OVERALL: Draw

The US R1 Scorpion release for the new anamorphic transfer and interview, but it's the slightly cut US PG version.

The German R0 and Italian R2 have the uncut version but are severely cropped at the sides and feature old transfers.

The film was shot hard-matte 1.75:1, so all full-frame versions are cropped.

This seems to exist in two versions:
1.) Uncut original version.
2.) US PG theatrical version.

Details of the differences can be found here:
http://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=836390

It's mostly some mildly gory inserts in Roy Brocksmith's death scene where piranhas nibble at him more. The BBFC's notes are here:

KILLER FISH was classified 'A' in 1979 for its theatrical release with the following cuts -

Reel 5 - Reduce Ollie's struggle with the fish, removing sight of his entrails and of the fish eating his carcass, also reducing his screaming and struggling.

Reel 5 - Also reduce the underwater sight of fish attacking him as he tries to board the dinghy. Also remove pan over Bob's bloody wounds.

When Scorpion releasing did their transfer if was found that the uncut version may not exist anymore. A note from Scorpion releasing can be read here:

https://www.facebook.com/scorpionreleasinginfo/posts/350896845069773?fref=nf

It has recently come to my attention that the HD master used on our recent release of KILLER FISH is the PG rated theatrical U.S version, which omits a few seconds from a death scene towards the end of the film. This is unfortunate in light of how much work went into bringing the film to Blu-ray as it.

Some backstory of how that came to be…

Originally, the licensor supplied us with a full frame D2 master, which was to be used as the release. Knowing that this would not be acceptable to fans, I fought hard with them to have access to their film elements so that I could release this title in HD.

They did not have them.

It turns out the film elements were with MGM. I went ahead and used their internegatives to do the HD master, (Note: their interpostive was missing the last 4 reels) as the fans will want to see this film in 16x9, and from a new HD master created from a pre-print film element. Then came the news after the blu-ray release that it was cut.

Apparently, the film was cut differently for the U.S market, and somehow the old VHS (on Key Video) was the uncut version. I looked at my licensors’ D2 master and it was identical to the film elements supplied by MGM, so I have no idea if these uncut scenes even exist on film anymore.

Frankly speaking, this is a film with a cult following that is devout, but small — and my pre-orders were surprisingly under what I had forecasted. I could discontinue this title and wait to see if these few seconds of footage will show up somewhere down the line but I’m afraid that will be a wasted effort at the end of the day — and would cost me more than the title’s budget could afford to support (New re-press, re-author, etc.)

Again, I fought hard to present this film to you folks in 16x9 and in HD, and I am disappointed that, despite my strategies to get it to be perfect, it turned out to be flawed somewhat. Lesson learned for the future: I will no longer pursue films that once had a longer cut, as it truly is impossible to find film elements. Major studios – such as MGM - simply do not save them anymore. 

I hope you understand that I tried my best here and that you still find the release as a whole, a vast improvement – in PQ and AQ - over what was available before. 

Thank you for your support.

CUTS:

• R0 Germany- Savoy Film - No cuts - Uncut original version (97:02 PAL)
• R1 America- Scorpion Releasing - Yes - The cut US PG theatrical version (100:21 NTSC)
• R2 Italy- Pulp Video - No cuts - Uncut original version (97:02 PAL)
• R2 Spain- Creative Films - Unknown - Most likely the cut US PG theatrical version (96:46 PAL)

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

Comparison added by Samuel_Scott on 23/08/13
Comparison last updated by Rick_Curzon on 16/02/22

UPDATE LOG:

23/08/13: Initial entry.
26/09/14: Added US release.
15/05/17: Added note regarding versions.
16/05/17: Corrected Italian and German releases and winner.
16/02/22: Dates.