The Day The Earth Caught Fire (1961) R2 UK Updated/Corrected

[baggish]

http://dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=1168

Specs for the R2 United Kingdom - British Film Institute version are listed as "to be confirmed". I've borrowed it from the library and confirm as follows:

In short:
- "The Guardian Lecture" Val Guest and Yolande Dolan interviewed by David Meeker (1998) is not on the disc
- There is a 28-page booklet that isn't mentioned

Full specs with durations:

Commentaries:
- Audio Commentary by Val Guest and Ted Newsom
Extras:
- "Hot Off the Press: Revisiting The Day the Earth Caught Fire" 2014 documentary by John Kelly (32:00)
- "The Day the Earth Caught Fire: An Audio Appreciation by Graeme Hobbs" (8:46)
- 2001 Interview with actor Leo McKern by Paul Venezis (8:34)
Trailers:
- Theatrical Trailer (2:32)
- 4 TV Spots (1:00, 0:20, 0:11, 0:19, 'Play All' option)
- 4 Radio Spots (1:00, 0:31, 0:30, 0:17, 'Play All' option)
- Stills and Collections Gallery (6:52)
- Vintage Documentaries:
-- "The H-Bomb" civil defence information film demonstrating the damage that might be expected from a ten megaton bomb (David Villiers, 1956) (20:24)
-- "Operation Hurricane" a documentary exploring the work involved in, and the research behind Britain's first atomic bomb tests (Ronald Stark, 1952) (31:53)
-- "The Hole in the Ground" a dramatization of a nuclear attack demonstrating the operation of Britain's warning system for atomic war (David Cobham, 1962) (28:34)
-- "Think Bike" road safety film with Edward Judd (1978) (0:47)
Subtitles:
- English HoH
Aspect Ratio:
- 2.35:1
Picture Format:
- Anamorphic
TV System:
- PAL
Soundtrack(s):
- English Dolby Digital 1.0
Case type:
- Keep Case
In the case:
- 28-page fully illustrated booklet with extensive credits and newly commissioned essays from John Oliver and Marcus Hearn
Film Duration: 95:15
Cuts: Unknown http://bbfc.co.uk/releases/day-earth-caught-fire-1961 (UK cinema version was cut)
ASIN: B00M2WZXME

There is no explicit mention in the booklet about the cuts in the UK cinema version. The closest it comes, which may or may not be related to the cuts, is: "This new image [of Janet Munro, in comparison to her previous image as a Disney actress] not only included her appearing in a torrid love scene with [Edward] Judd, but it also came close to her appearing topless in a brief scene where she is washing her hair. While this scene does appear to have been filmed (on 26 June), it did not make the final cut, and it is possible it was shot purely for insertion in 'continental' prints.". There are two stills possibly of this scene in the Stills and Collections Gallery. I haven't watched the documentary or the commentary yet, so I don't know if they mention the cuts.

http://www.melonfarmers.co.uk/hitsd.htm suggests the cinema version may not have been cut after all. The scene mentioned on this page is on the DVD, although the description is not 100% correct (she doesn't "step from the shower", she is finishing washing her hair in a basin). In the two stills in the gallery she is actually washing her hair and this isn't in the film (had we seen her washing her hair, it would have been a few moments before we cut to her. Maybe it's possible this is the part that was cut, but the stills were taken from a different angle which wouldn't really have worked in the flow of the film).

(The page for the Blu Ray edition http://dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=29255 doesn't mention the cuts in the UK cinema version.)

[Nigel_Badnell]

Thanks, details updated. I have gone with "No known cuts". I suspect that the melonfarmers simply translated the Janet Munro scene into American - they would get out of a shower and dry their hair. In the UK at the time it would have been the bath or the basin.
I'll add this to the Blu-ray entry as well.

[Tim_Rogerson]

Nigel

Thanks for this.

The BBFC website claims that the film was cut although this is not 100% reliable as there are various examples of films which the website says are cut not being so and vice versa.

The BBFC correspondence file for this one is lost and there is no entry for the film on their Register of Exceptions (ie cuts book). It is therefore not possible to tell whether anything was cut or not. I suspect probably 'yes' as I can't see why Munro would have done topless shots to be kept as stills only (unless, as you speculate, it was intended for a Continental version).

[Nigel_Badnell]

John Trevelyan says not cut.
I don't have the BFI release to know what the stills are like, but on the DVD it is only with the benefit of 1/4 speed that you can catch anything, and it's not much. Also, it looks "accidental".
I can't see that there is room (in the UK version) for something more "explicit".
I suppose there could have been a "continental" version, but that would not have gone to the BBFC.