Release: Oct 15, 2022 - Author: Muck47 - Translator: Mike Lowrey
- external link: IMDB
Comparison between the cut British VHS by Imperial and the export version on the DVD from South Africa by Impact Video
A few additional master errors, each less than 0.5 sec in duration, were not listed in the report.
Righting Wrongs (a.k.a. Above the Law) is a small gem of '80s action cinema from Hong Kong. Cynthia Rothrock and Yuen Biao show their skills impressively here and the whole thing is basically mandatory viewing for the genre fan. Unfortunately, there are a few different versions floating around here as well. Similar to Millionaires' Express, you have to break it down a bit more. There are three main versions, each with exclusive scenes as well as cuts, and no version that contains ALL of the material. The version, originally made in English for export, was then further cut in some countries after the fact. In short summary: 1. Hong Kong version - 93 min PAL / 97 min NTSC 2. Mandarin version - 94 min PAL [would be equivalent to 98 min in NTSC]. 3. Export version - 87 min PAL [would correspond to 98 min in NTSC]. 3a. British VHS - 87 min PAL 3b. German version - 85 min PAL 3c. French version - 73 min PAL The cuts of the British versionLike the German version, the version released in the UK only on VHS is based on the Mandarin or export version, which has already been censored a few places compared to the Hong Kong version. On top of that, the BBFC found a few short moments to be a thorn in the side, where you get to see more dangerous kicks against the temple, for example. This was probably deemed too tempting for imitators. Compared to the other fight scenes that are still included, this seems rather trivial and hardly carries any weight. Nevertheless, in any case, a little bit has clearly been censored afterwards. With the Blu-ray from 88 Films available from October 24, 2022, this historical stain has then also settled for the British fans. The film is now available here with a new BBFC 15 certificate not only in uncut export version, but also with the Hong Kong version, Mandarin version and a new hybrid cut. Runtimes are ordered as follows: British VHS in PAL / African DVD in PAL The introductory reference to Golden Harvest is missing from the African DVD.
+ 18 sec
With the identical, English export credits, only the African DVD has the alternate title added at the bottom.
56:15 / 55:56-55:58 A hard kick to Joe's neck, seen at the beginning from the perspective of the foot. Yu stands up in the background in a panic. Note: This scene is a bit longer in the Hong Kong version. 2 sec
61:24 / 61:07-61:13 A part from the fight where Chan/Hsia (Yuen Biao) takes a blow to the stomach and lands on a table after being kicked in the face. Chan then throws something at his opponent's (Peter Cunningham) face & then kicks him aside. 5,6 sec
78:50 / 78:39-78:42 Chan passes out one more slow motion kick in an additional shot. 3 sec
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