OVERALL: Draw

The US Image release and the German Koch MediaBook have both cuts of the film.

General notes (SPOILERS): The European version is basically identical to the standard original American version, except for two scenes:
- The European ending replaces the flashback montage with footage of Jimmy Hunt running to a van for safety with Arthur Franz and the girl and we see the alien spaceship blow-up. We then cut to him being put peacefully to bed by the two of them with a comment that the little man has had a busy day. The paranoid ending of the original (Hunt waking up again after the flashback montage to discover the events in the film had been a dream and being put to bed by his parents and awakening again to see the spaceship land) been removed.
- Addition to the observatory scene (runs nearly 5 minutes, with additional dialogue explaining UFO's to a European audience perhaps not as familiar with them as a US one).
(Thank you for the Rewind user Tim Rogerson for the additional info.)

CUTS:

• R0 America- UAV - Yes - This is the TV cut which is the same as the original cut, except for a number of annoying alterations, using pieces of the footage shot for England. The heroes now run to safety, and the saucer explodes in the air, but the story still resolves itself as a dream as in the original. Some dialogue lines have been deleted. Colonel Fielding, informed that their escape tunnel is hopelessly blocked, no longer shouts, "Start digging!" In addition, minor editorial lifts were made all the way through the picture to (reportedly) pick up the pace.
• R0 50th Anniversary: Special Edition America- Image Entertainment - No cuts - Includes both the US version (78:18 NTSC) and the European version (83:06 NTSC)
• R0 Australia- Force - No cuts
• R2 Germany- Best Buy - Yes - European version, however around 42 seconds are missing after the explosion of the UFO (81:09 PAL).
• R2 Germany- E-M-S - Yes - European version, however around 42 seconds are missing after the explosion of the UFO (81:09 PAL).
• R2 3-Disc MediaBook Edition Germany- Koch Media - No cuts - Includes both the US version (75:10 PAL) and the European version (79:46 PAL).
• R2 United Kingdom- UAV - Yes - This is the TV cut which is the same as the original cut, except for a number of annoying alterations, using pieces of the footage shot for England. The heroes now run to safety, and the saucer explodes in the air, but the story still resolves itself as a dream as in the original. Some dialogue lines have been deleted. Colonel Fielding, informed that their escape tunnel is hopelessly blocked, no longer shouts, "Start digging!" In addition, minor editorial lifts were made all the way through the picture to (reportedly) pick up the pace. (77:24 PAL).

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

Comparison added by David on 15/04/03
Comparison last updated by Rick_Curzon on 15/07/23

UPDATE LOG:

21/03/15: Addition of the German 3-disc MediaBook.
10/06/20: US & UK + Germany (E-M-S & Best Buy) ASINs added. Tidy up. RTs added to R0 Image (Not R1 as I own it). Extras added to E-M-S.
15/07/23: Dates.