Movies cut for TV
@thedailyclick (3017)
August 3, 2009 4:46pm CST
Does anyone else get annoyed when watching a movie on TV only to find that it has been hacked around so that it either fits into a schedule or so that it can be shown before the watershed by having violent scenes removed?
For example, last night I started to watch Eraser as it was being shown on TV; it’s a movie I have seen before but enjoy. Within the first 30 minutes I counted at least 5 cuts where action had been removed. What made it worse was that it was being shown after 10pm but yet they still removed scenes which they deemed too graphic.
My feeling is that if a movie has graphic scenes in it then they shouldn’t remove them just so that they can show it earlier in the day instead show it later in the night where we can enjoy the whole movie as it was meant to be seen and if a movie is a few minutes too long for a specific schedule then remove some of the adverts not the scenes.
It really does annoy me especially as directors take a lot of effort to edit movies to what they want to show and by TV stations hacking them about does the director and the movie a disservice.
What do you think?
7 responses
@princess07031980 (5412)
• United States
4 Aug 09
I agree completely that movies shouldn't be edited, and if a good movie is on TV but I know it's edited, I won't even bother watching it. However, movies that are aired on tv often times have to be edited to meet standard requirements (some language and other choice content cannot be shown on tv according to network guidelines.)
1 person likes this
@thedailyclick (3017)
•
4 Aug 09
Whilst I agree that TV stations have a responsibilty to maintain certain standards such as language use and graphic violence. I also feel that if they deem a movie falls below their standards then they should either chose not to show it or put it on at a time where the need to remove elements is not so strict.
@tessrow (92)
• United States
4 Aug 09
YES! I agree with you completely. I don't mind a bleep here or there for language, but I don't want to watch a movie that's been recut by amateurs. I don't usually care if they cut out the end credits (or play them really quickly, as some channels do), but having seen a butchered version of The Silence of the Lambs on local television, where scenes very necessary to understanding the movie were cut out? I think that local stations should leave recutting of films to the directors. They aren't qualified to do so.
1 person likes this
@thedailyclick (3017)
•
4 Aug 09
Exactly, the anateurish way that movies get hacked about for TV can have really adverse affect on how a movie comes across and often it seems that the editing is done is such a hap hazzard manner that the integrity of the movie is completely lost.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
5 Aug 09
I know what you mean, a lot of channels do that with a lot of movies, and it is quite irritating. Or they'll dub over the bad words with better ones, such as dumb@$$ will be dummy. You know that's not what they're really saying, so why do they do that? Ugh, just annoying!!
1 person likes this
@_sketch_ (5742)
• United States
4 Aug 09
I really hate it. A lot of times the stuff they cut out really changes the movie. It's worse when you see it like this on tv first and then when you actually watch the whole thing you realize that you totally did not get the movie at all. I also hate when they cut out swearwords. I understand why they do that, but it doesn't make it any less annoying. And when I was a kid I always knew what they were really saying anyways. lol
1 person likes this
@thedailyclick (3017)
•
4 Aug 09
You are spot on when you mention watching a movie after you have seen it on tv only to realise that you didn't get the movie at all. I feel sorry for those who after enjoying a movie on TV decide to buy it on DVD only to discover that not only does it contain scenes which they may deem objectionable but also the emphasis on the feel of the movie has changed.
@Tiamjr (435)
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4 Aug 09
I notice a lot of scene removals in films that were not even classified as a 15 in the cinemas. It really annoys me because even a small scene removal can cut out subtle details that really add to the overall storyline of the film.
I have often watched the films at the cinema before seeing it on tv, but even so, you are left feeling as though the film wasn't as good as you remembered it. So anyone watching the film for the first time on TV must be getting an inaccurate impression about the film.
If it is showing after watershed you would think they could show the more graphic scenes anyway. I know adverts provide a lot of revenue, but there are just too many. I think in some cases, some of the adverts probably do more damage than some of the scenes they cut out of the movies!
1 person likes this
@macdrizzle (283)
• United States
4 Aug 09
Yes its terrible for most stations, cable and satellite stations don't have to comply with FCC, but it looks bad if they show that kind of stuff.
The worst part is when they replace words like pus sy with pudding
1 person likes this
@thedailyclick (3017)
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4 Aug 09
I remember when they use to change the words on movies rather than cut them out. I haven't noticed it so much these days but it always so obvious, it could turn a serious movie into a comedy.
@dodo19 (47336)
• Beaconsfield, Quebec
4 Aug 09
I really don't like watching movies on television, as they cut parts of the movie. It's really not as pleasant to watch them on television. I much prefer to watch them on DVD, as I know that the actual movie won't get cut, edited, butchered, or anything like that. You get more out of the movie by watching it on DVD than you do by watching it on television.
