Filmmaker

The recent DVD release has this film rated R. Considering that the only prior exhibition of this film was on ABC television, does this indicate that we have an unadvertised "unedited/expanded" release on our hands?

Geofferson

I sure hope so. The ABC version was all but chopped to bits.

Filmmaker

Well, the running time is 131 minutes and, with ample commercials, the broadcast version was three hours (180 minutes), so any variances are likely slight, but surely something is different, since I don't see how ABC could get away with broadcasting unedited R-rated material in primetime.

ThatGuamGuy

Why would it have been submitted to the MPAA at all?

domino harvey

the ABC Shining miniseries was rated R too

critterdvd

ABC can probably get away with it because they advertised the movie with 'parents strongly suggestion' tags and the fact that it isn't probably a Hard R, but it was a little worse than a PG-13... also, probably all the major violence occured durring the 9:30 - 11:00 pm block (the later the time slot, the more lenient there restrictions are. After 10pm a series is allowed 2 cuss words and one shot of partcial nudity per hour, or something like that)

Filmmaker

Huh...I had no idea...that seems so bizarre since an R rating means "NO ONE under 17 allowed without a guardian", but that obviously can't be verified or enforced over the airwaves regardless of time of airing...

Julie Walker

The film was never rated when it aired though,it was rated later for the dvd release.

The tv version was fairly strong and explicit to my surprise though. So i'd be curious to know if anything was cut from the tv-version.

If anyone saw it on tv and saw the dvd,can you tell if their was anything added to the dvd or not?

argh923

I do know on King's website about a year ago, he stated that he'd seen a rough cut and was pleasantly surprised by the graphic nature of it, but feared ABC would cut it down a bit.

critterdvd

I know that F/X is under a slightly different set of rules than ABC because it is a Cable station and not broadcast, but every episode of 'nip/tuck' would definately have gotten and well-earned R rating if it had been rated: the episodes are bloody, disturbing, have bad language, and nudity (although some could argue the nudity is only partical), but it still airs without much complant...

Back on topic - I recorded the miniseries off ABC when it aired, and that comes in at approx 75 seconds longer than the DVD (I recorded the intro as well as a second here and there of commercial) so there cannot be that much of a difference between the two.

domino harvey

it would not be unheard of for a director to film two versions, one for TV and one for later DVD release.

Scott Weinberg

True, and that's what we're trying to figure out!

I finally watched the thing yesterday. Thought the movie was fairly solid, thanks mainly to the cast. As with most King mini-series, it really runs out of steam (and ideas) in the second half.

Julie Walker

The funny thing about FX is,from the films I have tried to watch casually on the channel. They were one of the strictest in tv-editing,old school 50's style extreme censorship.

Halloween H20 is not a really graphic film at all. Aside from language,it could air almost uncut violencewise on basic tv(maybe with some minor trims).

The FX version chops out a few death scenes,any shot of blood,discovery of dead bodies..and the nongraphic violence done against Myers in defense among other things. Which makes for a very incoherent nonscary film.

The only good thing about the FX version and the reason I watched it,was the added deleted charecter/dialogue bits added to the film.


If you catch the early 80's tv version of Halloween 2 airing on AMC. Check it out,and that's a good idea of how FX is editing films today. It's like they don't know it's the 21st Century and are going by extremely strict guildlines.

And that's just one example of a few films i've skimmed through on the channel that were chopped too pieces and unwatchable.

So let's just say,if Desperation aired on FX. There would be nothing left of the film,which is why it surprised me just how explicit it was on ABC.