TNMC
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13 July, 2001
To censor or not to censor, that is the question...
I was pondering writing another DVD review and I was tired of writing "good" reviews. I needed something to show that I just don't give all good grades. (Although I think you can disqualify Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection as "good" reviews.) So I was flipping through my DVD collection, which contains about one hundred and fifty DVDs, and began searching for a bad one. I could find a few, but I didn't have the heart to tackle it. Instead, fueled mainly by my rage expressed in my Stanley Kubrick article, I decided to pick another DVD topic bothering consumers. I had already done re-issues (which I plan on going into more detail on throughout the year as the studios piss off more consumers) so I began to think... What else pisses me off when I buy a DVD? I thought back to the troubles Requiem for a Dream: Director's Cut gave me and BINGO: Edited and Uncensored DVDs.
There have been a number of censored/uncensored releases in the past year, we have American Psycho, American Pie, Eyes Wide Shut (which was only available CENSORED), Road Trip, and Requiem for a Dream. I figured out that I had only bought one censored DVD, Road Trip, whose uncut version was a pain in the ass to find. Wait a minute! All unedited DVDs are a pain in the ass to find! Let me elaborate...
Requiem for a Dream had been a pain in the ass to find, the biggest out of all of them. I went to Target, where I work, because they were getting it and I wanted my discount. I should have known better... "EDITED VERSION" the box read. I picked it up and looked at the back, no bonus features were listed. Damn it! The nearest Best Buy is forty minutes away (I live in a suburb of Milwaukee where only strongly conservative stores like Wal-Mart, Blockbuster, and Shopko lie). I dropped over to K-Mart, one place I had seen the American Pie: Uncensored DVD. I got there, found that the Requiem disc was too, CENSORED. I picked it up and looked at the back, it had a lot of bonus features, commentaries, documentary, etc. I thought perhaps the front was a misprint and I bought it. I then drove to a nearby video store (not a chain), which had the director's cut. The back of the uncut version looked like the back of the edited one I got from K-Mart, but I knew the edited one didn't have any features on it. However, the small video store did not have any DVDs for purchase and I drove about twenty minutes to Borders Books and Music, which didn't have the movie in at all. What copy did I have? Either it was censored and the back was misprinted or it was unedited and the front was. I brought it home and popped it in my DVD player, there were no bonus features. I asked my father to pick up the uncut one the next day after work and he did. It had bonus features and I returned the misprinted to K-Mart to get my money back, which they quickly refunded.
My point is that shouldn't stores give a consumer the right to chose? I mean, it's the same thing with CDs. I used to work at Wal-Mart and all they sold was censored stuff (some didn't say censored on them). I, personally, am a strong conservative, on everything except censorship. (I take myself as an artist and I would not like my work censored.) I don't have any problems with censored work being out there, but a person should have the right to choose. What Wal-Mart, Target, Shopko, and K-Mart does is ONLY carry edited copies of movies. (Blockbuster also.) There is no choice, which I strongly disagree with. Aronofsky put out his film without a rating for a reason, he had the balls to show people his vision. Some companies, like Warner Brothers (Who is on my shit list right now.) won't even support the director. They censored Kubrick's film after his death and did not let consumers even see the uncensored cut. I think it's great when a movie studio can stand behind a director in bringing his or her vision to the screen. Now, if only businesses would give the consumer the right to chose I would be a much happier person. (It costs too much in gas to drive the forty minutes to Best Buy, let Target handle them so I only have to drive five minutes!)
Readers: If anything is bothering you in the DVD world let me know and I can write something about it. If you have any questions about DVDs, let me know and I'll find out what's up. More reviews and rants coming soon! (I work this weekend and have an A.P. English paper due so it may be kinda sparse.)
- Dr. Strangelove (aka Drew Morton)
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