Comparison between the theatrical version and the extended version (both included on the German DVD/Blu-ray from Subkultur Entertainment)


- 10 cuts + 6x alternative material
- difference: 297 sec (= 4:57 min)

Background

Bloody Friday is a very special piece of German movie history: Raimund Harmstorf who has just become famous through Der Seewolf under the direction of Rolf Olsen in 1972 slipped into the role of the unscrupulous gangster Heinz Klett and properly mixed up the German bourgeoisie. Politically incorrectly staged and peppered with cult-suspicious slogans, there is a planning of a very big coup that has been doomed to failure from the very beginning. Clearly inspired by a bank robbery with hostage-taking in Munich in 1971, but the film itself undoubtedly lives from Harmstorf's presence. A similarly exploitative-sleazy and yet also quite multi-layered production has rarely been seen in this country.

The film has a sworn fan community not only in Germany and since the old DVD from Best Entertainment didn't really do justice to the trashy hype, it naturally listened up when Subkultur announced a restoration in January 2015. For this purpose a Kickstarter campaign had been initiated, about which one could read interesting update messages in the following years again and again - in fact it took until May 2017 until the hot-anticipated release was on the shelves. The heart of the film is also the reason for this cut report: in the course of the work, Subkultur came across additional material and was able to reconstruct the presumed original version of the film. This "extended version", about 5 minutes longer, will be examined in more detail in the following comparison.

In the beginning it was noticed by the individually found original magnetic tone that there must be something more to be found. The very recommendable restoration featurette from the bonus material of the release mentions the killing of Heidi in the finale. In fact, sound and picture are slightly damaged at several of these interfaces in the theatrical version, which has been common worldwide for many years, since they were apparently cuts made hastily at the last push of a button on the negative. The FSK examination at that time as well as general reservations of the lender are suspected here by Subkultur as reasons. For a more detailed commentary from the label, please refer to the notice board on the disc documented at the beginning of the cut report. In any case, one could gradually reconstruct all scenes removed at that time from many small parts, as could be read for the first time in this Update-Botschaft.

After many discussions one even surprisingly received a huge chunk of original negatives, which were initially classified as unusable and made a second scan in 4K. Again later one got access to the complete archive and could finally verify that one had really found every snippet of material and had prepared it in the best possible form. In addition to this new extended version of 4K source, the well-known theatrical version is also included as a 2K interpositive scan and the Italian version has been reconstructed in HD. It has been shortened, re-cut in abundance and even offers some alternative material - details will follow in a separate cut report.

The new extended version

So what do you get to see in the new five minutes? Purely from the runtime point of view a large part falls to pure Dialog extensions. At least partly you can interpret here also quite a censorship background. So Luigi has to put up with some condescending words about all the guest workers right at the beginning of director Rolf Olsen's guest appearance. Also Heidi may denounce in a longer quasi-monologue the tiresome routine of social constraints and doubt Marie Lotzmann towards Christian the sense of bank robberies or policeman murders. On the car chase Heinz Klett also has a few angry comments left over. Comparatively however, these scenes are rather harmless, nonetheless very valuable additions for the character drawing.

However, subculture has also promised clear censure interventions for violence and at least one such intervention actually exists. Heidi's death at the end is now much longer and is still celebrated in slow motion. Now it looks a bit rounder but other bloody violent pikes have not been extended again. One of the most famous scenes of the movie can already be mentioned here and at the same time it leads to the following last deviation point. In the rape scene at the end all moments can be seen "uncensored" from Veldt's perspective (-> slaughterhouse shots). In the well-known theatrical version his face was always dazzled by the material here and this was so clearly attenuated.

In the same scene you also find, as announced before, more sex. Victim Daniela Giordano introduces herself to same-sex sex in this scene and the corresponding shots of the lesbian act of love are now all seen in their full glory. Quite on the verge of pornography and it's understandable that you had to weaken that somehow for the broad theatrical release. Nowadays and in the overall context however, it's already a youth-free film again.

A few words about the German release: It was generally assumed that the movie had a FSK 16 rating. As subculture could determine in the course of the examination of the extended version and here explained in detail, the film was released only in a additionally shortened version which obviously was not evaluated on home cinema media. The actual theatrical version already got a FSK 18 rating at that time and this was also confirmed during a renewed examination in the year 2002. Subkultur itself was then surprised when in 2016 they even received a FSK 16 for the extended version, which was put on top again in the final. For the sake of completeness, the theatrical version was then presented again and as expected, received the 16 classification without any additional cuts.



Runtime data are arranged according to the following scheme
theatrical version/ extended version

Note: The subculture DVDs from the Kickstarter edition run (because of the also to 1/3 of international interested parties existing Kickstarter supporters) in NTSC. Accordingly, the runtime data in this case are equally applicable for Blu-ray as well as DVD, but the regular German DVD edition should contain a PAL version.

The following text can be found as "Notes on the version" on the disc:

12:36 / 12:36-13:43

Heidi's colleague says goodbye a bit longer onscreen; "Ciao!" (replaces by the way, a "Bye!" that runs halfway through the beginning of the next scene there in the theatrical version)
The two go separate ways, whereupon you get to see an additional scene at Luigi's workplace: A petrol station customer (director Rolf Olsen himself!) complains a bit and has all sorts of subliminal racist words left for his workers.

Olsen, to another man at the car: "With the car to Spain. That's not worth it at all. I'd much rather fly but it's because of the stupid boat."
Man: "Spedition. I haven't done this to myself for a long time now... sneaking over the Alps with a trailer like that."
Olsen: "What are they driving now?"
Man: "A Sea Ray 240s, D Cruiser. 8 meters, two Turbo Aqua engines. Each with 174 mph ."
Olsen: "Great thing. Now we also change to a Chris Craft. Excuse me."
He turns to Luigi working on the car; "Hey Luigi, how long do you need for the few litres of fuel? Heaven, ass and thread!
Luigi answers something in Italian.
Olsen: "And who should clean the windshield? Me maybe?
Luigi says something in his native language again and adds: "This weather is harsh. Nobody has time and everyone is so nervous.
Olsen: "Yes, yes. We have German tempo, nothing German fa niente."
The man interferes; "First, teach the brothers that. They are keen on the money, less on the work."
Olsen: "Have the same trouble in my business. 30 Turks and 40 Spains... so I tell you what..."
Man: "The whole thing is a farce. Our own people don't have time to work anymore. They have to strike and demonstrate and prepare revolutions..."
Olsen: "Yes, exactly. We can only help them to develop a little so that one day they will slit our throats. Poor Germany. So goodbye, I was nice to meet you."

67.2 sec (= 1:07 min)

20:44 / 21:51-22:08

Christian's "I can still afford that" was already half over Heinz's follow-up scene in the normal theatrical version.
Actually respectively now in the extended version he says it onscreen and adds "shouldn't I accompany you?
Heidi: "No, please don't. See you tomorrow.
Christian also says "See you tomorrow" while they go to the door where he then says goodbye to her.
Christian: "Please pay."
Cashier: "An orange juice, a coffee. 2,90."
Christian gives her something; "Keep the change."
Cashier: "Thank you."

16.8 sec

27:31 / 28:55-30:12

Heidi speaks "...growing up in an environment from which he can profit" still onscreen at the end (in the theatrical version again, halfway through the follow-up recording), then follows a long dialogue in which she criticizes the social conditions.

Christian answers first: "Nothing! But there will always be poor and rich. Privileged and disadvantaged. You don't have to run after the misery."
Heidi: "No you don't have to. I am waiting for a millionaire and Luigi sees that he is getting married into a big company. Is that what you mean?"
Christian: "You fall from one extreme to another. Maybe you will consider that there is also a middle way."
Heidi: "Hmm. And what does it look like, this middle way? Marriage. Looking for a home, for the family. Maybe you'll even find some hole that you can afford. In some mass settlement out in the suburbs. Between the railway embankment and factory chimneys. He has to do the dirty work because nothing else is due to him. And she also goes to the office during the day because there's no other way to afford it. The child? She puts the child in the kindergarten. In the evening she picks it up, then she starts cooking, washing, cleaning up and taking care of the child. When he comes home dog-tired, they eat. Then he falls asleep in front of the TV or behind the newspaper.He still has to stutter the monthly rates for the TV. Year off, year on, always the same. It will never get any further and if it does: The most beautiful years are gone. I don't want to live like that, Christian. I don't."

Note: By the way, the "I don't" is also what you actually hear from her mouth instead of the rest of the sentence mentioned at the beginning, when the camera material is again identical. Christian's following "Maybe you're right" also works clearly differently.

77,3 sec (= 1:17 min)

31:24 / 34:05-34:20

Heinz comments at the wheel: "Just now come these stupid pigs"
Luigi says something in Italian ??? and adds: "Say, do you still want to drive us into the grave?
Heinz: "Shut up! Come on, unpack the hand grenades. Throw them to their roof!"
Again Luigi comments something in Italian but the hand grenades remain in the car.

15.4 sec

32:25 / 35:22-36:06

The car rushes around the corner a bit longer and a police beetle car follows.
Luigi comments again in Italian and translates with: "Step on the gas!
Christian: "Drive on!
In the police car: "Faster, otherwise they'll slip through."
The colleague replied: "Yes, I can't faster".
Luigi again in Italian and Heinz waves off: "Yes, you can talk well..."
The policemen turn around a corner; "There they are!
Luigi: "How do we lose them?"
He adds a comment in Italian and they drive a bit through fog at last.

44.5 sec

65:45 / 69:26-70:07

Christian's been with Marie lately.

Marie: "You see, I am right. You are different. It starts with the name."
Christian: "You're very wrong."
Marie: "No. Or do you want to show me that you are convinced that social grievances can only be remedied by force?
Christian: "Revolutionary changes don't take place through prayer."
Marie: "But also not through bank robberies and police murders!
Christian: "I'm not talking about us now."
Marie: "But me!"
Christian: "That was an act of self-help."
Marie: "Ah, I understand. Private regulation with the capital of others."
Christian: "Better a little for everyone than too much for a few."
Marie: "You're talking your way out with political slogans again. But that's not the point!
Christian: "I don't have the nerves now to discuss with you any further!

40.8 sec

74:33 / 78:55-79:16

The policemen fend off the press for a little longer than hostage Helga is led outside.
Afterwards the gang in the car.

Heinz: "That's good. Drive slower otherwise we get a traffic patrol on the neck. It seems to me that these bastards kept their word. There's nobody behind us".
Luigi: "And in the sky?"
Heinz: "Bravo. 1:0 for you. But with this weather no wonder."

21 sec

Alternative
85:58-86:01 / 90:41-90:44

When Veldt's eye is zoomed in and then scenes from the slaughterhouse are running, there is still the eye above the shots faded-in in the theatrical version. The extended version shows the shots "uncensored".

theatrical version	extended version

Alternative
86:03-86:06 / 90:46-90:49

Same game from Dagmar's eye: She sees sex with another woman instead.

theatrical version	extended version