Staff - Help - Contact Search:
buy this title


Shawscope Vol. 2 Blu-ray Box (US edition)



Sisu






Avatar






The Last Starfighter






John Wick: Chapter 4






The Truman Show






Scream 6




The Kid with the Golden Arm

original title: Jin bi tong

Comparison:

  • Alternate Cut
  • Regular Cut
Release: Dec 15, 2022 - Author: Muck47 - Translator: Muck47 - external link: IMDB

Comparison between the Alternate Cut and the Regular Cut (both included on the UK/US Blu-ray from Arrow Video).


- One altered scene
- No runtime difference

Several other master errors/"framecuts" with a duration of less than 1 sec each were not listed in the report.


In late 2021, Arrow Video released the "Shawscope Vol. 1" box set in the UK/USA, which included 12 films from the legendary Hong Kong film studios. In addition to 5 legacy HD masters from licensor Celestial, there were 7 new HD restorations here that did not have the infamous framecuts that can be found in most of Celestial's catalog. In several reports, exemplified by the comparison to The Five Venoms, where other reports for titles in the box are also linked. Since November 21, 2022 (UK) and December 06, 2022 (USA) respectively, the "Shawscope Vol. 2" box is now available. This time there are even 14 films on board, with 9 of them in new HD restorations without framecuts.

Besides a different Code A/B version of Mad Monkey Kung Fu and the SD bonus cut of Martial Arts of Shaolin there's also a second version of a movie included right within the set for The Kid with the Golden Arm. is the second title on this disc. The running time difference looks like this:

​There is an alternate cut here that, according to the introductory text in the Blu-ray menu, corrects a continutiy error that is present in the original negative and thus also in most common releases of the film. This version differs really only in a single scene, which was shifted here to another section of the movie. Whether or not this was necessary is up for discussion: In the scene block, two separate scenes are shown in parallel, so you jump between the action anyway. Depending on the version, one or the other plot line now runs through in one. Not too exciting, but still a nice idea as a bonus.


Running time details are arranged according to the scheme
Alternate Cut on the Arrow Blu-ray in 23.976fps / Regular Cut on the Arrow Blu-ray in 23.976fps

Here's a look at the menu text for the Alternate Cut, which explains that the film was shown on some video releases as follows.




21:48-22:24 / 21:48

In the alternate cut, the fight of Chiang Seng and his companion Hu Yun is briefly interrupted here in the middle by another change of scene to the other protagonists. There is already the scene to see here, where "Iron Robe" Wang Lun-Wei loses a wheel from the carriage, whereupon Hai Tao addresses him.

Here first the scene progression of the normal version, which is shorter at this point, i.e. the shots directly before and after. Note the hand movement with Hu Yun's weapon in the wide shot on the left when the transition to the closer perspective takes place:


And here are pictures of the said scene with the carriage that interrupts the fight in the alternate cut at Arrow Video:




25:06 / 24:30-25:06

Now the carriage scene also appears in the normal version. This is not immediately noticeable because at the end of the scene Hai Tao and Wang continue to talk in exactly the same perspective from which the dialog continues afterwards.

For orientation, here are first the two shots directly before the moment when the carriage scene was built into the normal version.


And here is the transition from the last shot of the carriage scene to the part of the dialogue afterwards which is the same in both version. The conversation runs through in one like this: