ix21@sdccs6.UUCP (05/01/84)
I recently joined the ranks of those people subscribing to a pay-movie channel. It was my understanding that these movies are shown uncut on movie channels, but viewing some of my favorite movies on cable I notice some small scenes absent. Does anyone know if this is just a fluke or the result of some editing on the part of the pay TV networks? Thank You David If you will kindly mail your replys I will post a followup in the future. sdcsvax!sdccs6!whiteman
fish@ihu1g.UUCP (Bob Fishell) (05/03/84)
The small chunks missing from 'uncut' movies on pay channels were
editied out to cram something like a 123-minute movie onto a 120
minute videocassette. As you may have noticed, movies come out
on cassette about two months or so before they're released to cable.
I think that the cassette manufacturers and the cable companies get
the same version.
--
Bob Fishell
ihnp4!ihu1g!fishags@pucc-i (Seaman) (05/04/84)
If movies on the premium cable channels appear to have scenes missing, it probably is not because of editing BY THE COMPANY (HBO et. al.) All of the information I have seen (from video magazines, etc.) indicate that the premium channels show movies exactly as they receive them from the studios. It would not be in their interest for pay channels to engage in censorship, since the word would surely get out and they would quickly lose any credibility they had with the paying public. Some movies, however, exist in more than one version. In some cases, movies that were sold to the commercial TV networks have had scenes ADDED which were not in the theatrical releases (to provide padding so that the movie plus commercials will fit a given time slot). These may be scenes which were planned ahead of time for the tv version only, or they may simply be scenes which were left on the cutting room floor and then resurrected when additional footage was needed. More is not necessarily better. In any case, these scenes probably won't show up on HBO or on video cassettes. Some movies have both an R and a PG version. When this happens, cable channels will usually show both versions (with appropriate notes in the listings). The cable channels are not affected by movies that are "just a little too long to fit on a video cassette." Movies up to about 124 minutes in length can be sold on a single video cassette, but I have often seen movies on cable that exceeded that length by 5 minutes or less. -- Dave Seaman ..!pur-ee!pucc-i:ags "Against people who give vent to their loquacity by extraneous bombastic circumlocution."
rlr@pyuxn.UUCP (Rich Rosen) (05/09/84)
Superman III ran on HBO at 2:03 (123 min.). If they did cut it, they would have probably cut it to 120 even, because during prime time they had lost a half hour of prime movie programming by letting it run over the even hour/half-hour mark. -- Never ASSUME, because when you ASSUME, you make an ASS out of U and ME... Rich Rosen pyuxn!rlr
bytebug@pertec.UUCP (06/02/84)
> Superman III ran on HBO at 2:03 (123 min.). If they did cut it, > they would have probably cut it to 120 even, because during prime > time they had lost a half hour of prime movie programming by letting > it run over the even hour/half-hour mark. Why would they lose a half hour of programming? On SelecTV, if a movie runs over, they may or may not start the next movie up right afterwards. So while the TV guide may show Superman III starting at 9 PM, it is often the case that it doesn't start until 9:05 or 9:10. Besides, there is a lot of other stuff that they can use to "fill" the time with. I personally would like to see more of the Rock videos (as I don't currently have cable, and don't get MTV).