8mm Forum: How edited are the edits?

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Topic: How edited are the edits?

Dino Everette
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1535
From: Long Beach, CA USA
Registered: Dec 2008

posted February 25, 2009 02:38 AM

I was just thinking about the edited features and realized that since I mainly look into silent films I am not familiar with more modern releases. Do they edit all of the cursing, etc out of R rated films when they put out the shortened versions on super 8?

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"You're too Far Out Miss Lawrence"

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Douglas Meltzer
Moderator

Posts: 4554
From: New York, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted February 25, 2009 09:58 AM

Dino,

I can't recall an example of a digest edited specifically to remove profanity/violence/nudity. Normally the highlight scenes responsible for the given rating are included in the digest.
Full length airline prints available on the home market were edited to be acceptable for a general audience.

Doug

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I think there's room for just one more film.....

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Kurt Gardner
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 193
From: San Antonio, TX
Registered: Aug 2005

posted February 25, 2009 11:17 PM

Heck, no, and that's what can make them most fun! "The Exorcist" 400 footer is a 17-minute rundown of all the atrocities from the feature. "Taxi Driver" has all the violence from the Jodie Foster/Harvey Keitel segment in the film (DeNiro not only drops the "f" bomb, he uses the "c" word!). "Kentucky Fried Movie" has nudity and profanity. "The Omen" films don't flinch from graphic violence.

Even the 200' Castle "Psycho" (readily available at Kmart!) has a surprisingly clear shot of Janet Leigh's stunt double's breasts. The scene is really high-contrast here, making it easier to see the goods than even in the later video versions. The shot was was intended to be really low-contrast and subdued, but the 8mm negative reduction really brought them out (add slide whistle sound here). There are also breasts, rape and deviant sex on display in the Castle "Frenzy" and especially in its Universal 8 400' version.

The list goes on and on. I'm sure other members will happily provide their favorites. [Eek!]

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Brad Kimball
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1171
From: Highland Mills, NY USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted March 02, 2009 10:37 PM

I thought Janet Leigh used no double and did the entire shower scene herself with only Hitch and a small crew. However.... Anthony Perkins admitted that he was NOT in the scene at all. He was actually in NY doing a play at the time. His double (Burt something) was actually in the wig and frock which is why his face is never pulled into focus. I distinctly remember seeing the interview in which he relates that he actually couldn't really take credit for doing the scene and that if Hitch were still alive he'd be furious for Perkins devulging it.

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Adrian Winchester
Film God

Posts: 2941
From: Croydon, London, UK
Registered: Aug 2004

posted March 03, 2009 01:19 PM

One of the ultimate examples has to be the 400' of 'Coffy'. I recall telling an audience that the cut down was notable for bombarding the audience with nudity, foul language, hard drug taking and ultra-violence; all within the first minute!!

However, I've sometimes got the impression that some Walton editing attempted to make films a bit 'milder'. E.g. the 4 x 400' of 'Twins of Evil' has a scene in which there's a cut immediately before the fangs of the vampire twin reach the breast of a female victim, and the scene would have only had to continue for about 3 seconds more in order to be complete.

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Adrian Winchester

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Steve Klare
Film Guy

Posts: 7016
From: Long Island, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted March 03, 2009 02:20 PM

To me the interesting one is the 2x400' cutdown of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World" which Derann sells. It's basically the whole movie minus the story: 40 minutes of car crashes, plane crashes, fistfights and other mayhem, with precious little dialog or plot. It's kind of as if they re-shot the opening sequence of "Saving Private Ryan" in Southern California!

One regret is they cut out Ethel Murman slipping on the banana peel and falling flat on her butt...

-Reminds me o' me own Mom in Law!

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All I ask is a wide screen and a projector to light her by...

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Lars Pettersson
Master Film Handler

Posts: 282
From: Stockholm, Sweden
Registered: Jan 2007

posted March 03, 2009 02:37 PM

Brad,
they did use a nude double for some scenes when shooting the shower sequence. There was no way Janet Leigh would have been completely naked in front of the whole crew. Check out the double-DVD edition of Psycho, there´s a really good documentary there!

Cheers
Lars

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Douglas Meltzer
Moderator

Posts: 4554
From: New York, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted March 03, 2009 08:25 PM

Marli Renfro was the body double for Janet Leigh in the shower scene. She reportedly was paid $500.00 for her work.

Doug

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I think there's room for just one more film.....

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Osi Osgood
Film God

Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005

posted March 03, 2009 10:38 PM

... I hate to differ, but the persons face was purposefully out of focus, (whether Anthony Perkins or his stunt double), as the revelation that Anthony Perkins is going in drag as his mother was one of the shocks (surprises) of the films ending. If we saw the face, that would destroy that ending.

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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "

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Lars Pettersson
Master Film Handler

Posts: 282
From: Stockholm, Sweden
Registered: Jan 2007

posted March 04, 2009 12:56 AM

500 bucks for a couple of days work in 1960 couldn´t have been bad? [Smile]

Various people as well as dummies were used for "mother/Norman" throughout the film, I think the one pulling the shower curtain was actually played by a woman (again, check out the DVD). The cinematic brilliance of the shower sequence cannot be overstated, in the nice new DVD version it´s obvious how much work went into composing and lighting each setup. In the shot where Mother pulls the shower curtain, you cannot discern the features, but there´s just a hint of glow in the eyes, and the many "nude" shots are carefully judged to have just enough water/shower curtain/soft focus to suggest everything but actually not showing anything.

Stanley Kubrick is often (rightfully) extolled for his actually rather meagre output, but to think that Hitchcock, aged 60, cranked out Vertigo/North by Northwest/Psycho in about three years while simultaneously running a TV show boggles the mind. The level of excellence in these three films is outstanding.

Cheers
Lars

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Dino Everette
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1535
From: Long Beach, CA USA
Registered: Dec 2008

posted March 04, 2009 01:09 AM

Wow this actually makes me want to pick up some of the digests...Thanks for all of the info.. [Smile]

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"You're too Far Out Miss Lawrence"

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