I wanted to share this after reading in disappointment that the US release of Beetlejuice had been censored to achieve a PG rating.
I bought the UK release of Beetlejuice (rated 15) on Blu-ray (for $16 plus shipping) from Amazon.co.uk - still cheaper than many places.
WMAangel
04-24-09, 01:06 PM
The US release is not "censored"...it has ALWAYS been rated PG....
Please be more specific about these perceived differences, as I have never heard of any "censoring*" of this film before.....
* = not my word, because you are using the term incorrectly...
Mazje
04-24-09, 01:28 PM
So...without getting into a debate over proper use of the word "censorship," is the US release of the movie cut/altered/edited in any way?
Jamezuva
04-24-09, 02:17 PM
I dunno the answer but I found this on imdb:
"The version currently available on Warner Home video has been expurgated: when the barber in front of Adam's shop recounts an incident with a customer who had "hair down to his goddamn shoulders" it is altered to "hair down to his damn shoulders" using poor dubbing. Also the instance when Betelgeuse yells out "Nice f*cking model!" and grabs his crotch is cut out. So after he kicks down the tree the next shot shows Adam putting it back up in the model."
Adboy151
04-24-09, 02:34 PM
I dunno the answer but I found this on imdb:
"The version currently available on Warner Home video has been expurgated: when the barber in front of Adam's shop recounts an incident with a customer who had "hair down to his goddamn shoulders" it is altered to "hair down to his damn shoulders" using poor dubbing. Also the instance when Betelgeuse yells out "Nice f*cking model!" and grabs his crotch is cut out. So after he kicks down the tree the next shot shows Adam putting it back up in the model."
I can't speak to haircut line, but the "nice fucking model" line is on the US Blu-ray.
stronghold7000
04-24-09, 04:12 PM
From various reports I had read, the US version didn't have the swearing during the tree kicking scene, the haircut line, scenes of the worms were trimmed.
As for the term censored - this was bandied about in various reviews referring to Warner Bros releasing it as a PG. Having only ever saw the UK '15' release, i've no idea whether the PG release contained any of the above mentioned 'edits'. But thats what I rely on reviews for.
If the UK release differs from the US version (in that the US version has been trimmed / censored / pruned / circumcised, whatever you want to call it) - or vice versa - these are always things that I like to be made available to me when making an informed decision what to purchase.
If the US version contains all of the above - fantastic - many of the amazon reviews seemed to say otherwise. I wasn't about to spend $25 to verify for myself.
dullboy
04-24-09, 04:20 PM
Beetlejuice: Circumcised Edition sounds interesting to me. Count me in.
So can anyone confirm if the US and UK releases are different? Doesn't seem like there is a definitive answer yet.
DarthMarino
04-25-09, 08:58 AM
Are there two versions of the US Blu Ray? Why are multiple people reporting this on Amazon? The "hair down to his goddamn shoulders" and "nice fucking model" lines are most certainly on my copy.
Pizza
04-25-09, 10:08 AM
The US release is not "censored"...it has ALWAYS been rated PG....
Please be more specific about these perceived differences, as I have never heard of any "censoring*" of this film before.....
* = not my word, because you are using the term incorrectly...
But you understood what he meant, right?
I want to know if there's a difference, too. I've been thinking of picking "Beetlejuice" up on Blu. Is it possible the edit/difference is only on the DVD version?
DarthMarino
04-25-09, 10:37 AM
Is it possible the edit/difference is only on the DVD version?
While it's possible I'm sure both the new DVD and Blu Ray use the same source file. They just downconvert them differently for the appropriate format.
WMAangel
04-25-09, 03:43 PM
But you understood what he meant, right?
While I understood what he was trying to say, it gets old seeing some people call things "censored" when they should say it has been "edited"....
Censoring is done by government, not the MPAA.....if Congress passed a law that made the use of the f-word illegal in film, and the studios were then forced to remove it from all their movies, then you could say they have been censored....
Obviously I am generalizing (and such a law would never be passed due to the 1st Amendment), but the distinction needs to be made....a film is not "censored" to achieve a desired rating, it is edited...
whotony
04-25-09, 05:35 PM
But you understood what he meant, right?
I want to know if there's a difference, too. I've been thinking of picking "Beetlejuice" up on Blu. Is it possible the edit/difference is only on the DVD version?
Not really, with that wacky thread title and not really saying much other then he heard it was censored by reading it from an unknown source.
stronghold7000
04-26-09, 05:26 PM
Well forgive me for the wacky thread titles and the censoring and what not. Ultimately all that was intended to be said was 'Hey, I read online that it sounds like the American release of Beetlejuice on blu-ray is somehow different from the UK release. I bought the UK release for a good price'.
And there we have it. Sharing information which might prove useful to some. There does still seem to be no definitive answer as to whether the USA version is the same as the UK version (although some of the posts in the room do indicate that they are).
Beetlejuice is rated PG on dvd and blu-ray here it would seem. The word 'fucking' doesn't get into too many PG movies, hence my initial doubts. (Yes, I know, the fuck word appears in the movie Big. I said 'doesn't get into many, not 'none at all'.
Like many, i'm in the pursuit of the 'best available' versions of the movies (ie, as the director intended, in widescreen, etc). I thought $16 plus shipping from Amazon.co.uk was an especially good deal if you are bundling it with other imports.
LeeVing
04-26-09, 11:28 PM
Beetlejuice is rated PG on dvd and blu-ray here it would seem. The word 'fucking' doesn't get into too many PG movies, hence my initial doubts. (Yes, I know, the fuck word appears in the movie Big. I said 'doesn't get into many, not 'none at all'.
it did back in the '80's. Plus the use of "fuckin'" isn't used in a sexual context, it wouldn't make the movie an automatic pg-13
dsimmelink
06-24-09, 11:16 AM
So can we safely say that this was an unfounded assumption? Probably due to the OP seeing it was rated PG when it was PG from the beginning? I really want to get this on blu but will not accept any editing on the original. If need be I'd get it from Amazon.co.uk but would rather not if I don't need to.
Thanks!!
(and BTW it is now available from amazon for $14.99)
Randy Miller III
06-24-09, 11:24 AM
My DVD copy is most certainly not edited either. It's one of the primary things I looked for during my initial review.
pgm
06-24-09, 11:46 AM
Randy: Which version do you have (UK or US)? Thanks.
Snowmaker
06-24-09, 12:02 PM
(and BTW it is now available from amazon for $14.99)
That's because its also that much at Best Buy this week.
Buy: