OVERALL: Draw

"Integral Version":
-R0 UK Arrow has an anamorphic transfer, English and Italian DD 2.0 tracks, English subtitles, and exclusive extras.
-R0 German SE also has Italian and English DD2.0 tracks, English subtitles, plus some good (differeing) extras. But it's non-anamorphic.
-R2 Italian (from Medusa) has an anamorphic transfer, Italian DD5.1 and English subtitles.
-R2 Japanese has an anamorphic transfer, Italian DD2.0 and English DD5.1.

"Director's Version":
-R1 American edition is the winner, with an anamorphic transfer, English 5.1, and an exclusive featurette.
-R0 Australian from AV Channel has "Dario Argento - An Eye For Horror" documentary, not found on any other release.

A true fan might have to buy more than one version...

An image comparison between the R0 American, R2 Italy, R2 UK and R2 Japan can be found from here:
http://whiggles.landofwhimsy.com/writings/dvdimage-phenomena.html

GENERAL NOTES:
The film exists in three primary versions:
- the Italian cut (~116 minutes);
- the International Version (~111 minutes);
- the U.S. version (~83 minutes) which is not just a cut-down version of the international version but makes use of outtakes and alternate footage not to soften the violence but to smooth over the extensive editing.

The film was mixed down to mono for the U.S. theatrical release - in spite of the Dolby Stereo logo that remains in the end credits - but Synapse Films discovered when accessing Warner Bros.' New Line Cinema holdings - in order to patch up some SD inserted material in their older master of the Italian version used for their 1080p Blu-ray edition - that the effects were mixed down to mono but the music was still in matrixed stereo (hence the inclusion of the "stereo" track as an option for the U.S. version on Synapse's Blu-ray and the Synapse/Arrow UHD editions).

CUTS:

• R0 America- Anchor Bay Entertainment - No cuts - Director's version (109:44 NTSC)
• R0 Australia- AV Channel - No cuts - Director's version (109:56 PAL)
• R0 Australia- MRA Entertainment - No cuts - Director approved re-edited version (82:58 PAL)
• R0 Canada- Legacy Entertainment - No cuts - Director approved re-edited version (82:45 NTSC)
• R0 Germany- Dragon Entertainment - No cuts - Integral version
• R0 Special Edition Germany- Dragon Entertainment - No cuts - Integral version (111:12 PAL)
• R0 Holland- Shock DVD Entertainment - No cuts - Integral version (108:15 PAL)
• R0 United Kingdom- Arrow Films - No cuts - Integral version (111:15 PAL)
• R1 America- Anchor Bay Entertainment - No cuts - Director's version (109:39 NTSC)
• R2 Denmark-Norway- On Air - No cuts - Director's version (105:34 PAL)
• R2 Finland-Sweden- Future Film - No cuts - Director's version (105:34 PAL)
• R2 France- TF1 Video - No cuts - Director's version
• R2 France- Wild Side Video - No cuts - Director's version (105:21 PAL)
• R2 Holland- A-Film - No cuts - Director's version (105:36 PAL)
• R2 Italy- 01 Distribution - No cuts - Integral version (111:00 PAL)
• R2 Italy- Medusa - No cuts - Integral version (111:08 PAL)
• R2 Japan- Bandai - No cuts - Integral version
• R2 Japan- Cinefil Imagica - No cuts - Integral version (115:48 NTSC)
• R2 United Kingdom- Divid 2000 - No cuts - Director's version
• R2 United Kingdom- Platinum - No cuts - Director's version (105:28 PAL)
• R4 Argento Classics Vol. 1 Australia- Umbrella Entertainment - No cuts - Director's version (109:56 PAL)

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

Comparison added by Adrian_Busby on 10/11/01
Comparison last updated by Eric_Cotenas on 22/02/23

UPDATE LOG:

28/04/2012 - Addition of the R0 Arrow UK release and major comparison clean-up.
21/02/2010 - added specs for Italian release from 01 Distribution
17/92/17: Tidyup
27/02/17: Added Denmark-Norway, France Wild Side, Holland A-Film, Australia set, Updated US R0, Germany SE, Australia AV, Germany single, Holland Shock, ASINs.
03/05/17: Added Caps-a-Holic link.
22/02/23: Dates, notes.