Old TV Shows DVD releases - Cut (USA)/Uncut (Europe) (1 Viewer)

Hello.

I see that some old TV shows that have been released on DVD, are cut in USA, but they're uncut in Europe (according to reviews).

Examples:

Alf

Muppet Family Christmas

Muppet Show


Does anyone know of other shows (up to 1990) released on DVD, that the same thing appiles?

Konstantinos said:

Hello.

I see that some old TV shows that have been released on DVD, are cut in USA, but they're uncut in Europe (according to reviews).

Examples:

Muppet Show


Does anyone know of other shows (up to 1990) released on DVD, that the same thing appiles?

Click to expand...

Are you SURE about that one? I thought I read somewhere that the Series One release was cut worldwide, for music reasons (not sure about other seasons.

Happy Days

Most (or all) of the '50s music in the episodes is cut/replaced in the US sets, but is intact in the UK sets. The only music change in the UK sets is, as I recall, the theme tune being changed (on season 2, I think) to the "Happy Days Theme". All the incidental music in the original '50s tunes.


Kolchak: the Night Stalker

Very minor edit to most people, but for the perfectionist, the first four (or so) episodes have the wrong title sequence on the US set. The title card is supposed to simply be "the night stalker" on those episodes. The US set uses the later "kolchak: the night stalker" on all the episodes. Presumably, they only remastered one set of titles and used it for all the episodes. The UK set has the proper title sequence on all episodes.


Lexx (I know this isn't pre-1990, but still...)

Series 1: the US, German and Australian releases all have a few cuts. The UK set is unedited.

AndyMcKinney said:

Are you SURE about that one? I thought I read somewhere that the Series One release was cut worldwide, for music reasons (not sure about other seasons.

Click to expand...

What I recall about The Muppets releases wasn't so much a case of being cut, as having different broadcast edits.

What was seen in the UK was different than what was shown in the US. And the DVDs were accurate to the country's transmission.

Of course I could be completely off base on this

No, you're not. From what I understand, the US releases had songs from Rowlf the Dog that had only been shown in the UK. I think they were intended as substitutes for other songs that they couldn't get the rights for.

Also, aren't the "ATV colour presentation" (UK) and "ITC Entertainment" logos at the end of the show (after the sax player looks into the bell of his horn), substituted with a new screen saying "Henson Entertainment" or something (presumably a later syndication change)?

AndyMcKinney said:

Are you SURE about that one? I thought I read somewhere that the Series One release was cut worldwide, for music reasons (not sure about other seasons.

Click to expand...

well, i found this:

http://www.muppetcentral.com/forum/threads/the-muppet-show-season-1-uncut-only-in-germany.51829/


and here's some examples of what has been cut:

http://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=360207

http://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=306747

http://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=387481

http://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=389143

It's pretty surprising that the German DVDs were all released uncut while the American DVDs miss out on several musical numbers - the fans were not amused. The reasons for this were copyright issues as well as huge costs that Disney didn't want to pay.

Click to expand...

Do those cuts only apply to the US set, or do they also apply to the UK one, I wonder.


I found it interesting that France and Italy got all five seasons (allegedly, I don't see any current--or past--such releases on Amazon.it or Amazon.fr). Anyone know whether those two seasons were uncut, whether they contained the original English soundtrack and credits (and no burnt-in subtitles), and whether they're the full-length 'UK/international' version, or the shorter US version?