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German 2023 Blu-ray with both versions



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The New One-Armed Swordsman

original title: Xin du bi dao

Comparison:

  • Celestial version
  • Final Cut (T.V.P.)
Release: Mar 19, 2023 - Author: Muck47 - Translator: Muck47 - external link: IMDB

Comparison between the Celestial version, and the final cut, both included on the 2023 Blu-ray reissue of T.V.P. (The Vengeance Pack).

 

- 7 extended bits
- Duration: 18 sec

One of them with a duration of 1.3 sec, which was already inserted on the old DVD/Blu-ray.

Also 25 documented missing bits in the final cut with a duration of 21.4 sec - see final cut report

Running times: CelestialTVP 98:28 min / Final Cut TVP 99:09 min


We have reported about the iissues around the Shaw classic The New One-Armed Swordsman in great detail in the final cut report. The Final Cut reinserts a few selected "framecuts" into the Celestial master, but quite a few other and often even longer parts were ignored. T.V.P. probably only focused on the moments mentioned e.g. in the OFDb, which were already clearly classified there only as exemplary for "over 100 missing bits".

In the present report we now show in more detail which moments these are exactly. As already indicated before, except for the one long shot of the march to the bridge, these moments are all shorter than 1 sec, partly even less than 0.5 sec. They're also by no means all striking scenes of violence or the like, while in the other report we documented, for example, that you can detect 1 sec more in the 35mm when Lei Li is seen with his arm cut off. Every additional moment is probably welcome for fans and at the same time it is still a subjective decision which "framecut" is worth an insert. However, the selection in the final cut seems a bit arbitrary.

Note: We also had the Taiwanese Blu-ray from Deltamac for comparison. The somewhat shorter running time of 97:55 min can be explained by the fact that the Celestial notes at the beginning and end are missing here. Otherwise, the version is frame-exactly identical to the Celestial master. On the other hand, we also had the German DVD first edition of T.V.P. at hand to be able to confirm more precisely ourselves that only a mini-moment towards the end was inserted here in comparison to the Celestial version.


Running time information is according to the scheme
Celestial version Blu-ray in 23.976fps / Final Cut Blu-ray in 23.976fps

The old Blu-ray starts 0.8 sec later.


00:12 / 00:11-00:40

In the final cut, you can still see the logos of T.V.P. and Scotia Film Distribution here.

29 sec



The Shaw logo right after is taken from a worse picture source in the final cut. The first scene is then also added in from the 35mm version. However, there is no relevant difference in running time here (0.3 sec) and this was done in the final cut probably only because of the German intro title card. In any case, these are no 3 sec, as described in the OFDb entry to the DVD as a missing part here to the entrance.

Celestial version (Blu-ray)T.V.P. Final Cut



However, as noted in the report of the final cut vs. the 35mm version, the final cut switches to the Celestial master for the rest of the credits anyway.


18:06 / 18:35

A henchman (Cheng Kang-Yeh) hacks his sanchaku in the back of Lung (Ku Feng) who suffers a brief moment longer at the end of the side close-up.

0.4 sec




63:47 / 64:16-64:30

The longest cut: Some guests come riding to the castle earlier. The camera follows them to the bridge, where the Celestial master finally kicks in.

13.6 sec




85:12 / 85:55

On the bridge, Lei Li first kills an attacker portrayed by Huang Pei-Chi. When he afalls to the ground, the shot starts a moment earlier.

0.6 sec




86:20 / 87:03-87:04

Lei Li can be seen insignificantly earlier at the pagoda.

0.6 sec




86:25 / 87:09-87:10

Now the reason why this entire shot was inserted from another source: After Lei Li climbs in and attacks the adversary portrayed by Wang Kuang-Yu there, the latter falls down for a moment longer.

1 sec




87:35 / 88:20

In a quick long shot two more men fall from the bridge.

0.7 sec




Also included in previos T.V.P. DVD/Blu-ray
90:02 / 90:47-90:49 (/ Alte DVD: 86:21-86:22)

Here now the short part, which is indeed missing in the original Celestial HD version (and thus also on disc 2 in the 2023 mediabook of T.V.P.), but which was the only one already added back in for the first DVD/Blu-ray of T.V.P.. By the way, here in the old DVD there was a change of the picture source in the middle of the shot, as you can see in the frames that directly follow each other there...


...here again the same two frames from the final cut, where the 35mm reel was taken as the basis for the entire shot. Therefore the added bit is less noticeable here.


Anyway, as you've already seen here, Lei Li swings from the ceiling for a brief moment longer. He then catches Chen with the saber, who sprays some blood in a brief close-up.

1.3 sec