Maximum length of Pre recorded video/DVD

[zikkimalambo]

Bought a pre recorded DVD of a film i'd previously seen on the box and was disappointed to find that it had suffered "The death of a thousand cuts".

Nearly every scene had had 30secs - 1min cut and some scenes just weren't there at all.

It was 97 Minutes in length as is the VHS version.

Is there anything inherrant in either format which would restrict the movie company to 97ish minutes? Or might they think that "Home" audiences wouldn't want anything longer? or are they just plain mean?

It's not as if it had had the naughty bits cut out in order to get a lower rating.

Any thoughts?

[Grumps]

Is this a legit DVD, or a pirate one? Still can't see any reason for having scene cuts. Many DVD movies are much longer than this.

[bland]

If it's a good, ie pressed, pirate copy it will probably be a single layer DVD rather than double, so they may have had to cut it down in length. The dynamics of the background detail may also be dodgy in scenes where the camera is moving.

bland.

[zikkimalambo]

I'm pretty sure it's a genuine copy, Just to blow any street cred i've got left, it's Forever Young with Mel Gibson and Jamie Lee-Curtis.

All the details i've seen on the web show both the video and the DVD as being 97 Mins approx.

I can't think why it should have so many cuts compared with the version which was aired on tv. Warner Brothers must just have been feeling mean that day!

[bland]

Is Warner Bros anything to do with Carlton, as their DVD's are a bit manky sometimes, especially the audio.

[John Cartmell]

You have only lost 5 minutes. The USA DVD is full length (102 minutes) - but that cost $25 and you only paid 10GBP for your UK version.

Why? Maybe they reckon less Mel Gibson = more value for money? ;-)

[Dave Plowman (News)]

That's unusual. TV versions are nearly always cut down to fit a 'slot' compared to the cinema ones.

[justcalledfubar]

Isn't there a time difference to yank films due to the NTSC/PAL differences?

[John Rumm]

Two obvious things spring to mind. Films are usually shot at 24 frames/sec, but broadcast in the UK at 25 frames/sec. Since its original length was 102 mins you get 102/25*24 just under 98 mins from that effet alone on video / DVD.

The othe typical cause is the BBFC insiting on cuts to allow a film to retain its certificate. Sometimes they will insist in a home copy of a film having it certificate raised from that of the cinema release, or cuts made to retain it. This is supposedly on the grounds that the home viewing version is more accessable and can also be watched in ways not available to cinema audiances.

see above

[Ten]

It's so they can sell you the 'directors cut', or 'uncut' version in a years time.

:-)