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Comparison between the cut British DVD by Hongkong Legends (BBFC 18) and the uncut original version contained on the Japanese Blu-ray by Sony.
- 7 cuts - Total length of cuts: 45.8 sec There are to be found several additional master errors on the British DVD which are only mentioned in the report if they are longer than 0.5 seconds, then written in italics and small font. The British label Hongkong Legends has put on the market some really great DVD releases for fans of Asian movies over the years. But among these releases are also some black sheep, with Snake in the Eagle's Shadow being one of them. The release doesn't feature the usual audio commentary by Bey Logan, the Cantonese original audio track is missing and the English dubbing received a new sound track. The picture quality is quite low, just as for example in the German versions, the aspect ratio is wrong, because the picture is zoomed-in heavily... and last but not least this version had to be cut due to the guide lines of the BBFC. The fight between the cat and the snake shortly before the finale was reduced to mere hints. Some cuts to close-ups of Jackie and the cat remained in the movie, but most of such shots were lost during the fight. As of late, an uncut release in real HD is available in Japan. Since it lacks an English audio track/subtitles, many interested buyers will still have to fall back on the DVDs from the USA or Hong Kong. Time indications are in the order British DVD in PAL / Japanese Blu-ray. Logos
Additional logo on the Japanese Blu-ray. 15.1 sec
Credits This might be a bother to some with the Japanese Blu-ray: the credits are displayed in English, while the British DVD mostly has Chinese ideographs. Note: the British DVD is still in the original aspect ratio of 2,35:1 at this point; after that, the picture is zoomed-in to 1,85:1. No difference in running time
10:08 / 10:49-10:51 Before Dean Shek puts his feet into the box to give Jackie something to do, there's a small master error on the British DVD; the shot begins clearly earlier. 1.9 sec
20:39 / 21:49-21:52 The attacker is longer squirming with pain on the floor. The following shot of the razor blade lying on the ground, in which the priest is shown approaching, also begins a bit earlier. 3.2 sec
35:04 / 36:54 The priest is shown insignificantly earlier. 0.6 sec 41:59 / 44:07-44:08 The fat guy takes a swing a bit earlier. 0.7 sec 62:47 / 65:51 A few frames are lost during the transition of two shots, right before Master Hung attacks again. 0.5 sec 72:59 / 76:31-76:32 Jackie insignificantly longer, Hwang Jang-Lee then earlier. 1.2 sec 76:10 / 79:51-79:54 Following a close-up of the paw we see the beginning of the fight between the cat and the snake. 3 sec
76:10 / 79:54-79:59 Some further shots of the cat, the snake and Jackie from behind are missing after a very brief cut to Jackie. 3 sec
76:12 / 80:01-80:12 The fight steps up a notch; Jackie is cheering. 11.3 sec
76:12 / 80:13-80:19 More scenes of the fight. 6,4 sec
76:13 / 80:20-80:28 Several attacks are missing again before the cat is shown in a close-up in the British version. 7.9 sec
76:14 / 80:29-80:31 Two quick shots + Jackie. 2.1 sec
76:15 / 80:32-80:42 In the British version it looks as if the fight was over, because of the short shot in which the snake sinks down, but this is actually just a new attack: the snake is now wrapped around the cat and they are wildly rolling around on the ground. Finally, the cat manages to get loose and some further paw swipes end the life of the snake. 9.8 sec
76:21 / 80:48-80:50 Jackie strokes and praises the cat at the end of the shot. These are probably just some more master errors at this point, because shortening due to reasons of censorship wouldn't make any sense. 1.9 sec
Credits The "The End" display comes up in the British version right after the last frozen shot (different frozen frames in the two versions) on a red background. On the Japanese Blu-ray it's displayed in the frozen shot.
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