Able Abel

Hi, can anyone tell me if the version of These Are the Damned, which was broadcast on BBC2 last summer, was the original theatrical cut (86mins) or the Directors cut, which first premiered in 1990, at 96 mins? I've only recently found out that the Directors-cut version existed, and as I've long since taped over the film, I don't have any idea which version was broadcast.

Amethyst_Isle

BBC2 screened this at 11.30-01.05 =95mins,so I would guess it will be between 90-95mins approx as most broadcast times are not that accurate.

The current dvd runs 84mins.

Shaun

Great music for the opening title credits, any idea who sings it?

Shaun

John Hodson

What current DVD? Unless you're talking bootleg, I didn't think this was available anywhere.

The Beeb did screen the longer version, but it was cropped from the original 'Hammerscope'.

filmjournal.net/john

Amethyst_Isle

This DVD (but unavailable now ) oops!! I meant video.

Amazon.com: These Are the Damned: Macdonald Carey,Shirley Anne Field,Viveca Lindfors,Alexander Knox,Oliver Reed,Walter Gotell,James Villiers,Tom Kempinski,Kenneth Cope,Brian Oulton,Barbara Everest,Allan McClelland,James Maxwell,Rachel Clay,Caroline S

unless as you say it is a bootleg.

Nick Dando

Oh, I thought you were talking about Dave Vanian, Rat Scabies Brian James and Captain Sensible.

Nick

Amethyst_Isle

Er Nope

I do not recall Ollie Reed singing alongside Captain "Happy Talk" Sensible,apart from after a few pints.

John Hodson

Ah, looks legit, but a legit OOP VHS tape is neither use, nor ornament...

It was to have been released by DDHE on DVD as part of their Columbia deal with Sony, but then they went belly up...

filmjournal.net/john

Steve Crook

Ah, but it lets you know that there was a legit release and so that some of might e offered on eBay or similar

Steve

Able Abel

Thanks for clarifying the runtime of this film, broadcast on BBC2 last year, guys.

It's a shame most networks still insist on cropping the picture, as far as Scope films are concerned, but if they do have to be cropped, I suppose it's just a wee bit better, to see them framed at a 1.85:1 ratio, rather than 1.33:1 (as they were in the "bad old days" of television broadcasting)

John Hodson

No VHS player is a slight hurdle...it will come, digitally, from the 'proper' source, I'm confident of that.

filmjournal.net/john

John Hodson

The Beeb used to be so assiduous about about broadcasting in OAR, but sadly no longer. What is slightly odd is that when they broadcast a film simultaneously on, say, Beeb 2 and on BBC HD, if it's a 'scope film, the Beeb 2 version is cropped, the HD channel version is OAR. It's just a shame that BBC HD doesn't programme many classic films...

filmjournal.net/john

doojeen

The Damned was called These Are The Damned in the US, which indicates that the version the Beeb showed last year was an American print.

m35541

To clarify:

The version screened by the Beeb was the uncut 96m version but it wasn't in the proper Scope ratio. It was under the American title These are the Damned but prints under this title are the only surviving ones of the full length version. I believe an American cable channel have shown it in the proper 2.35:1 ratio.

The old UK VHS These are the Damned (which is available on Amazon) is the 87m theatrical version.

Losey's directors cut is 96m. However, Hammer then cut the film to 87m for theatrical release and this is the version that played in UK cinemas. At the same time they changed the title to These are the Damned for US release and sent the 87m prints overseas together with copies of the 96m version which they thought might be suitable for TV prints (as 96m translated nicely into a 2 hour slot on US TV). For the US theatrical release it seems to have been cut further to 77m although prints of this version don't seem to exist.

I don't think there is a print titled The Damned in the full 96m length. The one in the NFT archive is the 87m version.