Comparison between the uncut BBFC 18 DVD by Anchor Bay (R-rated) and the uncut German DVD by Black Hill (Unrated).

The differences:

1 scene of alternate footage = R-rated: 13 sec / Unrated: 17 sec.

Prior to the release of the second Phantasm film, a few violent scenes had to be removed to avoid the box office damaging X-rating. Also, several plot scenes didn't make it into the finished version in the end, which then got the R rating and was released worldwide that way. A small specialty among releases is the German DVD by Marketing Film, because this has, in addition to the known standard version, also the longer workprint on board as a bonus. Here you could see the additional plot scenes as well as the violent scenes that were removed for the X-rated version.

As it is with a workprint, however, the picture quality is extremely poor and the large timer is stamped directly in the picture. Only last year, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the first part in the U.S., a complete box set with all five parts was released on Blu-ray. Interestingly, the infamous scene with the priest and the sphere in his head was restored to its original form in the second part and reinserted into the film. At the time, the scene was one of the violent moments that had to give way for the R rating. Unfortunately, the rest of the X-rated scenes were not included in the film and can only be seen in the bonus material. The unrated version was first released exclusively in a Blu-ray box set with all 5 Phantasm movies by Well Go in the US. In Germany, Black Hill Pictures subsequently released the same unrated version within a collection with parts 1-4 in December 2020. In the second part, the priest murder is now shown in the bloodier version, while the other workprint scenes are in much better picture quality in the bonus material. The unrated version can also be purchased individually as a mediabook edition, where you can watch it on Blu-ray as well as on DVD.

0 min
The Unrated version features the Universal logo at the beginning. The R-rated version shows black screen instead.
No time difference

52 min
The murder of the priest by the sphere in his head, is shown much more explicit and bloody in the Unrated version. In the R-rated version, the priest is shown in various shots, with the difference that virtually no blood spurts out of the sphere in a high curve here. The scene is interrupted again and again with countercuts on Liz, who observes the events partly disgusted.
R-rated: 13 sec
Unrated: 17 sec

R-Rated	Unrated

92 min
At the very end, the Unrated version shows, among other things, a Universal Studio logo and a picture with the info to visit Universal Studios during a vacation in Hollywood.
22 sec