Comparison between the final cut and the German 35mm version, both included on the 2023 Blu-ray reissue of T.V.P. (The Vengeance Pack).

- 25 documented missing bits
- Duration: 21.4 sec

Also 6 missing bits on the 35mm version with a duration of 11 sec

Several other master defects in the 35mm and "framecuts" in the Celestial version with a duration of less than 0.5 sec were not listed in the cut report.

Running times: Final Cut TVP 99:09 min / 35mm TVP 102:11 min

THE NEW ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN and the problem with framecuts

The phenomenon of "framecuts" is well known among Eastern fans and by now we have quite a few reports in the archive that reveal in more detail which (more or less) relevant parts have fallen been lost this way, especially in Celestial restorations of the Shaw films. The New One-Armed Swordsman is certainly one of the best known examples, for which we could not deliver several reports so far, because apart from obscure foreign VHS no uncut alternative without framecuts was known. That almost changes with the German Blu-ray re-release of T.V.P. (The Vengeance Pack), available since March 10, 2023. But first things first.

The first DVD and Blu-ray editions of T.V.P. had one less than 2 sec long moment towards the end inserted from another source. Otherwise, the film was 4 minutes too short thanks to framecuts, because the Celestial master was used. As with many other Shaws, this title was restored in Asia by Celestial and rigorously trimmed in almost every shot to cover up damage. This film has often been cited as a prime example of this sorry practice, because both entire shots and small bits of violence in the fight scenes were lost in this way. The fact that T.V.P. obviously also had another image source available at the time, and that they still only selectively inserted just a mini-moment, has been discussed critically accordingly.

This is where the 2023 Blu-ray reissue comes in, which for the first time includes a quasi-uncut 35mm scan and a "final cut" created from the Celestial master and selected inserts from the 35mm version. As the first of several comparisons, we've compared these two versions included on Disc 1 of the Mediabook in more detail.

Two new versions of T.V.P. and Shaw releases internationally.

The 35mm version is by far the longest version in which you get to see the film. Especially around reel changes this version also isn't complete either, but these bits are basically negligible. However, this version has unfortunately not been restored extensively, as was the case in the UK/USA by Arrow Video in the two boxes Shawscope Vol. 1 and 2 released in 2021 and 2022 for a total of 16 films. We briefly recall at this point that Arrow's Shawscope sets included for the first time uncut and indeed clearly superior quality re-scans of Shaw classics such as The Boxer from Shantung and The Invincible Shaolin.

In contrast, the 35mm version of The New One-Armed Swordsman suffers from the usual flaws that come with such a raw 35mm scan: In addition to small jump cuts, countless dropouts and damage to the image are especially noticeable. Furthermore, the picture is comparatively colorless in contrast to the bright and colorful Celestial master. This look of a worn out theatrical print has, conversely, a certain grindhouse charm, of course. We've uploaded a few uncompressed screenshots here.

The means for (an unquestionably more cost-intensive) remastering process as with the Arrow boxes and/or simply access to less worn-out original material were in any case probably not available. Therefore the label went a different way. In addition to the 35mm version, which  thankfully is also selectable on the disc, the main feature is the so-called "Final Cut", which is proudly presented as a self-creation according to the logo of T.V.P. which was added at the beginning.

Here, the Celestial master was used as a basis and (minus the logos) 18 seconds of additional material were added. We will deal with these differences in a separate report. Unfortunately T.V.P. solely focused on the moments mentioned in e.g. the OFDb - even though the listing clearly classified it as exemplary for "over 100 spots". Only these 18 sec were at least reasonably restored in the final cut or cleaned of the aforementioned dirt and processed in the color grading.

The still incomplete final cut of T.V.P.

With this comparison we can say for the time being: In the end the final cut is the best way to watch the film so far, but it's still a bummer in the end. If you take the pompously formulated approach of a "final" hybrid cut with a new edition, a lot more would have been possible.

With framecut differences of often a total of 3-5 minutes in the Celestial versions, it is always a subjective choice, even in our reports, which small moments are really worth mentioning and should be listed as "real" missing bits. A restriction to a duration of at least 0.5 sec (apart from striking moments during action scenes) or complete shots has proven to be sensible here, although every moment documented in this way can of course be individually classified as irrelevant by the viewer.

Thus, we make no claim to completeness in this particular type of comparison, but according to this scheme, at least 20 sec of additional material can be discovered in the 35mm. At this point it should be emphasized right away that on the other hand the few moments actually added for the final cut are several times even less than 0.5 sec long and most of them are not related to scenes of violence. Since such short passages were taken into account, it doesn't really make sense that, conversely, significantly longer moments with a duration of even more than one second were ignored. But as said, T.V.P. has probably simply followed what was already document in the OFDb instead of really checking the versions themselves in detail for differences.

The present release was announced by the label way back in July 2018 with the promise of a "completely uncut source". Quite a few Facebook posts have been deleted in the meantime, but are of course documented in dedicated film forums. In any case, T.V.P. has been eagerly advertising their worldwide uncut premiere for over 4 years. As with Black Mask (editing errors in both the extended cut and the T.V.P. cut), this leaves at least a bad taste in what is in itself a good approach to such a complex case in terms of cuts.

However, each fan may of course decide separately if that's actually an issue. There is no better alternative for now anyway. Positively can be attested besides still that plentifully bonus material was collected. The final cut comes with new audio(k)commentaries and on a second Blu-ray, in addition to the original Celestial version (without the one spot inserted by TVP on the old DVD/BD), there are also some more featurettes as well as, for example, all three Super 8 versions of the film.

Running time information is arranged according to the scheme
Final Cut Blu-ray in 23.976fps / 35mm version Blu-ray in 24fps