UK it's on right now

[Dirty Rat]

Just flicking through the channels, like you do on a Saturday night with a couple of whiskies and what do you know but TGTBATU is on ch5. It looked like the old pan anc scan that i grew up on, or at least not the beautiful widescreen, and it was the scene in the hospital...... "Tuco, where's water, I'll bring you water......." Apart from the obvious goosepimples because of it being the best film in the world I instantly wondered whether or not it would be the version with all the extras. I thought it couldnt be because of the pan n scan but it actually did turn out to be. It had the extra Tuco beating scene but they cut the bit where Wallace presses into Tuco's eyes. Who put that version together?? Can 'they' simply cut whatever they like??

[drinkanddestroy]

The UK theatrical version of GBU was 148 minutes, i.e., 13 minutes shorter than the US theatrical version (and 29 minutes shorter than the extended DVD). So I guess it's possible that even now that they have added back in the missing footage, maybe a few of the original cuts were never put back in.
Furthermore, I assume that TV channels (especially ones that have commercials) may cut a few minutes to get extra commercials or fit time slots. Just a guess. I know that American TV channels cut TV shows in syndication. E.g. I saw every episode of SEINFELD (some dozens of times) in syndication (on Ch. 11 and Ch. 5 in New York), none of them the original versions shown on NBC; they cut a minute or two in syndication to get extra commercials in ... I didn't get to see the full 22-minute episodes that originally aired on NBC until the series was released on DVD. But I have no idea what your UK channel (or the various American movie channels) does with movies. I am pretty sure that TCM shows just about everything uncut and in original aspect ratios, but I don't know about any other channels.

[Cusser]

TCM will show full versions and letterbox whenever available.

Once I also channel-flopped locally here in Arizona, and GBU was on a local channel.  The entire bridge/Captain/battle scenes were excised, all of a sudden there was Eli hitting his head on the Sad Hill marker.  I can't remember if that "cut" started after Blondie and Angel Eyes left the prison camp, or if right after the "Idiots - it's for you" scene...

[drinkanddestroy]

Part of the scene with Aldo Guiffre (his speech about alcohol being the most potent weapon in war) was cut from US theatrical release. That's why, in the MGM extended DVD, that speech is in a different voice than the rest of Guiffre's performance; they got a new voice to dub those deleted scenes in 2003.