4.21 - A Touch of Brimstone

[dissolute]

Which scene was trimmed? Is it censorship of the whipping scene? I've heard that that had to be cut down originally.

Yes it was the whipping scene that was reduced in length.

[Frankymole]

It's a bit worrying that the cut-down version is still being broadcast (e.g. on Hulu)! A bit like when Channel 4 kept showing that episode of The Prisoner with the final half of a crucial scene removed, so an important character who was referred to later in the episode just vanished with no explanation... at least in this case the missing action isn't important to the plot. The cut episode was even leased out for a cinema showing. These butchered versions ought to be removed from the archive or at least clearly marked up as not for broadcast!

Hopefully the DVD and BluRay versions of A Touch of Brimstone are complete.

[dissolute]

I explain it all (a bit) in my upcoming update to my episode pages. There are two "master" prints, the full version, which has been available on VHS, DVD & blu ray since the 1993 Lumiere Pictures release, and the 38 second shorter version which is still being used by many broadcasters, including streaming services, as the broadcast print. I guess TV companies like that they can cram an extra 38 seconds of ads in a timeslot.

Mike Richardson covers it in Bowler Hats and Kinky Boots (Bromley, 2014), pp. 170-1

[Frankymole]

I'd be interested also to read about Fog, the missing material from that seems only to exist on home videotape (and was reinserted into the DVD version, eventually, but reportedly at lower picture resolution / quality).

[mousemeat]

as well as blu ray ?

[dissolute]

There's also a tiny bit right at the end of Act 3 of "A Sense of History" (before the epilogue with the motorcycle) which is really low res and seems to have been recovered from video tape.

[Allard]

It was also omitted in the 60s broadcasting in The Netherlands, not surprising as in 1980 an ad with Paul Eddington was banned due to a woman having to provocative red lips.