|
buy this title
4K UHD Blu-ray Deluxe Edition 
|
Comparison between the export version and the international cut, both included on the British 4K Blu-ray from 88 Films
- 6 differences
In the report on the hybrid cut of Jackie Chan's third directorial effort, Dragon Lord, we reviewed the version history. Two main alternative versions ("international version" and "Asian alternative cut") could be distinguished in the past, as we had previously summarized in a second detailed report. The hybrid cut in question combined the exclusive material from these two versions, both of which were previously included on the German Blu-ray in 2014 as SD upscales. Based on the “international version”, which in this case was also shown in Hong Kong theatrically and could be seen uncut in Germany at the time with a second German dub track by broadcaster ZDF, there was another variation. This 5 minutes shorter “export version” is the subject of this report. As you can guess from the name, the purely English-language credits were particularly striking here. The export cut was released on VHS in Germany and also available on VHS in the UK and France, for example. The 4K premiere from 88 Films in the UK, available since February 23, 2026, now includes the reconstructed “export version” in 4K for the first time, in addition to the “international version” and the “extended alternative version” (as well as the hybrid cut mentioned at the beginning). Recreating the export cut was quite simple to do with seamless branching-like playlists along with the international cut on one disc. With just five cuts, only a few action/comedy scenes were removed, probably to trim the film down to a crisp 90 minutes. Annoyingly, the credits with a few outtakes and action highlights were also dropped in favor of a conventional credit roll over a frozen still image.
Running times are listed according to the following scheme English-only export credits vs. bilingual credits in the second minute.
12:27 / 12:27-12:36 After Dragon says goodbye, the teacher turns around and asks another student to tell his wife that he won't be home for dinner again tonight. It seems that he has often done Dragon's work for him (in the previous scene, Dragon was assigned to write a story 500 times as punishment). 8.5 sec
16:17 / 16:26-17:35 The villain turns in the other direction and orders another of his men to make sure that they take turns keeping watch. Then there is another scene in which Dragon and Cowboy talk to a woman. At first, she is seen trying to hook up two young people, who seem rather embarrassed by this. When she says to the boy that he is so shy today, she is hit by a stone from Dragon's slingshot. Now she greets Dragon and Cowboy warmly, and in conversation it turns out that she was hired by Cowboy's father to find a wife for him. The two complain that the woman would never introduce them to such pretty girls, gawking at the girl who was just sitting at the woman's table. The matchmaker complains a little and agrees that she had already introduced them to the girl earlier without success. Upon closer inspection, the two agree and say that she is not so pretty after all. Cowboy whispers to Dragon that she might also know the pretty girl they saw a short time ago. The woman is eager to know who the two are talking about. After a while, they say they don't know the name and leave. But Dragon quietly says to the woman that she should introduce him to the pretty girls first, to which the woman replies that she doesn't know the girl he is looking for. 69.1 sec (= 1:09 min)
24:49 / 26:07-29:35 In the export version, after reading the text from his shoe, Dragon is asked to get dressed because they are going to visit Uncle Fong. In the original version, however, the father first asks Dragon to recite a poem, which Dragon then does by using some tricks in the missing scene. First, Dragon puts his shoe back on, as a copy of the poem his father expects is obviously not to be found there. Dragon looks desperate, and we see the two friends outside becoming aware of the situation. He winks at them to indicate the book with the poem, which will save the day. He now tries to distract his father by pointing to his new drawings and attempts to grab the book. He actually succeeds and throws the book behind him when the moment is right. His father throws the “scribbles” back at him and, somewhat angrier, demands that he recite the poem. Now he tries to reconstruct the poem, and both the teacher and his two friends, who stand behind his father under a pretext, constantly give him hand signals or mime the words he is looking for. Dragon apparently misinterprets a word so badly that first the teacher shakes his head and then his father also questions him.
The two friends then enter the apartment with tea, place it in front of Dragon's father, and start gesticulating wildly behind him. The father notices this after a short while when he sees their shadows on the table. He admonishes them, and Dragon uses the moment to run to the teacher and read the next words. After a while, he stumbles again, even though the two friends are gesturing wildly again. When the father turns around, one of them says he would like some green tea, thereby giving Dragon the word he was looking for. The father has had enough: he stands up and complains. The two point out to Dragon that they have attached the note to his back.
His father now unconsciously makes it easier for him by standing with his back to him. Dragon reads the text, staying exactly one step behind him so he can see it. But then his father sits down on the chair and Dragon tries to read the rest through the holes in the chair. In doing so, he makes a nasty slip of the tongue, whereupon Dragon's father jumps up and admonishes the teacher. This allows Dragon to read the rest of the poem. However, his father still feels cheated and NOW says to Dragon that they should visit Uncle Fong together. Dragon apologizes to his father grandly and cleverly removes the note from his back. After his father has left the room, he happily holds it up again and stumbles down the stairs.
Total 208 sec (= 3:28 min) 29:19 / 34:05-34:29 After the scene with the rifle, there is a missing dialogue among the members of the gang of crooks, which makes it clear that they are not so happy with Big Boss's plan. Tiger packs his things and wants to leave. The others ask him why he doesn't sell the stolen treasures first so they can take the money with them. He says he's not interested in money earned this way, and the others agree, saying that the treasures they stole belong to the Chinese people. 24.2 sec
31:37 / 36:47-36:50 The boss and his assistant can be seen in another shot. Incidentally, it is interesting to note that this shot is significantly longer in the extended/Asian alternative version at the beginning and especially at the end. Apparently for the sake of simplicity, this very short remainder of the shot in the international version was also omitted for the export. 2.8 sec
Instead of outtakes and repeats of various fight/stunt moments, the export version only shows credits over a freeze frame of the last scene.
|
