Digital Home Thoughts: 3rd-Party Film 'Sanitizing' Ruled Illegal

"If you like your major motion pictures without cusswords and nudity, you may be out of luck. A federal judge in Colorado has ruled that it is illegal for third-parites to edit and release sanitized versions of movies. Some background: a couple of years ago, we reported on a company called CleanFlicks which had drawn the ire of the motion picture industry. Based in Utah, CleanFlicks uses a homegrown system to check DVDs for questionable material and cleanse it from the movie. One of the results was a version of Good Will Hunting with 125 f-bombs and other colorful expletives muted... An appeal is possible, although one of the defendants—FamilyFlix—has already shut down operations. In the meantime, those who find cursing and nudity in movies unacceptable are advised to simply not watch films that contain content they find objectionable."

Well, duh. :roll: Personally, I find this kind of censorship to be deplorable. Seriously folks, if you find something offensive, don't expose yourself to it! It's really that simple. Don't want your kids watching violence, swearing or (gods forbid) nudity? Don't rent those kinds of movies! It's not like you don't have a choice here. These are probably the same people who think Michaelangelo's David should wear a loincloth. Unfortunately, this ruling does not preclude people like Blockbuster approaching the studios and having them issue exclusive toned-down versions of films. :?