Charley Varrick - Uni/TCM (1 Viewer)

[Jon Hertzberg]

I recently recorded a broadcast of Charley Varrick off of TCM with my new DVD recorder. Lo and behold, Universal provided a letterboxed print of the film. I know this has been discussed here, but why would Universal go the full nine yards for a cable showing, but drop the ball for the DVD release? Is the TCM audience regarded as more discerning than the DVD audience for Charley Varrick, a film I guess they believe black bar-hating Joe Six-Pack is banging down the door for?

I have not yet watched the film so I've not really got a good look at it quality-wise or whether it is unedited. I believe TCM runs films without edits for content, however I can't remember watching too many post-'65 films on the channel. Does TCM retain nudity/language/violence in its broadcast of more recent films?

 

[Kevin M]

So.....umm....Charley Varrick huh?

 

[Jon Hertzberg]

Mods- Sorry about the repeated postings--I've never done that before. My server was giving me trouble. I didn't think any of my submissions had gone through, but it looks like six or seven did.

 

[Dan McW]

I know they claim to run movies "uncut" (and if this refers to length, that's usually true), but TCM edited out several words in "The Outfit" (1973) about a year or two ago. I think they did so on at least one broadcast of "Charley Varrick," although my TCM "Varrick" seems to be unedited. The one time I recorded "Network" off TCM, it seemed to be unedited. My "Wild Rovers" off TCM appears to be complete and unaltered, but I think an earlier broadcast of it had some language edited out.

 

[walter o]

TCM ran the R rated NO BLADES OF GRASS, beautifully letterboxed, but was edited (language, nudity). Also ran a widescreen print of the PG rated THE LAST RUN which was edited as well. And fullframe of the R rated THE RECKONING, which was edited, but ran the R rated BROTHERLY LOVE and THE SPLIT which was uncut, so I guess it depends more on available material than the rating?

 

[Patrick McCart]

They've said it before, but they air stuff as uncut as they can show it. Thus, some studios end up sending altered cuts to them. If it's a Turner/WB movie, there's a 99.99% chance it'll be uncut and uncensored. They never do editing - if it's altered, it's because the broadcast master they recieved already had the editing.

Come on, we're talking about the channel that shows Deliverance, Raging Bull, and The Blue Lagoon uncut.

 

[Jon Hertzberg]

Wait a minute...when did TCM show The Blue Lagoon?! If we're talking about edited v. unedited, I can only assume you mean the Randal Kleiser version and not the 1923 or 1949 versions.

 

[Patrick McCart]

The 1980 version. As bad as the movie was, it was aired as part of the Oscar month a while ago (it's at least beautifully shot).

 

[Jon Hertzberg]

Yes, it does have gorgeous Nestor Almendros photography, which I now see (as per IMDb) was Oscar-nominated.

 

[Dan McW]

Jon, have you been able to watch and see if your "Varrick" is edited?

Patrick, I suppose I shouldn't have blamed TCM, as they can only air what they're supplied with. We could probably come up with numerous films aired both with and without edits on TCM. The "tcm programmer" who occasionally responds on their forum told me pretty much the same thing as you wrote when I asked why they were running the shortened home-video version of Michael Winner's "Lawman," while a still more violent/graphic original cut has aired on Showtime. (Slightly OT, but one or two posts on IMDb and Amazon mention this longer cut.)

Encore Westerns also told me the same thing when I asked why they didn't run the 90-minute pilot and the single 90-minute regular episode of "Alias Smith and Jones" (speaking of Universal).

One thing I thought was a TCM edit may have instead been done by the original producer of the film, when a brand name of a beverage was blacked out in "Hot Rods to Hell" as it aired last summer. On the IMDb board for the film, one person blames TCM for it while another says it was the producer.

 

[Jon Hertzberg]

Dan McW,

Haven't had a chance to watch it yet. I should note that the rating note at the beginning noted "L,V" (for language & violence) and it was rated TV-14.