Given that EYE OF THE NEEDLE is being repeated on Tuesday 31 July at 6.55pm, could Film 4 possibly explain why they insist on screening this 15 certificate film in a censored pre-watershed version? It's galling for two reasons:
1. A dedicated movie channel surely has a responsibility to screen the most complete version of a film, and to schedule 'adult' material accordingly.
2. Most importantly, viewers are never advised beforehand that the version being broadcast has been edited to fit pre-watershed requirements, nor do I expect this to happen when the film is re-transmitted on 31 July. This is completely unacceptable.
I don't recall the uncut version of this particular film ever playing on any Channel 4 station, and a post-watershed screening doesn't seem to be on the cards anytime soon. Furthermore, one has to wonder how many other movies have been edited for transmission on Film 4? For instance, I once asked if THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT (18 certificate) had been edited for a 9pm broadcast, and my enquiry went unanswered.
The issues surrounding the pre-watershed EYE OF THE NEEDLE were raised (by me) in an earlier thread, when the film was first scheduled on Film 4, but my questions were ignored. If this is truly an open forum between Film 4 and its viewers, I'd be much obliged if you could provide an explanation this time around.
