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Comparison between the bonus version (= Japanese laserdisc) on the American Blu-ray by Fun City Editions and the Dutch DVD by StudioCanal
Paradise, a Canadian production from 1982, was the film debut of 19-year-old Phoebe Cates, who that same year made an unforgettable appearance in a red bikini in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. In Paradise, you can actually see some full frontal nudity of her, and on top of that, a few additional close-ups of a double were added shortly before release. The erotic adventure film rode on the wave of success of The Blue Lagoon and besides Ms. Cates it also offers some pretty shots of Israel. In November 2024, the Blu-ray premiere was released in the US and, surprisingly, a longer version of the film was included. There were a few different versions before that: The German VHS ran for 88 minutes at PAL speed and was thus generally cut, including a few violent scenes. It was slightly shorter than the version released by StudioCanal / Universal in the Netherlands on DVD (91 minutes in PAL) and in Japan on LaserDisc (96 minutes in NTSC). This Dutch/Japanese version was cut on its own and also offered exclusive material and a few re-ordered scenes in the course of the film compared to both the German version and now the US Blu-ray. It is noteworthy at this point that the NL and Japan releases have an R-Rating card at the end. So that was probably the US theatrical version at the time, while other countries like Germany probably got the original version from Canada – but then made some individual trims on it. After we summarized in the report between the StudioCanal DVD and the new US Blu-ray, the 102 minutes main version on the Blu-ray is not only longer but also has alternate takes, we will now turn to the Japanese laserdisc. Although it is basically exactly the same shorter cut as on the StudioCanal DVD (incl. the same alternate takes), it deserves its own comparison because it has been censored in the scenes with exposed genitals. There are large veils on the screen, so it's more like “fogging” than blur effects. Apart from that, the image quality is very poor anyway, so this version, added as an Easter Egg to the US Blu-ray (click on the label logo in the Special Features menu), isn't really fun to watch either way and simply interesting as a little oddity.
Runtime data are arranged according to the scheme The Japanese version has two additional introductory notes and then another Japanese one, while the DVD refers to StudioCanal.
Japanese version 13.9 sec longer
Here are a few initial comparison images from the movie.
Here are the same moments from the Blu-ray.
Alternative 46:59-47:34 / 44:58-45:22 The picture quality, which is darkened anyway over long stretches, is particularly noteworthy during the short scene in which Sarah is bathing and David is handing her a towel. Almost nothing left to see. DVD 1.4 sec longer
Here is another picture of this scene from the HD main version of the US Blu-ray in 1.85:1.
Admittedly, this whole block of scenes in the film is particularly color-desaturated, see also the desert scene directly afterwards. It is therefore not entirely clear whether there was any censorship intention behind it. Bare breasts and bottoms can certainly be seen briefly in other scenes in the Japanese version.
56:30-56:40 / 53:55-54:05 The first clearly additional censorship: Sarah's genital area was made unrecognizable with “fogging”, and a black cloud covers her pubic hair when she steps into the water. It looks quite weird at this oversized form in some frames.
In the next shot from this perspective, there is no longer a cloud in sight. But it is also curious here (illustrated from 57:02 / 54:25) how even the contours of Sarah's buttocks disappear into black in the bad quality of this transfer.
57:27-57:35 / 54:53-55:01 When switching to a closer perspective, a large blue dot was added to the underwater shots.
73:12-73:19 / 69:59-70:06 When David swims towards the camera, his penis was obscured twice with an oversized effect in the middle of it. Another spot was added when Sarah briefly reveals her pubic hair at the end.
73:42-73:46 / 70:28-70:32 Here, too, there is censorship in the middle of the shot of David's intimate area, and when Sarah turns slightly to the side, a blurred spot appears on her as well.
The R-rated card after the credits is included in both versions - but the Japanese version has a slightly longer black screen before it.
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