what's different about the Serbian 166 minute version...

I just received the Yugoslavian disc (in Serbian language but with Germans speaking German and Italians speaking Italian... no English subtitles). Here's what I submitted the IMDB's 'Alternate Versions' category for this movie... it's a mouthful, so here it is if they don't post it.

The Serbian DVD version is ~160 minutes long and is a significantly different cut from any other DVD or video releases. There is no opening map and narration. The musical score is the original Vladimir Kraus-Rajteric score which kicks in very rarely. The scenes are rearranged so that Welles makes his speech to the troops near the beginning and the air attack hits Bihac simultaneously with the land battle. Almost every dialog scene is lengthened and cut slower than the English version, but there are some parts of the action scenes cut a lot tighter. For instance, this is missing the scene where Riva falls out of the truck during the Italian retreat. It is also missing the scene in the Orthodox church prior the Welles addressing the Chetniks.

However, it does feature several new scenes, most notably a scene where Vasco raids a house in Prosor only to then shoot and wound his own commander, and then a second battle between the Partisans and the Italians. In this scene, Riva refuses to fire at his own men and Novak almost shoots him only for Martin to intervene. General Morelli is captured and then promptly commits suicide with a pistol. There is also a new scene where the partisans surprise attack a group of Chetniks guarding the Neretva bridge.

There are several more violent shots missing from other prints - such as the Ustashans hanging an old woman and laughing when they march through Bihac. There are several more deaths during the end battle with the Chetniks such as a partisan being shot in the back when reaching for a grenade. Then at the end of the battle there is a scene where a partisan named 'Stipe' goes crazy and guns down a number of Chetnik prisoners, only to have his rank stripped from him.

Curiously almost all the nationalities speak their own language; with Riva speaking Italian even with his Yugoslavian captors and Morelli speaking in German when addressing General Lohring. The only actors dubbed appear to be Yul Brynner and Orson Welles.