Comparison between the cut Hong Kong Blu-ray by Panorama and the uncut German DVD by MIG / Vision Video

- 4 relevant missing bits
- Cut duration: 15.3 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.

Namely, there were a few minor cuts and master errors to complain about with this HD master from Hongkong. Nothing of it has any censorship background and you can basically live with these missing bits. Nevertheless, it is of course annoying that this has been lost on the Blu-ray, for whatever reason. It remains to be hoped that for a conceivable HD release in, for example, the UK or Germany, care will be taken to reconstruct these brief moments. By the way: The German DVD is frame-exactly identical to the Hongkong DVD by Mei Ah, as a separate comparison revealed.

Running time information is arranged according to the scheme
Hongkong Blu-ray in 24fps / German DVD in 25fps

A different logo to start with

Hongkong Blu-ray 6 sec longer

Hongkong Blu-ray	German DVD

In the further course, a frequently deviating color scheme and the zoom of the HD master, sometimes also a different image composition, are noticeable.

Hongkong Blu-ray	German DVD

03:12 / 02:58-02:59

Of various little jump cuts, this one deserves a mention: the shot starts a moment earlier on the DVD when Andy (Andy Lau) comes jumping through the window.

0.5 sec

Zoom
03:55-03:57 / 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	German DVD

04:14 / 03:59-04:09

After the henchman (Chung Fat) falls to the ground, one shot is completely missing. The triad boss (Shum Wai) runs out of the front while Andy makes himself comfortable in the back. Shortly after, the boss comes back into the room and you can already see that Pancho (Wong Jing) is holding a crossbow to his head.

9.8 sec

43:26 / 41:46

Odd moment: There is a small jumpcut at the beginning of the shot of the boy. In the HD master, this was compensated for by less than a handful of repeating frames.

In the 54th/52th minute (just before Andy gets handcuffed), as well as in the scene after that, many irrelevant frames are lost in quick succession - a total of just over a second.


72:11 / 69:24-69:25

After Cindy (Cynthia Rothrock) takes out a guy and then takes a step forward, the tracking shot around a couple of pallets starts a moment earlier.

1.1 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:

Alternativ
84:04-84:08 / 80:48-80:52

After a shot of the creature, the Blu-ray shows the computer screens again here, and the creature can be seen one more time. This replaces another shot of Cynthia that actually occurred at this point. She says here "Venus? Oh my goodness!"

No runtime difference (Cut bits: 3.9 sec)

Hongkong Blu-ray	German DVD

The credits on the master of the German DVD were apparently digitally recreated, while the Blu-ray shows the original ones again. The placement differs a bit.

Hongkong Blu-ray	German DVD

Alternativ
95:00-95:05 / 91:18-91:28

The HK Blu-ray fades out a bit earlier at the last credits. On the other hand the Blu-ray has the Gala logo again.

German DVD 4.7 sec longer

Hongkong Blu-ray	German DVD