| Comments |
There are two versions of this Elektra, the cut theatrical version
running to 96:45 according to the BBFC, and the director's cut. The latter version
has a running time of 99:45 NTSC on the US DVD (Fox) or 95:40 PAL for the UK director's
cut DVD (Fox), although note that DVD Compare makes no mention of this release. No such extended uncensored DVD has been released in Australia
yet. Our compromised DVD (Fox) runs to 92:52 PAL.
Listening to the commentary track featuring director Rob Bowman
and the editor, they mention trims made to obtain a US PG-13 rating. Other narrative footage
was also restored in the director's cut, which clocks in several more minutes
over the theatrical assembly. |
| Cut Footage |
The following DVD counter times mark points in the US director's cut DVD
where censored footage was restored. A side-by-side comparison was not made with the
entire cut version – only the obviously violent moments were examined.
(a) At 6:55 the man in the chair is skewered by Elektra from behind.
In the uncut version, you see his gun dangling from the tip of her sword, which protrudes
from his shirt (a nice touch). In the cut version, this shot was replaced with a
close-up shot of his hand holding
the gun and then going limp. The next shot is the same as before: the whiskey glass falls
to the floor and breaks. On the commentary track, the director says the MPAA thought
"it was too early in the movie for something that graphic."
(b) At 57:01 Elektra's friend and business contact is decapitated
while kneeling on the floor of his house. In the uncut version, you see the
sword stroke touch his neck in one frame, followed by three frames of his head
flying up and away from the neck. In the cut version, the frame prior to the blade
touching the neck is shown, followed by an alternative shot of the antagonist swinging
his sword, then it cuts to black.
(c) At 84:16 when Elektra dispatches the leader of the bad guys down
a well, she stabs him twice in the uncut version, with the second occuring at 84:22,
but only once in the cut version. This makes his death and Elektra's wrath less brutal.
Both versions then show her lifting him
overhead and chucking him down the well, just like the Emperor in Return of the Jedi.
(d) At 85:06 Elektra throws one of her blades lethally at the
evil Treasure woman through the hedges, and skewers her through the left eye. In the
uncut version, three frames were restored in the profile shot of the knife
approaching her and knocking her backwards. In the cut version, the scene cuts from
the previous approach shot directly to the blade already in her eye and knocking her
backwards. This bizarre micro-adjustment is also mentioned in the commentary track. |