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REVENGE OF THE NERDS (* unfinished project *)

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 (Edited)

Anyone got the Revenge of the Nerds laserdisc? The obvious editing from the DVD (to eliminate a phone number on a ‘For Rent’ sign) has been carried over to the BD.

The mono audio on the BD sounds pretty abrasive, also.

Would love to see a restoration/recreation of the original sequence.

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Sorry this isn't a 'helpful' reply, but I would absolutely LOVE to get a version of this film without that cut, and I wish you the very best of luck in making it happen. It's because of this that I still haven't thrown away my VHS copy.

From what I understand, the scene was cut due to rules about phone numbers in films.  Fine, cut the American release then.  But why was every other release also cut?  I'm pretty sure those rules aren't global.

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I have to check my ld's but I don't think this was in my library.

I too would love a library quality verision of this.

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I'm at a loss as to why Fox decided to omit the very nice stereo remix that WAS included on the DVD release this time. Someone lost it or just not doing their homework when compiling materials? Still can't believe they'd take the scissors to this film, when very good CG alternatives are available today and at not that ridiculous a price. I wonder if the director of this film would care to find out what happened with this.

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The laserdisc pops up on eBay regularly for a reasonable price. I'd be happy to assist financially if anyone with the means to do so were willing to preserve and share the missing sequence.

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Just out of curiosity, how many seconds of footage were cut? Was the movie shot open matte? Is there a possible PAL DVD release overseas that isn't cut?

The only LD release was in 1985, and it's analog sound sound only, with no CX noise reduction. A Beta Hi-Fi might sound better.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=231271531943

I'm willing to help with a capture though.

Forum Moderator

Where were you in '77?

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I can answer the question about PAL releases - I bought the UK edition and it has the same cut.  The BBFC website states (or used to) that the film was resubmitted to them in a new, shorter form, but that those edits were not mandated by the BBFC themselves and had already been made prior to submission.

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Thanks for the info. Sounds like the LD is the best bet short of a film print showing up.

Forum Moderator

Where were you in '77?

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If anyone can track down the phone number again I'd like to call and thank them ... for MAKING THIS MOVIE GET BUTCHERED! I kid, I kid.

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 (Edited)

What's the time stamp for this censorship?  I'm trying to check my 720p Download from a while back and the Blu Ray and I must be in the wrong spot, because thus far I haven't found any for Rent signs that are censored.  The only one I know of was the Wooden sign that Lewis carried with him back to the gym, and in neither my 720p rip, nor my Blu ray are censored.  I'm assuming I'm looking in the wrong place, so can someone describe the scene or give me the time code to check myself. 

If this was/is the scene then the phone number is 624-7789

EDIT:  I was looking for a blurring of the phone number... didn't realize that a few seconds were actually completely cut and removed.  Still... the phone number above is still accurate and visible in the gym.

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It's ridiculous they cut the footage instead of blurring out the number. Music videos and reality shows have blurred stuff out for decades, so it's hardly an expensive thing to do.

And please, don't actually call that number. ;)

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Where were you in '77?

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 (Edited)

Agreed, it's utterly ridiculous to have cut it like that.  It feels awkward to have such a sudden jump from a [shortened] view of the house to a [shortened] view of Lewis saying he's found a house.  I'd imagine it would have felt a little rushed even to someone who'd never seen the proper scene.

And after two different DVDs and the box set, I won't be buying any further releases of this until the cut footage is restored.  Which may mean never.

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TripleBHBK, if what you're saying is true YOU HAVE AN ULTRA-RARE UNCUT VERSION! Hope you keep a backup of that, because it could be fan edit gold!

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If I may chime in on this one...

I think it's freakin retarded that they cut the footage instead of just blurring it or CGI'ing in a "555" for the prefix. That being said, I went online and started searching for HDTV rips of the movie to see if they contain this cut as well. I managed to find three different copies (a 1080i from Spanish Canal+, a 1080i from a Russian broadcast, and a 720p copy from Ukrainian/Russian station "1+1") and they ALL contain this cut as well. I was not able to find the 720p copy that TripleBHBK has a copy of and agree with Funcha that this copy is ultra-rare fan edit gold.

I then researched info on editions that had this uncut edition and, apparently, only the initial CBS Fox Productions VHS release from 1985 and the Laserdisc (unfortunately those are both full screen) were uncut and all subsequent releases were edited including all airings of the movie on cable. However, there is some dispute when it comes to the cable airings, as the first airing of the movie on HBO in 1985, according to some, was also an uncut edition. I spoke with a friend of mine in Arizona, who is a nerd/film buff with a treasure trove of older movies, who claims to have an edition of the movie in 720p that is uncut and contains audio commentary (on a secondary track) by the director during that scene explaining how that scene came to be cut from most releases. He also claims to have a properly digitized copy from Beta of the 1985 HBO airing of the movie. My friend is rebuilding his RAID array (as most of the drives are giving out and he shut the system down to make sure he can back it up before the drives completely crash) and said he will have access to his collection in a couple of weeks when he can afford to replace the drives. Once I have received those from him and verified their authenticity, I am happy to share either one with anyone that would be interested.

On the note of sharing, I am wondering if TripleBHBK would be willing to share his 720p copy, for a quality comparison to the 720p copy that my friend claims to have. Also, it would be awesome to have an HD source to work with (regardless of who it comes from) to re-cut those few seconds back into the 1080p bluray because the cut there is so abrupt that it seems like an "...oops, I pressed the stop button on the VCR by accident and then pressed record immediately after but there's a couple seconds missing there" kind of thing, LOL

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It sounds like the cut was physically made to the original in the 80s, after the first home video incarnations, and every subsequent rendering of the film has reflected it.

“That’s impossible, even for a computer!”

“You don't do ‘Star Wars’ in Dobly.”

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As I understand it, TripleBHBK doesn't have a special version, but rather was initially mistaken in what he was looking out for - once he realised we were talking about footage having been removed in its entirety he realised it was the same as everyone else's. He had initially been looking for visual censoring and not found any.

I can't begin to tell you how excited I'd have been if he did indeed have an uncut version in digital form... :/

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Seconded! Thanks so much for all the effort you're putting in here. :)

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You're welcome guys ;)

I just hope that my friends claim is true and that this movie can finally be viewed uncut, in widescreen, and in a proper HD format. As soon as I hear back from him and (hopefully) receive a copy, I will post an update.

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Even if a truly uncut HD source can't be found, the fullscreen laserdisk could still be usable mainly because the film was probably matted for 1.85:1 anyway, meaning no actual visual information would be lost from what was projected theatrically. Not too difficult to matte the material using a MeGui script. Of course, the picture quality may not be so hot, but definitely the better alternative to the jarring cut as it exists now. Also, with the Blu-Ray having a mono mix, should be pretty easy to splice in the mono laserdisk audio. 

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I think I hear crickets chirping. ;)