Worst "edited for TV' movies
- Thread starter Laspector
- Start date
Well at least that one sort of works lol. I remember in the 90s there was a channel out of cleveland we'd get and they actually showed Spaceballs unedited which surprised me. They did it with some movies that weren't super bad but they only did it for a while then stopped.
Dessa
Sr Member
Over the holidays, I somehow stumbled across what I can only assume was an edited version of Heidi. Yes, that Heidi, with Shirley Temple. Now, I say "assume", because I've never seen the movie myself. This was my first introduction to it. Given the age of the movie, I'll assume it's past the statute of limitations on spoilers for the ending, which is what was edited (this was on one of the cable movie channels, not sure which one).
According to the version I was watching, Heidi is being taken away by the Governess, and her Grandfather finds her and tries to save her. The Governess starts yelling that "her" child is being taken, so the police come, and take them all to the station. Grandfather is taken down to the cells, while the Governess tries to take "her" Heidi away. Heidi fights against her, and tells them to call Sesemann, who would tell them that the Governess wasn't her mother. The Governess tried to tell them she was lying, but they said they'd call Sesemann anyway. Cut to a commercial, and we come back to... Heidi living happily with her Grandfather, and the Sesemanns are coming to visit.
My mother came home, and I told her that I was very dissatisfied with the ending, because I wanted to see some sort of conclusion to the attempted kidnapping by the Governess, and her Grandfather to get full and complete custody of her. My mother just looked at me, and told me that that did happen, as far as she remembers. So I have to assume that there's a scene that goes between those scenes around the commercial break.
On the flip side, though, is Legend. There are (at least) 4 different versions of the film: The American theatrical version, European version, television version, and Director's Cut. As far as I've been able to research, none of them have all of the existing footage (a fire apparently destroyed some of the sets and recorded footage during filming). However, the television cut is almost 6 minutes longer than the American theatrical version. There's scenes in the theatrical that aren't in the TV version, but the TV version seems to be closer to the original intent (which was 125 minutes long, and even the Director's Cut isn't that long).
According to the version I was watching, Heidi is being taken away by the Governess, and her Grandfather finds her and tries to save her. The Governess starts yelling that "her" child is being taken, so the police come, and take them all to the station. Grandfather is taken down to the cells, while the Governess tries to take "her" Heidi away. Heidi fights against her, and tells them to call Sesemann, who would tell them that the Governess wasn't her mother. The Governess tried to tell them she was lying, but they said they'd call Sesemann anyway. Cut to a commercial, and we come back to... Heidi living happily with her Grandfather, and the Sesemanns are coming to visit.
My mother came home, and I told her that I was very dissatisfied with the ending, because I wanted to see some sort of conclusion to the attempted kidnapping by the Governess, and her Grandfather to get full and complete custody of her. My mother just looked at me, and told me that that did happen, as far as she remembers. So I have to assume that there's a scene that goes between those scenes around the commercial break.
On the flip side, though, is Legend. There are (at least) 4 different versions of the film: The American theatrical version, European version, television version, and Director's Cut. As far as I've been able to research, none of them have all of the existing footage (a fire apparently destroyed some of the sets and recorded footage during filming). However, the television cut is almost 6 minutes longer than the American theatrical version. There's scenes in the theatrical that aren't in the TV version, but the TV version seems to be closer to the original intent (which was 125 minutes long, and even the Director's Cut isn't that long).
As a kid I watched the sanitized version of The Exorcist on broadcast television..........in UTAH. Almost every thing that came out of possessed Regans mouth (besides green peas soup) was censored. They showed it at 1AM on Sunday morning with warnings to parents after every commercial break. They edited out so much, it looked like a Public Service Announcement for child abuse. I didnt know whether to be scared or wait for the 1-800-KID-SMAK phone number to donate to the shelter.
But Yea, Blazin' Saddles is pathetic on TV. Such a waste.
But Yea, Blazin' Saddles is pathetic on TV. Such a waste.
glunark
Sr Member
US TV dosnt always make it intact to the UK either,
One episode of Angel with channel four stupidly decided to show at 6PM, only lasted 35 minutes, with adverts!
And lots of stuff was cut out of the A team, still at least we didnt lose four full episodes like we did with Miami vice.
One episode of Angel with channel four stupidly decided to show at 6PM, only lasted 35 minutes, with adverts!
And lots of stuff was cut out of the A team, still at least we didnt lose four full episodes like we did with Miami vice.
CB2001
Master Member
Funny that this one was mentioned. The official "The Big Lebowski" Facebook shared an official T-shirt with that very quotation on it.
To toss one out there, Basic Instinct (for language and other obvious reasons).
Jedi2016
Sr Member
It's movies like that that make me wonder why they even bother making a "TV version" at all. You miss pretty much everything that makes these movies what they actually are. So much so that people who only watch it this way can't even really claim to have seen the movie at all, IMO.
Laspector
Master Member
Especially in this day and age. I could understand it back in the 70s and early 80s when a good chunk of the population didn't have cable and had only three networks to rely on to see a movie if you missed it in the theater. But not these days.
I grew up in the middle of bumf*#k nowhere in the 70s. We had ONE channel and that was ABC. A lot of the movies I grew up with were the edited for tv version. It wasn't really until VHS came around that I finally got to actually see the unedited version of a LOT of movies.
I grew up in the middle of bumf*#k nowhere in the 70s. We had ONE channel and that was ABC. A lot of the movies I grew up with were the edited for tv version. It wasn't really until VHS came around that I finally got to actually see the unedited version of a LOT of movies.
I had to take a goat, two mules and a Sherpa to get to BFE!!! I lived in the mountains in Northern Utah. Cable was the thing you attached to the horse troughs to keep them from tipping them over. We had 3 channels and PBS....thank the maker for Dr. Who, Benny Hill and Monty Pythons Flying Circus. When it snowed.....you got nothing. The local video store had a limited video selection due to the prevailing moral customs.......in other words nothing rated R.
Miami Vice was....was.....a culture shock to say the least. And yes this was back in the early 80's.
Censorship freakin' sucks
Not edited for TV but to get an "R" rating is Todd Solondz's Storytelling.
I loved the movie. A lot of people simply didn't get that the film is a subversive comedy presented as a straight drama.
But there's an explicit sex scene with Selma Blair where they simply put a (intentionally) ridiculous red box over the characters.
I loved the movie. A lot of people simply didn't get that the film is a subversive comedy presented as a straight drama.
But there's an explicit sex scene with Selma Blair where they simply put a (intentionally) ridiculous red box over the characters.
I'd almost rather have them use absurd wording in place of cussing for TV showings, like the Orbit ad that had "You son of a biscuit eating bulldog!" and "What the french, toast?" It would be more entertaining than "Forget you!!"
I've never seen "Blue Velvet" on regular TV, but my brother tried to edit it with the mute button when I took it to their house to let them see it years ago, because his new wife's 4 year old was an obstinate little cuss and wanted to watch the movie with us. I told him the language was pretty bad, and so as he's trying to mute it as Dennis Hopper is saying the F word over and over, I finally said "Give up, or you'll miss most of the dialogue."
I've never seen "Blue Velvet" on regular TV, but my brother tried to edit it with the mute button when I took it to their house to let them see it years ago, because his new wife's 4 year old was an obstinate little cuss and wanted to watch the movie with us. I told him the language was pretty bad, and so as he's trying to mute it as Dennis Hopper is saying the F word over and over, I finally said "Give up, or you'll miss most of the dialogue."
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