Comparison between the cut English version on the British VHS (identical to the NL VHS) and the export version on the Italian VHS.


- 1 cut
- Cut length: 153.4 sec. (= 2:33 min.)

The Movie

Relatively sluggish movie from Germany, which was produced in 1975 and which is nowadays primarily interesting for it has Rutger Hauer in one of his first bigger feature film roles and it also shows some famous German actors of that time, like Horst Frank. The playful but also gloomy synthesizer score is also quite good and with Michael Ballhaus, it features a talented cameraman long before his great successes.

Release Overview

It seems that there exist two different versions of the movie, which were both released in Germany.
The German VHS releases by UFA and Marifon Video contain the longest version with a running time of 83 minutes. The tapes at hand from Italy and Spain run 77 minutes and are, except for some little master errors, identical to the German tapes by CMV and VMP, which again are identical to the German theatrical version. So because this shorter version was not only restricted to Germany, but could also be found in other European countries it will henceforth be called "export version", while the UFA/Marifon version will be called "long version".

A version rated FSK 16 was produced by Arcade on the basis of the long version; moreover, in the UK and the Netherlands, there's a further cut version available, based on the export version and called "English version" from here on.

The here compared Versions

In the version which was released in the UK and the Netherlands (English dubbing with NL subtitles) there's one more cut at the beginning, compared to the export version. The for the export version already shortened introduction of the main character was thus again reduced; here, it immediately begins with her on her way to the vacation home. This was probably done because in the respective scene are permanently displayed German credits, which are maybe fixed in the master, so they tried to avoid that in the English version. The fact that the Spanish and Italian VHS contain this scene with the same German credits is also indicative for that.



Thanks go out to the label Shamrock Media, which provided the whole material, including the German theatrical master (= export version), which has the best quality. It can be hoped for the first DVD release of the movie in the future.



Running time indications are in the order
British VHS (= NL VHS) / Italian VHS (export version)


Note:

The screen shots for the export version were taken from the German theatrical master due to the better picture quality.

00:00 / 00:00-02:33

The GB/NL version starts off with Corinna in the town. So, it's missing completely how she's getting ready at home and packing her stuff for her job as a teacher - by the way, there are already two further extensions at this point in the long version on the UFA VHS. In between times, Cris is briefly shown getting up in the morning and leaving his house.

In the German original sound track as well as in the Spanish dubbing the comments of the maid and radio news about horrible things are audible in the off. This was left out in the Italian dubbing, there's no talking in the whole scene.

153.3 sec.

Immediately afterwards, the alternative English title is only displayed on the GB/NL VHS, followed by further credits.

British VHS	German Theatrical Master

14:02-14:10 / 16:35

Longer master error on the Italian VHS: After Himmel fell out of the car, the shot (without dialogue) is a bit longer, but there's not much visible anyway due to the heavily darkened picture.


Note:

This is the only point which differs in all versions. The shot is always the same, but the length is different.

- Italian VHS: the shortest.
- German UFA VHS long version: 5.4 seconds longer.
- German VMP/CMV theatrical version: 7.4 seconds longer.
- British/NL VHS: 8.3 seconds longer.
- Spanish VHS: 9.4 seconds longer.

+ 8.3 sec.




45:41-45:42 / 48:06

Again a master error on the Italian VHS: the gangsters are shown a bit longer in the car on the British VHS.


Note:

- contained on the Spanish VHS; in return, the following shot is shorter.
- also contained in the long version on the UFA VHS and at that point, there follows further additional footage.
- contained in the German VMP/CMV theatrical version.

+ 1.5 sec.



59:22 / 61:46-61:47

Master error in the GB/NL VHS: Arthur a little bit earlier.

1,3 sec




There's displayed a note on the English dubbing at the end of the British VHS, which explains the additional difference in running time. "Fine" is displayed at the end of the Italian VHS.
There's nothing at the end of the NL VHS, which is equal to the British VHS (likewise on the Spanish VHS and in the two German versions).

British VHS 24 seconds longer

British VHS	Italian VHS