DVDs - cut/added stuff with no reason?

[Desdichado]

It would be nice if they included both the theatrical version and the director's cut in the same package/dvd. (DVDs really aren't all that expensive to make, so even including two wouldn't cost the companies much at all)

A lot of "Special Edition" discs do do exactly that. Generally I prefer the longer versions when available. I agree though -- cutting things from the DVD that aired in the theater is a pretty bad idea. Adding things, though -- I can go with that.

And I actually don't like to see the deleted scenes tucked away in the special features section; I like them integrated into the movie. Maybe I just got spoiled by my EE LotR DVDs, though...

 

[Aeson]

I hear tell that Amazon UK has the original version on LoTM on DVD. IF your willing to buy it from England

 

[Villano]

And, as always, people's "moral standards" are more important than historical fact.

Well, if you're looking for historical facts, I wouldn't suggest watching a movie for them.

Generally I prefer the longer versions when available.

For the most part, I agree with you. However, there are rare cases where I actually like the theatrical cut better. For example, Aliens VS Predator. Or the original Star Wars trilogy instead of the "Special Editions".

Although I haven't seen it, the new DVD release of Donnie Darko isn't supposed to be as good as the original.

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

Well, if you're looking for historical facts, I wouldn't suggest watching a movie for them.

Depends on the movie. We've gotten to the point where documentaries are carefully scrubbed for either effect or to meet the tastes of the target audience.

I weep for our culture.

And in a historical epic there's a significant difference between dramatizing the known facts and removing or altering them to fit the narrow perceptions of a particular audience. Why choose to reinforce people's unfounded prejudices even with supposed entertainment? They get enough of that from their other associations.

 

[Villano]

Depends on the movie. We've gotten to the point where documentaries are carefully scrubbed for either effect or to meet the tastes of the target audience.

I weep for our culture.

Yeah, but what you're describing is propaganda. It's preaching to the converted. I don't think it's a reflection of our current culture since such things have been around since the beginning of film (and in print before that).

In other words, they aren't being sanitized so as not to offend, but to appeal to the already existing beliefs of their core audience.

Okay, trying to avoid politics as much as possible, here's an analogy. There are two very, um, "Rubenesque" pundits, one on the left, the other on the right. It was mentioned somewhere that their fan base is about an equal 8%. Now, when one writes a book, he isn't aiming for 100% of the population, but the same 8% who bought his previous books and will buy future ones. The other 92% don't care and probably won't believe anything in the book anyway.

 

[sniffles]

If it's what I'm thinking of, they're not editing the movie. They're not altering the movie at all. They've simply programmed a proprietary DVD player to skip over selected portions of the DVD. And the viewer has to pay for the service.

You see, this is different than censorship. A person chooses to purchase the proprietary DVD player. They choose to pay for the service which tags violent, sexual, or vulgar content (which the DVD player then skips).

They're not forcing viewers to get edited DVDs. They're providing a service that people would have to do manually otherwise. (E.g., diving for the remote to get past a scene of a nude woman.)

Now, if you want to get upset, get upset at Walmart, which forces vendors to deliver edited media. I've ended up with several of those through eBay, and how I wish they had been labeled! I don't mind Walmart doing this (though it makes it expensive, since they have to release multiple versions), but make it VERY CLEAR that you're getting an edited version... Sheesh...

That's interesting. I hadn't heard anything about the proprietary DVD players. I was assuming it was allowing more of the Walmart variety censorship. That's what I get for assuming.

Honestly, though, I don't understand why people would want to watch a movie with portions of it deleted. I'd rather not see the movie at all than know I was only seeing parts of it.

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

Yeah, but what you're describing is propaganda. It's preaching to the converted. I don't think it's a reflection of our current culture since such things have been around since the beginning of film (and in print before that).

It's propaganda when it is done as part of a truly political agenda. It is not propaganda, and is something worse than mere pandering when it is done for no other reason than to avoid offending the narrow-minded.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

One of my favorite parts of the movie The Great Outdoors (1988, with John Candy & Dan Akroyd) is when they are trying to get the boat out of the rental place. After several attempts the boat unhinges and lands on the street pavement. Classic. It s a bummer the sequence didn't make it to the DVD.