DVD

It seems unlikely that Legend would do two different releases, I certainly hope not anyway as I'll be screaming blue murder if my copy isn't the uncut version when I get it from Amazon.com. It shouldn't be a problem for them anyway as it was legitimately rated R by the MPAA when originally released and that rating should stand. I think some people possibly have a more lurid memory of what was in the film and think they saw more than was actually in it which is why some may be saying there are still bits missing. From the descriptions by people who have seen the uncut DVD, it sounds like everything is there and I do thank you for confirming this for me.

You keep referring to the new "Paramount" release. I take it you mean the new Paramount/Legend Films release. That's the only new release I'm aware of - at least here in the US.

I wonder what the ratings board would have to do with them altering the DVD release? Video releases aren't restricted to MPAA-approved versions of movies, but I guess they are required to match the film inside with the ratings designation on the box, so maybe Paramount/Legend decided it was easier to revert to the R-rated version of the film than to re-design the cover and change the "R" to "Unrated"? If so, that was a stupid solution, and an injustice to the consumer.

I just watched the DVD, as rented from Netflix, yesterday. It looks like the exact same print source as the old Paramount videotape, except the framing is opened up nicely by transferring it in 16:9 anamorphic. It's definitely the exact same, supposedly R-rated cut (I went back and watched the tape afterward): Every scene is intact, the way described above (lots of Brenda Sykes nudity, the nude in the whorehouse doorway, the German woman with her hand down the front of Ken Norton's pants), plus Perry King's frontal nudity (which went unmentioned above), except the close-up of the blood gushing out of the wrestler's torn neck after the scream in the fight scene. That shot must have been ordered excised by the ratings board before the movie could be released with an "R" rating [or something?!!].

But wasn't there supposed to be a brief frontal nude shot of Ken Norton somewhere in the film? I have some vague recollection that the film was famous for that. Maybe it was actually that frontal nude shots of Norton in the movie appeared in something like Playgirl Magazine at the time and that no such shot ever appeared in the release print of the film. Perhaps somebody with a better memory can clarify that.

I rented the film with the idea that I'd buy a copy if it were an improvement over the Paramount videotape I've had for years, but the DVD doesn't cut it. Despite the improved framing of the 1.78:1 image, the transfer is so dark and muddy that half the details are missing (you have to squint to tell when anybody actually is nude!). The old videotape is much brighter and the colours are more vibrant - and prettier - so I'm sticking with it... at least until a confirmed-uncut DVD version can be safely ordered retail.