Are Director's Cut & Unrated Editions Important?

Chris writes:

I would like mention a sad new trend I've noticed recently on Netflix regarding Unrated versions of films.  The upcoming titles Who's Your Daddy, This Girl's Life, The Life (w/Denise Richards) and Drunken Jackasses: The Quest have been released or will be released in rated and unrated versions.  However, Netflix seems to be carrying only the rated versions of these films.

This puts them in the same league as Blockbuster who have a pretty strict No Unrated movies policy (even though they sometimes accidentally get an unrated title every now and again).  If this is a new Netflix policy, then I will have to cancel my Netflix account which I have had since the company's inception 6 years ago. 

I do not like to be grouped into the same God-fearing family friendly Wal-Mart dwellers that Blockbuster seems to cater to.  Netflix has been good in the past about offering edgy films and always carrying the Unrated, Director's Cut versions of films.  I could just be overreacting and the info on Netflix's site is simply an error, but if it is not I will be greatly disappointed and may have to move on to nicheflix or a simliar alternative.  Ideally, these companies should carry both versions so individuals can decide what's best for their families, but a decision shouldn't be made for us. 

Am I alone here or are there people with similar feelings?

I haven't noticed if Netflix has suddenly changed their policy, but Blockbuster does carry a few unrated movies (Caligula, American Pie, Eurotrip, In the Cut, and more).

I generally prefer to see the director's cut or unrated edition, since I believe it's more how the director wanted the film made (instead of the MPAA). What do you prefer?

Comments

[sMoRTy71]

It may just be the films you chose. I got the unrated version of "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" a week or so ago.

[Ollie]

Netflix's willingness to stock unrated and NC-17 movies is exactly the reason why I continue to choose them over Blockbuster. I personally haven't noticed any evidence of Netflix changing their policy on this, but if they did I'd probably cancel immediately.

Sometimes BB does have movies that Netflix does not. Blockbuster has the John Waters film, Pink Flamingos (rated NC17, but in my opinion it should have gotten an X). Netflix does not have that.

[Stephan]

Sometimes Netflix does not state that it is the unrated version, even when it is. I have seen the information say R, the image of the dvd say unrated, and I will get the unrated movie.

[Mike]

I prefer the unrated versions. I agree with Ollie that this is why I would never rent from Blockbuster.

[Dirjy]

I also prefer the unrated versions. They are typically closer to the filmmakers true intent, though it has become more of a marketing ploy in recent years.

I joined Netflix years ago because they carried movies that my local Blockbuster and Hollywood Video stores did not. That included independent and foreign films, as well as some offbeat and classic titles, but their willingness to carry NC-17 films was a major factor as well.

[Hunter McDaniel]

I'm one of those God-fearing family-friendly Walmart-dwellers, but I still want a choice. Best idea would be for Netflix to have a profile setting for which determined whether, when more than one version exists, a search would show the rated version, the unrated version, or both.

I have one friend who is bothered by the fact that they list GLBT as a genre. You can never please everyone.

[BB and Netflix customer]

I think the idea of blockbuster not carrying UR or NC-17 films is very old and not applciable in most stores and certainly not with its online selection. I just did a sort of netflix UR and NC-17 picked the first ten and checked Blcokbuster online. they both had the exact same selection and versions

[Stan]

Well, I just got an unrated "Swimming Pool" from BB. And they also have the unrated version of "Taking Lives", so I don't understand why you guys are saying BB doesn't carry unrated versions.

[joe]

I'm not sure the initial comment is accurate - if anything, Netflix is guilty of only stocking the unrated versions without offering people the rated one. Try finding the PG-13 versions of Girl Next Door or Eurotrip on their site. But as for me, i'd rather see the unrated version so it doesn't bother me. Better yet, i like it when the producer of the DVD offers one version on each side of the disc.

And just to be clear, do i need to fear anything from God if i'm watching the unrated versions, and enjoying them? Is there an eleventh commandment i missed in school?

[REN]

The director's cuts aren't necessarily censored versions. It can be a new cut of the movie with additional scenes and structure. The director may have been pressured to deliver a movie of a certain length for the theatrical release. I think if a director's cut has been released, it should be carried by the rental service. What I don't like is when multiple versions of a movie is released, each one with different extras.

I really hate seeing movies edited because of content. Why censor a movie to remove curse words, or a few seconds a nudity, when the very subject matter of the movie is inappropriate for children?

[REN]

Not everything is a commandment. Did you know that God really hates people who color outside the lines?

[J-bird]

I'm all for director's cuts as well. I got Harold and Kumar in the other day and was a bit concerned as the website said Unrated, but the sleeve it came in has it listed as the R version. I thought they sent me the wrong title, so I went down to BlockBuster and picked up the unrated version so I could check them side by side.

They were the identical movie, Netflix just mistakenly labeled the sleeve with an R instead of UR.

In the past, I have always received Unrated & Director's Cut version when it was available. Netflix has always been great about it.

Don't know about BB online as I didn't try any UR's during my trial, but their B&M stores carry both UR and R for most titles.

[chahn]

I just checked and NetFlix is carrying the unrated version
of "Irreversible".

This film is about as harsh as films go.

I think that this takes Netflix off the hook, as far as
allowing no un-rated films.

I cannot comment authoritatively on what they do carry,
but they do carry un-rated films.

[Ollie]

Perhaps Blockbuster doesn't turn away NC-17 and (recent) unrated films 100% of the time. However, there is a history though movie studios editing films for content specifically for stores like Blockbuster. REQUIEM FOR A DREAM might be one of the more well-known cases.

Here's Roger Ebert writing about this (http://www.raptorial.com/Zine/b-buster.htm). See the second question.

Maybe Blockbuster are not doing it anymore, though. Or maybe it was always region or store-specific. Or maybe they don't do it for the online selection. If anyone has any hard documented facts on this, it'd be interesting to see.

[Ollie]

Screwed up that Ebert link. Sorry.

http://www.raptorial.com/Zine/b-buster.htm

> I just checked and NetFlix is carrying the unrated
> version
> of "Irreversible".

Much to my surprise, the Blockbuster site also offers the unrated version of IRREVERSIBLE. I just looked it up. Also, the remark about PINK FLAMINGOS above is true and Blockbuster carries both the edited and unrated editions of REQUIEM FOR A DREAM.

Well, I guess some of us -- like me -- are learning a few things here.

I'm still standing by Netflix, but now I hate Blockbuster a little less than I used to.

[RP]

Blockbuster's conversion to stocking unrated films has been relatively recent. It wasn't too long ago that such films were rare-to-nonexistent per corporate policy. Corporate policy has changed more recently, obviously.

The same thing is true of Blockbuster that they once preferred fullscreen versions of any given movie as corporate policy. Now widescreen is the official preferred format (so much so that my local Blockbusters usually don't carry the fullscreen version of a title), though some stores don't follow that as closely as others.

I do think that Netflix sometimes mislabels movies. Harold & Kumar go to White Castle,as mentioned, is such an instance where the website said the movie was the Rated R version up until a day or two after the release when it was changed on the site to Unrated. So, it wouldn't surprise me to see a lot of instances where it appears Netflix is carrying the rated version and not the unrated version is actually just a clerical error (for lack of a better term).

On the other hand, as far as I know, Netflix is not carrying the extended editions of LOTR, so sometimes they don't carry an alternate version of a movie (though that choice would seem to be for different reasons than the traditional rated/unrated choice).

90% of the extra dvd's that come with the feature film are worthless. That's just my expierence, but for what it's worth, I watch a #@% load of movies.

[Scott]

Does the world really need an unrated, director's cut of "Who's Your Daddy" or "Drunken Asses: The Quest?"

[Chris]

The world probably doesn't need those movies at all, in any version. But they exist, and to the audience these films appeal to, they would want to see the unrated versions.

I will always want the unrated version. I can't watch an edited version of a film I know has an unrated counterpart. Most movies I only watch once and if I knew that there's more of a movie out there I would feel I'd have to hunt it down to see what was excised. Perhaps it's just a minor form of OCD.

[Hunter McDaniel]

There's an underlying theme in these discussions that the "unrated" or "director's cut" editions are "purer" and are what we need to see the juicy stuff Jerry Falwell wouldn't like.

More often than not, however, editing is a good thing. For example, three hours for the LOTR movies was already pushing my limit. I don't need or want another 40 minutes; I could save time by re-reading the books.

[REN]

I am like Chris. I can't even watch a movie if I know it has been edited, assuming I know there is a more "complete" version available. I don't tend to watch movies more than once, and I'd like to make the most of it the first time I watch it. This is one major reason why I don't watch movies on TV.

Hunter, why not just watch a highlight reel from LOTR and save even more time? As for the books, get the Cliff's Notes.

I want to see the movie the way the creative team behind it wants it to be seen. If the movie is good, I tend to trust the people behind it. If it is a bad movie I don't care how long it is, I'm not going to watch it, not even the summary version of it.

[REN]

Another thing, take something like a zombie film and look at the alternate versions listed on imdb. You can find numberous versions which remove maybe a few seconds of gore or sex from scenes throughout the film.

I resent the pressure put on filmmakers to edit their movies. In this case, these are horror movies, the whole subject should be unfit for most people, cutting a few seconds of gore doesn't make the film acceptable. A lot of times the editing is taken out of the filmmakers hands and dubbing is added, narration added, edited for time, and so on.

I'm just really annoyed by censorship, changing a movie because of studio pressure, changing it because of test audience reaction, etc.

[Hunter McDaniel]

Look, I'm generally with you guys when it comes to censorship. But there has always been a tension between the creative team (book authors, movie directors, etc.) and the editors/publishers they go through to get to market. The former are often prima donnas, the latter are sometimes heartless suits. But both of them play an essential role.