Comparison between the cut UK VHS by VPD and the uncut German DVD by MIG / Vision Video

- 5 cuts
- Cut duration: 17.6 sec

Other master errors with a duration of less than 0.5 sec each were not listed in the cut report.

Magic Crystal by and with Wong Jing, starring Andy Lau, Richard Norton, Cynthia Rothrock, is brightly colored 80s Hongkong trash with a high entertainment factor. In Germany, unlike some of its genre colleagues, the film was released uncut on both VHS and DVD. The British VHS was censored for footage with weapons that have copycat potential. The 2021 Hong Kong Blu-ray premiere offered a bit of a surprise as it had some minor cuts.

On the British VHS with BBFC15 certificate, a shot of a crossbow is censored at the beginning. In the finale, nunchucks are also used, which, as we know, were problematic for the British censors back then. Comparatively speaking, the cuts in this film are once again implemented rather well and won't be noticed by most viewers, but the uncensored version is of course preferable. Apart from that, all the moments that are missing from the Hong Kong Blu-ray were included on the British VHS.

Running time information is arranged according to the scheme
UK VHS in 25fps / German DVD in 25fps

Note: Due to the better picture quality the uncut screenshots were taken from the Hongkong Blu-ray which is cut in other places.


The opening credits are available in English export version.

Hongkong Blu-ray	UK VHS

As already mentioned in the comparison to the Hong Kong Blu-ray, a frequently deviating color scheme and the zoom of the HD master, partly also focusing on different areas of the image, are noticeable. The UK VHS is even darker in the dark scenes than the German DVD master.

Hongkong Blu-ray	UK VHS

02:46 / 02:46-02:49

In close-up, a crossbow is loaded.

3.5 sec

Zoom
03:38-03:40 / 03:41-03:43

As you've already seen above, the HD master is somewhat zoomed in. One shot in particular stands out here, however, because the Blu-ray is much closer into the picture.

No runtime difference

Hongkong Blu-ray	UK VHS

41:43 / 41:46

Odd moment: There is a small jumpcut at the beginning of the shot of the boy which was not the case on the VHS either. In the HD master, this was compensated for by less than a handful of repeating frames.

51:03 / 51:05-51:07

Master error: The shot of the police car driving away is a few frames longer and the following close-up of Andy's phone starts a few frames earlier.

1.5 sec

67:40 / 67:44-67:45

At the end of a medium long shot, the guy behind comes a little closer, swinging his nunchucks. Pancho does the same, aiming at the attacker's head.

0.8 sec

67:41 / 67:46-67:55

A few frames of the close-up of Pancho were also seen on the UK VHS. However, the opponent behind him still goes down, involuntarily hit by the nunchaku. Pancho looks surprised for a moment and then confidently swings the nunchaku. The baddie observes this.

9.6 sec

67:45 / 67:59-68:01

After seeing the henchman clumsily hit his nunchaku in the crotch, Pancho starts by hitting the guy's head again with his nunchaku at the beginning of the follow-up shot. When Cindy comes in from behind, the UK starts up again.

2.3 sec

When the boy amuses the woman at the airport counter with the crystal in the 76th/73th minute, a few irrelevant frames are missing again. Possibly damages in the picture were the reason for it:

The credits on the master of the German DVD were apparently digitally recreated, while the Blu-ray shows the original ones again. On the British VHS, there were no credits at all during this credits montage. The final end fade-in again appears on a red background.

Hongkong Blu-ray	UK VHS