does blockbuster edit their movies?

[bob tilton]

heard a rumor a few years back that blockbuster edits their movies. considering their netflix style membership but would not even consider it if this were true.

[RickM]

I'd have a hard time believing that they get involved with anything other than "distribution". Their unlimited rental program seems very good but is it limited to what they have in stock?

[Milu]

There's a similar rumour about films purchased at Walmart. Is it true or just a story put about by more expensive retailers? I don't know but I have a major issue with censorship especially if instigated by a retailer or distributor.

[SLO-BOB]

I rent from Blockbuster all the time. Waaaay too often in fact. I haven't witnessed any missing scenes from movies that I have watched in other venues. This is not a definitive "no", but to the best of my knowledge, they don't. Same with WalMart. I have a couple of movies from them that seem intact. However, pay per view has deleted some scenes. Probably due to time constraints. Pissed me off cause I'm paying more for that than a rental.

[bob tilton]

i also heard that blockbuster was owned by a christian organization. true?

[stomachmonkey]

The logistics of sell in, inventory control, manufacturing, on shelf date, etc... make it impractical.

Answer would be no.

That kind of info is all that Hollywood Video would need to bury BB for good.

[dhoward]

I heard they cut all of the t!tty scenes out.

[IROC]

Walmarts "censors" the CDs they sell, for sure. I have stopped buying CDs from them (heck, I've stopped buying nearly everything from them) for this reason. They only sell CDs with what they feel to be objectionable words removed.

It wouldn't surprise me if they have expanded this censorship to DVDs.

I guess Walmart feels it is their duty to protect their consumers from hearing any word(s) that they don't feel are appropriate. Heck, they refused to sell George Carlin's new book because they felt it would not fit in well with their "clientele".

Mike

[widebody911]

It would be quite simple to create a watered-down/censored version of a DVD for a specific retailer, particularly if it's a matter of cutting out booby scenes and whatnot.

[bob tilton]

i understand that some products are edited from the manufacturer. it usually states it on the product. however, i would frown upon a retailer imposing their own edits without informing the consumer. that's a huge no-no in my book.

[RickM]

Originally posted by widebody911
It would be quite simple to create a watered-down/censored version of a DVD for a specific retailer, particularly if it's a matter of cutting out booby scenes and whatnot.

But is it done? While current movies are edited for TV most of them of them still have "Bad" language beeped out. Why not just use the watered down version.

(I admit I am a hollywood lightweight)

[speeder]

Blockbuster is a Viacom company, unless this changed while I wasn't looking. They are a huge entertainment conglomerate, comprising Paramount studio and other assets. The owner of Viacom is Sumner Redstone, who is getting on in years, but he's no fundamentalist Christian.

i have always heard that Blockbuster's videos are "sanitized", just try renting "Casino" sometime. One of the kids working at my local store called it "Cockbusters", or cockblockers, or something.....

[bob tilton]

interesting reading:
http://www.answers.com/topic/blockbuster-video

[john70t]

I bought a used copy of Gladiator from Hollywood Video and compared to the theatre version all the versions hve been chopped to pieces:
-Most of the begining barbariand scenes were gone.
-Crowe says "there's no one left to fight" instead of "there's no one left to fight, they're all dead"(which alluded to Roman brutality).
-Several Roman city background scenes were missing and most of the non-speaking drawn out scenes in the middle of the film were edited out- wrecking the ambiance.

The only thing that indicated it wasen't the theatre version was a small ambiguous "This film has been modified from its original content. It has been reformatted to fit your tv" in fine print.

[cegerer]

I don't rent movies, but one can't help but know of the new "No Late Fee" promotion by BlockBuster. I recently saw an article on this and it sounds like a total fraud. There is no late fee BUT if it's overdue by a week you get hit with a "restocking fee" of $1.25 per day! Then if you keep it for 30 days, they simply charge your CC for the full amount of the movie!

[VaSteve]

Their massive international permeation and domination of the video market has placed certain business practices under scrutiny. Critics of the chain, including Naomi Klein in her anti-globalization book No Logo, say that they use their power to enact censorship - this accusation stemming from the fact that Blockbuster are reputed to edit videos for release beyond the standard retail cut, or at the very least use their significant market share to influence studios to edit in order to lower their certification and reach a wider market.

Sounds like what Wal Mart does to CDs. Wal-Mart actualy often has a different version of the CDs, you can tell that you're not buying the official release.

The worst I saw was Tool's Undertow. While the official CD was dark with a picture on the cover, the Wal Mart version was white with a big UPC covering the whole thing. I assume the band themselves designed that.

[john70t]

I thought I was buying the film I saw in the theatre.
The VCR box should have had a "modified-from-theatre version" label clearly marked on the cover.

Mabye I'll have to spend another $20 in five years for the "directors cut"(?) That would be like buying the film twice....hmm....

[RickM]

Originally posted by john70t
I thought I was buying the film I saw in the theatre.
The VCR box should have had a "modified-from-theatre version" label clearly marked on the cover.

Mabye I'll have to spend another $15-25 in five years for the "directors cut"(?) That would be like buying the film twice....hmm....

Is this a Walmart or Blockbuster specific situation? Hollywood has released several flavors of many movies for many years.

[john70t]

Perhaps not the POS retailer issue Rick, but certainly a bait-and-switch one. Kinda like picking out the car at the dealership and the one that arrives has a Krayco stereo and all the leather interior has been replaced with plastic. It's the same car, just not the same.

[MikeCT]

Originally posted by bob tilton
heard a rumor a few years back that blockbuster edits their movies....

I don't think they edit the movies but I have heard stories where scenes were missing from a BB rental. I think they carry some weight in most of the major movie studios since rentals can bring in a lot of money. I read somewhere (i'll try to find the link) that they do pressure the studios when making the final cut so the movie will be appropriate for blockbuster.