Difference between US and UK release of Casino Royale and Batman Begins/The Dark Knig

I dont think its any difference. Most studios reuse the same material to all of its markets. Universal is to only one I could think of that makes new encodes for different markets.

The UK version has 32 subtitle tracks versus 19 on the U.S. disc. I'm way too lazy to do the math but that almost certainly accounts for the difference.

Do NOT get the UK Casino Royale release!

The torture scene is heavily cut by the BFCC censors. It's probably the most important scene in the movie and is totally ruined in the UK cut.

The US release is MORE cut than the UK cut

the only places to get this on BD uncut are:

Australia, Holland, Japan or Scandanavia

link here - http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparison....php?fid=10779

cuts detailed below:

* The German R-rated version (144:34) in which a cut occurs during the airport sequence, when the bomb planter breaks a mans neck. In the uncut version, we see him twist his head, and you hear a crunch sound. In The German release, the bomb planter grab the mans head, and then it quickly cuts to the shot of the dead guys head on the floor - we do not see him twist his head, nor do we hear the crunch sound. This has been replaced by longer shots of the ground under the tank car and of the dead man on the floor.


* The pre-cut PG-13 (USA Release) theatrical version (144:12) in which the following cuts have been made:
- After an overhead shot of Bond and the contact smashing down a wall, the first and last few frames of a shot of Bond elbowing the contact in the chest are removed.
- Directly after, a shot Bond smashing the door into the contact's face is completely removed.
- After Bond gets to his feet, he kicks the contact in the face. This is missing from the US version.
- Directly after, we see Bond grabbing the contact, who in turn grabs a garbage can, which he hurls at Bond. In the US version, we only get the last few frames of this.
- When Bond hauls the contact to his feet and manouevres him towards another sink, the start of a low angle shot showing the contact's face as he struggles is cut.
- The drowning of the contact is dramatically shortened. First, a close-up of the contact as he is held under is replaced with a shot of the contact's legs kicking.
- Directly after, a close-up of Bond's intense face is removed.
- Following this, we cut back to the contact as his struggles weaken. This is missing in the US version.
- The high shot showing Obanno's bodyguard hitting the ground below after being thrown over the banister is removed. This shot is placed between Bond and Obanno fighting.
- A close-up of Obanno as Bond smashes his head into a window, shattering it, is missing from US version.
- Directly after, a wider shot of Obanno recovering and attacking again is cut due to the previous trim.
- The first few frames of Obanno being thrown into a wall are missing in the US version.
- Obanno grabbing Vesper's leg as she tries to run away is completely removed.
- The following shot of Vesper falling but stopping herself in time is cut due to the previous shot's removal.
- After we see Vesper try to open the emergency exit, a wide shot of Bond shoving Obanno back is missing from the US version.
- Directly following, a wide shot of BG2 falling back is also missing.
- Afterwards, Obanno reacting as Bond kicks him is too cut.
- Obanno rams Bond against the wall, but not in the US version.
- When Bond and Obanno struggle on the floor, Bond chokes BG2. The second angle of Obanno's feet kicking is removed.
- After we see Obanno's face, we see him reaching for the gun on the ground. Missing from the US version.
- A wider shot of them struggling is cut directly after.
- The next shot, Obanno reaching for the gun again, is cut. In the US version, we only see Obanno reaching for the gun just before Vesper intervenes.
- A shot of frightened Vesper breaks a shot of Obanno's legs starting to stop kicking. In the uncut version, the legs starting to slow is in one continuous shot, followed by the frightened Vesper shot.


* The pre-cut UK version (144:20) according to BBFC recommendations.
"The BBFC advised the company that the torture scene placed too much emphasis on both the infliction of pain and the sadism of the villain for the requested '12' category. When the completed version of the film was submitted for classification, reductions to the torture sequence had been made, including the removal of lingering shots of the rope, close shots of Bond's facial reaction and the substitution of a more distant shot of the beating compared to the original version."
"The torture sequence is now shorn of Le Chiffre's taunting line about Bond's rock-chiselled physique. Whereas the "R-rated" versions show Mikkelsen drape the knotted rope over Bond's shoulder and utter the words "Such a waste" after commenting on how well he has looked after himself ("You've taken good care of your body" line), the UK version omits this."

And Turkey, France and Greece (and probably more). It is fairly safe to say that the countries where the uncut Casino Royale was issued on DVD will also be the ones to have the uncut BD.

Although the US cuts seem extensive, you are only describing less than 40 seconds of actual footage. I've seen the US and the uncut Australian BDs and while there is a difference, it isn't drastic enough to note. To be honest I wouldn't have known the US version was cut unless someone mentioned it.

The UK version, on the other hand, I think the UK cut severely reduces the impact of the torture sequence. [spoiler]The lingering moments before Le Chiffe starts hitting Bond with the rope and especially Bond's reaction to being hit in the testicles (ouch) makes the sequence very hard to watch and makes the scene very important to the movie.[spoiler]

I had the same dialemma when I wanted to purchase Casino Royale. I did the research, and the maths, and found out that it would cost me about £25 to import an uncut version, or I could just pay £10 for the UK 2 discer and be done with it. I chose the UK version, first because it was less than half the price, and second because I would rather watch a cool fight sequence than a torture scene, which is already pretty graphic to begin with.

I have the R3 DVD also, which is totally uncut, so if I ever really really want to see Bond's balls mashed to bits, then I can

I'd rather just pay the £25 to get the full movie and then be done with it.