It appears the version included in the Mill Creek 50 movie set is the most complete of all available so far, running at 85 minutes. Anyone knows if this version is available separately? I've seen some relating it to the Alpha version, but do they really feature the same print? Thanks.
shareYes, it's the most complete of the public domain versions at just a hair under 85 minutes. I have not seen the Alpha Video DVD but have been assured that they use either the 83 minute or 81 minute versions that are more common. A couple of other no-name company DVDs have surfaced this year as well and I am curious to know how they stack up.
But I've also found a version on VHS only from Japan that runs 85 minutes exactly on the nose, though a completely uncut version has apparently never surfaced OR the stated runtime of 88 minutes is incorrect: The version from Japan seems to have just about everything missing from all of the other versions including a couple of ragged cuts seen on the Mill Creek DVD (which may actually be sloppy reel change edits) I have been able to evaluate. It's also a much much nicer transfer made from 35mm, my suspicion has been that all of the public domain versions including the Mill Creek (which may have been swiped from Sinister Cinema, by the way) are all from 16mm reductions.
I'm not certain of this, but I suspect the Mill Creek version is longer because the film is slowed down slightly. I haven't been able to verify that there's actually any footage in that one that's not in the others, and it does have a look to it like the film is possibly slowed. I'm not sure of this, though... has anybody actually found missing footage in Mill Creek's copy?
I've got several different companies versions of this movie, trying to find the best one, because this (second only to "Messiah of Evil") is one of my favorite under-rated horror movies. I do know that the Alpha version has some cuts in it. The whole "stab in the eye with glass" scene is cut out of the Alpha DVD, which ticked me off.
The Mill Creek version is a 24fps NTSC transfer, the majority of the cheapo DVDs are sourced from a 25fps PAL source meaning that the movie runs 5% faster and results in the slower runtimes. So you're correct. There are some quick cuts to that 81 minute print too, but no major omissions of scenes in the traditional sense of the term. That's why the PAL vs NTSC issue is the best explanation as to why the runtimes differ: The films are more or less just as complete, only running at different speeds.