This is a theatrically released feature film, why did they change it to a TV episode?

This seems relevant (it's from the Cast/Acting credits guidelines):

This seems to suggest that a shell episode should have been created and added to American Playhouse instead of changing the title type of the original.

(It's possible that a shell episode already existed and someone erroneously came along and merged it with the feature film, but that's just speculation.)

So, I've just discovered that the TV episode version of this title is actually the older one. The feature version was probably created around 2022 (when it was inducted into the NFR), and somebody recently discovered the older version on IMDb and merged the two of them together.

Here's why I still think the title should be listed primarily as a feature, not a TV episode:

• Visibility: TV episodes get buried in the bottom of search results and lists when sorted by popularity. A feature-length, award-winning film doesn't deserve to get hidden like that.
• Individuation: TV episodes can't be edited as much as stand-alone features, particularly when it comes to genre data. You'll notice that the genre data on this title currently marks it as Comedy, Drama, Romance, and Sci-Fi. The only one of these genres that fits this specific title would be drama. Notably missing from this list is "western". Why is this a big deal? Well, to throw out one example, supposing someone comes along and does an advanced search wanting to see a list of all the Westerns in the National Film Registry? Well, you'll notice that "The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez" doesn't show up. Then again, if you do the same search but with Sci-Fi instead of Western, you will see it... right between Blade Runner and Return of the Jedi. If you fail to see how this is somewhat of a less than ideal situation, I really don't know what else to tell you.

Lastly...

• It was released theatrically. It had a limited release in 1982, followed by a film festival in May 1983 and a wide release in August of that same year. It aired on TV once, in June 1982. The available information on this title's production is scant, but everything I've read seems to indicate that this was planned as a theatrical release from the start, that just happened to be also shown on television. The TV release should not take precedence over the theatrical release; nay, it ought to be the other way around.

In my opinion, this issue should be resolved by creating a shell episode for the TV series American Playhouse, and changing the title type of the National Film Registry-listed current page into a feature film.

If I knew how to do that, I would do it myself. Alas, I am befuddled. Won't somebody with knowledge and authority please respond to this post? Or, better yet, just fix it, and then tell me how you did it?

This is a follow-up to a post I made two years ago:

https://community-imdb.sprinklr.com/conversations/data-issues-policy-discussions/this-is-a-theatrically-released-feature-film-why-did-they-change-it-to-a-tv-episode/66124ed0af613d1d06adf613

Link to title: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083613/

When this film was inducted into the National Film Registry in 2022, apparently a new page was created for it, as it only existed on IMDb as an episode of the anthology television series American Playhouse. The new page did not last long, as it was soon merged with the TV episode. The available information at the time seemed to indicate that the film had premiered on American Playhouse on June 29, 1982, prior to its limited theatrical run the following year. In the linked post, I argued that an exception should be made to allow the film to be represented as a feature on IMDb, with a shell episode taking its place in the sequence of episodes for American Playhouse, due to its greater notoriety as a film rather than as an episode of television. This was ignored, and the title continued to be represented solely as a television episode.

Since making that post, I have uncovered proof of the film having had a theatrical premiere in San Antonio, Texas on June 4, 1982, prior to being broadcast on television. This renders my previous argument unnecessary as it shows that the title did not premiere on television after all. Therefore, according to IMDb's rules, the title should be listed as a feature film with a "shell episode" in its place for the television series.

This screenshot is from the Casting/Acting credits guidelines, found here: https://help.imdb.com/article/contribution/filmography-credits/cast-acting-credits-guidelines/GH3JZC74FVYKKFMD#

Citation

Sorell, Victor A. “ETHNOMUSICOLOGY, FOLKLORE, AND HISTORY IN THE FILMMAKER’S ART: THE BALLAD OF GREGORIO CORTEZ.” Bilingual Review / La Revista Bilingüe, vol. 10, no. 2/3, 1983, pp. 153–58. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org.libproxy.gc.maricopa.edu/stable/25744069. Accessed 6 June 2026. The statement about the premiere appears on page 157. Additionally, these articles from the Criterion collection (https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/5821-the-ballad-of-gregorio-cortez-a-cinematic-corrido) and from TCM (https://www.tcm.com/articles/235313/the-ballad-of-gregorio-cortez) both mention the film being released in a San Antonio theater prior to the TV airing. I have no idea how to go about editing this in such a way that would preserve the film's 1.1K votes, 14 user reviews, National Film Registry award and other important data. Note: This comment was created from a merged conversation Link : https://community-imdb.sprinklr.com/conversations/data-issues-policy-discussions/update-on-the-ballad-of-gregorio-cortez/6a24afce7b0dec5023ddfce3 Title : Update on The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez