Where can I get the uncut "Eyes Wide Shut"? (1 Viewer)

[Dave Mack]

I got the japanese version. NTSC, looks great, not that expensive..
D

 

[MatthewLouwrens]

The region 3 release (Hong Kong) is uncut and contains the recitation of a passage from the Bhagavad Gita during the orgy scene. It is rumored that this is the closest the film comes to being unaltered after Kubrick's last edit and is the most true to his "vision".

And yes, I know information on the IMDb is no necessarily correct, but it may be something to think about.

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

So there is NO home video version of EWS that properly reflects Kubrick's intentions.

Yeah, but that's just nitpicking. "Honoring the director's intentions" can go too far. Personally, I wouldn't avoid any of the foreign versions just because they're missing the chanting. I'm pretty sure that Kubrick wasn't exactly busting heads over that.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

I didn't mean to avoid the foreign releases. I own some myself. I just was answering the question as to whether there was a completely uncut version. It's a nit, but this is a pretty nitpicky group sometimes so I figured the information might be useful. I haven't personally checked the R3 Hong Kong disc so I can't vouch for that one, but my understanding was that WB had replaced the music on all of the video masters that were sent out. Seems to me there was an interview back in the day, but I don't remember where.

 

[kevin_y]

I just have to set the record straight. I just viewed the R1 and HK R3 DVD side by side, and the soundtrack during the orgy scene is identical on both.

I have never listened to the CD soundtrack, and I don't know what the missing Hindu chanting actually sounds like. But the R3 DVD sounds the same as the R1.

 

[Tim__C]

I just got the R2 version - runtime is listed at 153 min. What's missing/different between this version and the 159-min one, or is the 159-min runtime an error, or what (I thought I had secured a 159-min copy, but admittedly I didn't clarify this with the seller).

T

 

[DonaldB]

Tim,
The shorter runtime for your R2 copy is due to 4% PAL speed-up, meaning it plays 4% faster than NTSC format; PAL runs at more frames per second. The case is the same for most R2 DVDs.

 

[Tim__C]

Donald -

Ah, thanks. So _that's_ what the poster above was referring to. Obviously I'm a newbie to such issues - does this mean there is a corresponding pitch shift in sound (i.e, like speeding up a tape) or is this corrected for in conversion or what?

Thanks,
T

 

[DonaldB]

There is a minute change in pitch, which some people can't hear, while others claim to find it insufferable. I rarely notice it myself, and even then it doesn't detract from the film.

 

[Tim__C]

Huh - annoying they don't compensate for that (though some players, in further digging on this, do do some DSP to shift frequencies down, even if tempo is still faster). But 4% can be quite noticable in terms of mood - I come from analog background (DJ on vinyl) and a 4% pitch change can be HUGE in terms of changing the mood of a song - I use this to great effect almost every time I mix - especially to pitch things down and make them that much more open and ominous simultaneously (in this context actual pitch fidelity isn't all that important). Guess it's time to start tracking down some R3 etc versions (adding stuff to collection that is OOP here in US but not elsewhere, in addition to Operation Censor Defeat) - it may not be noticable in film context (though I _thought_ "Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing" seemed kind of fast) but it is a matter of principle!

Anyway - good thing is at least it's not a content thing - someone on some other forum was indeed ranting about shorter = censorship so it's not as bad as that....

T

 

[DonaldB]

But 4% can be quite noticable in terms of mood - I come from analog background (DJ on vinyl) and a 4% pitch change can be HUGE in terms of changing the mood of a song...

On the rare occasion that I've notice the change in pitch, it's always been with music, not with dialogue or any other aspect of the soundtrack.