Pretty much, the other reviewers covered the plot so I will try to differentiate the difference between the two.

SCENES: The Japanese director's cut clocks in at 143 minutes, the Korean theatrical cut is 128 minutes. The difference, you ask? A lot of the character depth is missing, the Korean cut feels more like an action film, while the Japanese Cut a definitely an epic adventure. A lot of the scenes in the Korean version is trimmed down and longer, detailed scenes seem to overlap. Also, on Azumi's first encounter with Kanbei, a significant number of fight scenes were missing, I believe that these action scenes should nopt have been cut because this demonstrates why Kanbei became a bit obsessed with the Azumi. I disagree when some people say that Aya Ueto is no Uma Thurman, I belive Uma thurman is no Aya Ueto! Ueto has more footwork and moves more gracefully, probably because of Kitamura's direction.

Video Transfer: Almost identical, although the Korean cut is a bit darker at the beginning of the film. Both versions' picture quality is excellent, hardly any edge enhancements, the transfer is very clean.

Audio: Both has 5.1 DOLBY and DTS Japanese Language. The DTS sound is phenomenal, you can really hear the swords clanging.

Subtitles: Excellent english subs. I prefer the placing of the subtitles on the Japanese version, much better spacing.

OVERALL: I am happy for both versions, and I do not regret having both copies of the film I love. Personally, I prefer the Japanese Extended cut, but whatever you prefer, this film has to be seen!!

Note: the Thai version is an almost exact duplicate of the Korean cut but has Thai subs as well as English subs.

I believe the U.S. cut will be the 128 minute theatrical version but has English dubbed 5.1 Dolby/Japanese 5.1 Dolby, no DTS. Such a shame: except for Tartan, the U.S. distributors never come up with a perfect ASIAN film DVD.

This Korean edition is the theatrical cut of the film, 128 minutes, compared to the Japanese directors cut, which I have, that clocks in a 148 minutes. This is a case where I think the shorter cut actually helps out the film a great deal. As I said, a lot of the non-action scenes feel like filler and Kitamura clearly doesn’t put as much energy into them. Plus, while whittling down the manga into a movie length means sacrificing a lot, the directors cut, quite frankly, plays pretty slow and feels every bit of its running time, which an action movie shouldn’t. While this theatrical cut snips a lot of character, I feel it plays better. Needless to say, if you are a fan of the film, both cuts are worth owning.

Picture: Anamorphic Widescreen. The print is extremely clean, nary a spot or speck to be seen. The color scheme leans towards earth tones. Contrast is in good shape with little graying. The look has a digitally processed feel, which keeps everything even, but does have a unreal veneer (which isn’t a detriment because of the films fantasy stylings). Technically the transfer is free of any glitches like artifacts or edge enhancement.

Sound: Japanese language, 5.1, DTS, and 2.0 channels with optional Korean or English subtitles. Wow. The sound of the swords clashing in this film is absolutely thunderous. They don’t so much as clash or clang together as they slam with a cataclysmic force. Make no mistake- it is loud.

Extras: Unfortunately none of the extensive extras are English friendly. This two-disc set features a second disc of extras that includes---- "Battle of the Wild Side" Featurette (60:24)-- "Making of" Featurette (41:06)---- "Promotion Footage" Featurette (21:56)-- Art Gallery.

Conclusion: All-region capable action film geeks should check this and the Japanese edition out. While the extras are sadly lacking English subs, for fans of slicker new wave Asian action offerings, the film itself is a real sword slashing winner. It's enough to make you want to run out into the woods, sneak up on a friend, and whomp them on the head with your homemade katana.