Since the first DVD release in the late 2000s there circulates a version of the movie, which some say is the original cut of the movie, some say it is a bastardized version made abroad when the movie rights were sold after the fall of the iron curtain, some say it is the cut Zeman made after the premiere to speed-up the pace of the film and some say it is even the only relevant cut and everything else is just working copies which were never supposed to see daylight...
Whatever the truth is, this is most likely the version of the film you will see or already saw. But there exists a longer cut of the movie - about 6 minutes longer, which extends about 27 scenes. Some minor, but some major - like the scene where Baron realizes that Toník is his younger self and reconciles with him inwardly which brings the story to closure (seriously I can't find a reason why would Zeman cut this scene). But overall, due to various reasons (like continuity, soundtrack cue's coherence, humor punchlines), many people believe that this longer cut is actually the original version of the film (or at least qualifies as a "director's cut"). However, the only sources where you can find this cut are VHS distribution and recordings of Czech and Slovak television broadcasts. All the digital media contain the shorter cut of the movie. To top everything, the movie was gloriously restored quite recently but even when there were voices asking where is this longer cut, no one wanted to hear them.
I will not lie that I'm a fan of digital restoration. I believe movies should be digitally restored only to presentable form if absolutely necessary, but certainly not to a point when you remove every speck from every frame. You'll end up with something artificial, robbed of its authenticity and character. But most importantly, what we got in this case for generations to come: this movie will be seen, not because of some unfortunate strike of fate, but because of some pettifogging reasons of legality or insulted rights-owners pride, in its curtailed version but with a pristine look. What a bargain!
Whatever the truth is, this is most likely the version of the film you will see or already saw. But there exists a longer cut of the movie - about 6 minutes longer, which extends about 27 scenes. Some minor, but some major - like the scene where Baron realizes that Toník is his younger self and reconciles with him inwardly which brings the story to closure (seriously I can't find a reason why would Zeman cut this scene). But overall, due to various reasons (like continuity, soundtrack cue's coherence, humor punchlines), many people believe that this longer cut is actually the original version of the film (or at least qualifies as a "director's cut"). However, the only sources where you can find this cut are VHS distribution and recordings of Czech and Slovak television broadcasts. All the digital media contain the shorter cut of the movie. To top everything, the movie was gloriously restored quite recently but even when there were voices asking where is this longer cut, no one wanted to hear them.
I will not lie that I'm a fan of digital restoration. I believe movies should be digitally restored only to presentable form if absolutely necessary, but certainly not to a point when you remove every speck from every frame. You'll end up with something artificial, robbed of its authenticity and character. But most importantly, what we got in this case for generations to come: this movie will be seen, not because of some unfortunate strike of fate, but because of some pettifogging reasons of legality or insulted rights-owners pride, in its curtailed version but with a pristine look. What a bargain!