Comparison between the cut French DVD from Metropolitan and the British Blu-ray from Eureka (the latter identical to the German Blu-ray from TG Vision / Cargo Records)

• 4 documented missing bits
• Duration: 4.4 seconds

Other master errors with a duration of less than 0.5 seconds were not listed in the report.

Ching Siu-Tung is undoubtedly a legend of Hong Kong cinema. After initial activities in the stunt/action choreography field in the 70s, such as the Shaw Brothers classic The 14 Amazons, he is known to genre fans primarily for his directorial works A Chinese Ghost Story and Swordsman II. Duel to the Death (1983) was his directorial debut, and even today, it continues to captivate audiences with its partially gravity-defying and completely insane fight scenes.

After the film was released on Blu-ray in the UK in 2021, the German HD premiere took place on January 26, 2024. Taking this opportunity, we looked abroad: The French DVD was considered almost uncut, but it had various frame cuts. As is often the case in such situations, there was a moment where two shots were completely lost. Therefore, the version must be classified as 'cut'. We also included three additional missing moments with a duration of > 0.5 seconds, but they are essentially not worth mentioning.

Runtime details are arranged according to the scheme:
French DVD at 25fps / British Blu-ray at 23.976fps

Other company information at the start, with which the Blu-ray runs 13.5 sec longer . In the opening credits shortly afterwards, only the card with the film title differs. Enclosed are also a few comparison images from the film, which show the sometimes significantly different color grading.

French DVD	British / German Blu-ray

38:59 / 40:55-40:56

A long shot starts a little earlier.

0.8 sec

47:04 / 49:22-49:24

Two shots are completely lost: After the backflips, Kenji throws a few more ninja stars that land in the tree.

2 sec

54:36 / 57:16-57:17

A few unimportant frames during the scene change (drinking Kenji -> courtyard).

0.6 sec


66:56 / 70:09-70:10

Again, one shot is simply insignificantly longer.

1.1 sec

Annder copyright notice after the identical credits.

French DVD	British / German Blu-ray