TERROR OF THE TONGS in Hammer Horror Forum

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TERROR OF THE TONGS

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John M Short

TERROR OF THE TONGS

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Mar 1 08 3:23 PM

Wasn't this supposed to be released on R2? Anybody know anything? I really NEED to see this movie!

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Precode

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Mar 1 08 3:55 PM

John M Short wrote:
Wasn't this supposed to be released on R2? Anybody know anything? I really NEED to see this movie!

Patience. It's coming.

Mike S.

Stephen Pickard.miklosrozsa

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Mar 3 08 1:27 PM

Precode, thanks for helping to get "Stranglers" and "Tongs" released. I can't wait to get these and more as part of my Hammer collection.
Also, do you know if the audio on any of the Hammer titles still exist on magnetic film or are they all optical? Is there any chance of including the music and effects tracks on any of these, or is that asking too much?

John Bernhard

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Mar 4 08 9:42 AM

I just watched TONG recently and there is an obvious cut during one of the violent scenes. I would love to see this uncut, unless the cuts inflicted were pre release snips. This cut also confuses a plot point, making it somewhat annoying.

John M Short

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Mar 4 08 4:54 PM

Precode wrote:

Patience. It's coming.

Mike S.

Groovy! Looking forward to it!

Here 4 help

tongs

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Mar 4 08 6:01 PM

You mean when the daughter is attacked by the tongs - what's supposed to happen is that they cut her fingers off and she faints but the BBFC insisted that this was removed so she seems to faint for no reason - Wayne Kinsey's book documents these and other BBFC cuts. I agree that it messes up the film.

I've only ever seen a cut print - including a French one. Heres hoping Columbia have an uncut one for DVD release - but I doubt it.

DrRavna

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Mar 4 08 7:58 PM

Any chance these will see region1 release?

Professor Von X

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Mar 5 08 1:22 PM

This IS an R1 release as far as I know.
Professor Von X

skelton knaggs

Wrong Tong ?

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Mar 5 08 2:36 PM

I haven't seen TERROR OF THE TONGS since the Chinese year of the Panda(long, long time ago). I remember catching photos of Chris Lee's Tong-meister in the pages of Famous Monsters and so fourth. Somehow they struck me more sinister looking than Fu Manchu. Any truth to my dementia ?

"You can't smell any reefer, can you"?

Last Edited By: skelton knaggs Mar 5 08 2:38 PM. Edited 1 times.

skelton knaggs

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Mar 5 08 2:37 PM

"You can't smell any reefer, can you"?

John Bernhard

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Mar 5 08 2:39 PM

I think after the attack one of the thugs picks up her ring off the floor, and this later comes into play. As it plays this point is rather obscured...so it iwll be interesting to see what's on the DVD ( but as it was a BBFC cut it's likely long, long, gone.
There is also what sems like a snip in the opening murder on the dock, there is a jump and the music is affected. That one muight just be my overactive imagination though, not sure.

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WaverBoy

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Mar 5 08 4:35 PM

The uncut version of ISLAND OF TERROR showed up on VHS in the US despite the UK prerelease censor cuts...perhaps TONGS will show up here uncut after all...?

Rapfred

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Mar 5 08 4:44 PM

>>I remember catching photos of Chris Lee's Tong-meister in the pages of Famous Monsters and so fourth. Somehow they struck me more sinister looking than Fu Manchu. Any truth to my dementia ?>>

As Lili Von Shtupp would say, "It's twu, it's twu!"

Lee's Tong boss employed a catalogue of torture techniques that would make our present day interrogators green with envy. Not sure where he stood on the inducement of hypothermia, but he firmly believed in the intelligence-gathering benefits of bone-scraping.

killer meteor

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Mar 5 08 5:35 PM

WaverBoy wrote:
The uncut version of ISLAND OF TERROR showed up on VHS in the US despite the UK prerelease censor cuts...perhaps TONGS will show up here uncut after all...?

As i understand, that cut was only in the UK cut of Island....

Sometimes the US prints has the same edits as the BBFC, other times not. If anyone has Hammer: The Bray Studio Years, this matter could be cleared (I have it but at home, not uni)

Here 4 help

tongs

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Mar 6 08 4:33 PM

The Bray Studio Years says what the BBFC cut but is no help as to which versions got released where. It all depends what's in the vaults. After all Columbia managed to unearth the original 96m version of The Damned despite the fact that the UK theatrical print was cut by Hammer to 87m in order to play on a double bill and that this version was then shipped to the US as These are the Damned and then cut further to 77m.

We also saw Universal releasing Brides of Dracula on DVD with extra gore in the Baroness staking (a BBFC cut) a couple of years ago.

Anything is possible but i'm pessimistic on Tongs since copies of both the US VHS and a superior quality French print that do the rounds on ebay are all the cut Uk theatrical version so I doubt if uncut prints exist anywhere.

John Bernhard

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Mar 13 08 1:12 PM

I found a version on a bit torrent tracker that looked terrific and featured both English and German audio, and it too was the usual censored version. Fingers will remain crossed, and expectations will be dialed down.

Hamicus

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Mar 14 08 12:55 PM

I'm looking forward to owning a decent print for completist reasons only. The film itself is pretty dreadful.
I hadn't seen it at all until it was shown in London a few years ago. Yvonne Monleur and Geoffrey Toone were at the screening as was Jimmy Sangster who was so embarresed about his script he couldn't bear to watch.

Stephen Pickard

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Mar 14 08 3:04 PM

Personally, I think this film is a very competent thriller, as all the Hammers were around this time, and I have seen it many times and plan to see it many more times when it is finally released.

gfanikf

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Feb 13 10 1:50 PM

Watching this today. I'm shocked at the level of violence for the film for a movie from 1961. The weird jump cut in the daughters killing is odd, shame it didn't exist so it could restored, along with other BBFC cuts, but its pretty enjoyable so far. Christopher Lee as a Fu Manchu like character is always fun to see. I love the SPECTRE like scene of Lee lording over all the criminal enterprises. The abundance of clearly British people playing Chinese is a bit goofy. I recall reading that one of the reasons a one Hollywood film would not use Chinese actors is that according to makeup tests when Chinese appeared next to Caucasians in in makeup stood out badly to audiences (this may have been in regard to The Good Earth). The print on the Sony DVD is absolutely stunning and upscales very nicely on the PS3.

The fight with the Captain and Tong collector is a bit silly (in terms of pretty weak sound effects) and in all the fights. Still, I'm happy I took the time to check this out

Oh the guy blaming all of the ills of Hong Kong on the Red Dragon instead of poor colonial governance is a bit ironic (granted not all of those problems are totally blamable on the British Colonial Government. That and the school of asking super direct question (ie Who is the Red Dragon in the most obvious manners and out in public) is funny.

Some info on the cuts from a Hammer Book (The Bray Studio Years)

According to Kinsey's book (page 193-194 of the paperback) the BBFC requested the following cuts for Tongs:

Reel 3 - remove shot of first officer's mutilated hand. Remove shots of Helena's hand being held down by Tong men on a table and her reactions as her fingers are stuck by the axe.
Reel 7 - there must be a considerable reduction in the torturing of Sale: in particular remove all shots of the needles in contact with his flesh.
Reel 8 - remove shot of torturer lying on the ground with axe in his body and blood all around it.
Reel 9 - remove close shot of man's bloody body aftre it has been repeatedly stabbed and shots of his mutilated hand.

later, when Hammer hadn't made all of the necessary cuts:

D Reel 2 - the mutilated hand of the first officer can still be seen. The shot must be removed. The shots of Helena's hand being held down on a table and her reactions as her fingers are struck are still in the scene. These shots must also be removed. We feel that the scene can be revised in such a way as to give the impression that she faints from the shock of the man rushing into the room rather than the severing of her fingers by the axe.
D Reel 3 - the torture of Sale is still too long. There must be no shot of the needle in contact with his chest. We can only accept one of the torture scenes.

http://monsterkidclassich...films-in-1-DVD-set-.html

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Last Edited By: gfanikf Feb 13 10 2:22 PM. Edited 2 times.

Burt Wilson

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