Ford Prefect

that has also seen the US version. I'm extremely hesitant to see the US cut, seeing that it was released by a Disney subsidary after 2 years of re-editing and having sat through their destruction of every other Chinese film I have seen them release.

Just want to know from someone who has seen both versions, how bad a job did Disney do to this one, or were they smart enough to release intact?

Jackskeleton

Well, to my knowledge, since QT agreed to slap his name on it, Miramax decided not to do what they typically do with import films. So from what I recall and know, the cut in the theater is the same as the chinese theater version.

Giles

I've seen both the 107min 'Director's Cut' version and the trunscated version and I have to say, I saw very little difference between the two.

flixtime

I've only seen the original Chinese release. However, I seem to recall that though the original Chinese release and the U.S. release are the same cuts of the film, there were some subtle changes made in the translated subtitles, and perhaps even in the opening and closing on-screen text which bookend the film. I'm not 100% certain on this all but I do remember reading some mention of it.

outer-edge

There are some minor subtitle changes (one of which really bothered me though). Also, I believe the U.S. version has an opening graphic that the Chinese version does not. I didn't notice any other changes.

DonnachaOne

Ford, the version is US theaters is the same as the one that was shown in Chinese theaters. Don't fret. Some different subs and an opening graphic that shows the ignorant a picture of ancient China - that's it.

Playitagainsam

LOL, this must be the most inane criticism of a movie I've read lately... Just go to this film's comments page, you'll find this little gem:

iampatrickbateman
sweden

Date: 14 September 2004
Summary: it's called hero in English

yeah well, what can i say. it's not as good as star wars, it's not even as good as rush hour 2, and i'd only call that a half good film (the jackie chan half). the music is turgid and the action just doesn't make sense at all. i mean what is it with those locations, if you are going to have a fight scene then set it in a subway or on a building or something, like the matrix did. but no because it's a korean film it has to be all people kicking about in trees and on water. and that's another thing, if i wanted to read a film i'd go to the library, please please just dub films, i hate subtitles. i was really looking forward to this after seeing little mister li kick mel Gibson about a bit in that last lethal weapon film, but after seeing this i'll be steering well clear in future. my advice is if you want this type of film then stick with the king - steven segal.

tek2k

steven segal... the king... of crap!
whoever wrote that must be joking or a real idiot

FinkPish

I'm still trying to figure out how he managed to work the word "turgid" into that.

jaeufraser

I'm surprised there are people who a) know what turgid means and b) like Steven Seagal. I thought the two would be mutually exclusive.

DeltaSigChi4

Fok

Subtitle changes are what I noticed, I don't know why they changed them

ivelostr2

I'm interested to know, what was the big change that bothered you?
I saw it and liked it a lot, even though the fights weren't set in subways and stuff...

ftsoh

I guess outer-edge is bothered by the translation of the word "tian xia" or the total omission of Sword's and Snow's aliases in the school.

For me, their biggest offense is taking out the theme song during the end credit.

Ford Prefect

Disney usually does this when an import deals with themes they do not like (check their translation of FIST OF LEGEND vs the actual translation, Disney raped the storyline in the translation and was extremely unfaithful, this being the majority of the reason I am so hesitant on HERO).

jarofclay73

My Chinese friend has the HK DVD of Hero and he says that the U.S. version is very faithful to the HK version.

The difference in subtitles is quite minor according to him.

Here's an example: the Chinese character that Jet Li brings to the king tranlates to "our land" in the U.S. version. In the HK version, it translated something like "all that is under heaven." While it may seem like two distinctly different translations, here is my take. In ancient China, they did believe that China was all that existed "under heaven." So, from a Sinocentric point of view, China is "all that is under heaven." From the American standpoint, the translation of "our land" makes it clearer that they are talking about the Chinese Empire and not the entire earth.

I think Miramax and Tarantino did a great job with Iron Monkey - the U.S. version is nicely remastered with an actual BETTER translation.

So, I think as long as it's Miramax and Tarantino, then it's as close as you'll get to the real HK version.