1976/1980 Versions
Two differently edited versions of the film may have been made - a Mandarin version (1976), and a slightly shortened version featuring a Cantonese dub in 1980 (the cut used for all known releases to date). In terms of the score, the English dub on all available releases matches the Cantonese version. However, it is not known if an English dub was ever recorded to sync to the Mandarin version.
When playing the Mandarin audio on existing (Cantonese version) releases, during a scene after Little Mute has tattooed his arms, the music jumps ahead to another part of the track. When played with the Cantonese soundtrack, the music plays without problem (revealing the segment of the music cut in the Mandarin soundtrack).
During the final fight scene, there are some abrupt jump cuts and as a result, the sound effects drop out of sync. It is possible that the film's action was tightened up in preparation for release (or the 1980 re-release) as it appears rather slowly executed by the actors.
Read more about this topic: Shaolin Wooden Men
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