Comparison between the English Export Cut and the Hong Kong Original Version (both included in the British 4K-UHD Set from Arrow Video)
Regarding Arrow Video's British Box Set "BRUCE LEE AT GOLDEN HARVEST" in 4K-UHD, we have already summarized all the essential details in the report for the Mandarin Cut of the first film The Big Boss. It is practically a must-buy for devoted fans, partly because of its absolutely spectacular 10-minute longer cut. The subsequent film Fist of Fury (aka The Chinese Connection) also comes in two different cuts, which we have examined in the present comparison. In contrast to the other versions of The Big Boss, which had notable differences with various scene snippets in the main film, the bonus version of Fist of Fury is rather unspectacular. In fact, the only differences can be found in the opening and closing credits. Once again, the more interesting aspect is the audio track, which obviously doesn't quite come across in the report. The Japanese sound mix for the English version differs slightly and has a new English title song. Ultimately, it is a nice completeness bonus on the Arrow disc, but for unsuspecting viewers, there won't be a significant difference in which version they watch. Theoretically the theatrical and TV versions from Japan would have been interesting. As Brandon Bentley summarizes in the audio commentary, some censorship was done at that time for the release in Japan, as the country is portrayed in a somewhat unfavorable light in the movie. Unfortunately, corresponding footage is not available on the disc. Runtime indications are arranged according to the scheme: The original version still refers to Fortune Star at the beginning.
36 sec 00:19-00:37 / 00:55-01:13 In the first shot of the sky, the original version has burnt-in text in English (left) and Chinese (right). The corresponding text is also read in the original language. For the English export version, the texts have been removed, but the content is still read in English dubbed audio. No time difference
03:43-05:11 / 04:19-05:47 After the "Bruce Lee in" title overlay at the beginning of the opening credits sequence, the rest differs completely. In the original version, the image flickers slightly in red, and then the title appears. In the export version, the mention of Dyaliscope appears again before showing that Bruce Lee is part of the cast. No time difference
At this point, let's also take a look at the alternative US credits, which were separately included in the bonus material and represent a mix of the two film versions in 4K UHD. Instead of Golden Harvest, there is a reference to Columbia at the beginning. The opening shot of the sky runs without texts, just like in the export version. The main credits, however, completely match the original version - except for the title card. Here, the alternative title The Chinese Connection is used.
105:23-106:12 / 105:59-106:32 Over the freezeframe of Chen in mid-jump, the export version has a few more credits, while the original version briefly shows an end title card after a while. After that, the export version has two more credits on a black background. Export cut 16 sec longer
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