Comparison between the cut Hong Kong Blu-ray from Panorama and the identically cut US Blu-ray from Massacre Video with the reconstructed uncut version on the Blu-ray from Austria from PCM and the original uncut version on the DVD from Austria from Shock Video


- 5 cuts
- duration: 61 sec (= 1:01 min)


Mou Tun-Fei's infamous Cat. III shocker Men Behind the Sun from 1988 should be familiar to our readers. Three sequels exploited further atrocities from the Japanese experimental camp 731 during the Second World War. Men Behind the Sun 2: Laboratory of the Devil by Godfrey Ho was the first sequel in 1992. The Thai VHS comparison we did a while ago testifies to censorship in Asia, especially in the autopsy scene.

After the film was released on DVD in the Netherlands and then in Austria in 2012, the world's first Blu-ray followed in Hong Kong in 2019. It was noticeable here that the autopsy scene and other bits of violence were filled with an SD image source. Obviously, the original HD master, possibly the original theatrical version from Hong Kong, was heavily censored. But unfortunately, not all of the missing scenes were completely restored, so this Blu-ray is to be classified as cut. It then became curious with the Blu-ray in the USA in 2023, because this was apparently based on the same HD master, but reworked with a completely different color scheme and the inserts for the autopsy scene, for example, were added in a slightly more detailed way. It was therefore assumed that the film had finally been reconstructed uncut, but as we were able to determine through a separate comparison: Unfortunately, they only created exactly the same cut version as on the Hong Kong Blu-ray.

In September 2024, the German-language Blu-ray premiere in mediabooks followed in Austria, which explicitly advertised that the version is "longer than in Hong Kong and the USA" and uncut. We have now made a complete comparison with both previous foreign Blu-rays and, to be on the safe side, with the old Austrian DVD in order to determine the exact state of censorship. Except for a surprising alternative shot in one scene (the HD master is similarly explicit and even longer than the old DVD), the version on this new Blu-ray has been correctly reconstructed to the uncut version and is therefore recommended in principle. What was actually missing in Hong Kong and the USA is largely unspectacular, or at least it is by no means the film's hardest moments: a (presumably racist) folk song and an implied rape were only hinted at here and run longer in the uncut version.

The Hong Kong Blu-ray and the Blu-ray from Austria both have an additional logo at the beginning. This is the only difference to the US Blu-ray, which doesn't have this logo and is thus about 9-11 sec shorter, but is otherwise frame-accurate identical. The Blu-ray from Austria has a slightly shorter black frame compared to the Hong Kong version.

Hong Kong Blu-ray 10.7 sec / Austrian Blu-ray 8.8 sec longer

A few comparison images to start with. First between the German-language (or AT = Austria) and the Hong Kong Blu-ray: the image is almost exactly identical. However, the Hong Kong Blu-ray was stretched to 1.78:1 and thus fills the entire 16:9 image. The AT Blu-ray contains the original image format of 1.85:1, but without more being visible at the sides.

HK Blu-ray	AT Blu-ray

And here, for comparison, the US Blu-ray, in which the seemingly same HD scan deviates massively in color and was given its very own grading. Unfortunately, the 1.85:1 image is zoomed in here – which also shows once again that the AT Blu-ray version is likely to be the correct one in terms of dimensions. It is also interesting to note that (presumably) real film grain and, in particular, pores on the faces are visible, while the AT and Hong Kong Blu-rays have a somewhat filtered image.

AT Blu-ray	US Blu-ray

Last but not least, the old Shock Entertainment DVD from Austria, with yet another different color grading and sometimes a different framing than on all Blu-rays.

AT Blu-ray	Shock DVD

During the autopsy scene in the 21st-23rd minute, it is quite obvious that for the Hong Kong Blu-ray (= exactly the same master for the AT Blu-ray) and the US Blu-ray it was already attempted to reconstruct significantly shortened footage into its uncut form. This affects several parts of the movie, but it is particularly noticeable here because of the high proportion of SD images.

Re-ordered scenes with the doctors are of significantly better quality, while the autopsy itself has a similarly dark image as on the old DVD. A few inconsequential frames during the transitions between image sources favor the DVD, but the scene is basically uncensored and thus faithfully reconstructed from the original SD material. This is particularly noticeable at 23:05 (AT Blu-ray) and 22:55 (US Blu-ray), where the beginning of a shot was still included in the HD scan and then the quality changed from one frame to the next. In full 1080p resolution, this is of course much more noticeable (including artifacts from the upscaled SD template) than on our small screenshots in this report, but here too a difference in color and grain structure is noticeable:

AT Blu-ray (except for the aspect ratio of 1.78:1 vs. 1.85:1, which is exactly the same on the Hong Kong Blu-ray)

US Blu-ray

The US Blu-ray has actually used a bit more material from the HD scan for this scene, but this also means more unsightly material changes. Illustrated here by 21:09 + 22:40 (US Blu-ray): The Hong Kong Blu-ray shows these shots from a consistently poorer source, while the US Blu-ray switches to an SD image in the middle of them, so that the white coats in particular are suddenly heavily overexposed from one moment to the next.

Alternative:
HK Blu-ray 35:41-35:42 / US Blu-ray 35:29-35:31 / AT Blu-ray 35:39-35:40 / AT DVD 34:04-34:05

A peculiarity that affects all Blu-ray versions and was only noticed when additionally compared with the DVD: before a close-up of the body parts flying into the furnace, there is a shorter alternative shot from a different perspective only on DVD.

Blu-ray 1 sec longer

AT-Blu-ray (corresponds here to US-/HK-Blu-ray)	Shock-DVD

A few more, but less exciting, deviations in the DVD master are documented below as an attachment. But now finally to the actual cuts on the HK/US Blu-ray, which were reintroduced for the AT Blu-ray:

HK Blu-ray 57:24 / US Blu-ray 57:12 / AT Blu-ray 57:22-57:55 / AT DVD 54:54-55:25

The folk song against China is heavily shortened on the Hong Kong/US Blu-ray. The camera pans past the singing men and the subsequent shot of the general begins a little earlier.

Note: Unfortunately, the text is not translated in either the German or the English subtitle track. The shot was incorporated in full from the DVD and thus begins 17 seconds earlier from the SD image source, although this beginning would still have been included in the shortened HD master. Here you can see, so to speak, the different approach taken for the German-language Blu-ray compared to, for example, the autopsy scene mentioned earlier, which was already patched up in Hong Kong (adopted 1:1 for the AT Blu-ray) and specially assembled in the USA.

32.3 sec

Here is another small comparison between the new Blu-ray and the old DVD from Austria. This apparently served as a template for the inserts and was compressed to 1.85:1.

AT Blu-ray	Shock DVD

HK-Blu-ray 63:36 / US-Blu-ray 63:24 / AT-Blu-ray 64:06-64:19 / AT-DVD 61:22-61:35

There is one longer shot: a doctor joins them on the right and it is commented that this man is the one they are looking for for the experiment and that he is a “fine specimen”. They lead the man into the next room, where you can initially see his backside from behind. You can then see again when the cloth is lifted from the stretcher with the woman.

13.3 sec

HK-Blu-ray 63:38 / US-Blu-ray 63:26 / AT-Blu-ray 64:22-64:29 / AT-DVD 61:37-61:44

The cloth is pulled down further and you can see her breasts. The man looks briefly irritated and then starts to defend himself a little earlier.

6.6 sec

HK-Blu-ray 63:41 / US-Blu-ray 63:29 / AT-Blu-ray 64:31-64:35 / AT-DVD 61:46-61:50

At the end of the scene, you can see the woman again, who (probably because of the penetration taking place off-screen) slightly grimaces in pain. The man is pushed forward again.

3.6 sec

Incidentally, the AT Blu-ray disc also changes the image source after just one frame during the shot of the nurse, presumably unintentionally. Here you can see the different image formats of the original again: the DVD, which was pressed in 1.85:1, changes to the correct HD format again.

HK-Blu-ray 79:39 / US-Blu-ray 79:27 / AT-Blu-ray 80:33-80:38 / AT-DVD 77:09-77:14

At the end of the scene, Iko can be seen again from close up. She looks at the boy and he gives her the thumbs-up sign. She nods contentedly.

5.2 sec

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Here are a few notes on the shock DVD (first timecode) compared to the PCM Blu-ray (second timecode).

13:09-13:10 / 13:51-13:52

The German DVD has a small jump cut here during a quiet moment in the flashback.

1.1 sec

59:40-59:41 / 62:22

Insignificant master error in all HD versions: The tent can be seen a moment earlier. On the Blu-rays, the rest of this shot is also of poor quality.

+ 0.9 sec

89:27-89:28 / 93:21

Master error: After Iko slumps, she is visible for a moment longer.

0.9 sec

The last shot is a little longer on the Blu-ray and then fades to black, while the DVD switches to the credits on a black background a little more abruptly.