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Shawscope Vol. 3 Blu-ray box |
Comparison between the theatrical version and the extended version, both on the British/American Blu-ray from Arrow Video
- 9 extended bits
At the end of 2021, Arrow Video in the UK/USA released the ‘Shawscope Vol. 1’ box set, which contained 12 films from the legendary Hong Kong film studio. In addition to 5 well-known HD masters from the licensor Celestial, there were 7 new HD restorations that did not have the infamous framecuts that run through much of the Celestial catalogue. We have documented this in more detail in several editing reports, for example the comparison to Five Venoms. At the end of 2022, ‘Shawscope Vol. 2’ followed with 9 out of a total of 14 films in new HD restorations without framecuts, for example the report on Ten Tigers of Kwantung. From 25 November 2024 (UK) and 6 December 2024 (USA) respectively, ‘Shawscope Vol. 3’ is available. Fortunately, this time even all 14 films included are new restorations, so that there is added value across the board compared to the previously known Celestial versions. Particularly exciting are Clans of Intrigue, which has only been available in a censored version worldwide so far, and The New One-Armed Swordsman, which was only released by T.V.P. in an incomplete reconstruction instead of fully uncut. The Avenging Eagle is a similar case which had a half-baked "uncut" reconstruction in Germany by filmArt. Arrow presents all these problem cases in the longest versions to date, along with much more. Disc 5 contains The Magic Blade (report) and Clans of Intrigue. Apparently there were two versions of the latter movie on DVD before and while one of these was the "complete" theatrical version, e.g. Germany got a different version that was missing over three minutes of framecuts. What was more serious, though, was that a few bits of gore and nudity were missing in all the old releases of the film. Fortunately, Arrow Video was able to locate the missing material in the archives, so this film is actually being offered on Blu-ray with two versions.
Minus the Celestial references, the new Arrow version is 3:24 min longer in the theatrical cut. But in fact there are no completely missing shots here. Apart from the different color for the names being displayed throughout the film, there is basically only one short moment in the middle of the film that is worth mentioning, and we will deal with this at the beginning of the report, before we get to the more exciting stuff that was added in the new Extended Version.
Runtime information is given according to the scheme First, a quick look at the shorter Celestial restoration on the German DVD, which was affected by framecuts. The credits are identical (in yellow), but the fade-ins that occur throughout the film when actors/characters first appear are a different color. Sometimes they also appear slightly offset.
The only other thing worth mentioning is a moment at M.i.B. 34:14 / Arrow 36:55-36:56: the shot from above of the fight begins 0.9 sec earlier.
Now to the differences between the two versions on the Arrow Blu-ray and the new additional material of the longer version. 69:09 / 69:09-69:10 The arm is cut off in a short close-up. 0.4 sec
69:10 / 69:11-69:14 The next shot is also a bit longer, the camera moves back further and the arm can be seen better. 3.4 sec
74:09 / 74:13-75:00 Kung Yan Nen (Nora Miao) lies down next to Yin Chi (Betty Pei Ti) and is caressed by her. We see some kisses on the cheek and Kung clenches her hands in tension. Yin Chi whispers: “Do you know... I really love you.” Finally, Kung seems to give herself up to passion and the image fades as she kisses her on the mouth. 47,6 sec
80:29 / 81:21-81:32 Before you see the spectator Chu (Ti Lung) scurrying past behind the wall, Yin Chi's dress is actually taken off and she and a few other naked girls take a few steps forward. 10.8 sec
80:32 / 81:35-81:38 Another shot of the girls. 3.8 sec
80:35 / 81:41-81:54 The next one is longer and the chair is passed down to the naked girls in the water. When one of the girls grabs it, her bare breasts can be seen again. 12.9 sec
80:38 / 81:57-82:02 After Chu scurries around the corner once more, two more shots of the naked girls follow. 5.4 sec
81:13 / 82:37-82:40 Yin Chi is getting dressed again between a shot of the chair and another of Chu peeking around the corner. 2.9 sec
97:11 / 98:39-98: The monk (Yue Hua) tilts to the side a little longer, allowing a better view of the bloody hand in his back. 0.9 sec
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