Films cut by distrubitors

[Gaffer]

Originally Posted by hdgfs

I emailed Paramount Australia last week about this, they just got back to me with this:


Thank you for your email.

The added VAM on the Blu ray & 4K for Bumblebee makes these skus M rated. The Movie across all formats (DVD/Bluray & 4K) is the Australia/UK cut of Bumblebee (PG).

The DVD will be PG rated as it does not include the additional M rated VAM that is featured on the Blu-ray and 4K.

The VAM that is M rated is the original opening, beevision: The transformers of Cyberton piece and Charlie in the Trash piece.

Hope this clears this up for you.

Well it’s looking likely the Bluray/DVD versions are going to be PG but I’m still going to take a punt on the local 4K pack including the U.S 4K disc - I currently have 22 local Paramount 4K titles - 18 of those included the U.S disc and only 4 included the U.K disc (and those 4 were all older catalogue titles - all the new releases came with the U.S disc) It’s very possible the person at Paramount responding to emails is quoting rating information they would have on their system without any first hand knowledge of where the 4K discs are going to be sourced from (given Paramount Australia doesn’t make their own) So I hope I’m not proved wrong when I buy the local release but I will report here either way. Of course those wanting an uncut Blu ray version might need to look at importing or wait for definitive confirmation that Paramount Australia is wrong.

[McCrutchy]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this situation different to all the others, since the UK is apparently receiving the same discs? And doesn't Universal handle all of Paramount's discs in Australia, too? I ask because Universal apparently issued UK cut versions of both The Fate of the Furious and The Grinch on UK UHD, so if what Paramount Australia are saying is true, then they will issue a cut UK UHD for Paramount UK, too, which could easily be ported to Australia, and would probably even have UK English subtitles and described audio.

I don't own many Australian discs from Paramount or Universal, but I own plenty of UK ones, and Universal especially love to issue titles with English audio and subtitles only, and it seems to me that many of these UK discs end up in Australia.

In fact, our listings for all of the Australian editions of The Fate of the Furious are listed as only having English audio and subtitles. Did anyone ever confirm if the US UHD was in there? Because the UK version is very subtly different. It doesn't appear to have been brought up in the release thread at all, either.

[Alister_M]

Yeah, this will probably include the cut UK 4K disc if they've done that before. I'm guessing the censorship is identical in both cases. It's probably rated M because someone says "goddamn" in the extras or something

edit: actually it could be the US disc, since the UK one isn't released until May 13th...

[Gaffer]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this situation different to all the others, since the UK is apparently receiving the same discs? And doesn't Universal handle all of Paramount's discs in Australia, too? I ask because Universal apparently issued UK cut versions of both The Fate of the Furious and The Grinch on UK UHD, so if what Paramount Australia are saying is true, then they will issue a cut UK UHD for Paramount UK, too, which could easily be ported to Australia, and would probably even have UK English subtitles and described audio.

I don't own many Australian discs from Paramount or Universal, but I own plenty of UK ones, and Universal especially love to issue titles with English audio and subtitles only, and it seems to me that many of these UK discs end up in Australia.

In fact, our listings for all of the Australian editions of The Fate of the Furious are listed as only having English audio and subtitles. Did anyone ever confirm if the US UHD was in there? Because the UK version is very subtly different. It doesn't appear to have been brought up in the release thread at all, either.

Yes Universal/Sony does distribute Paramount home entertainment in Australia (and I believe also now in the U.K) But I often take with a grain of salt what any rep from Paramount Australia or Universal/Sony is saying when giving out this information. The info on their system may say that all versions will be the PG version but until its been confirmed with disc in hand anything is possible and I stand by my feeling that the 4K disc of Bumblebee may be uncut and here's why: Paramount 4K discs distributed in Australia come from either the U.S or the U.K - and you can tell by the look of the disc and the ratings logos on them. U.S Paramount 4K discs that have been included in Australian releases have the U.S MPAA ratings logo on them and the disc is all black with no ratings logos for Australia on them. (e.g. : Mission : Impossible Fallout, A Quiet Place, Overlord, Transformers : The Last Knight, xXx : Return of Xander Cage to name some recent releases I own and can confirm). 4K discs from the U.K that have been packaged with the Australian release have either just the U.K ratings on them (e.g: Saving Private Ryan) or have both U.K and Australia ratings on them (e.g.: the Star Trek films) and the discs are either Silver or light Blue. As I mentioned, of the 22 Australia released 4K Paramount titles I own only 4 were from the U.K, the rest were all U.S discs. Now the main reason I think we tend to get U.S discs more often than the U.K one is that the U.S disc invariably are released earliest and the U.K is often times released later, by a month or two. Seeing as the discs need to be imported to Australia then packaged and be ready to be sent out weeks before our release date the earlier the disc is manufactured overseas the easier this process becomes. Here's an example: the recent flick Overlord. Came out on 4K in U.S February 19th. Came out in U.K March 11th and Australia March 13th (but was technically in stores here March 11th) Guess which 4k disc we got: yep the U.S one - this is despite a U.K disc having already been manufactured and in distribution the same week as it was here in Australia. Now it makes sense they settled on the U.S one cause they have nearly a month's head start on getting the discs imported. In the case of Bumblebee the U.S and Australian releases are the same week but people have already got early review copies of the U.S 4K version so they are clearly manufactured and ready for distribution now. I don't think the U.K release of Bumblebee has been offiicially announced yet but the release date on this site is May 13th (retailers though aren't showing a date) So given the U.S 4K is already turning up in reviewers hands and the U.K version may be over a month later than here, I'm taking the punt that the Australian 4K disc will be the imported U.S one which is uncut and not the U.K one. Of course I hope I'm not wrong because firstly that would really really suck and second it would destroy all my theories

Of course all of this is purely about the local 4K disc. I really don't know where Universal/Sony get the Australian Paramount Blu rays from - all I know is they don't have the U.S MPAA ratings on them and they don't have the U.K or any European ratings on them and in fact recently they don't even have the Australian ratings on them anymore - but they used to so I will surmise that they are made for the Australian market and if thats the case they may well include a cut or edited version of a film if that is what the distributor requested.

I guess we shall see...

[hdgfs]

Also sucks because the JB steelbook edition looks really nice, the same edition in the US is a Best Buy exclusive
(And no logos on the discs)


277897.jpg

[Mobe1969]

Originally Posted by LMFAObros

Pari got back to me and the response is not good. They said hypocritically that I'm killing the local market when they are, calling me a pirate does not solve this issue of censorship in the 21st century. I feel that they should honestly do an uncut M release and do a PG BD-25 for the people who want that. Of course they won't bother which is pathetic. What a mess and proves that paramount are perhaps the worst movie studio on the planet looking at both this and the mission impossible releases

Well they are just corporate stooges so I guess that is expected. Not to mention I don't think the person has a clue in that they don't have to release the same on home media as theatrical, and there are a lot of Australian examples of that. Not to mention they are assessed separately on the OFLC website.

[Cevolution]

Originally Posted by Mobe1969

Well they are just corporate stooges so I guess that is expected. Not to mention I don't think the person has a clue in that they don't have to release the same on home media as theatrical, and there are a lot of Australian examples of that. Not to mention they are assessed separately on the OFLC website.

He got the response he deserved in my opinion. Perhaps if Nathan had written his query a bit more politely and professionally, he would have gotten a better response. I have no doubt the way that some members speak on these boards when they complain about something, is the same way they speak to companies when they contact them regarding the complaint. If that's how some approach a company with a complaint, then I'm not surprised at the responses some members get. What a great way to start an email - "I just want to say that your releases of Bumblebee and Instant Family are an instance joke". There was also no need to resort to - "Well, because you're not giving me what I feel I deserve, then I'm going to pirate your movie". His entire email is poorly written drivel. If he had put better thought into what to write in his complain, then I believe he would've received a more befitting reply.

[LMFAObros]

Originally Posted by Cevolution

He got the response he deserved in my opinion. Perhaps if Nathan had written his query a bit more politely and professionally, he would have gotten a better response. I have no doubt the way that some members speak on these boards when they complain about something, is the same way they speak to companies when they contact them regarding the complaint. If that's how some approach a company with a complaint, then I'm not surprised at the responses some members get. What a great way to start an email - "I just want to say that your releases of Bumblebee and Instant Family are an instance joke". There was also no need to resort to - "Well, because you're not giving me what I feel I deserve, then I'm going to pirate your movie". His entire email is poorly written drivel. If he had put better thought into what to write in his complain, then I believe he would received a response more befitting reply.

I get what you mean. I was pretty overwhelmed with work(that's why I split my week up with a movie) at the time of writing this and went a bit too far with my messaging. I guess I felt that this supposed censorship was unacceptable and went a bit to far campaigning for this film. Thanks Cev

I also messaged Paramount back and told them that I am sorry for my sarcastic and negative message previously and wish that they release the 4K uncut here which I will for sure buy

[Rick Grimes]

F*ck this shit. If the Blu-Ray is cut, I’m importing the UHD+BD.

While I have a UHD player, I have a non-HDR 1080pTV (I had to put non-HDR in there ‘cos Sony have released HDR Full HD TVs), and new releases tend to look quite dark when converted to SDR. Still want the UHD though, for futureproofing (my next TV will be a UHD).

Overlord UHD (checked my copy just now) was clearly the US disc and looks like the Aussie BD disc is US too, minus the R-rating pressing (both had US style warnings when loading).

All in all, Paramount’s apparent decision to have to “follow the same cut as was shown in cinemas” appears to be bullshit. World War Z had an unrated release that I bought (Rated MA15+) and Overlord, reportedly cut to MA, was given an R release. So, it seems that Paramount are playing with themselves and don’t know shit.

Paramount Australia has truly screwed the pooch with this one. I will definitely be importing to avoid all this censorship censorship bullshit.

[LMFAObros]

Originally Posted by Rick Grimes

F*ck this shit. If the Blu-Ray is cut, I’m importing the UHD+BD.

While I have a UHD player, I have a non-HDR 1080pTV (I had to put non-HDR in there ‘cos Sony have released HDR Full HD TVs), and new releases tend to look quite dark when converted to SDR. Still want the UHD though, for futureproofing (my next TV will be a UHD).

Overlord UHD (checked my copy just now) was clearly the US disc and looks like the Aussie BD disc is US too, minus the R-rating pressing (both had US style warnings when loading).

All in all, Paramount’s apparent decision to have to “follow the same cut as was shown in cinemas” appears to be bullshit. World War Z had an unrated release that I bought (Rated MA15+) and Overlord, reportedly cut to MA, was given an R release. So, it seems that Paramount are playing with themselves and don’t know shit.

Paramount Australia has truly screwed the pooch with this one. I will definitely be importing to avoid all this censorship censorship bullshit.

if the 4k here is uncut I'll probably pick it up during the B1G1F sale as i dont feel like a censored bluray should be bought at full price imo, but tbh im more concerned about instant family being censored here with no 4k release to potentially save the day

[StrayButler91]

I'd like to see this before buying, but if it's even censored on iTunes and I can't rent it uncut, I guess I'm looking at a blind buy from the States.

[LordCrumb]

The easiest way to solve this... Import.

It's not worth getting so worked up over when the US release is right at your fingertips anyway.

[Alister_M]

Originally Posted by LordCrumb

The easiest way to solve this... Import.

It's not worth getting so worked up over when the US release is right at your fingertips anyway.

Cheaper too.

[Alister_M]

Originally Posted by StrayButler91

I'd like to see this before buying, but if it's even censored on iTunes and I can't rent it uncut, I guess I'm looking at a blind buy from the States.

Do you like Spielberg's 80s movies and the original 80s Transformers? Because if you do, you'll like this.

[Rick Grimes]

Originally Posted by Alister_M

Cheaper too.

For Aussies, it’s a little more expensive, but with Prime Free Shipping and smaller US cases, there is an incentive, for me at least, to import the US.

Unfortunately though, censorship on a US PG-13 film shouldn’t be a thing.

The stupidity of the UK ratings system is rubbing off here, even though the original Aussie M rating does not have the restrictions that the UK equivalent would. It’s purely been edited to get the PG since they think more parents will take their kids to the film. They shouldn’t let their Theatrical pandering ruin the film on home video.

[Geoff D]

UK 4K cover is up, note the PG rating which appears to confirm that it's the cut version. I'm posting this in here because it's now highly likely that the Aussie discs are cut from the same cloth.

[StrayButler91]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

UK 4K cover is up, note the PG rating which appears to confirm that it's the cut version. I'm posting this in here because it's now highly likely that the Aussie discs are cut from the same cloth.

[Show spoiler]

A Fish Called Wanda - Disappointed - YouTube

[Blu MacReady]

Thanks. Trots off to cancel Zoom Steelbook. US takes my money again.

[ADstv]

I imported it from the US aswell. Got this and Hulk 4K together with the free shipping from Amazon Prime.

[deepseababy]

Originally Posted by StrayButler91

How embarrassing. M isn’t even restrictive - when I worked at a cinema, anybody could go into an M rated flick without supervision. MA is when it gets restrictive. So cutting a film for PG will not impact its commercial performance - whatever money they might glean from perhaps a parent allowing their child to watch it because PG, they will lose from people being turned off by the censorship.

I wonder if the classification here really makes a difference. Australia can be a self-righteous and puritanical nation, it is almost as though the government thinks that film or literature are really going to morally corrupt our population. News flash: those who are already corrupt or morally void aren't going to suddenly become more so through a violent/sexual film or video game.

Half of the shit-show that goes on in Canberra is more morally corrupt than any film I've seen: betrayals, affairs, backstabbing, racial neurosis, thinly veiled political coups all in the name of Parliament. Most films are morality/cautionary tales anyway. Why we still need to censor, ban or plaster hideous classification logos on our artistic content is beyond me...