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Comparison between the German DVD from Warner, the VOD version on Amazon Prime Video and the various versions on the German Blu-ray from Plaion Pictures – One zoomed shot Showdown in Little Tokyo by Mark L. Lester (Commando) is probably still held in high regard by many here: So there's not much more to say about this trashy action flick starring Dolph Lundgren and Bruce Lee's son Brandon. In Germany, there was once again the case that the FSK 18 VHS was heavily censored (and banned from 1992 to 2017), but was based on the longer unrated version. The uncensored unrated version was then released in many countries on DVD (and at the same time as a VHS reissue), but a Blu-ray was only released in the US in 2015 (Warner Archive) and only had the R-rated version. Interestingly, in 2021 the image master was replaced on Amazon Prime Video and since then the unrated version has also been available in HD as an VOD offering. Plaion Pictures has now released the German Blu-ray premiere in a media book in November 2024, thus offering a complete package. On the one hand, both film versions are on board, which thus represents a worldwide first release of the unrated version on Blu-ray. Strictly speaking, however, there are as many as eight versions to choose from on the disc: both versions are available in two different HD masters, and one is normal and the other is marked as “zoomed”. What's the story behind this? At the beginning of the report, there are a few comparison images, also in high resolution, for the two HD scans. The main variant in the menu corresponds to the 2015 Warner Archive Master, which is probably the latest restoration. The alternative restoration that can be selected under the extras is presumably the version that was used for the DVD at the time and differs mainly in terms of color, image detail and grain structure. A matter of taste, and it's nice that fans have a choice here. The “zoomed” versions are by no means zoomed throughout the whole film, but only affect a short shot right in the opening scene. In the original version, you could see set equipment here, a classic “goof”. At Warner Archive, this was already zoomed to cover up the critical part, and Plaion is now offering both versions for purists. The Mediabook is available exclusively from the Plaion Pictures label shop. The main version on the disc (= master of the Warner Archive Blu-ray released in the US in 2015) has a newer Warner logo at the beginning, which builds up as an animation at first. The alternative HD restoration has an older logo that remains completely static. Also, a few comparison images from the film: the alternative HD master often offers a little more image information on all sides or simply a slightly different framing. The grading also differs, with the alternative version having more natural colors (and thus being closer to the DVD). We also provided uncompressed 1080p screenshots of these scenes.
05:30 / 05:30-05:30 The super-short shot that makes the difference between “zoomed” and original in both versions/image masters: When Kenner jumps over the car, you see this for a total of 0.5 seconds in a side shot, and of that, only the first two individual frames (!) were actually critical. If you look at it frame by frame, you can see a small catapult that was used to help with the jump. In the third frame until the end of the shot, the car is already obscuring this set-up equipment, and this is hardly noticeable when watching normally. In any case, the shot was zoomed in on the US Blu-ray by Warner Archive, and Plaion is now offering the original version with seamless branching for this master and also the alternative restoration - as it was seen before on DVD and previous releases.
And for the sake of completeness, here is the same moment from the alternative HD restoration, although you can't really see any relevant difference.
Note: The old DVD also had the shot in its original form, while Amazon Prime Video (= identical master as Warner Archive / main version by Plaion) shows the zoomed form. |
