DVDs with several rated versions

[docfalken]

Why aren't DVDs released with several edited versions of the same movie in the box? For instance, there are a dozen different films that I want to enjoy with my children that are rated PG-13 and only contain a few dirty words or a short sexual situation that tips the scale from PG to PG-13. Why can't they include those versions? The cost of printing a CD is almost zero, so that can't be the issue. The film is also going to be edited for TV anyway in one form or another, so why not shoot for the masses?

Just to help this conversation along, I'm going to include two responses that someone is going to type.

1) Artististic Integrity
The director made a film that is his vision and we (the consumer) have no right to trim it down. I say bullshit to that because the film shown on the airplane isn't the same film as in the theater. Edits and changes are made from every step in the lifecycle of a DVD, so why not give consumers something we want instead of just commercials that we can't forward through?

2) Be a Better Dad
I can already hear the keyboards chattering with an opinion of how my kids should be able to handle curse words at any age. Wrong. Again, the issue is that I'm the consumer. I want to buy more DVDs and watch them as a family and if I can show them and not have to worry about 30 seconds of content that I don't want them to see, then I'm a happy consumer.

The reason I'm bringing this up is that I bought one of those Kidz Bop CDs today. Basically they CD is filled with top 40 hits but they are presented with a kids sound and they trim out the suggestive words and really make it something that you can just give them to listen to in their room. Now, 15 years ago I would have thought that was a dumb idea, but seeing that I can now let them become familiar with the Gorillaz without me having to worry.

Ramble ramble.

[tapehead]

'The Gorrilaz'? I haven't scrutinized the lyrics sheet, but it sure was nice to hear De La Soul spouting off about ass-cracks when 'Feel Good Inc' started getting air-play

we don't mind ass-cracks for the kiddies, do we?

[ThisIsTheGirl]

I like the idea - there are a couple of TV edits which are definitely worth having. Kirk keyed me in to the fact that the TV edit of Apocalypse Now had a better ending sequence than the DVD version, and the TV cut of Repo Man has loads of cool stuff which I don't have on my DVD version - the added hilarity of the overdubbed curse words, done by the original actors, so you get Harry Dean Stanton saying stuff like "Melon Farmer" instead of the other MF word. It also has a couple of extra bits of dialogue, none of which contains curse words, so I don't see why they were cut from the DVD version.

This isn't exactly what Doc is talking about, but the point is the same: they could easily give you this extra stuff on DVD if they wanted. In some cases they could even fit different edits on the same disk! It's annoying. It also annoys me that there are still plenty of movies which are not available on DVD....

[dimnix]

not a bad idea, for parents and whatnot. Man, I'm so glad to not have kids to deal with any time soon. Lil' satanic things.

And good on ya for being a responsibly daddy, "I'm going to Sizzler" Falken, but dont forget... you drank with a minor, who ended up getting trashed. I have video evidence.


and people...the shocking thing is, it wasnt what youre thinking. No, it wasnt some drunk slutty high school girl, we could all encourage and congratulate that behaviour. The drunk minor was a boy.

That boy was me.

[burlivesleftnut]

[Peven]

actually, Doc, there are already co's that do that sort of thing, trimming out parts of movies that some people find offensive. from what i have seen and read, most of them do business in the south and central US, being sold and rented in "Christian" establishments. i bet you could probably google it and find at least one of them online.

i hope the word "fart" isn't out of bounds for your kids, since you said you planned on taking them to see Nanny McPhee, as one of the kids makes a fake-name joke, saying his last name is "Fartworthy" f a r t, Fartworthy". thats as "PG" as it gets though.

[DanielSan]

Alright, no disrespect intended, but the thought of taming down a movie, no matter how little, bothers me. The movie is what it is.

Would you put underwear on the Statue of David so little kids couldn't see his winkie?

Would you put a bra on Venus di Milo so her nips weren't showing?

Would you want obsenities added to a G movie so it would be more palpable for certain adults.

I realize that these may be extreme examples, but you see where I'm coming from. What may start as a little editing - taking out a "shit" or a "damn" - can easily become a LOT of editing - taking out nudity, violence, homosexuality - all of which can and do affect the film as a whole.

Bottom line: I say that there are vast quantities of wonderful family films that are already out there. Don't start chopping up adult movies to make them for kids. They. Are. Not. FOR. kids.

Flame on. I can take it.

[DinoDeLaurentiis]

I gonna to take a you to task onna your opinion, eh DaneilSan? You alla know the Dino, he alla 'bout a the bambinos, eh?

Personally, I gonna to go with a the Doc onna this a one... I made a lot of a the movies inna my lifetime, eh? Anna some movies, they are a clearly for a the adults, eh? Anna some movies, they for a the more general audience, a but you not gonna to get a the audience iffa you donna put inna the cursing anna the boobies, eh?

You talk about a the director's artistic integrity? Alla the putzes, they always say "it was a the director's vision, eh?" Where was a the integrity when I tell a some putz working for me that I wanna some boobies inna the film so she gonna to play inna the overseas market, eh? The vision is a this: $$$

We donna make a the movies for a the art, eh? We make a them for a the money... but a you know what? Some-a-'times, the magic, she happen! Anna you actually get a the good film, with a the universal themes anna such that a the bambinos, they could a benefit from iffa only I dinna have the director put a the F-Bombs anna boobies inna the film, eh? The bambinos, they like a the little impressionable sponges, no? The donna need a to see that stuff at a such a the young age a just a 'cos a we got greedy, eh?

Goddamn... they need to see a the heroes anna positive a role models anna such... people facing hard odds anna making tough a decisions, but a the right decisions, eh? Girls doing right for a themselves for a those little bambinas that a need a the positive self image anna such...

Iffa the movie has alla that anna I threw a some boobies inna there, then shame onna the Dino anna they should a take a them out for a the "parent-friendly" DVD release, eh?

It's a taken a this old a man a the long time to learn a this a lesson, eh?

[bc1970]

My kid has tons of FF merchandise, but not the movie.

This is probably one of those things you won't be able to accept until you feel responsibility for a person's upbringing. It's when all the obnoxious things you did/do, or all the obnoxiousness in others, really becomes apparent.

I don't have to buy the PG-13 one.
You don't have to buy the clean one.
Your favorite artist's vision won't be tarnished for you. It will still exist in digital splendor for eternity.
They'll make more money.

[DinoDeLaurentiis]

This is probably one of those things you won't be able to accept until you feel responsibility for a person's upbringing. It's when all the obnoxious things you did/do, or all the obnoxiousness in others, really becomes apparent.

Well said, eh paisan?

[Bob Samonkey]

I always thought it would be a great idea to have the edited for tv track on all movies. Like they used to do it back in the day and replaced the bad words with nonsinsacal words.

Yipi kiay mother lover.

He is so full of shoot.

I am getting to old for this stuff.

It would be great.

[bc1970]

Feck you, Mom.
Feck you!

[havocSchultz]

ok - no ofeense DanielSan - but i have to disagree with oyu as well - and seeing as your AV is of a little kid flipping the bird - i can understand your "viewpoints' - now - don't get me wrong - i hate all the watered down crap (horror especially) we've been getting lately with a PG or PG-13 rating - but - i say - make the film as hard as you want - be it pg-13 or r or whatever - but ya - there should be no problem with including a family friendly version - or Tv edit version on the DVD - or make 2 DVD's - one has the family friendly version including as part of the special features - like roth did with Cabin Fever(except it was only a minute and a half long then) -they do so much other stuff with dvd's - i don't see it being a problem with this one - liek many have said - it's all trimedd for tv and airplanes anyways - and these days - alot of TV friendly dialogue is recorded at the same time as well...then daddy and mommy can watch the Devil's Rejects by themselves - and the kids can watch an(extreme) watered down version... ok - maybe not a good example - but i don't think it is taking anything away from the artist's integrity if both versions are available on the dvd - then maybe we could get sme more good R rated films again - because families can just wait fro their version to come out on the dvd...

[docfalken]

My favorite word replacement was "White Man Can't Jump" using "mickey fickey" instead of "mother fucker" on TV.

Mickey Fickey.

[havocSchultz]

My favorite word replacement was "White Man Can't Jump" using "mickey fickey" instead of "mother fucker" on TV.

Mickey Fickey.

i liked the tv version of Die Hard 2:die Harder... at the end when Bruce willis says yippee kay yey mother fucker - they change it to mister falcon... which is cool cause the colombian drug lord dude's call-sign when he took over his own plane was Falcon... creative - even though it didn't really sound anything like willis... i liked the old days where they'd just blank out the swear - so some older movies you watch on tv and some scenes - it seems like you're watching a silent film...

[Bob Samonkey]

Have you seen the first Lethal Weapon? Chuck full of great changed dialog. That is acually where I first thought that DVD's should have the TV edit track on them. It is very entertaining.

[MadCapsule]

My favorite word replacement was "White Man Can't Jump" using "mickey fickey" instead of "mother fucker" on TV.

Mickey Fickey.

i liked the tv version of Die Hard 2:die Harder... at the end when Bruce willis says yippee kay yey mother fucker - they change it to mister falcon... which is cool cause the colombian drug lord dude's call-sign when he took over his own plane was Falcon... creative - even though it didn't really sound anything like willis... i liked the old days where they'd just blank out the swear - so some older movies you watch on tv and some scenes - it seems like you're watching a silent film...

Man, I remember the TV edit of Die Hard 2 having whole paragraphs dubbed by a VO actor doing a bad impersonation of Bruce Willis.

[havocSchultz]

Man, I remember the TV edit of Die Hard 2 having whole paragraphs dubbed by a VO actor doing a bad impersonation of Bruce Willis.

ya - that was just utterly horrible... i mean - not like bruce has an extremely distinct voice - but would it have been so hard to get somebody who could kinda sound like him - not some 19 year old stoned college kid...

[Bob Samonkey]

Man, I remember the TV edit of Die Hard 2 having whole paragraphs dubbed by a VO actor doing a bad impersonation of Bruce Willis.

ya - that was just utterly horrible... i mean - not like bruce has an extremely distinct voice - but would it have been so hard to get somebody who could kinda sound like him - not some 19 year old stoned college kid...

Thats what I loved about it. Its sounds horrable and that makes me laugh.

[TheBaxter]

Wasn't there some company in Utah that offered edited versions of films? I know they got sued by the DGA or MPAA or somebody. Did they get shut down?

I don't mind if companies offer family-friendly cuts of movies on DVD, but I don't want that crap cluttering up my DVD shelf. I barely have enough room for the DVDs I've got, and I don't need to make room for extra discs that contain a version I'm never going to watch. And putting two different cuts on the same disc doesn't work either, because you have to overcompress each one and reduce the bitrate in order to fit it all on, and you get worse picture quality as a result. I already get pissed at having to suffer a bunch of compression artifacts and noise and banding whenever some idiot DVD maker put both a widescreen and P&S version of the film on the same disc. So offer both versions, but separately.

Also, some films just shouldn't be offered in family-friendly cuts. I know there are some that can be edited with a few snips here and there, but there are movies where making it family-friendly would severely alter or change the artistic impact of the film, and those shouldn't be edited for any reason (even for TV and airplanes in my opinion, but i'm not even going to start on that: suffice to say i never watch the mutilated, chopped-up versions of movies they show on commercial tv if i can help it).

I also get worried about certain films that get edited, because if there's an edited version available, then companies like Blockbuster or Netflix sometimes only carry the edited version. The Dreamers is a good example, I can't rent the original NC-17 cut, the only one available to rent is the R-rated cut. Yet you see Unrated cuts of almost every movie out there that was originally PG-13 or R in the theater. I wouldn't want to see some company decide to only carry the family-friendly cuts of certain movies that are available in both versions. This used to happen all the time with P&S versions of films, you'd go looking for the widescreen version but they'd only have the full-screen mutilated version.

Personally, I think parents should employ the same film-editing device my father used when I was a kid... whenever something came on screen i wasn't allowed to see, he made me put my hands over my eyes. Add to that the "Earmuffs" device employed by Vince Vaughan in Old School, and you can make any film instantly kid-friendly. Yeah, it means you have to watch the film with your kids and probably have to have seen it before yourself so you know where the objectionable parts are, but that's the job you signed up for when you decided to become a parent.

[DanielSan]

Wasn't there some company in Utah that offered edited versions of films? I know they got sued by the DGA or MPAA or somebody. Did they get shut down?

I don't mind if companies offer family-friendly cuts of movies on DVD, but I don't want that crap cluttering up my DVD shelf. I barely have enough room for the DVDs I've got, and I don't need to make room for extra discs that contain a version I'm never going to watch. And putting two different cuts on the same disc doesn't work either, because you have to overcompress each one and reduce the bitrate in order to fit it all on, and you get worse picture quality as a result. I already get pissed at having to suffer a bunch of compression artifacts and noise and banding whenever some idiot DVD maker put both a widescreen and P&S version of the film on the same disc. So offer both versions, but separately.

Also, some films just shouldn't be offered in family-friendly cuts. I know there are some that can be edited with a few snips here and there, but there are movies where making it family-friendly would severely alter or change the artistic impact of the film, and those shouldn't be edited for any reason (even for TV and airplanes in my opinion, but i'm not even going to start on that: suffice to say i never watch the mutilated, chopped-up versions of movies they show on commercial tv if i can help it).

I also get worried about certain films that get edited, because if there's an edited version available, then companies like Blockbuster or Netflix sometimes only carry the edited version. The Dreamers is a good example, I can't rent the original NC-17 cut, the only one available to rent is the R-rated cut. Yet you see Unrated cuts of almost every movie out there that was originally PG-13 or R in the theater. I wouldn't want to see some company decide to only carry the family-friendly cuts of certain movies that are available in both versions. This used to happen all the time with P&S versions of films, you'd go looking for the widescreen version but they'd only have the full-screen mutilated version.

Personally, I think parents should employ the same film-editing device my father used when I was a kid... whenever something came on screen i wasn't allowed to see, he made me put my hands over my eyes. Add to that the "Earmuffs" device employed by Vince Vaughan in Old School, and you can make any film instantly kid-friendly. Yeah, it means you have to watch the film with your kids and probably have to have seen it before yourself so you know where the objectionable parts are, but that's the job you signed up for when you decided to become a parent.

Yeah. What he said.

[DanielSan]

The TV edit that to this day cracks me up was from the Rodney Dangerfield movie "Back To School". In the original, Robert Downey, Jr. lays down on his back, feet and legs up in the air, and is shouting, "Do me! Do me!"

In the TV edit, he's shouting, "Shoe me! Shoe me!"

[Seppuku]

The best one is the Scarface TV cut, the line, "This town is like one big pussy, just waiting to be fucked!" miraculously becomes, "This town is like one big chicken, just waiting to be plucked!" Haha, wtf.

[Shane]

I watched Evil Dead on TV and the Good ash Bad Ash line was bleeped, like straight beeped, no substitution. They thought he was saying ass. I thought it was funny as hell.

[Peven]

as soon as they start making adult versions of kids movies, adding tits and ass and f-bombs, then i say go ahead and make kids versions of adult movies by taking out the tits and ass and f-bombs. don't mess with my Kill Bill and i won't mess with your Princess Diaries. fair enough?

[Bob Samonkey]

See this needs to be done. We need tv versions as a audio track on our DVD's

[bc1970]

...but that's the job you signed up for when you decided to become a parent.

These phrases crack me up.
"Why are you forcing your shit on me?"
"Why should I have to suffer because of your kid?"
"Why can't I smoke?" wahhhhh.

See, I didn't sign up for old retards cussing out a clerk at the store in front of, not only my kid, but many other grown ups. The old retard is the jerk, but I gotta pay for it. "Dad, what's a douchebag fuckwad anyway?" greeeeat.

I didn't sign up for 10 teenagers laying on the floor in a clump in the kids section at Barnes and Noble paging through sex position books while 3to10 year olds walk by. These little morons don't have cars, or manners, or true friends, or self-worth or parents that care, or the smarts to look at these books somewhere else. They do have a big mouth though, and a lot of attitude. "I should be able to read the Kama Sutra for Dummies anywhere I want dude!" But I gotta pay for it. "Dad, what kinda magazine is that?" now I gotta re-arrange my big-talk timeline because of 10 lazy mallrats. They can't even put the books back.

I didn't sign up for a night at the restaurant where 5 cackling hens recount their most recent oral conquests in earshot of many. Are we supposed to be impressed? Oh, congrats. You still got it old lady. "Dad, what's a rimjob?" How can I eat my food and hold my hands over the ears simutaneously?

That's the world now. manners? common sense? do unto others? fuck all that. me. me. me. me. me. My disc shelf. my cellphone. my lane.

here's something I posted on the CHUD board 10/16/02:

Here's a tale sure to enrage:

I worked at a Mall music store where you could try before you buy, hence, the store became one big jukebox for the downtrodden and depressed every weekend. The relationship between surly young customer and surly clerk was unhealthy at best. You may have the easiest disposition until you listen to 14 year olds scream BoneThugsinHarmony while wearing headphones torn and stretched across the store. Even the most forgiving soul would begin to seethe. and these teens were mean. Dawn of the Dead meets KIDS. Scary shit.

So we began to card kids to listen to Parental Advisory cds. yes we did.

I've seen the rage of a pre-teen denied access to the NIN cd they already have at home. not pretty. I've seen the result of subpar parenting as kids who've been abandoned at the mall pout and and yell. at me. loudly.

Proud am I? no. We were trying to control foot traffic in the store, more than anything. But I am a believer in treating others as you'd like to be treated. Respect breeds respect. There was no powertripping. I never carded a kid that came up without a ton of attitude. I now know pre-teens are 10% water-90% attitude.

...I just know one day, you will be on the other side, looking at a 13 year old ManicPanic-ed girl calling you a fa ggot during the Christmas rush. That's when Peter Pan dies.

I'm just sayin'. It'd be nice to have a non-attitude version of The Fantastic Four.

[Bob Samonkey]

HEAR HEAR

[DinoDeLaurentiis]

as soon as they start making adult versions of kids movies, adding tits and ass and f-bombs, then i say go ahead and make kids versions of adult movies by taking out the tits and ass and f-bombs. don't mess with my Kill Bill and i won't mess with your Princess Diaries. fair enough?

Heheh... this from a the guy who post a the pics of a his teenage daughter onna the Interweb, eh?

Hello? Parent Living inna FantasyLand Phone? She's a for you, eh?

[DinoDeLaurentiis]

That's the world now. manners? common sense? do unto others? fuck all that. me. me. me. me. me. My disc shelf. my cellphone. my lane.

BC, paisan, you can a come a to a the villa anna share a the bran muffin anytime, eh?

[DanielSan]

I didn't sign up for a night at the restaurant where 5 cackling hens recount their most recent oral conquests in earshot of many. Are we supposed to be impressed? Oh, congrats. You still got it old lady. "Dad, what's a rimjob?"

What restaurant was that? Where was it? Did you get any of their names? Phone numbers? Anything??? Can I move there?

[Peven]

dude, if FF is too "hardcore" for you, i think you might want to consider buying property in a Pat Robertson owned and operated self-contained community. i have 4 kids myself, ages 8 to 14, and do my fair share of screening, and have been accused of being a hardass in regards to manners and behavior, but the world is a big place and you can't expect it all to be kiddie-proofed. when i was a kid it was understood, there are things that kids can see and do, and there are things that are for adults; i.e., drinking alcohol, swearing, R-rated movies, sex, etc. still, kids are going to be exposed to stuff you'd rather they aren't, unless you live in a bubble.

i don't allow my kids to own explicit lyric cd's, but my kids still are able to hear them on the bus or at school, for instance. i am dealing with my oldest son, 14, hitting his teen rebellion phase full of rap bravado and attitude and its frustrating as hell at times, but thats the price of living in a society believes in free speech and expression, and ultimately, a price i'm willing to pay. as a parent, you just have to believe in the job you've done in instilling a good base of values and morals so that when they go out to face the world you have given them the tools to come out standing in the end.

[DanielSan]

Well stated, Peven.

[DinoDeLaurentiis]

as a parent, you just have to believe in the job you've done in instilling a good base of values and morals so that when they go out to face the world you have given them the tools to come out standing in the end.

Exactly my point, eh paisan? But what iffa some of a the tools can come from a the good flick that has alla the right points except for a some a crude language anna boobies, eh?

All I'm a saying is, it would a be a nice a to have a the version that focuses onna the themes a the bambinos can a handle anna removes a the gratuitous stuff for a the more mature audiences, eh?

[Peven]

as soon as they start making adult versions of kids movies, adding tits and ass and f-bombs, then i say go ahead and make kids versions of adult movies by taking out the tits and ass and f-bombs. don't mess with my Kill Bill and i won't mess with your Princess Diaries. fair enough?

Heheh... this from a the guy who post a the pics of a his teenage daughter onna the Interweb, eh?

Hello? Parent Living inna FantasyLand Phone? She's a for you, eh?

i'll let the personal shot pass without one in return, because, after all, this is the Zone, where folks aren't supposed to take personal pot shots, right? but for the record, i believe in no such fantasy land dino, which is why i don't allow my daughter to put her pic or real name, or any other personal info on her xanga site, and i monitor all my kids internet use.

nice move though Dino, the more posts like that and the sooner this place will become like the tb's, and won't that be a good thing?

[Eric G]

1) Artististic Integrity
The director made a film that is his vision and we (the consumer) have no right to trim it down. I say bullshit to that because the film shown on the airplane isn't the same film as in the theater. Edits and changes are made from every step in the lifecycle of a DVD, so why not give consumers something we want instead of just commercials that we can't forward through?

I think you kinda shot yourself in the foot there doc. Not many directors out there want their films chopped and edited for any reason, be it scenes cut out or edited to a simple Pan & Scan version for TV. I hear directors saying it all the time "If we wanted you to watch the film in Pan & Scan we would have shot it that way". Now if they are so pedantic on something like that, how do you think they would feel about chopping and changing their film? Not too happy I would think. Sure edits are going to be made along the lifecycle of the DVD, but it will always be the retailer/distributor and not the director.

EDIT: Have you seen that episode of the Simpson's where the statue of the infamous "David" was covered up by putting some jeans on him? Same thing.....the artist (in this case the director) would have gone nuts!

[DinoDeLaurentiis]

This is a the Zone, where a the motto is a the No Hate, Just a the Debate, eh?

I dinna see that as a the personal pot shot... I was a merely pointing out that a your logic, she is a possibly called inna to question based onna your past post inna the Photo Album thread, eh?

[Peven]

i put up a family photo dude. you describe it like i was pimping my daughter on the web or something. i can't help it if certain people have minds that see something as innocent as a family photo as being anything other than just that, so if a pic of a 13 yr old girl in a family photo is anything but innocent to you, that says more about your mindset than mine.

[Chairman Kaga]

What about the likes of John Landis/Harold Ramis flicks wherein they shot different versions of the same scene intending one version for Tv and another for the theater....some examples

Animal House- There are a couple the one that comes to mind (this is sad) is Donald Sutherland walking around with his pants off vs having pants on the TV version

National Lampoon's Vacation- This one I prefer the TV edit. When the Grizzwolds get lost in St. Louis and Clark asks an obvious street pimp for directions he replies "Fuck yo mama!" in the theatrical version in the TV version he says "Who dod I look like Christoher Columbo?!!"

Ghostbusters- Two I can think of easily
"We came we saw we kicked it's ass!" changes to something like "Well what a right bunch of fun that was!" also the whole "Dickless" line is changed to paint Peck as a "Some kind of small rodent I don't know which"...

It seems like there is something in The Blues Brothers as well but I can't recall it at the moment.

[DinoDeLaurentiis]

i put up a family photo dude. you describe it like i was pimping my daughter on the web or something. i can't help it if certain people have minds that see something as innocent as a family photo as being anything other than just that, so if a pic of a 13 yr old girl in a family photo is anything but innocent to you, that says more about your mindset than mine.

Okay okay... this is alla getting blown out of a the proportion. Peven, I'm a sorry you took offense at a my comment. I was a NOT implying that anybody do anything with a your lovely daughter's picture, eh? Anna she truly is a the lovely girl anna you should a be proud.

As a matter of a the personal preference, the Dino, he donna post a the pictures of a the minors onna the Interweb... it's a the difference of a the opinion is all, eh? For a their own a protection, no?

That's all I was a saying... again, I'm a sorry iffa you took offense.

[Seppuku]

Yeah they brushed-out John Lee Hooker's harmonica...they said it looked strangely phallic. The thing is, the scene with the harmonica edited-out looks even more lewd, the great bluesman is just blowing into his fingers. It looks like he's practising cunnilingus or something. Loco, huh?

[Petri]

You know, I remember when they first started talking about DVDs there was a feature being thrown around where you could set your DVD player to only allow a certain rating level to be used but instead of just not allowing PG-13 movies, it would actually cut out the parts to make the movie PG or G depending on what you set it to.

Obviously that never happened but considering what you can do with DVDs it wouldn't be hard to basically "flag" parts of a movie or words that would raise the rating above G and a DVD player being able to figure out what's what and cutting out the offensive parts.

[Chairman Kaga]

hat would be like real time editing the encoded MPG file....that would be none to simple methinks. I guess you could devise something like chapter breaks around a word but then you would get a skip/hiccup in the image as well....I would think it would just be easier to have an alternate audio track.

[El Scorcho]

There's really nothing wrong with voluntary censorship. If the studios do it, that's wonderful, but I don't think some Joe Schmo in Utah has a right to alter films. I'm sure this is an issue I will run into if I ever (God forbid) spawn offspring.

I think the funniest TV edit has got to be what was done to the first Die Hard like 8 years ago... "Mother fucker" was replaced with "melon farmer." I shit you not.

[DennisMM]

For a while it seemed as if R was the rating of choice, even for obvious PG (or GP as it was when the Dino and I were young, eh?) movies -- throw in a "fuck" and, for a while, you got the automatic R and the added audience that didn't want to see a PG movie. Same with the famous "penis breath" of E.T., supposedly inserted because Spielberg and company didn't want it to seem like a little kid's movie.

These days PG-13 seems to be what they shoot for if they don't want to be utterly explicit and much of the "mature" content is unnecessary bullshit that keeps away as many people as it attracts. My feeling is that too many people don't take the PG-13 rating seriously because of this, bring younger children, and have the kids mildly freak when exposed to serious brutality like the Spider-Man/Green Goblin fight.

[bluebottle]

is it really that difficult to find movies for kids to watch?

i mean, why not just save the movies that are too "adult" for them for when they are older?

I mean, in some cases, it's only a difference of a couple of years.

i remember watching Animal House on TV for years, and it was edited, and I loved it... But when I finally saw the "real" version, i felt like i had been ripped off all those years. I'd rather just have waited until i was old enough to see the real deal.

[El Scorcho]

serious brutality like the Spider-Man/Green Goblin fight.

Ummmmmmm... LOL!

[Lord Voldemoo]

i remember watching Animal House on TV for years, and it was edited, and I loved it... But when I finally saw the "real" version, i felt like i had been ripped off all those years. I'd rather just have waited until i was old enough to see the real deal.

Me too! Sadly, I don't think I saw the real version until college. My parents had taped the edited version, and I didn't realize how much had been cut out...

[DennisMM]

For a five-year-old, Scorcho, that fight was some nasty shit, as was some of X2 and some of Batman Begins. PG-13 didn't used to look so rough. I was there when Red Dawn got the first PG-13 rating, and I remember what PG-13 used to look like.

[El Scorcho]

For a five-year-old, Scorcho, that fight was some nasty shit, as was some of X2 and some of Batman Begins. PG-13 didn't used to look so rough. I was there when Red Dawn got the first PG-13 rating, and I remember what PG-13 used to look like.

I agree, but taken out of context, that was incredibly funny to me for some reason. I think 5 is way too young for any PG-13 flick, MAYBE 10 and we'll start talking. And yes, PG-13 has gotten way more intense the last 10 years.