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[Help] 1957 UK cinema cut of “The Curse of Frankenstein”

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I’m going to talk about this shot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQIa_-_bnhU

I had already assumed that the 1957 UK theatrical cut was the Warner DVD and that the Lionsgate DVD added the eyeball shot cut by the BBFC.

http://dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=5372

    R1 America- Warner Home Video - Yes - BBFC 'X' certificate version (83:06 NTSC).
    R2 France- Warner Home Video - Yes - BBFC 'X' certificate version (79:46 PAL).
    R2 Germany- Warner Home Video - Yes - BBFC 'X' certificate version (79:46 PAL).
    R2 Sweden- Warner Home Video - Yes - The BBFC cut the film for an 'X' (79:46 PAL)
    R2 United Kingdom- Lions Gate Home Entertainment - Yes - However a close-up of a severed eyeball cut by the BBFC in 1957 has been restored (79:51 PAL)
    R2 United Kingdom- Warner Home Video - Yes - The BBFC cut the film for an 'X' (79:46 PAL)
    R4 Australia- Warner Home Video - Yes - BBFC 'X' certificate version (79:46 PAL).

So, according to DVDcompare the Warner DVD is the BBFC cut.

But there is contradictory information:

https://www.movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=146083

According to the IMDB entry (click), the scene with Frankenstein dissolving some severed head in acid was cut in advance due to BBFC restrictions. For the US market, a further shot was cut. The one with Frankenstein looking at an eyeball via magnifying glass. This cut US Version has been released numerous times over the years - on both VHS and DVD. Those releases are all from Warner. The UK Blu-ray (which contains a DVD as well) by Lionsgate on the other hand contains the uncensored UK Theatrical Version. The acid scene is being considered lost so that one is still missing.

Whaaaaaaat? It says there that the eyeball shot was cut... but in the USA. So, that shot appear in the British cinemas in 1957 or not?

More info, here:

https://www.cathoderaytube.co.uk/2012/10...se-of.html

The film completed shooting on 3 January 1957 and by 11 January, Hinds had submitted a black and white print of the first cut to the BBFC. They were still concerned about the sounds of heads being severed from bodies and wanted these and the screams of the burning creature at the film's climax removed altogether. The dropping of the severed head into the acid was also seen as excessive and they asked for that shot to be excised too. When they finally saw the colour version in February, they demanded further changes to shots featuring the severed hands, the eyeball sequence and the creature's bloodied face. The film was eventually awarded an X certificate on 8 April and was premiered at the Warner Theatre Leicester Square on 2 May 1957. (10) And the rest is history...

And more here:

https://melonfarmers.co.uk/bbfc_cuts_hammer_films.htm

From Hammer Films by Wayne Kinsey. The BBFC asked for the following cuts after an initial viewing (in black & white):

    Cuts to the scene where a man's head is severed by the Baron and dissolved in acid. The severing was reduced to a brief shot and no footage at all survives of the acid scene. Stills exist though.

From Hammer Films by Wayne Kinsey. At the formal submission in colour, further BBFC cuts were required to reduce the following scenes to the bare minimum:

    close up of two hands lying on a table
    close up of an eye observed through a magnifying glass. See cut scene on youtube.com
    shot of the monster's face with a blood smear across one cheek when he is standing facing the maid.

The cut without the eyeball... is the USA cut or the UK cut? Those two other shots; the two hands lying on a table and the monster's face with a blood smear across one cheek… appeared in the 1957 UK theatrical cut?

That's what I want to know, I wanted to edit the original theatrical UK cut with its original aspect ratio, 1.75:1.

Warner's blu-ray does not seem to respect the original ratio, the so-called common top is nowhere to be found. Each version 1.37:1, 1:85:1 and 1.66:1 is different at the top of the frame. Also, it appears that none of the 3 versions included would be either the US cut or the UK cut but an “extended” version.

Does anyone here know anything about this?

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