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General overview of versionsOriginal version 1973: The Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung Runtime: 85:26 min (NTSC)
Recut 1979: Master With Cracked FingersUses a little less than half the original footage, was ramped up with own plot and many new scenes. Designed to be more humorous as Jackie gained fame with Kung-Fu-comedies Drunken Master and Snake in the Eagle's Shadow shortly before in Asia. There are several versions of this one: 1. "Asian Version"  Runtime: 81:40 min (PAL)
 Runtime: 83:07 min (PAL) / 86:40 min (NTSC)
 Runtime: ~ 78:30 min (PAL / NTSC)
The FilmIn 1971, Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung was supposed to be the first main role for then-17-year-old Jackie Chan. The cheap production was faced with several problems though, and if you believe e.g. Jackie's biography (which he didn't write himself), the work was never finished, let alone released. This may not be the case, though, since there is a DVD available from Japan (by JVD), England and Canada (by Rarescope) for a couple of years now, which contains the original film, which has apparently also been released in a few Asian theaters in 1973. More famous on a worldwide scale, though, is the result of some shifty producers, which got first released in 1979, titled Master With Cracked Fingers. After Jackie became a star one year earlier with Snake In The Eagle's Shadow and Drunken Master, roughly half of the original footage was taken, a new plot was created and some scenes were reshot with an obvious Jackie-double. Only here you find Simon Yuen Siu-Tin, who became famous from the just mentioned blockbusters, as Jackie's master (mostly in scenes with a small child as Kid-jackie, otherwise in often rather unfitting cuts, in which he is standing in completely different surroundings compared to Jackie from the "real" footage) and Dean Shek is also allowed to present his Punch-and-Judy-show. All in all a doubtful pleasure, even though it does have a corny charme to it. The following report deals with the differences between the original version and the recut. The German DVD-re-releaseSince May 20th, 2011, there is a re-release available in Germany by small label Voulez-Vous, which steals all the previous German and international releases' shows. While the really catastrophal old German DVD by M.I.B., which was also released by several associated labels, comes with a strongly zoomed aspect ratio of 1.56:1 and lowest VHS-quality including soiling and other inelegances, the Voulez-Vous-release is available in remastered, really incredible image quality, anamorphous and in the original aspect ratio of 2.35:1. As a sidenote, the master was apparently taken from the new Spanish DVD. What makes this release stand out in comparison to said Spanish DVD (aside the for local audiences probably important German dubbing) is the nice choice of versions in the bonus section. To get into more details, the following alternatives are offered: - Main film: Asian version The remastered and thus quality-wise by far best version. Footage, that was until now not available in Germany was fortunately dubbed. - English version All the old German DVDs were based on this version, but were additionally cut for about 5 minutes. Scenes that were up until now not released in Germany resp. were not dubbed for the DVD-release in the first place are, contrary to the main film, kept in English language with optional subtitles. As a master, it is probable that either the Japanese DVD by Pioneer or the US-DVD by Videoasia has been used. Either way, the film is also presented in the original format (unfortunately not anamorphous, though) and is superior to the M.I.B.-version by far, but compared to the main film, the quality is worse. Changes in the recut versionThe second version of this film titled Master with Cracked Fingers was intended to be more appealing to a wide audience. As implied in the overview above, there was footage removed from the original version on the one hand and on the other filled with newly shot scenes. This is why it has to be differenciated between: New Footage The above mentioned time designation resp. the fact that more than half of the film differs may surprise on first sight. This is mostly due to three major, each nearly 15 minute long scene blocks, though. Both the opening and ending were completely redesigned and thus, a different plot created, which contains a more or less funny apprenticeship of Jackie by Simon Yuen Siu-Tin, who is known from his previous successes. This was easy to pull off in the beginning, as all they needed was a child actor to play little Jackie. For the ending, this was solved by making adult "Jackie" practicing a fighting style for which he has to be blindfolded. The new plot with the old homeless master is deepened further throughout the film by a few short establishing shots. The other big change is the slapstick-rendition in the middle of the film, where Dean Shek gets his cameo. This scene may annoy many an audience. Since this version is more widespread and probably known to most insterested people, those new scenes are not picturized and described in detail. This comparison puts the focus more on the cut footage, described in the next paragraph. Footage removed from the original version Since both versions are roughly the same length, there were, of course, also a little more than 45 minutes removed from the original version. Surprisingly, though, the film basically followed the same structure (aside from the new plot with the old master and the introduction of another final boss), and so there are no overly complicated recuts or completely differntly mounted scenes. Jackie works here also in the restaurant, was prohibited to fight by his foster father, gets on the bad side of a thug gang and finds out at the end before his revenge that he has to deal with his father's murderer. The changes are rather in the detail, because many things were strongly tightened for the recut and thus often robbed of its sense - resp. is solved much more comprehensibly or even sensibly at all in the original version. Features from the original version that can be highlighted are: - The character "Pickpocket" (a small-time thief, who works for the bad guys and gets along well with Jackie) was drawn much better. You find out, for example, that he seems rather unhappy with his life and you get to see an emotional meeting with his grandmother. Also, he saves Jackie's foster father from the burning house near the end, while in the recut version he seems to die and no actions of Pickpocket are shown. This scene makes it more comprehensible, why he is getting hanged by the other bad guys afterwards and why Jackie is more saddened by his death than his uncle's... - The rape-victim in the middle of the film is introduced in several scenes, as is the rape, while in the recut version it seems pretty random. Several censoring-cuts seem to be behind this, too, making this impression by several smaller cuts during the rest of the scene. - Jackie's family, namely foster-father and sister get a whole lot more screentime. The uncle thinks much more often about the fighting-prohibition and punishes his "children" more often, e.g. with the order to fight each other. The sister gets injured at that and his treated by Jackie helpfully, and additionally, the great bond between the two is made clear in several dialogues. - The final fight of the original version was shortened by a remarkable portion, meaning it was cut down to less than half the original length. This may be caused by the new final fight that was added to the recut version, which has to be the potentially more interesting fight and so not a lot of time was to be "wasted". Also probable are several censoring issues, as Jackie has to tough out some pretty harsh moves. Also, because it initiates the final fight, the incident with Pickpocket should be mentioned again, as his body is shown a few more times. This may have also been too harsh for the rather funny recut version, but the cuts make the movie lose some flow. Furthermore, it is recognizable that Jackie's uncle (who was only saved from the burning house in the original version) does not attend the final fight at all. Even though some of the scenes do slow down the film and the tightening in the recut version is thus not completely uncalled for, the plot of the original version is all in all, of course, much rounder. Fans will prefer this version not least because of all the extra footage of real Jackie. The film is also an allround serious eastern flick, especially because of the much harsher finale and the lack of humour. The film works pretty well like this, no masterpiece, but entertaining, solid stuff. Bottom line: A real shame that there is no master of the original version available that is in better shape, and like this, you're almost forced to get the recut version. The version would have been pretty nice at least in the bonus section of the new DVD, even considering the quality. An exact number of cuts was renounced this time, as it is not always apparent which (short) missing scenes were removed intentionally and which ones just got lost with a roughly 40-years-old film. This is why some descritpions in this report are compressed and confined to the most important changes. Runtimes are ordered as follows: Recut version 1979 (Master with Cracked Fingers) in PAL-speed / Original version 1973 (Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung) in NTSC-speed Annotations - The compared version of Master with Cracked Fingers at hand was the English one on the German DVD as this one has the least film tears. The picturized footage is, aside from the completely different finale, identical in the Asian version, so this one was used for screenshots as its image quality is far superior. - The screenshots of Cub Tiger from Kwang Tung have been cut to the cinemascope ratio, cut off heads or only halfway-readable subtitles (some of those scenes feature new subtitles which are located on the black bars) were not created accidently though, but are based on the DVD's master, which was in very bad shape. Extention in the recut / Completely alternative
00:00-15:52 / 00:00-05:30 The versions start off completely differently. The original version shows Jackie's father being followed by the foster father who takes care of him later. The guy fighting Jackie near the end at the harbor appears as contestant (Lu Chi according to subtitles). The fighting starts and Jackie's already wounded father directly asks the foster father to save himself and take care of Jackie. He successfully fights the bad guys for a while, but is finally killed by Lu Chi.
Here you first see a training scene with a moustached man, who is revealed as the murderer of Jackie's father in the following scene: In a completely newly filmed conflict, he appears masked, like all the other members of the moustache-man's gang, and Jackie's father refuses to kill an innocent citizen on behalf of the gang. Just like before, the remaining masked man, resp. Jackie's foster father, is asked to take care of little Jackie during the following fight, which ends fatally. Subsequently, there is a 10-minute sequence of Jackie's childhood, though. The little boy watches the martialarts-school near the foster father's house, but is scolded by the teacher for secretly watching. Jackie's sister then also mentions for the audience that the foster father prohibited Jackie to fight. He meets the old man resp. Simon Yuen Siu-Tin who offers him to teach him from the following night on, at a secret place in the forest inside a cave only the two of them knew. Even though the first act of training starts weirdly with the prompt to take off all his clothes, an effective kind of training evolves from this for Jackie. Jackie has to stand inside a basket full of snakes completely naked, is trained in the art of fighting blindfoldedly (pretty essential for the later double-scenes...) and carries out balance- as well as stepping-excercises.
Master with Cracked Fingers 634.6 sec (= 10:35 min) longer in total Extention in the recut / partly alternative 15:52-17:02 / 05:30-07:47 Subsequently, there are basically the same shots of Jackie resp. several steps and poses he executes in nature shown. In the Cub Tiger-version, though, the frame freezes always at the end of the shot and credits appear. In the Cracked Fingers, though, there is always a (shorter) newly shot view of the master implemented, giving some strange instructions for Jackie's poses. So while the original version only features an opening credit sequence that is typical for the time - showing off the main character's fighting moves as the credits roll. In the recut version, the sequence was tinkered to be some kind of training montage with the master from a mix of old and new footage. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 60.2 sec longer
The following scene (Jackie is having a little fun fight with his sister) is roughly said absolutely identical resp. montaged in the same way just like almost all other later scenes. Many shots were insignificantly shortened for the recut (or were simply dropped because of the master), but there are no shots actually lost and nothing important is being withheld. In total, though, up until the next cut it can be adhered that: Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 4.5 sec longer Alternative / Recut 18:36-18:41 / 09:30-09:51 The end of the little wrangling was removed completely, though. In the original version, Jackie runs towards his sister and throws her harmlessly into the bushes. They then stand up and Jackie, slightly shocked, notices his foster father watching from off-screen. The following view of the foster father was separated for the recut and at least the end of the last shot (Jackie notices the foster father and greets him) reimplemented after a second. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 16.3 sec longer
18:48 / 09:59-12:04 After the short speech, the original version continues. The foster father calms down again as friends visit. The family's man gives Jackie's sister some money for new dresses and then leaves. Jackie then also says goodbye as he needs to go to work. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 120 sec longer
18:55 / 12:11-12:18 The long shot of the street longer and closer shot of Pickpocket earlier. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 6.3 sec longer 19:51 / 13:16-13:17 As Pickpocket gets out the money, a few frames are lost in the recut. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 0.9 sec longer 20:13 / 13:39-13:41 A few insignificant frames are missing as the little boy runs away with Jackie's tip. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 1.2 sec longer 21:53 / 15:26-15:28 Another possible film tear / meaningless shortening, as Pickpocket tells Jackie about the lost money. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 1.6 sec longer 22:24 / 16:00-16:04 Jackie's restaurant-uncle shakes his head at the end of the shot. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 4 sec longer 22:25 / 16:05-16:06 The following shot of him starts a little earlier, too, he wipes his face. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 1.4 sec longer 22:48 / 16:30-16:37 The shot of cutting the meat is much longer. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 6.8 sec longer 22:58 / 16:47-17:38 After the henchmen have been served the plates, they eat for a while in the original version and act like pigs at that. A waiter looks sceptically and goes to the restaurant-uncle. The recut continues as the waiter talks to him. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 48.4 sec longer
23:52 / 18:35-18:38 A shot of two henchmen was removed in the recut before Pickpocket gets out of his hideout. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 3 sec longer
23:54 / 18:40-18:52 The beginning of the shot was removed and thus the henchmen running away (the Cracked Fingers start with Pickpocket onscreen). Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 10.8 sec longer
23:57 / 18:55-18:57 Film tear. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 1.6 sec longer 24:04 / 19:04-19:11 Jackie blocks the henchman's claw for a while. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 6.7 sec longer
24:33 / 19:41-19:51 Jackie throws himself again at the henchmen and the clobbering continues in the big puddle. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 9.6 sec longer
24:35 / 19:53-20:05 The action in the water continues earlier after the view of Pickpocket. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 11.5 sec longer
24:59 / 20:30-20:31 A shot of the fight starts off a little earlier. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 1.1 sec longer Extension in the recut. 25:20-25:25 / 20:53 There was a new shot of Jackie's master implemented, showing him standing in the middle of the grass and commenting the nice fight in the Cracked Fingers-version after Pickpocket and Jackie have left. Master with Cracked Fingers 4.6 sec longer
26:39 / 22:10-22:14 Jackie's sister sadly lowers her head in an addtional shot. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 4 sec longer
26:51 / 22:26-22:59 Jackie's punishment is shown earlier resp. he is shown carrying several buckets of water. Doing that, he is talking to his sister. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 31.4 sec longer
28:15 / 24:28-25:38 The chase is longer right in the beginning and Pickpocket is suddenly safe. Sad, he curses his life as a thief and continues running around angrily without any direct pursuers. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 67.2 sec longer
28:20 / 25:43-25:47 The old woman a little longer on the ground and Pickpocket earlier. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 3.8 sec longer Alternative / Recut 28:23-28:25 / 25:50-27:58 Only the original version features the incident with the old woman being solved in detail: It appears she is Pickpocket's grandmother, who he hasn't seen in a while now. She asks about his health and offers him money for food. The problems are plaintively discussed for a short time.
Before both versions show the henchman taking the money from the old woman (which surely seems a little incoherent without the just described scene...), the recut version preponed a shot of Jackie noticing the action.
Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 121.5 sec longer 28:39 / 28:13-28:16 Here, the view of Jackie taking notice would have been shown. Afterwards there is an additional short view of Pickpocket taking a kick of the henchman, guarding his grandma before Jackie starts running in both versions. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 3 sec longer
29:14 / 28:54-28:56 A long shot starts a little earlier. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 2 sec longer 30:58 / 30:45-31:38 In a scene that was completely removed from the recut version, it is explained why Pickpocket orders some food for the henchmen shortly after. He hangs around nearby and after they are looking for a plan at first, they suddenly act as if they were engaged in some game. One of the guys says to Pickpocket that he had won some money and "asks" him to order 8 plates of food. Pickpocket seems to sense something for himself and starts off right away. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 51.4 sec longer
During the next two minutes, there are several moments missing, which are all shorter than 0.5 sec and are thus insignificant (no complete shot or obvious cut). In total: Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 3.2 sec longer Extension in the recut 33:14-33:18 / 34:03 There was a newly shot scene with the old master implemented, asking why Jackie was letting himself get beat up like that, shown after Pickpocket ran away. Master with Cracked Fingers 3.4 sec longer
33:18 / 34:03-34:20 The original version has, in return, first another view of Jackie getting beat here, then you see Pickpocket meeting Jackie's sister rather randomly and drawing her with him. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 15.7 sec longer
33:42 / 34:45-36:14 Jackie's sister first fights the guys for a while and doesn't seem to be half bad. The main henchmen mocks her anyways and demands a kiss. The sister spits at him to which he only comments the nice taste. In between she talks to Jackie several times, too. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 85.8 sec longer
35:04 / 37:42-37:46 The shot is longer and thus, some more of the sister's fighting moves. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 3.4 sec longer 35:13 / 37:55 Jackie a little earlier before performing the jumpkick. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 0.8 sec longer 35:23 / 38:05-38:56 The fight is a moment longer, the henchmen run away. Jackie shortly takes care of his sister, whose amulett was stolen by one of the henchmen. Referring to this, the following scene starts earlier, too: Jackie's uncle first moans about the lost amulett, as it was passed on for generations. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 49.2 sec longer
Extension in the recut 35:23-36:26 / 38:56 To get yet another bridge to the new plot line with Jackie's master, the Cracked Fingers-version has a newly shot scene implemented between the two scenes (Fight against the henchmen / Punishment in the uncle's garden). Double-Jackie, who is only shown from behind or altogether in the dark, is harmlessly beat with a stick. His master nags about him letting himself get beat up like that before, and Jackie refers to his uncle's order. After some more beating, Jackie promises to defend himself again in the future. Master with Cracked Fingers 62.9 sec longer
There are several insignificant short moments in succession missing before Jackie rams his fingers into the glass shards. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 1.6 sec longer Extension in the recut 37:06-37:11 / 39:39 For the recut version, the master was once again filmed in some at least remotely similar bushed and remarks that he needs to tie Jackie's hands after the sister's shocked reaction. Master with Cracked Fingers 5.6 sec longer
37:27 / 39:55-44:13 The scene is much longer in the original version after the shards-punishment. The foster father forces the two to fight each other. This is done immediately and after a rather soft beginning, the kicks and punches are harder, so Jackie lands on a tree after a short while. The sister is concerned about that, but Jackie calms her. Shortly after, she unluckily falls down a cliff and lies there motionlessly. The uncle comments this nastily. Subsequently, Jackie goes to town and talks to his other uncle in the restaurant (this scene was reimplemented shortly after in the Cracked Fingers version, see below). From there on, the main henchman follows him, even when Jackie talks to a friend (the girl from the family who bought flower's from Jackie's foster father in the cut scene in the beginning) as he is on the way back with medicine for his sister. It's just this friend who the henchman then catches which explains who the rape-victim, who appears later in both versions, is! Finally earlier back in the family residence: Jackie asks his sister about her health. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 247.6 sec (= 4:08 min) longer
Extention in the recut version 37:27-38:31 / 44:13 It's the old master's turn again in the Cracked Fingers-version, as a little compensation here. He first comments the situation from the bushes, saying he was going to get Jackie healthy again, hen then ties his hands at night in the forest shack. Additionally, an ominous kind of medicine, where rubbing a log seems to help wonders, is used... Master with Cracked Fingers 64.4 sec longer
38:42 / 44:25-44:27 Jackie undoes the bandage longer. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 1.6 sec longer 38:47 / 44:32-47:07 Longer at home, Jackie tells his sister about the friend from the cut before, she wants to come over later. The plot line about the friend's rape starts much earlier: The main henchman interrogates her shortly about Jackie and then starts groping, punching and takes her clothes off. One of the other henchmen (who was sent outside in the beginning of the scene) mumbles something on the staircase and goes outside the two versions run in sync again after the next huge extention in the recut, which is described seperately. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 148.8 sec (= 2:28 min) longer
Extention in the recut version 38:47-55:14 / 47:07 Huge extention resp. newly shot scenes of the negative kind: A new plot line with Dean Shek was integrated into the Cracked Fingers, he demands protection money from Jackie's restaurant-uncle. - First, the evil master orders Dean Shek not to fail again - Shek demands protection money from Jackie's restaurant-uncle - Part of the scene at 39:55-44:13 / 37:27 has been reimplemented and the sense was changed by the dubbing: Jackie goes to town with the injured hand and the uncle talks to him for a little. He mentions a problem here, the rest of the scene resp. the main henchman's chase is completely kept secret - Double-Jackie mentions said problem to his master at night, who looks forward to go into the matter himself - Inside Dean Shek's "Palace" some games take place, including fooling around, then Jackie's master makes Shek look like a fool by every trick in the book during a slapstick-fight with a whole lot of "funny" ideas like farts to the face. Our main actor resp. his double leaves the scene right in the beginning, by the way as the master tells him he could do this by himself... Master with Cracked Fingers 987 sec (= 16:27 min) longer
55:52 / 47:47-47:48 The shot of involuntarily rolling around on the bed resp. implied rape is a little longer. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 1.6 sec longer 56:00 / 47:56 A slightly more interesting difference in the same scene, because apparently with censoring-background: The shot cuts off a few frames earlier, just as the woman's bare breasts are on-screen. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 0.4 sec longer
56:01 / 47:57-47:58 After the cut to Jackie, the short shot in which the breasts are visible again is missing completely. The same goes for the new cut to Jackie, for continuity reasons. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 1.2 sec longer
A few frames got lost here and there during the next one and a half minutes of the beatup. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 2.4 sec longer 57:41 / 49:46-51:05 The resolution of the rape, which also affects Jackie, is completely missing in the recut version. Inside Jackie's uncle's house, the girl's mother cries about her resp. she is worried. Suddenly, the saved daughter reappears, falls into her arms and tells her about brave Jackie. Jackie's sister looks reproachfully at the uncle, he thoughtfully goes outside. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 75.1 sec longer
Extention in the recut version 59:06-59:14 / 52:33 The shot of the foster-father is interrupted right in the middle by a short scene at the big boss', in which the "new" knowledge of the relational connections around Jackie is mentioned. The boss announces he is going to kill Jackie, too the camera pans towards Jackie's master, who is miraculously also hidden close to this place. Master with Cracked Fingers 8 sec longer
59:18 / 52:37-53:40 Before the beatup starts (comparing single frames, you can see, by the way, that the first punch after the cut is done to very young Yuen Biao!), the Cub Tiger-original version shows a little dialogue between Jackie and the henchmen. He faces the fight, Lu Chi responds to his request not fighting near the house for the love of his father, though. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 60.6 sec longer
59:53 / 54:18-56:29 A longer part of the beatup was removed halfway inconspicuously the movements before and after the cut seem fluent on first sight, but afterwards the question why Lu Chi's hands are suddenly tied may be risen, though... Anyways, he has just this done by one of the other henchmen resp. he has a rope brought and himself tied up, as he doesn't need his hands for an opponent like Jackie, according to himself. Between the many short cutting remarks, he sovereignly attacks Jackie for a while. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 125.7 sec (= 2:06 min) longer
60:05 / 56:42-56:45 The bad guy a little earlier. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 3.2 sec longer 60:20 / 57:00-58:44 The way back from the fight is much longer. Jackie's uncle spits blood and falters. The sister takes care of him and Jackie already wants to start his revenge. The foster-father kicks him suddenly, though, saying he didn't even have a tenth of the bad guy's strength. They discuss a little. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 99.8 sec longer
60:35 / 59:00-59:01 Jackie's uncle and sister leave the frame a little longer. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 1.2 sec longer 61:12 / 59:40-59:41 Jackie's foster-father drinks a little earlier. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 1.5 sec longer 61:21 / 59:50-61:11 Jackie's sister leaves longer and, at the door, talks a little more to the foster-father, then you see him thoughtfully sitting on the bed by himself. The action on the harbour starts much earlier, too, the sister quickly informs Jackie about the foster-father's health. Jackie then enjoys a monkey doing flips on the ground (preview of the final fight), but is then snubed at by the headman and moves on. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 76.8 sec longer
Alternative / Recut 61:24-61:27 / 61:14-61:45 The short shot of Jackie walking around from the cut before is reimplemented into the Cracked Fingers-version here.
The Original version shows more footage on the other hand: Jackie's sister observes hi, then Jackie asks the foreman for some money. He does get some and gives it to his sister, she runs away.
Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 26.2 sec longer 62:47 / 63:09-65:37 A few more scenes with Jackie's sister before the house of Jackie's foster-father is lit up. She is taking care of the sick uncle and then realizes the bad guys are approaching. After a short discussion, she first effortlessly beats the guys to the ground, the slightly better main henchman then takes on her by himself. In the meantime, the others prepare to light the place up in the background. One of the shot also shows Pickpocket distancing himself from the others resp. a preview of the other ending of the scene, which is described below. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 142.2 sec (= 2:22 min) longer
62:53 / 65:43-66:00 In the original version, the fight continues after a henchman has lit up his torch. Inbetween cuts to the blazing fire, Jackie's sister takes notice of this after a short while. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 16.5 sec longer
63:16 / 66:24-66:30 One of the shots of the fire is much longer. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 6.4 sec longer Erweiterung beim Neuschnitt / Alternativ / Umschnitt 63:35-63:57 / 66:50-70:52 The Cracked Fingers-version was heavily reduced here, but a few short parts were completely new mounted from the original cut, too. Only the original version features the longer version of this scene at the burning house, a pan to the left reveals that the foster-father didn't die just now and why Pickpocket later really hangs on the pole (in the Cracked Fingers-version, this is explained as a form of pressure agains Jackie, see next change): Pickpocket has saved the foster-father. At this, he tells him that it is sometimes sensible to fight. The foster-father is thoughtful again. The other henchmen run away to the harbour. There, their attention is drawn to a worker who doesn't want to pay any protection money. One of the guys plays boss until sudenly Jackie's sister appears and wants to continue the fight, but Jackie holds her back. He is about to snap as the henchman threatens one of the workers. Pickpocket appears with Jackie's foster father, though, and the family quickly hugs. Pickpocket returns the amulett he had stolen earlier in another cut scene, is called to the henchmen and insulted of being a traitor and the other guys are ordered to hang him on the pole because of that. With the people around watching in awe, this is done, right after a failed escape attempt.
The recut version on the other hand first implements a newly shot scene: The evil boss announces his plan to use Pickpocket as bait for whatever reason to a helper who is not visible. The action in the harbour then starts strongly reduced. Following a seemingly newly shot scene of a bird in the sky you can see a short part of the shot depicting Pickpocket getting hung up on the pole. At this, he tells Jackie about a trap (contrary to the original version, in which he said nothing). A view of Jackie talking angrily for a short while follows, one that was actually used earlier in the original version, resp.it was his reaction to the other worker being threatened. His question, which appears in both versions, about why they couldn't just be left alone, is answered by Pickpocket, though, with a short part of a shot from the original version. According to him, it's because the henchmen are scared of Jackie.
Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 211.3 sec (= 3:31 min) longer 64:04 / 70:59-71:10 Pickpocket keeps talking, the foster-father looks and the henchman threatens him. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 10.6 sec longer
64:09 / 71:16-71:33 The henchman is getting angry, Jackie's sister shortly talks to the thoughtful foster-father. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 15.6 sec longer
64:11 / 71:35-71:39 Two views of Jackie's uncle, Jackie inbetween. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 4 sec longer
Partly alternative 64:14-64:17 / 71:43-71:48 Jackie is demanded to fight by a different person in each version... The original version pans to his foster-father, gallantly shouting "Fight!". The Cracked Fingers implemented the master in front of a inconspicuously blue sky out of nowhere: He orders Jackie to fight. The following reaction shot of Jackie is interrupted by a new view of the master/foster-father for a fraction of a second. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 2.7 sec longer
64:21 / 71:53 In the original version, the camera first zooms out on the opponent before Jackie kicks him. Nice different effect, but maybe just a film tear in the recut version. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 0.5 sec longer 64:33 / 72:06-72:07 The bad guy a little longer. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 1 sec longer 64:49 / 72:24-72:52 Jackie keeps rampaging until the floor before him is littered with beat-up guys. His uncle watches rather incertainly. (This may be a cut to make Jackie look less brutal.) Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 26 sec longer
64:52 / 72:55-73:01 Jackie determinedly walks forward, his foster-father is looking more proudly now. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 5.9 sec longer
64:58 / 73:07-73:09 Two shots of Jackie at the pole slightly shortened. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 1.2 sec longer 65:38 / 73:50-73:58 More fighting with the rope in the hand, another henchman falls into the water. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 7.3 sec longer
65:43 / 74:03-74:08 Censoring: After Pickpocket has fallen off the pole, Jackie's foster-father and sister are shown before the view of dead Pickpocket. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 4.5 sec longer
65:48 / 74:13-74:31 Another possible censoring either way, this explains the bad continuity error in the Cracked Fingers-version of why Jackie does not wear a shirt any more from one moment to the next. Jackie bows further down to Pickpocket and you see him again. Jackie closes his eyelids, announces revenge and puts his shirt onto the body as a last honoring. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 15.8 sec longer
The next cuts between Jackie and the main henchman are each slightly shortened, in total: Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 2.1 sec longer 66:00 / 74:46-75:00 The shot starts much earlier, Jackie approaches from much further away. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 14 sec longer
66:08 / 75:08-75:16 Same thing with the main henchman. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 7.7 sec longer 66:16 / 75:24-75:26 A shot shortened in the beginning. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 2 sec longer 66:19 / 75:30-75:55 Jackie's foster-father nods thoughtfully and says that the old score finally has to be settled. The sister seems a little confused and the foster-father shortly prays for support for Jackie. In the end, the shot of the feet starts a little earlier, this way, another bad guy is visible lying on the ground. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 23.5 sec longer
66:25 / 76:01-76:07 The shot starts earlier and Lu Chi also gets his footshot-moment before zooming back and he goes a bit further. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 5.8 sec longer
66:27 / 76:08-76:09 A moment longer in the end. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 1 sec longer 66:28 / 76:10-76:12 Shortly after, more irrelevant shortenings in the recut version. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 1.8 sec longer 66:37 / 76:23-76:26 Moar. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 2.8 sec longer 66:48 / 76:38-76:42 At the end of the shot, Jackie looks determined and cutting again. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 3.8 sec longer 66:50 / 76:44-76:45 Beginning of the shot shortened. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 1.2 sec longer 67:01 / 76:57-76:58 Jackie grappled a little longer. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 1.2 sec longer 67:07 / 77:05-77:13 A punch to Jackie's face is missing right in the middle. A long shot follows. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 7.8 sec longer
67:13 / 77:19-77:25 A shot of the fight (long shot) is missing. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 5.4 sec longer
67:18 / 77:31-77:34 There was one view of each Jackie and Lu Chi removed as they turn at the same time. Rather inconspicuous, as several similar shots remain. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 3.5 sec longer 67:26 / 77:43-77:50 Another cut in the Cracked Fingers that is hardly apparent, as it continues with a later shot that depicts another kick actually, though, Jackie is hit hard in the face in the previous shot, another quick cut and Jackie spits some blood. Like with so many other cuts in this scene, a censoring background can, of course, not be excluded. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 6.7 sec longer
67:30 / 77:54-77:58 The shot is cut off right in the middle again, and a hard kick to Jackie's face is performed. Lu Chi is shown posing afterwards. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 3.9 sec longer
67:31 / 77:59-78:04 Once more, the next attack on Jackie is cut off after one mere second (so he hardly seems inferior in the Cracked Fingers-version...), the hit to the face is missing. Jackie holds it in pain, he then looks grimly and attacks again. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 4.3 sec longer
67:33 / 78:06-78:09 The shot is actually much longer again and Jackie is hit plus another shot from a different perspective. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 3 sec longer
67:34 / 78:10-78:27 Just a moment later another cut-off; this time, the recut version mostly misses Jackie being able to defend himself. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 16.4 sec longer
67:39 / 78:33-78:39 The original version interrupts the shot with a cut to a henchman who is cowering behind the wall, the Cracked Fingers features the shot without interruption. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 6.1 sec longer
67:45 / 78:45-78:53 Some fighting is missing again after the henchman has appeared: Jackie is hit between the legs and the henchman attacks a little with his boss. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 7.4 sec longer
67:49 / 78:57-79:00 End and beginning of two shots are lost. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 2.8 sec longer 67:50 / 79:01-80:14 The end of the shot and another large part of the fight are missing after the henchman with the white shirt is shown shortly. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 69.5 sec longer
Alternativ / Umschnitt 67:54-67:55 / 80:18-80:19 The shot is interrupted at the Cracked Fingers: Before the henchman falls into the water, the moment in which Lu Chi gets up is shown earlier here. This way, the respective part of the original shot is lost. no time difference
67:56 / 80:20-82:50 Here, he actually gets up and the scene continues right away: MUCH more fighting. Jackie has to endure a lot of hits and is often down on the ground, in the end, he can weaken his adversary. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 144.1 sec (= 2:24 min) longer
Extention in the recut version / recut 67:56-68:39 / 82:50 It's getting a little complicated in the recut version, to keep things simple, the entire plot block has been summed up. On the one side, several newly shot scenes are shown: The main villain (who only exists in the recut version) suddenly appears with henchmen, Jackie's master comments on this. On the other hand, shots from the fight from before (the longer cut at 67:50 / 79:01-80:14) are reimplemented in a different order here. This way, it is shown much shorter and thus less brutally that Jackie is lying on the ground, weakened by the main bad guy's final kick to the groin Master with Cracked Fingers 43.3 sec longer
Erweiterung beim Neuschnitt / Alternativ 68:44-68:46 / 82:55-82:57 There is a different explanation for Jackie's reaction during the end of the fight: In the original version, he remembers the little monkey doing flips on the ground. In the recut version, there was a short training unit with the master implemented, which Jackie remembers. no time difference
Extention in the recut / Alternative 68:52-68:55 / 83:03-83:04 The recut version shows the reactions of the many guests to Jackie's kick to the crotch, who are only there in the recut version anyways. The original version shows the previous shot of the henchman's step a little longer (not illustrated). Master with Cracked Fingers 1.8 sec longer
Change of speet in the recut 69:37-69:40 / 83:49-83:50 The recut version shows Jackie's spin kick in slow-motion. Master with Cracked Fingers 2.8 sec longer
69:43 / 83:53-84:05 The main henchman first stumbles a little longer and then also crumbles earlier on the ground. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 11.1 sec longer
69:49 / 84:11-85:26 Following the shot of tired Jackie in the end, the final minute of the original film is missing as there had to be another finale attached to the recut and thus, the whole stuff has not ended yet... The other workers go to Jackie and celebrate him. The foster father comments and Jackie finally devotes himself to the body of his friend Pickpocket with the question for peace. Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung 73 sec longer
Extention in the recut version 69:49-83:07 / 85:26 Here, the main villain barges in and demands Jackie to fight again in a few days in the recut version. Training scenes of Jackie take place: Partly blindfolded resp. performed by the double, partly in the form of "borrowed" footage from Drunken Master! Finally the double again in the forest shack at night, the evening before the fight. Afterwards, there are alternative ending fights depending on the version. These are not described in detail/illustrated here, there is another seperate report for that. The runtime difference below as well as all the runtime designations relate to the English version. Master with Cracked Fingers 797.9 sec (= 13:18 min) longer
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