Benny Hill - how much is NOT on any DVD release yet? (1 Viewer)

[wildwestfan2001]

My apologies - that extra footage must exist out there somewhere - but how to find?

 

[Mitcham]

Thanks AppleSpider, your post appears to answer one of my questions regarding the episode - 8th (6th?) February 1980 - in which one of the girls dances in a see-through top, showing her breasts. I've also been trying, without sucess, to identify the girl. Does anyone know who she is? There also seems to be conflicting info as to whether the censorship was carried-out on the master tapes of the episode. I saw this episode, uncensored, on French TV in the 1990s, which would seem to prove that the uncensored version does still exist. So, my next question is, is the uncensored version currently available on DVD? And, if so, how do I identify it to ensure I buy the correct one? If anyone can help I would be very grateful. Thank you.
Incidentally, 20 months on from your post, the Youtube link doesn't work - is there another one that does?

 

[Gabe D]

I was looking through some old HBO programming guides from the early '80s, and they advertise some HBO specials called "The Unexpurgated Benny Hill." Are these available on DVD? Or VHS even? I don't see much about them online, though I did find a New York Times review: UNEXPURGATED BENNY HILL CONTINUES - New York Times

 

[Bob Hug]

I'm not sure if they are the same as the HBO specials, but HBO did release two 2-DVD sets titled "Benny Hill: Golden Greats" and "Benny Hill: Golden Classics" some years ago. They were nothing more than a compilation of various skits from the Thames shows. I have the "Golden Classics" compilation but much prefer the A&E releases as A&E offered improved visuals over the HBO DVDs and A&E also presented the complete Thames shows that were broadcast in the U.K., not the half-hour compilations that were telecast in the U.S. Though I never saw any of the HBO specials, I'd guess that they were simply compilations of skits from the Thames shows as the DVDs were, particularly as they mention Hill's Angels in the NYT article. The HBO DVDs technically went out of print when A&E got the license, but you can still find them at some online retailers.

 

[AndyMcKinney]

Maybe those were simply the most-recent hour-long shows of the time? Remember, in 1984, Benny Hill was syndicated in the USA as cut-down half-hours. The 10:15 timeslot would seem to suggest a show running about 45 minutes or so, which would be just about right for an 'hour-long' Benny special. The "all-new, unexpurgated" tag probably was just to let people know these were the uncut hours, and the "all-new" part might've have meant those were Benny's newest shows, which weren't a part of the syndication package yet.

That's my opinion, anyway.

 

[Mitcham]

Visiting this forum for the first time in a while I was sad to notice there hasn't been any activity on it for more than two years! Surely something has developed on the DVD release front during that time? Benny was - and posthumously still is - far too important a performer to be forgotten. So my post is by way of being a bump. Hopefully someone will have something encouraging to contribute.

 

[WaveCrest]

Below is the link to another thread where there has been discussion since January 2009:



BENNY HILL SHOW: complete and unedited! - HTF thread

 

[William B.]

The only question now is, what will the bonus material be? The only uncovered work in his oeuvre from his Thames years was his 1977 Australian-made special Benny Hill Down Under (a.k.a. Benny Hill in Australia) - especially given: a) some of its contents being in the HBO Video compilation Video Sideshow (ex Best of . . . Vol. 3) and b) some of the contents being scattered amongst the U.S. syndicated half-hours. But though Fremantle owns the British rights, there's a big question mark as to the rest of the world.

And there is evidence that the original Aussie version was highly different from what was aired in Britain in April 1978 (and repeated in 1980) in some spots. Not just the title, but:
- The ending credits were clearly expurgated in the UK airing; at least 22 supporting cast members were listed, as below, on the original Australian show:

It is not known if, between the two frames, Nat Nixon, Stuart Wagstaff and Maurice Murphy were mentioned. (Image courtesy The Benny Hill Show Wikia.) But on the UK airing, they went from Benny's good nights to the crew credits (starting off with Hill's "Script & Original Music").
- There was probably one sketch replaced. The original Aussie version had a Chow Mein interview where the inscrutable Chinaman was Minister of Culture, and Max Phipps was his straight man. This may have been replaced by a sketch from one of the "Colour Strike Three" of 1970-71 - the B&W period piece "Love Will Find a Way" from Jan. 27, 1971, though I can't say one way or the other whether this was true or not. All re-creations of the show showed it, though, but not the Chow Mein sketch.

If this were to be put out on DVD, they may have to have the original Aussie version as the main, and the British Bowdlerization as a "bonus."