Alternate versions for
Ai no corrida (1976) More at IMDbPro »

• The original version ran 108 minutes. Producer Anatole Dauman received Oshima's permission to recut the film, resulting in a shorter 102-minute edit. This version has been distributed theatrically in some countries (such as France) and is available on video in Australia, the UK, the United States, and France. The French DVD includes both versions (via seamless branching), while the U.S. Criterion DVD features the cut footage as an extra. The PAL releases run 97 minutes. This shorter version makes the following changes:
  • An early scene in which Sada has sex with Ishida while playing a shamisen has been cut by about a minute and a half. In the original version, Sada seemingly goes unconscious and Ishida checks for her heartbeat.
  • A brief shot (12 seconds) of Ishida and Sada on a bridge has been added to the scene in which the couple goes out walking at night.
  • A later scene (in which the geishas assault one of their own with a dildo) is cut by 14 seconds to remove a shot of Ishida and Sada's faces in mid-copulation.
  • An entire two-minute scene is deleted about an hour into the film. This scene features Sada and Ishida having sex behind a thin screen, while Ishida speaks of the "darkness" he feels inside Sada.
  • The scene in which Sada first strangles Ishida is cut by just over one minute. In the short version, the scene ends when Ishida starts coughing and Sada releases his throat. In the original version, Ishida asks her to resume, which she does (only to stop when he begins coughing again).
  • The scene in which Ishida becomes drowsy while having sex with Sada is edited differently. The original version has slightly different dialogue and has an additional minute of footage where Ishida actually does fall asleep for a short time.
  • The scene in which Sada wakes up after her final night with Ishida is cut by one minute. The original version shows Sada lying on the floor and apparently panicking, walking around the room and opening doors for no obvious reason. The short version cuts straight from Sada waking up to the shot of her standing over Ishida's body.
  
  
  
• In 1977, the uncut version of this film was refused a certificate in Australia. The film was cut by over 4 minutes to secure an R18+ rating for theatrical release. A home video release in 1982 was also a cut version. The uncut version was not awarded an R18+ certificate until September 2000, when all previous cut were waived by the Office of Film and Literature Classification. An uncut Australian DVD was issued by Madman Entertainment in August 2001.
  
  
• The English subtitles throughout the film on the R2 DVD release differ to the English subtitles on the NTSC VHS release. One big difference is on the VHS, during the scene where Sada performs fellatio on Kichi, he says: "You're a remarkable woman", whereas on the DVD he says: "You're a strange girl" instead
  
  
• Japanese censors removed approximately five minutes from the original 108-minute edit and added optical blurring to obscure much of the remaining nudity. This cut was released in October 1976 and was the only version available in Japan until 2000. The current Japanese version (released as "Ai no corrida 2000") is uncut but digitally pixelates the actors' genitalia.
  
  
• The scene where the small boy has his penis pulled as punishment for misbehaving had been optically reframed in the UK to remove all sight of the genitals, to comply with The Protection of Children Act. This same edit was applied to the 2000 Nouveaux video/DVD release though the print itself was the shorter version mentioned in the first post which misses 6 minutes 15 secs of assorted dialogue and footage. The 2009 UK cinema reissue again featured the shorter print though this version cuts out the misbehaving child completely.
  
  
• The scene where the small boy has his penis pulled as punishment for misbehaving has been completely removed on the US Release Versions. (56 Seconds in total)
  
  

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