc. The Universe and Tai Seng editions are uncut and original language. The MIHK tape was snipped by 4s in the UK (child cannibals urinating in fear thru their loincloths). HKL disc (currently only available through a magazine offer) is uncut.
High Risk
(Universe; first reissue) First pressing: Uncut. Second Pressing (Remastered, with EAN Code on Cover) : Cut. New Pressing (DTS): Uncut. Two confirmed cuts to the 2nd edition: 1. The first is at the very end of Jet Li's one-on-one fight with the terrorist in combat fatigues. It cuts abruptly from the light pole hitting the electric panel to Jet wiping his face. Gone is a shot of the bad guy being electrocuted and also of Jet impaling the guy with the other half of the light pole. 2. The second cut is the death of the terrorist girl (Elaine Lui) just before Jackie Cheung's fight with Billy Chow. There's about half a second missing which used to contain a brief top view of bullets rocketing through her head.
Hitman in the Hand of Buddha
The Eastern Heroes disc includes a rare workprint cut from Korea that runs a shorter 81m compared to the usual 87m HK version. Differences are as follows: 1. The HK does not contain the first fight scene where Hwang Jang Lee stops a kid from picking his pocket, nor does it contain the fight between Eddy Ko and Fan Mei Sheng over the snuff bottle [It's been suggested that this information may be inaccurate]. There are also a couple of non-fight scenes missing, mainly to do with Fan Mei San and his troupe of child thieves. 2. The KR is missing some non-fight scenes. Like the English version it does not have some of the Fan Mei San scenes. It is also missing the sequences where Hwang Jang Lee tries to get past the gatekeeper of Shaolin. Instead it cuts straight to Hwang Jang Lee training. 3. The KR does contain nearly all of the fights. The one that is missing is where Hwang Jang Lee sneaks into the abbot's quarters and secretly watches a kung fu lesson. The scene is not cut completely, but the fighting is missing. Of the rest of the fights, many contain sequences that are not included in the Mandarin or English versions; the main ones being : Hwang Jang Lee's first fight with Eddie Ko at night. There are a few sequences here not in the other two versions; Hwang Jang Lee's fight with the monks before leaving Shaolin. There are some extra slow motion sequences; Hwang Jang Lee's final fight with Tino Wong. There is a short sequence where Tino Wong tries to play dead; Hwang Jang Lee's final fight with Eddie Ko. There are some extra staff fighting bits and a short sequence where Eddie Ko uses drunken boxing techniques. 4. The KR contains an extra sequence of Hwang Jang Lee training at Shaolin with a straw dummy. 5. It does seem as if the KR has suffered from censorship as some of the more gruesome deaths are missing, such as Hwang's sister's suicide, Hwang's brother in law getting his throat cut by Tino Wong and Tino's death by drowning. In fact the whole of the rape scene between Tino and Hwang's sister is missing. The fight scenes don't appear to have been censored however. 6. The Mandarin VHS is probably the closest to being complete but it is missing some of the training and fight sequences seen in the KR version. 7. The KR carries a completely different music score to the other two.
Holy Weapon
Taiwanese DVD is longer than the HK prints.
A Home Too Far
Original Taiwanese print runs 125m compared to the 100m HK edit.
Human Lanterns [aka Human Skin Lanterns]
All Asian DVDs use a censored variant of this martial arts horror. A stronger version, with additional gore, played theatrically in some territories, and has now been released in the UK by Momentum. Chao's killing and mutilation of Yen Chu is suffers two obvious jump cuts, only a brief bit of skin peeling remains. The fate of one female victim is unseen, and Chao's murder of an elderly male is missing entirely. Some nudity has also apparently been deleted. All of this material, some 3m 31s, has been restored to the R2. However, this new print is missing 23.5s of Lo Lieh tearing some skin off his first victim, footage which can amazingly be found on the HK DVD.
[EDIT: the restored stronger R2 version has also been released on R1 DVD and it contains the missing 23.5s from the HK DVD in the extra material / Jack]
The Iceman Cometh
The old Taiwanese LD was apparently 10 mins or so longer than the standard HK cut. The UK '18' tape is censored briefly for rape. The HKL DVD is uncut with the certificate lowered to a '15'.
In The Mood For Love
An alternate ending can be found on the Criterion 2-disc DVD set.
Infernal Affairs
For the Mainland version an alternate ("politically correct") ending was used. In it Lau gets arrested when he leaves the elevator.
Iron Angels (aka Angel)
Mei Ah DVD is missing a brief shot in which Yukari Oshima's body double reveals her breasts to Alex Fong; unlike the UK prints, the violence is uncut.
[EDIT: fully uncut on English dubbed fullscreen VHS from Denmark]
The Iron-Fisted Monk
The HKL DVD has been cut 1:16 by the BBFC to remove graphic depictions of rape. Uncut versions are available from Fox (R1) and Deltamac (R3/6).
Island of Fire
(HKL/Columbia) Uses the abridged HK edit of this Taiwanese film at 92m (PAL). The original director's cut is available on Scholar's DVD in Taiwan running 125m. Several English dubbed editions known as The Prisoner are similarly cut. The cuts mainly remove narrative and character develpment, including an entire subplot involving a prisoner's grandmother. The International and HK cuts add a tiny amount of extra Jackie Chan footage, when he meets his girlfriend, not in the original version.
Jiang Hu
On the DVD version by Mei-Ah, 20 minutes, including a bestiality scene, is cut from the movie itself. However, on the 2 disc edition, a second disk including the extras shows all the deleted scenes, including the controversial bestiality scene.
Just Heroes
MIA's UK VHS uses the full uncut version, rather than the censored HK theatrical release. Multiple cuts were required to tone down the gorier violence; an obvious example being Chow Sing Chi's stabbing death. Additionally, two key scenes are missing from the HK release. In the first David Chiang visits a suicidal Chen Kuan Tai, only to find old flame Tien Niu lying in his garden bleeding to death. With her last breath she whispers something to Chiang then dies. Second edit takes place during the finale when Chiang talks to Chen before the shooting starts. He reveals what it was Tien told him.
[EDIT: the full uncut version is now also on French DVD, no English subs]
Justice, My Foot!
(Universe; re-issue) First edition: DVD 1001. Jewel case only. It is uncut, identical to Universe's previous laserdisc release. It has no menu and non-removable subs. Second edition: DVD 5001. It has a menu and removable subs. This is the DVD that is missing a line of dialogue: "I will take half (of the gold) even if I lose".
The Killer
Most DVD releases are taken from the 111m dir's cut; the Taiwanese DVD runs 124m and the Taiwanese VHS 136m. Some of the missing scenes can be found on the Criterion and HKL editions.
Killing End
Modern's DVD of Herman Yau's film represents the theatrical release as cut for content in order to avoid a Cat-III rating.
Lai Shi, China's Last Eunuch
Narrative scenes cut from the Universe DVD. 1. On the (uncut) tape (but not on the DVD) after the kids get some food at the eunuch's house, the next scene is a meal at Lai Chi's home. The father explains that when he was young his uncle wanted to make him a eunuch, and if that had happened they would be rich. The kids get very excited at the idea of being rich, but then the dad tells them that if he had been castrated none of them would have been born. 2. After Lai Shi's mother whips him for wanting to be "snipped," the kids talk about the pros and cons of snipping. Because the rich eunuch in their town has three wives they think that eunuchs can be married and they joke that Tsouti (the main girl) will marry the first one who gets snipped. 3. Also on the tape the scene where the kids watch the rich eunuch returning to town goes on longer and Tsouti picks up a toddler so the little kid can have a better view. The toddler's bottom is briefly visible. I don't know if that would be a reason for cutting the scene. I assume the other scenes were cut for time, but they do help in understanding Lai Shi's motivation and also develop the relationships with his father and with Tsouti. 4. But the main difference is in the castration itself. After Lai Shi's father cuts with the blade and Lai Shi falls back, we see blood and he writhes around. The father, blood on his hand, runs out screaming, in shock. The DVD ends the scene here. On the tape, Lai Shi discovers that the attempt has not been successful -- his stuff is still there. He screams for help, but the dad is in no shape to help anyone. There is more screaming. Finally Lai Shi crawls over to the blade and completes his castration himself. This is a very powerful scene, and I can only surmise it was cut because it is so strong. Certainly anyone who has seen it will never forget it --particularly if they weren't prepared for it. 5. Other differences are minor. The introductory stuff on the DVD about the history of eunuchs is not on the tape. And the tape has a couple of title cards giving historical information that are not on the DVD. Altogether the tape is about 5 minutes longer.
Last Hero in China
Taiwanese version is slightly longer.
The Legendary Couple
The Mercury DVD is a different cut of the film running 93m. The HK versions (Widesight DVD, Fitto VCD) run 83m and are edited to run chronologically. The Malaysian version, however, opens up with a great action sequence, where Simon Yam mows down a building-full of coke dealers, while Chingmy Yau sticks a gun in a policeman's crotch. The Widesight disc unfolds chronologically, however, showing Simon's descent into crime (this comes as a flashback in the Malaysian version, nearly an hour into the film).
Little Cheung
The Japanese DVD (Columbia Music Entertainment) is missing some brief dialogue compared to the HK VCD. At approx 70m, during the dinner scene with Fan's family, we hear Mr. Gin knocking on the door to ask the whereabouts of Little Cheung. The following three lines are cut from the JP DVD, but retained on the HK VCD:
"I was told that my son and your daughter are friends. I would like to talk to her."
"Come in"
"Thank you, sorry to bother you."
Taiwanese print runs 114m compared to 97min HK cut.
The Long Goodbye
Mei Ah's DVD has been abridged to 84m. The old VHS with original title The Head Hunter is an uncut 98m; the non-subtitled Star LD runs 96m. The DVD cuts out Flora Cheung's appearance in the disco, some sex scenes with Chow Yun Fat; amongst other assorted bits. The biggest edit cincerns the subplot dealing with chemical warfare sales and a Cold War slant. The intro credits are also different, as are character names. For instance, Chow formerly Nguyen Dich becomes Yuen Lick; Rosamund Kwan was Vickie Lee, now she's Or Pui Lam. Also in the VHS the end credits start to roll with a shot of Chow leaning against a wall, whilst in the DVD they play over Rosamund's face. The DVD appears to have been redubbed: Tang Ching's character has a different voice. The US Treeline DVD is uncut, but alas, English dubbed.
The Lotus Lamp
Celestial's VCD/DVD versions are missing a key song sequence when Lin Dai's son is making the heavenly axe and the heavenly dog approaches him. Both engage in a witty song. This scene is available on an old VHS tape only.
Love to Kill
(City Connection) DVD is missing a close-up of Anthony Wong removing Julie Lee's panties in the Rape Scene, revealing her Pubic Hair. This Shot was included in the HK LD/VHS Version, but also shortened; however, that edit was butchered beyond belief, cutting even sexual dialogue. The theatrical release was also trimmed. CC's DVD's Cantonese track is mastered from that HK Print, resulting in double lines when previously missing scenes occur. The subtitled Taiwan DVD has all scenes intact except the rape, which is most complete on the HK DVD. Note: The DVD is sans subtitles. No 100% uncut version is known to exist.
The Lucky Guy
DVD includes deleted scenes.
Lunch With Charles
HK version is considerably shorter than the Canadian cinema print, which reportedly runs 110m, compared to the Widesight DVD's 94m. No information on missing scenes.
Mad Mission (aka Aces Go Places)
International Edit (Anchor Bay DVD) is missing two scenes: One with the photographer who leads Karl and Sam to the taxicab dispatcher; the other, the romantic musical interlude that follows Sylvia and Karl's "romantic" dinner scene. Unlike other the films in this series, there doesn't seem to be any additional material added. HK version available from Universe as Aces Go Places.
Mad Mission 3 (aka Aces Go Places III)
International Edit (ABE DVD) omits many of the comedy scenes between Karl Maka, Sylvia Chang and Baldy Jr., but adds much more of Peter Graves. HK version available from Universe as Aces Go Places III
Mad Mission 4 (aka Aces Go Places IV)
International Edit (AVE DVD) adds a sequence at the beginning where a professor is stabbed to death outside of a restaurant, and first alerts Sam to the crystal that becomes the film's plot device. Also most of the final scene has been removed. HK version available from Universe as Aces Go Places IV
The Man From Hong Kong
The HK VCD, taken from the local VHS release, has been cut severely throughout for its action seqeunces. An example of which is Wang Yu and Sammo Hung's prison fight. The R4 DVD is the uncut version, but cropped to 1.85. The German and Dutch VHS were uncut too.
Master With Cracked Fingers
(Xenon/Eastern Heroes) Re-edited with faux Jackie/Drunken Master footage shot in 1978 by producer Dick Randall. This altered version has also been release as Snake Fist Fighter. The rare original print Cub Tiger From Kwantung is available on DVD in Japan only.
Millionaires' Express
An alternative cut has been released on LD by Tai Seng and on DVD by Spike in Japan and in the UK by HKL. The bandit trying to rape Cynthia Rothrock is present only in this cut; some additional material featuring Yuen Biao is exclusive to this cut, inclduing a kiss. Universe presents the original theatrical cut on disc and includes the following footage not in the HKL cut: Sammo making some speech about the prostitutes near the beginning; Corey Yuen's fight Scene in the finale (where he actually seems to die!) ; also there's no hiding in the Toilets during the finale. It's the same as the very old HK LD released by STAR (cropboxed, no subs).
A Moment of Romance 2
(Universe) Cut for violence.
Moon Warriors
The Taiwanese DVD from Scholar has a theme song performed by Andy Lau (rather than Sally Yeh) and is missing his character's voiceover explaining how he got out of the cave; now just the sound of wind is audible. It also has about three minutes of bonus footage of Andy and the Whale, set to music, after the credits. HKL doesn't have the Whale footage either, it uses the Sally Yeh song.
Mr. Canton & Lady Rose
Taiwanese version runs a few minutes longer.
My Father is a Hero
The audio on the remastered anamorphic DVD misses an insult during the finale (just before the trio of villians start kicking Kung Wei all at once): The line "Kui Lo Mo" (His/Her Mum - one of those general insults that doesn't have an English equivilent) has been deleted. It can be heard correctly on the non-anamorphic DVD.
Naked Killer
(Mei Ah) The original theatrical version was cut by the censors to remove bloody violence and profane dialogue, in spite of the Cat-III tag. This print was released on VCD and DVD by Mei Ah. Mega Star later issued the film in an extended director's cut that not only restored the censored dialogue (references to a severed penis originally "bleeped" out) and violence (When Carrie Ng crushes a man's head with bar-bells, blood spurts out; the killing of the rapist in the cellar is trimmed too) but included several new scenes such as one between Kitty and Sister Cindy (with pronounced lesbian overtones). The HKL DVD is the same dir's cut as per the Mega Star disc. On the Taiwanese VHS, the scene at the police station at the beginning of the film is longer. On the Japanese VHS, there is a 3-4 min scene where Carrie meets up with the Japanese that places the hit on a certain character in the film. It's a must for Carrie fans as she acts like a complete badass, pushing people around and not taking shit. Neither the complete police station scene nor Carrie's scene mentioned above are present on the Mega Star or HKL DVD. On the German tape Chingmy Yau plays an Undercover Cop and has a happy ending together with Simon Yam. The erstwhile deleted scene with Carrie is there also. It however removes all the lesbianism and the violence is trimmed as per the HK Cinema version. Runs 76m (@PAL speed).
The New One-Armed Swordsman
Celestial's Mandarin language release is missing a giant bloodspurt from Chen Sing's death sequence. This brief footage (a matter of frames) can be found in the English dubbed versions, as can several other snippets trimmed for print damage.
No Retreat No Surrender
Universal's R2 DVD contains the original 94m/98m version of Yuen Kwai's film, as opposed to the abridged 80m/84m International cut, which removed some of the "dramatic" sequences (Jason arguing with his Dad, the Dad recovering in hospital, the fat bully lazing around and chasing after T.J, etc...) and during the final scene, the juxtaposition of Jason's training matched against his actual movements beating Van Damme's villain. The short edit does have one sequence not in the longer print and that's of Jason reuniting with girlfriend Kelly and a subsequent romantic montage. The music score was also re-done for the shorter cut, and is generally regarded as an improvement. The OOP EIV tape was slightly censored as per the UK cinema version, deleting shots of Jason's Bruce Lee poster (he's holding nunchakus!!) as well as stomach punches and an elbow to the throat.
No Retreat No Surrender 2
Universal's R2 offers the long 105m/110m version of Yuen Kwai's Raging Thunder; although a video-generated title has been superimposed, marking this falsely as a sequel as per the shorter 87m/91m print. One cut, however, has been made by the BBFC to remove cruelty against a live Snake (this scene was not in the abridged edit). The R4 should be uncut. The additional footage includes a whole section from the first third of the movie. We now see Loren Avedon renting his seedy hotel room, contacting his girlfriend by phone, going on a date with her, and then finally back to his room for sex. Avedon's post-arrest Police interrogation is also missing. Footage showing the Viet Cong training camp has been trimmed too.
No Retreat No Surrender 3
As with "Part 2" Universal appends a new title card to alter the fact that Blood Brothers has nothing to with either of the aforementioned movies. Universal again uses an uncut print, running 98m/102m, and restoring many "dramatic" scenes cut for International consumption (mostly stuff that spells out the plot). The old EIV tape (short 91m/95m version) was also pre-cut to remove brief shots of a pair of nunchaku and a butterfly knife; these too have been restored.
Nomad
(Mei Ah) DVD is cut down to 86 minutes to achieve [IIb] rating, reportedly the Mei Ah VHS and VCD are longer and (possibly) uncut. Original opening credits are also missing; just like on their Coolie Killer, Odd Couple & Dirty Tiger Crazy Frog.
On The Run
(Mega Star/Deltamac/Pioneer) Final scene at the docks has been removed. The MIHK tape contains the uncut version.
Once Upon a Time in China II
Longer Taiwanese contains additionals scenes not in the HK prints and a re-cap of Part 1 played under the opening credits.
Organized Crime & Triad Bureau
HK theatrical version suffered violence cuts for a Cat-II rating. The Tai Seng DVD represents the full uncut version.
Paramount Motel Widesight's DVD appears to be cut during an early scene of dental torture; most likely censored for its IIB theatrical rating.
Peace Hotel
The 16:9/DTS re-issue from Mei Ah is missing a fight scene in a hotel and may be taken from the original theatrical print. The older standard edition is the longer video version. It appears as though Optimum's UK disc is also the extended cut.
Pedicab Driver
The old laserdisc is slightly cut. Missing is the aftermath of Sammo Hung's spinning kick to a bodyguard as he enters the villains lair. Cut is the final part of the shot of the guard falling after the kick and almost all sight of his body on the ground (only a few frames of this are on the LD). The MIHK's tape is uncut.
[EDIT: the MIHK tape also represents proper English subtitles in contradiction to the laserdisc's subs in wobbly English]
Police Story
The Japanese LD contained additional book-end scenes: a birthday party/character introducion at the opening and a brief wrap-up outside the shopping mall for closure. All DVDs are taken from the original HK print. The LD also had alternate out-takes that replaced the ones on the HK print. The American video version is heavily cut to 89m, losing a number of comedy seqeunces such as Jackie's phone juggling, and has been rescored by either Kevin Bassington or J. Peter Robinson, depending on which edition you're watching.
Police Story II
The Japanese LD runs 122m (NTSC) compared to the 106m HK cut and the 96m English Dub. No additional action in any version; but dialogue and comedy are expanded upon to varying degrees. The Jap LD allows many scenes to play out longer and at a slower pace, such as the cops' surveillance and Jackie talking to Maggie outside her apartment. It is also missing the correct theme song. The International cut is missing the scene when Jackie and Uncle Bill visit an office to plant a bug; this is in both Asian versions. The Jap LD contains extended out-takes too. The IVL DVD uses the extended JP edit, with incorrect song, but curiously has the HK outtakes.
Prison on Fire II
(Universe/Mega Star) A shot of Chow Yun-fat stabbing Elvis Tsui in the eye with a sharpened toothbrush has been cut. After a while, the security guard pulls the toothbrush out of his eye. That is missing as well. But, the crazy thing is the sound of the toothbrush going into his eye can be heard. All currently known versions appear to be similarly cut.
The Prodigal Son
(Mega Star/Universe) The MS DVD (created for the Korean market) is missing a Peking Opera performance. The Universe disc is also slightly cut: The scene where Yuen Biao's servant Chan Lung beats him with a pole was shortened by just a couple of secs. (The cut was done most likely because there was excessive print damage on that particular spot in the film.) HKL is uncut.
Profile In Anger
The WA Mainland DVD is missing nudity (for instance, Phillip Ko) but features more violence than the HK Deltamac VCD. Mega Star's old fullscreen VCD was complete but unsubtitled. Reason clearly being that Deltamac used a theatrical print, whilst Mega Star extended theirs.
The Rape After
The old HK tape is missing some gore that is uncut on the Japanese VHS.
[EDIT: the HK VCD is uncut]
Raped By an Angel
(Universe) Rape sequences cut to obtain a Cat-III classification. The UK DVD from MIA (Naked Killer 2) is missing an additional 11 mins (!) of censorship edits. The Taiwanese DVD from Scholar is a completely different edit of the movie. All full frontal nudity is cut, but additional "humiliating" scenes not found in any HK version, have been added. Making the villain appear even more disgusting. A completely new scene of the villain bringing home a retarded man (who appears early on in the HK version) and forcing him to have sex with the bound Ng Suet Man is exclusive to the Taiwanese cut, as are some dialogue exchanges during the rape scenes.
Raped By an Angel 2: The Uniform
Fan Mei Ah's DVD/VCD releases contain cuts made for theatrical release to obtain a more commercial Cat-IIB classification.
Raped By An Angel 4: The Rapist's Union
China Star's DVD/VCD releases contain cuts made for theatrical release to obtain a more commercial Cat-IIB classification.
Red to Kill
(Universe/Ocean Shores) DVDs cut as per the HK theatrical release. No details as yet.
Return to a Better Tomorrow
(Universe/MIA) The HK DVD is missing some violence as per the theatrical version. The UK disc is similarly cut, possibly more so?
Righting Wrongs
The International prints feature alternate scenes to the HK release. Whereas the latter sees Cynthia Rothrock harrassing Yuen Biao in court and at traffic lights; the former has more of Fan Siu Wong and his Grandpa, Lau Siu Ming and the executed family near the beginning. The ending too was re-shot: instead of Cynthia and Biao dying, they both improbably survive; he goes to jail. The Taiwanese VHS has the HK ending, but adds a voiceover explaining that Biao's character has to be imprisoned for his vigilante actions.
The Romancing Star
(Mei Ah) This DVD is missing at least two scenes: one where Chow Yun Fat's friends are arranging a date at various times; and another during the closing credits that shows one of Chow's friends begging in the street. Both of these scenes are in the Thai DVD. It has been suggested that the Mei Ah VCD may be uncut. Mei Ah have reissued this DVD in an uncut state. A DTS logo has been added to the packaging by way of identification.
Run and Kill
(Universe) HK DVD is cut as per theatrical version. The German DVD is based on a complete print, but is heavily censored for violence. However, it contains the following additional footage: Kent Cheng wanders the streets after finding out his wife is cheating on him; the blood-letting sequence is badly cut in Germany, but still has shots missing from the HK edit; two scenes of Simon Yam walking in darkness - first in the forest, then later in the warehouse.
[EDIT: the Austrian DVD is fully uncut, it has English subtitles]
Saviour of the Soul
(Universe; re-issue) A few lines of Anita Mui's dialogue are missing from the remastered DVD.
Saviour Of The Soul II
The Taiwanese Scholar DVD is significantly longer (115m) than the Universe HK disc (92m). It seems to be not so much a matter of extra scenes, but extended versions of the scenes that are in the HK version.
School on Fire
Cut for its original theatrical release to remove socio-political commentary and violence. No DVD to date, but the VCD is as cut. The Taiwanese prints were shorn to approx 60 mins!
The Seventh Curse
An extended epilogue exists on the German DVD and Japanese LD. This reportedly lasts 2 minutes.
Sex & Zen
MIA's UK DVD has been cut 4:21 by the BBFC.
Sex & Zen 2
Australian DVD from Force Video (English Dub) is obviously based on the original uncut print. All known Cantonese Versions are cut by about 1:30m of footage: The jack-off contest is a bit more extreme, Shi Qi's rape scene with the candle. (This footage was in its entirety in the photobook for the movie, too). MIA's UK DVD is missing 3:19 of BBFC cuts.
Shaolin Invincible Sticks
Vengeance's UK DVD is missing over 5m of weapons footage (nunchakus) cut from the old BBFC-approved VHS (the transfer source).
The Shaolin Temple
The Remastered 16:9 HK DVD from Mei Ah is cut 5s for violence at 61m when a man gets stabbed in the groin by Jet Li. Export editions contain the scene suggesting local censorship. The German VHS is uncut; Eastern Heroes' UK disc has the stabbing, but misses 8s of a (real) lamb being slaughtered, courtesy of the BBFC.
Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin
US DVD editions from Simitar and Columbia are cut as follows: 1. A Shop Owner spies a boy stealing food and runs toward him (22s). 2. During an attempt to free Jackie Chan from Nora Miao's prison, a 2m, 2s chunk of fight footage is missing. 3. The Gold Transport attack is cut by 57s, again from one large mid-section. 4. Before the final fights, the villain talks for 22s more to the Monk. 5. Jackie's duel against the three Spear Fighters is cut by 75s (again, an entire section). All of these cuts can be easily spotted when one is aware of their place: large black bars are visible for a few frames, then it cuts. All other versions display complete fights (German & French DVDs, UK & French VHS'); but some have dialogue cuts.
The Soong Sisters
(Mei Ah) This HK-Chinese co-production, dealing openly with political themes, suffered the wrath of Mainland censors and was, after being delayed for over a year, abridged by nearly 20 mins before release in either territory. Several scenes were deleted: including one of Mei-Ling and Ching-Ling parachuting together. The running time of the (edited) film was just under 2-1/2 hours. The version on the laserdisc and tape is 136m; Mei Ah ''accidently" left out some footage. Their DVD inexplicably runs an even shorter 128m. A remastered DVD (also from Mei Ah) now runs at 145m and is the most complete edition available.
Soul Brothers of Kung Fu
The Xenon video has 2 different endings of the film. The one used in the film itself has Carl Scott's character hung from a tree dead. The other ending, however, is far different in that Carl Scott first runs into Ku Feng's character and the two of them fight first. Soon after, Bruce arrives and finds Carl tied to a tree still alive, rather than hanging dead from an overhanging branch. Aside from this, Feng's death is far more graphic showing a pseudo-X-Ray shot of Bruce's index finger buried into Feng's heart. Bruce then pulls his finger out, causing the heart to squirt out blood and then finally finishes off Feng with two fingers stabbing his throat, and Feng spitting out blood. Shortly after Feng falls dead to the ground, Carl runs over to Bruce and says "Hey man, okay?". The shot then freeze frames with Bruce and Carl looking off into the horizon with the end of the "theme" (Bill Conti's "The Final Bell" from Rocky) playing. While unconfirmed, it is likely the upbeat, albeit more violent, ending was used for the limited unrated US release (under the title Kung Fu Avengers) while the downbeat, but cut, ending was used originally for the wide R-rated US release (under the more popular title of Soul Brothers of Kung Fu) as well as the UK release. The Xenon video version is actually more or less an exclusive "hybrid" version of the film. The video itself is actually taken from a widescreen PAL video from Germany under the title of "Bruce Li - Die Killerkralle", which explains the freeze frame logo at the beginning of the film (to remove the German title). However, the English audio is taken from the original pan and scan US video release under the title of "Kung Fu Avengers". The use of the German version explains why there are certain scenes missing, such as Feng's extended death scene, as well as additional bits that were cut throughout the film such as the deaths of Lee Hoi San's and Alexander Grand's characters. The "alternate ending" featured on the video is actually taken from the above mentioned "Kung Fu Avengers" video.
The Sword
(Deltamac) Some violence appears to have been trimmed from both this DVD edition and Mega Star's previous VCD incarnation (example: someone having their head chopped off). The Mainland WA DVD is uncut, but dubbed in Mandarin.
Swordsman II
(Mei Ah/Disney) A shot of blood cascading from Invincible Asia's body has been trimmed from the HK version, but is present in the 4-mins longer Taiwanese edition. Some more spurting blood and a head rolling down stairs has been cut from the US DVD (Legend of the Swordsman) for an R-rating. The Disney disc shortens the film to 99m from the 108m original.
Tai Chi Master
Taiwanese DVD is longer than the HK prints.
A Taste of Killing and Romance
(China Star/Universe) CS DVD slightly cut; Universe: many more cuts in addition to CS cuts. No legally available uncut version. The Universe DVD apparently runs several mins longer than the theatircal release however.
Ten Brothers
Taiwanese Ritek DVD is 88m, whereas the Mei Ah and APS (Thailand) DVDs run 100m. In addition to a number of smaller cuts, the Ritek DVD omits the banquet scene (with the spiders and worms), the scene with Elvis Tsui and the young whores, the scene with the guy who helps Prawn tunnel out of his prison cell, and the last 30 seconds or so of the film! On the other hand, the Taiwanese cut isn't simply an edit of the other - the transition at the end is smooth (insofar as the music cue is concerned), and there are differences at the beginning with the titles and music.
There's a Secret in My Soup
(Universe) The manufacturers of "Hello Kitty" requested that all sight of their product be removed from this gory Cat-III, so digital blocking has been superimposed over Kitty in the DVD/VCD; Kitty was originally scratched out for theatrical prints.
Tiger Cage 2
An alternate "censorship" ending was shot for certain restrictive markets so that it is now cop Cynthia Khan who delivers the fatal shot and not Rosamund Kwan - who in the original HK print bashes Robin Shou's gangster's head in - removing the notion of unacceptable vigilante justice. Additionally a coda was included on export prints. The now OOP WA DVD, as expected, features the Hong Kong take on this sequence.
EDIT: the alternative ending was released on English dubbed VHS in the UK from Popular Progress. The entire lead-up to the final scene is different and the alternative version doesn't provide a "fatal shot" as the main bad guy survives in this version /Jack
The Tigers
Australian DVD (English dubbed, but possibly taken from a Taiwanese print?) runs 123m compared to the original HK edit which runs a much shorter 101m (PAL) as seen on the Universe DVD and Eastern Heroes VHS.
To Kill a Jaguar
(Celestial) The Celestial DVD seems to be missing some footage in at least three places due to local censorship. 1. When Tsung Hua confronts Franke Wei in his office, guys suddenly appear behind Frankie with knives. 2. Ling Yun is pointing a gun at Tsung Hua. Quick cut to Tsung pining Tony against the wall. How did that happen? 3. The opening with Nora Miao (and her body double), which then erupts into a Fight, also contains noticable Cuts.
The Top Bet
Mega Star DVD fails to translate the footage that plays under the end credits. The Deltamac DVD, however, does. The Mega Star VCD is reportedly missing a scene found in both DVDs.
Trilogy of Lust
No DVD, but the theatrical and VCD releases are cut to remove all hardcore pornographic material; around 4-6m worth in total. The uncensored variant clocks in at around 89/90m.
Trilogy of Lust 2 (?)
Dvd is cut as per the cinema version. Trimmed by about 5 or 6m, only two hardcore sequences were ever present in the film (the unsimulated use of a dildo & close-ups during Lee's hair-brush masturbation); these were naturally among the censor edits. Additionally, most every scene that involves violence has been shortened for the HK release, and both rape scenes have been modified (the final one rather drastically). The uncut export print runs around 95m.
Tsui Hark's Vampire Hunters
(Col/Tri) Abridged to 89m from the original 108m
Era of Vampires. The ending has been changed among other tonal elements.
[EDIT: the original Era of Vampires version is on English subtitled DVD in Singapore]
Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars
(Universe) Short comedy scene where the Lucky Stars shake Pepsi bottles has been trimmed. HKL is uncut. The English dub is missing the theme song vocals.
The Untold Story
The City Connection DVD release is fully uncut as per the Tai Seng edition with all cuts for gore and rape restored from the trimmed HK theatrical release. The cut print was originally shown on VCD.
Victim - 1999
The VCD contains an alternate ending from the original DVD and theatrical releases, in which a ghost can be seen leaving Lau Ching Wan's body.
Visible Secret
Japanese DVD has the deleted subway scenes featuring Jo Kuk. These were cut before release in Hong Kong.
A Warrior's Tragedy
Winson DVD runs 105m, contains the complete story but is "seriously" abbreviated to the point that it becomes borderline incoherent. Lots of details are left out, including several character introductions & motivations. The original two-parter released on laserdisc & VCD only contains about 150m of unique footage as Pt. 1 has a preview of Pt. 2 at the end, and Pt. 2 has a 15 minute (!) recap of Pt. 1 at the start. It's still not "uncut", as it's missing footage that's in the Taiwanese version (Some dialogue when the guests first meet at Man Ma hall, The scene introducing Anita Yuen's character, Ma Hung Kwan arriving at Tin Pak Wan's place). The Taiwanese version lasts 126m and isn't too badly cut - the scenes that are missing aren't that important (the relationship between Fu Hung Suet & Tsui Loon is the main casualty, and is almost entirely gone) and it contains some scenes not in the 2-parter that make the film flow better. The DVD is dubbed in Mandarin, however. Yet another version retitled The Invincible Power of Kindness has been butchered to a mere 90m and is probably not worth considering.
We're Going to Eat You
The Mei Ah VCD is missing some of the gorier bits. 37 seconds (in five different sequences) are missing from the Hongkong version of the film. Was released uncut in France and Belgium on tape, but these versions are now out of print.
Wheels on Meals
Universe DVD is missing two comedy sequences present in all other prints: Jackie and Biao wash a van; Sammo visits a bistro. The Mega Star disc is the uncut HK version, but is still short of a shot of Biao using a knife to cut the ropes that bind his hands. This shot is in the English dub, which contains an alternative up-tempo soundtrack. Japanese edition features exclusive out-takes. HKL and Spectrum releases are identical to the Mega Star.
Young and Dangerous 4
Malaysian version uses an alternate "censorship" ending in which it's revealled that Ekin Cheng is actually an undercover cop(!)
The Young Master
The English dub has been abridged by 15 mins; truncating every single fight sequence by about half. This print does contain two short character scenes between Jackie Chan and Wei Pai not in the Chinese cut; an alternate music score by Japanese musicians and exclusive theme song ("Kung Fu Fighting Man") performed by Jackie in English. The two HK DVDs, the Fox and the HKL are all the original versions. The international cut is available on a US bootleg disc and contains a scene absent from the HK cut when Fung Fung, Hwang In-sik and Wei Pei meet in the town to discuss the bank robbery.
Zu: Warriors From the Magic Mountain
The English dub is of a totally different edit to the Cantonese dir's cut and was prepared by Golden Harvest without Tsui Hark's input or approval. The dub contains 30 mins of modern-day reshoot footage (with Yuen Biao and Moon Lee) that serves as a story frame for fantasy flashbacks, which are pruned down versions of the original sequences. The Cantonese print plays as a straight fantasy and runs 96m.
Thanks to all the forum members who have contributed to this thread.
Special thanks to: Wasted Life.
Good quality video-cd from Celestial.
Rare Spanish dubbed VHS from the US (courtesy of Jayson/BoGD)
ALUCARDA
Director: Juan Lopez Moctezuma
Cast: Tina Romero, Susana Kamini, Claudio Brook, David Silva...
Mexico/USA 1975 [actually it's NOT a co-production with the USA/Jack]
Running Time: 75 Minuten
aka INNOCENTS FROM HELL
review by GÜNTER MÜLLER
'More blood, loud screaming and nudity than any horror film I can think of', says Psychotronic Video Guide editor Michael Weldon. And it's hard to contradict him.
After reading a review in my favourite magazine (Is it) Uncut (?) a few days ago I immediately knew: I gotta see this film! So I ordered it at Blackstar UK and after a week I received the disc. When I put it into my DVD player I must admit that my expectations were very high... and even those high expectations are exceeded with ease! The film was released by Pete Tombs' DVD label 'Mondo Macabro'. It is full uncut and in a wonderful quality considering that the movie is 28 years old. As extras Pete added a stills gallery, a bio- and filmography of the director (who died in 1995 and who worked together with Alejandro Jodorowski on FANDO Y LIS and EL TOPO; seems he learned a lot from him, particularly relating to surrealism), an interview with the director (that was made in 1977), plus a very interesting documentary on the Mexican horror film. Hallelujah!
[The documentary Günter Müller refers to is unfortunately only included on the UK reg. 2 version of the DVD. Mondo Macabro couldn't include it on the reg. 1 DVD as it contains film clips which they didn't own the copyrights for for the US market /Jack]
ALUCARDA kicks off with Justine (whose parents just died) arriving at a convent which will be her new home. She is received very friendly and almost immediately makes friends with a young woman... the beautiful Alucarda. When they meet a strange gypsy he leads them to his resting place where his wife tries to read the future from Justine's plam ('Shadows and Darkness'). Meanwhile the man shows Alucarda an odd amulet. On the way home they visit an eerie crypt and make a pact ('If we ever depart from this live we shall do it together'). When Alucarda opens a coffin countless voices attack her mind and she runs away in terror. Later, in their room, the mysterious gypsy appears again and the two fall under his spell. A blood pact is made, a ceremony in the woods follows, and even the devil himself seems to make an appearance shortly before the ceremony turns into a sex orgy. Back at the convent it doesn't take very long and the nuns and monks notice that something is very wrong with Alucarda and Justine. From this moment on all hell breaks loose in the convent...
It is pretty easy for me to review ALUCARDA because I can't find any negative point. All things match perfectly. There's the wonderful atmosphere of the film that is both mysterious and scary, sad and satanic, despairing and hopeless! The story moves along pretty lively and contains some nice surprises. Watching ALUCARDA makes you wonder if you are seeing an European movie that combines gothic horror with nunsploitation. There are wonderful sets with creaking doors, cobwebbed furniture, scary statues and mummified corpses, in contrast to praying nuns, shining figures of saints and burning candles. The actors and actresses aren't excellent but they are perfect for this kind of movie, above all Tina Romero as Alucarda. She is so convincing in her role, so vulnerable and sympathetic, that her subsequent destiny is very moving. On the other hand it is not so easy to feel sympathy for the 'good guys' (the priests), especially when they search with a steel pin for the 'Mark of the Devil' on a naked girl who is tied helplessly to a cross. The soundtrack underlines the proceedings effectively, and a few sound effects are excellent and cause goosebumps to appear on my hands and back. Also I can't critisize the camerawork, the editing and the direction. Top notch! In the second half of the film enough is happening to make three or four movies out of it. There is flagellation, torture, an exorcism, nuns rolling on the ground in ecstasy, much full frontal nudity, a bloodbath in the true meaning of the word, a gory decapitation and much much more. And the fiery showdown doesn't need to hide behind the spectacular climax in Brian de Palma's CARRIE.
ALUCARDA is a brilliant horror film from a time that brought us many gems. Even if some sequences of the movie are pretty hard and unpleasant to watch, the whole movie is very exciting and entertaining. Just keep repeating: it's only a movie... only a movie... And ALUCARDA belongs to the kind of movie that gets under your skin.. and very deeply at that. At least as far as I'm concerned. So I recommend ALUCARDA to all people who have a weakness for 1970s horror films, or who have a soft spot for obscure and strange movies. And of course to all the people who have enough of screaming American teenies, soullessly directed horror shockers constructed by rote, or SFX overkills bristling with state-of-the-art CGI. If you don't belong to those categories you'd better save the money...
Anyway, in my opinion, ALUCARDA is THE film discovery of the young year (on a par with the ultra-rare Hong Kong shocker THE WITCH WITH FLYING HEAD (1977) which I finally got into my trembling fingers). A few days ago I didn't even know that this film exists, and now it is in my collection and I'm totally enthusiastic about it. I really do think that ALUCARDA is among the very best of 1970s horror films. To end my raving review the same way that I started it here's another quotation from the Psychotronic Video Guide. '...the strongest, most imaginative, and visual witch movie since Ken Russell's THE DEVILS.' To be honest, I think that ALUCARDA stomps THE DEVILS into the ground...
One more thing: I don't think that the catholic church will ever recommend ALUCARDA. I however do it all the more so...
----------------------------------------
First published in 2003.
There's a link to the reg. 1 DVD on Mondo Macabro's site here.
My Betamax tape from Turkey! Dubbed in Turkish
As I've mentioned here before the next DVD set from SHOUT! FACTORY to contain Filipino co-productions is Lethal Ladies vol. 2 with FLY ME and COVER GIRL MODELS. Both films are directed by Cirio H. Santiago and now there's a release date: January the 24th!
Recently I talked about the (then) upcoming Australian DVD releases of FOR YOUR HEIGHT ONLY, THE IMPOSSIBLE KID (first official DVD release anywhere!), and THEY CALL HER CLEOPATRA WONG (all from Umbrella Entertainment). I've just discovered that yet another Bobby A. Suarez film has been released in OZ; ONE ARMED EXECUTIONER! Not from Umbrella but Beyond Home Entertainment. I haven't been able to find any info on extras so whether this would be an upgrade from the Dark Sky DVD I can't tell you. The reg. 1 disc is slightly cut and it would definitely be cool if they've managed to dig up an uncut print. If anybody out there has any info I'd be happy to post it here.
Here's just a quick shopping tip for the Danish ex-rental VHS release of weird, wild, and wacky Indonesian JUNGLE VIRGIN FORCE (aka Perawan rimba, 1988). Needless to say the film isn't released on DVD and unless the good people at Mondo Macabro begin to release Indo films again it's probably not gonna get an official release any day soon. The Danish tape carries the English dub and is uncut. The auction runs for another 5 hours and you can check more video clips on the seller's eBay page. EDIT: Hmm, it seems less people are into worldweird horror than what I'd expect. That awesome film only had two bidders and went for $10.50. Either that or most people only want films in the shape of free computer files off the internet these days. I guess I'm a dying breed, I still prefer real releases to put on the shelf.
NB: I should just point out I am not the seller.
Very, very happy today!!! I just received "The Hong Kong Filmography 1977-97" which I discovered completely by chance when a seller had it listed (maybe by fault) on Amazon UK at £1.95 (3 dollars US!!). Brand new, not second hand!! On Amazon.com it's listed at $40. Can we get a whoo-woo!!! xD xD xD
The DVD release from Fred Anderson's spiffy new video label, ATTACKAFANT ENTERTAINMENT, is finally here!! Check out the cool cover for the Thai movie THE KILLER ELEPHANTS. Awesome! 
Argh, please kick me in the head the next time you see me! I deserve it. My gawd, I put off buying this DVD because of rumours that it was a terrible print and cut too.
The HK DVD looks fully uncut to me but I haven't compared the many violent scenes with the international version. There are many shoot-outs (it was made in the heyday of the heroic bloodshed genre) and there's also a beheading. 
...LOLZ.
Yep, it's true! IMPOSSIBLE KID is finally getting an official DVD release! It's the good people at Umbrella Entertainment in OZ who are putting it out on a double DVD with the first film in the series, FOR Y'UR HEIGHT ONLY (albeit with a slightly different spelling). HEIGHT is already out on a fine, fine DVD from Mondo Macabro but I'm certainly not complaining about one more release of this entertaining film. As I'm sure you know already these films stem from the Philippines, and are both directed by Eddie Nicart. The DVD is scheduled to hit the Aussie streets on September 1st. I have no info of specs or extras. You can check the listing at Umbrella's website here.
Old 2008 list. Check newer list from 2011.