Comparison between the cut Spanish DVD by Divisa Home Video and the US DVD by Blue Underground.
- 16 differences between
- Runtime of differences: 467.4 sec (= 7:47 min)
* Including 2 scenes with additional material in the Italian version - 392.7 sec (= 6:33 min)
* Including 2 scenes with deviating material in the Italian version - 78.4 sec (= 1:18 min)
A few additional master errors with a duration of less than 0.5 sec each were not listed in the report.
The international versions of THE BLOODY JUDGE
The 1970 exploitation flick The Bloody Judge with Christopher Lee, directed by Jess Franco, exists in various versions, only some of which have survived today. Over the years, there have been several attempts at compositing, the most common of which is the one on the US DVD by Blue Underground with a duration of 98 minutes in PAL (NTSC/Blu-ray: 102 minutes). By the way, more than 5 minutes were inserted here with German sound. Those scenes were apparently missing in the original US version (they contain nude scenes). In Germany, there was also a DVD by Starlight with 108 minutes (in NTSC speed), which was the longest running DVD, but the additional scenes here have a very bad quality.
Koch Media now brings two HD scans on Blu-ray. On the one hand, the German theatrical version, which runs for about 76 minutes in PAL and is thus heavily cut. As mentioned, however, this version also contains more explicit nude scenes, which were then added to the US DVD. Koch Media was also able to prepare this 98 resp. 102 minute Composite Cut from Blue Underground in HD. As a bonus, you will find the two alternative scenes from the other European versions in the form of deleted scenes. At the same time, the two pure additional scenes from the Italian DVD have been added there, which brings us to the reason for this report. The old Composite Cut on the DVD by Starlight followed the same approach, but the Koch version is a bit longer.
Cuts and no real surprises in the Spanish version
In the end, the Spanish DVD is rather uninteresting, as the exact comparison shows that you won't find any additional material here. Many cuts are identical to the Italian version (or rather the version is closer to it than to the German version. However, the nude scenes are shown here in the explicit form known from GER & US and the additional Italo material is not included, respectively it remains really exclusive for the Italians. During the questioning of Sally (Diana Lorys) in the second half of the film, you will find a short alternative course of events. However, even this one is actually unspectacular, resp. apparently only recycles footage from the surrounding area.
Quick overview of the versions
1. Restoration by Blue Underground (US DVD + Koch Media)
- Duration: 102 min NTSC or converted 98 min PAL
- Special features: The longest version, released for the first time in 2005, in consistently good quality. Several scenes have already been added to the presumably almost 90-minute US theatrical version, for which only German sound is available.
- Releases: In addition to the aforementioned US DVD, Koch Media is offering this version in HD on the German Blu-ray for the first time.
2. Composite Cut (Starlight + Koch Media)
- Duration: 108/109 min (the German DVD runs at NTSC speed) or converted 103/104 min. PAL
- Special features: First published in Germany in 2007. Based on the Blue Underground restoration, the two additional scenes of the Italian version were added.
- Releases: The 2007 DVD from Starlight has the additional material only in very poor quality and the second scene is only partially included. On the Blu-ray by Koch Media, released in 2020, the scenes are complete as well as from the better source, which later appeared in Italy.
3. German theatrical version (Starlight + Koch Media)
- Duration: 79 min Blu-ray or 76 min PAL
- Special features: As you can already guess from the running time, the film is available here in a heavily cut version (However, it also contains scenes that were missing in other European versions at the time. During the Blue Underground restoration, as already mentioned, only scenes with German audio were inserted.
- Releases: Included on disc 2 of the 2007 DVD by Starlight. Koch Media's Blu-ray released in 2020 offers this version as a bonus in new, own HD scanning.
4. Italian version
- Duration: 90 min PAL or converted 94 min NTSC
- Special features: Shortened by about 15 minutes compared to the Blue Underground restoration, many censorship cuts. But you could discover two additional scenes, which were later added in the Composite Cut. Above that, two alternative scenes: A completely separate shot in which the actors are dressed instead of naked and altered violent scenes.
- Releases: At least included on the 2005 DVD released by Majestic Films / CVC. Later Italo-DVDs are listed with a runtime of 98 minutes, possibly the Blue Underground restoration was taken over here.
5. Spanish version
- Duration: 89 min (the Spanish DVD runs at NTSC speed) or the equivalent of 86 min PAL
- Special features: Shortened by almost 13 minutes. Many of the cuts correspond to those of the Italian version, but any additional material from there was not taken over. A scene with Sally (Diana Lorys) offers some unspectacular additional material.
- Releases: Included on the Spanish DVD from Divisa Home Entertainment.
Runtimes are ordered as follows: US DVD in NTSC / German DVD in NTSC speed
Alternative credits. The Spanish ones are based on the American ones with inserted pictures over a map in the background respectively take over e.g. the actor's names 1:1. But for the purely Spanish insertions, the scenes from the end of the US version, which actually run without texts, have been recycled as far as possible.
ES 0,8 sec longer
05:51 / 05:36-06:16
The priests enter the room much longer.
39.5 sec
12:06 / 12:16-12:35
The torture begins earlier with a tracking shot down the stairs.
18.4 sec
Recut
13:46-13:48 / 14:10-14:35
The torture is considerably longer in the
US version. This additional piece is also available in the German version.
Therefore the
Spanish version (and the Italian one) shows the stairs at this point. But this is NOT an additional shot, the shot is from the beginning of the scene described as cut two minutes before.
US version 22.6 sec longer
20:35 / 21:11-21:37
Mary whimpers much longer, in between, we see the burning ladder on the ground.
The cut sets in at least a second later than in the Italian version.
25,9 sec sec
22:46 / 23:44-23:49
The US has a shot of trees where the camera pans to the side.
4.7 sec
29:41 / 30:27-30:44
The sex scene in the barn can also be seen in Spain in a more explicit form. But the kissing at the end is over earlier than in the US version. The German version was already a bit longer here, but it also lacks about 7 sec. more than the US version.
16,4 sec
34:48 / 35:37-35:47
The shot of the burning paper at the end is slightly shortened - a little more (1 sec) than in IT. Then you see Mary outside going to Satchel earlier.
10.1 sec
37:45 / 38:36-38:40
The man speaks to Mary a little earlier.
There's a second more missing here than in IT.
3.8 sec
Alternative
66:58-67:12 / 66:39-66:51
Alternative shots during Jeffries' interview with Sally. In contrast to US (timecode above), IT (68:58) and GER (50:49), the Spanish version switches to Sally earlier and shows her for much longer. Also on the Spanish soundtrack you can hear her contradicting the prosecution, but at that very moment she switches to Jeffries - while in the other three versions she can be seen at that moment and moves her mouth accordingly.
Probably, in the Spanish DVD, only a part of Sally's shot was looped again shortly afterwards, or rather it's
not really exclusive material.
Note: On the US-DVD, German sound is played here, or rather, this part was probably missing in the old US version.
No time difference
| Spanish DVD | International Versions (IT/GER/US DVD) |
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68:27 / 68:05-68:08
The blind witch can be seen earlier.
3.2 sec
68:33 / 68:13-68:32
The woman a moment longer, then again the chopped off hands. The camera pans up to the trapped woman, then IT kicks in in the middle of the shot.
The cut is a little bit (2,4 sec) shorter in Italy resp. in the ES, the recording of the woman is stopped earlier.
18,8 sec
73:35 / 73:22-79:55
The scene in the dungeon starts earlier. A girl is tortured and the bald man takes care of Mary for a short time. He pushes her into the cell, where Mary has to have sexual intercourse with the captured girl. Afterwards, Mary is undressed and forced into a small bathtub, where she washes another woman. She is then carefully dressed again.
Here you can only hear German sound throughout resp. already in the US version the whole scene (or at least a big part of it) was probably inserted from German sources. Furthermore, the IT has the second additional scene with Mary and Harry at this point, which is also missing in the ES.
393,9 sec (= 6:34 min)
73:44 / 80:03-80:07
A jumpcut while undressing, the camera has a tracking shot to the two of them.
3.8 sec
75:28 / 81:48-84:17
From a blurred view we move on to Mary, who is then slowly undressed and groped at length with whimpering.
Again, German sound resp. a scene that was obviously missing in the original English version.
149.3 sec (= 2:29 min)
83:37 / 92:05-92:12
The judge says something at the end of the shot.
6.4 sec
88:23 / 96:46-97:41
The men come into the room and Jeffries' death is confirmed after he has been allowed to say a few last words.
55 sec
In the Spanish DVD, the English credits are interrupted before the final "Towers of London" note. But the music continues for the same length of time over black screen.
