OVERALL: Draw

The R0 Anchor Bay Limited Edition has the best transfer and sound options out of all the releases. R4 Australia has also an audio commentary and other nice extras. The R2 German version from Marketing Film also includes nice extras but the transfers and sound options leave a lot to be desired. The choice is yours.

CUTS:

• R0 America- Anchor Bay Entertainment - No cuts (91:36 NTSC)
• R0 Limited Edition America- Anchor Bay Entertainment - No cuts (91:36 NTSC)
• R0 Canada- Substance - No cuts.
• R2 France- FIP - No cuts.
• R2 Germany- Attraction Movies / Carol Media - Yes. Cut version (80:30 PAL).
• R2 Germany- Laser Paradise / Astro - No cuts (87:43 PAL).
• R2 Germany- Marketing Film - No cuts (87:46 PAL).
• R2 Peter Jackson Collection Germany- Laser Paradise - No cuts.
• R2 Holland- A-Film Home Entertainment - No cuts.
• R2 Japan- Creative Axa - No cuts.
• R2 Scandinavia- Atlantic Film / Future Film / On Air Video / Star Media Entertainment - No cuts (87:50 PAL).
• R2 Scandinavia- Scanbox Entertainment - No cuts (87:50 PAL).
• R2 The Peter Jackson Collection Scandinavia- Future Film / Finnkino - No cuts.
• R2 Spain- Filmax - No cuts.
• R2 United Kingdom- Universal Pictures - No cuts (87:42 PAL).
• R4 Collector's Edition Australia- Universal Pictures - No cuts (92:08 PAL),

Do you own a release not listed? Then please visit our forums and let us know!

Comparison added by Adrian_Busby on 02/11/01
Comparison last updated by Anthony_DiPaola on 03/08/23

UPDATE LOG:

10/07/11: Corrected typo regarding the limited Anchor Bay release and removed dead image comparison link.
12/07/11: Added a third German edition.
01/09/20: Added more accurate detail to US releases.
03/09/22: Added Scandinavia [2002].
03/08/23: Added the German and Scandinavian collections.