Does anybody remember a long version?

IMDb lists this film length as 83 minutes, the European store Kani Sama (mentioned in this forum) has the 83-minute version, and the copy I have from television is also about that length. However, I strongly remember that this was a *very* long movie when I saw it in a theater around 1960, like 3-4 hours long, no exaggeration. I don't think it was just my impression as an impatient child, either. I remember it had a long succession of battles separated by the theme music, whereas the 83-minute version has only about two such battles, and my sister remembers a fight with a dragon, too, which is not in the 83-minute version. I've also read that a transformation battle was left out somewhere along the line.

Does anybody remember a long version, and/or where a copy of that could be obtained, and/or any information about such versions of different lengths?