MovieChat Forums > Pride and Prejudice (1995) Discussion > Pride and Prejudoce - 1980

Pride and Prejudoce - 1980

posted 8 years ago by mcannady1
5 replies | jump to latest

Movie girl: This is a great series, but I am concerned that these are cut.
In the 90's I taped the Series from a PBS Station which airs here in the states. So I do have it on VHS. When it was later released on DVD, I bought the series to have greaert resolution. Well, I am sorry to say that some of the episodes are cut, starting with the first episode. Maybe they were cut (from PAL format) to make them available on NTSC here.

If anyone knows what has happened, I would appreciate it. I noticed this same thing on other British series. The Adam Dalgliesh Chronicles look great, but are missing some scenes too.

Thank you. As a whole, I love British series, but am sorry with unkind cuts here and there.

Best Regards, Janet

[–] Julie-30 8 years ago

This is good to know. I have a region-free player, so I may end up buying the UK version of the discs. I'll check the length at the listing.

As an aside, PBS cuts things like crazy these days.

http://currentscene.wordpress.com

[–] mcannady1 8 years ago

Movie girl: Thanks! IT does seem like PBS cuts everything/ Even buying region free and UK version did not help when I bought Pride and Prejudice '80. Luckily, I have my old VHS in which I taped the entire mini=series/ There you can =see the travesty of unkind cuts when comparing it to the versions sold nowadays. I wanted to get a better copy, so I ordered the "set" from Acorn or PBS.

RE: Adam Dalgliesh Chronicles. A friend said Network in the UK did a great job and recomended that I buy the set to have them complete. He had done so and was very pleased. However, he had never seen these stories when they first aired on PBS in the late 80's and early 90's.

I ordered the set a few months ago and found the same unkind cuts that PBS??? had done later. I believe these were altered to fit VHS commercial sets and later the same thing for the DVD sets. So I wasted the money again, because network only had the cut version on A Taste for Death and Shroud for a Nightingale. I am not certain about the others, though I had seen them. These were my 2 favorites and htey had weird cuts, frankly. I won't say if you have not seen these. In a Taste for Death a cut toward the end - or omission of an important scene was not wise. But many people, including P.D. James, were not aware. She is my favorite author and she wrote a note about how Network did a wonderful job of making complete as possible. So it all looks great, but missing important info. I feel. Sorry to run on. I am writing to Network and see what they say. THey were unaware, I feel.

Good luck!
Best, Janet
P.S. Even my All Region Player is great but can't bring the missing scenes back.

[–] Julie-30 8 years ago

What scenes were missing? Can you elaborate?

http://currentscene.wordpress.com

[–] mcannady1 8 years ago

Movie girl: I will return tomorrow with some of the deleted scenes. Would have to watch again, but I do think about 10 min. are gone. Good thing I have on VHS!

Best, Janet

[–] mcannady1 8 years ago

Movie girl: Hi Julie, They are closing message boards in 2 weeks from IMDB. Could I please have your regular e-mail? Is it the currentscene.wordpress.com?

Mine is [email protected]

Just briefly, it looks like PBS shaved off a few minutes from each segment. The first one in Part One I am sure of, is at the end of the visit to Netherfield Park - Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy are talking about the Bennetts as they sit playing a game. Mr. Bingley goes to the window and pensively watches the coach drive off. Part One is a key segment of the story in which the Bennett girls meet the men. Because of all the info. imparted, it is not obvious that this part is missing. I believe it is 2 or 3 minutes alone. I am going to re-watch my VHS copy which I put all on one DVD in SLP. Not a great way to do it, but I had taped it all on one VHS to start with, so just transferred it over to DVD about 10 years ago. More recently we bought the boxed set on DVD and my hubby and I noticed missing scenes (like we did later with Commander Dalgliesh series).

So for both of our info., I am going to track it down. Had you seen it in the early 80's when it came out? Alistair Cooke narrates and there is beautiful and haunting music at the beginning of every segment which is accompanied by drawings of the Bennetts and Darcy, Bingley, etc. (I can make you a copy eventually of what we had and if you have what they sell now, you will see what I mean relative to unkind cuts).

In PArt 4 or 5 I think, when Lydia has eloped with Mr. Wickham, Mr. Collins says in his letter to Mrs. Bennett, "The death of your daughter would have been preferable.. In my boxed copy the sentence is missing, A friend had bought the professional vHS set a few years ago and unkind cuts had appeared here and there. We NOW think that once they were cut, it prevailed across the board.
But I did not realize it would happen again when I saw the ad in the PBS or Acorn magazine about them beautiful and complete. Yep, beautiful, but complete, no. I think they are no longer available as they once were.

So if I could have your regular e-mail, I will get back with you. Thanks for your interest too. P&P is one of my favorites from Masterpiece Theater. I love every version, but my heart is set on this, the first set.

Best REgards,
Janet