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MANDINGO - cuts in R2 release (1 Viewer)

Chuck Pennington

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Hey all! I just got MANDINGO as a R2 PAL import and it runs 1:57:54, which equates to 1:22:37 without the PAL speed-up. According to what I've read, about 5 minutes are missing. Anyone know where the cuts are, or why?

I can't imagine this EVER reappearing on US video again. But what do I know? Paramount having the US rights doesn't bode well for it at all...

Chuck
 

Jeffrey:K

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It's not just a matter of cuts - alternate footage has been used in several scenes that originally featured nudity or violence. In particular, Perry King's full frontal has been replaced with an alternate take (it doesn't appear to be a simple matter of cropping of the original image), and the scene where Richard Ward is hung upside down and beaten is shown from a different angle that obscures his buttocks. I'm sure there are other differences, but those are the ones that stood out for me.

It appears that this DVD contains a 'soft' version of the film that was prepared for a network television sale (which never happened) or for foreign territories with stricter censorship standards, such as Franco's Spain. That's my guess.
 

chas speed

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"Mandingo" lit the fuse, but "Drum" was the explosion! I would love to see uncut version of these two films, but it doesn't seem likely that Paramount will ever go to the trouble.
 

Jerome Grate

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Wouldn't mind having Mandigo uncut, this film kind of warped my fragile little mind. The violence, the nudity and sex scenes, well lets say a 8 year old should not have been taken to this movie by his sister and back then stupid boyfriend. :P
 

Chuck Pennington

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US VHS and LD were uncut - DRUM was just released in Spain, apparently anamorphic widescreen - but haven't read any reviews of it. Too bad the European MANDINGO was cut - it looked TERRIFIC!
 

Chuck Pennington

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Well guys - I have compared the R2 PAL anamorphic widescreen MANDINGO to the U.S. VHS and LD releases and found that the version released overseas appears to be a different cut entirely, with many alternate takes and angles! I submitted the list below to imdb, but who knows if they'll post it. I also have comparison screen captures, but they involve nudity. Can I post them, or do I need to block out the nudity?

In all 12 scenes were either trimmed or re-edited with alternate shots/angles/takes:

- Scene where slave is bent over and inspected for hemorrhoids is cut.

- Scene where the wench is being prepared for her deflowering is presented in an alternate take where her breasts are not exposed.

- Scene with pregnant wench is shot with alternate angles to obscure nudity. Perry King's full frontal nudity is cut and replaced with a closer shot that reveals he is wearing shorts when he kneels down to pray (It looks like a goof - only a bit of the waistband can be seen at the corner of the frame).

- Alternate takes of the slave being strung up to be beat are used to obscure nudity, and many shots of him being beat and left bloody are cut.

- A few seconds where Perry King's cousin rips off a wench's dress and bends her over to begin beating her is cut to remove nudity. The beating is left intact.

- The slave market scene is edited to remove the topless wenches on display, and the shot where the German widow sticks her hand into Ken Norton's shorts and "inspects" him is cut short. The second shot with her hand in and then removing it is left intact though.

- An alternate take is used with a prostitute clothed rather than nude at the bawdy house.

- A few seconds of a prostitute rubbing on Perry King's crotch is cut.

- An alternate take is used during the fight at the bawdy house so that a prostitute is seen holding her dress up while she cheers whereas in the original she lets it fall and her breasts be exposed.

- The entire scene between Perry King and Brenda Sykes in which she asks him if he'll let their child go free is presented in alternate clothed takes. In the original film they are both completely nude. Even the camera angles and setups are the same, only with clothes in the international version.

- In the scene where Ken Norton fights a man to death one long shot where the other fighter claws his back is cut. Also cut is when Ken bites down on the other fighter's neck, is pulled off, and then bites into his neck again. All the close-ups are cut.

- The Susan George/Ken Norton love scene is almost entirely missing. Ken Norton's nudity is cut, and then the scene ends in an alternate take when the two go out of frame onto the bed. The original scene went on for much longer and exposed Ken Norton's buttocks and Susan George's breasts.
 

Jerome Grate

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Yikes, betta get to ebay and see if I can find the VHS version, always wanted this movie, but that alternative cut is absolutely ridiculous.
 

Chuck Pennington

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I hope none of the following images are offensive. Until I find a proper forum for the screen captures I have made comparing the versions of MANDINGO, I'll just share a few of the most benign ones here.

Here's a key scene between Brendy Sykes and Perry King. The original cut picture is followed by the alternate take image used for international release.








 

Chuck Pennington

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But they aren't. They were used in the international releases of the film. The Dutch R2 PAL DVD has English, German, and Spanish language tracks, and from all accounts this alternate cut of the film appears to be the one used internationally.
 

Douglas R

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I'm a bit confused about which R2 version is being discussed. There are R2 discs in Germany, Spain and Netherlands. Are they all the same? I've seen the Netherlands version described as uncut.
 

chas speed

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I once bought a Netherlands dvd of a mini-series "Selling Hitler" that was really cut and the running time was 100 min shorter then the one given on the box. I avoided the Netherland dvd's after that.
 

Douglas R

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That's the version which originates in Denmark not Netherlands! The Netherlands version has a slightly different cover as can be seen by those being sold on eBay - but are these authorised issues? There seem to be slight variations in the cover and descriptions which is suspect.
 

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