Unrated Edition: With Footage Too Sexy For Theatres!

[Ravi]

The DVD that cinephiles and Cinephile have been waiting for:

[Recce]

This is jsut getting ridiculous. And the sad part is, there must be people out there who actually buy it cause of all that 'uncut' stuff, otherwise, they would stop releasing dvds with it. What a sad, sad world we live in.

[Myxo]

Alright. I got redirected, but it seems this topic isn't what I'm looking for afterall.

Oh well..

I was looking for people who wanna discuss what EXACTLY has been cut/added to these new "Unrated" films, or a forum thread like it.

[Pubrick]

u can ask that question here.

[MacGuffin]

DVDs that put it on (and take it all off)
Unrated versions of films, often pumped up with racy outtakes, heat up the market and outsell the theatrical release versions. Source: Los Angeles Times

Two DVD versions of "Team America: World Police" hit the shelves May 17. One was R-rated. The other was unrated — and for good reason. It contains, among other things, 50 seconds of new footage of a sex scene best described as Larry Flynt meets the Kama Sutra. Performed by two acrobatically inclined puppet protagonists with scatological fetishes, it's setting the town abuzz.

Often racier or more violent than their big-screen counterparts, unrated DVDs usually outperform the less-explicit version. Pouring new life into a movie franchise, they're a valuable marketing tool — particularly effective with the 18-to-34-year-old demographic, the heaviest home video users.

While studios belonging to the Motion Picture Assn. of America are prohibited from releasing unrated movies to theaters, home video lets the consumers choose. Film aficionados generally opt to see the director's vision, and a curious public often wants to see what was snipped.

"With the exception of the word 'free,' 'unrated' is one of the most enticing words in retail," said Thomas Lesinski, president of Paramount Pictures Worldwide Home Entertainment, which released the unrated "Team America," an anti-terrorism satire from "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. "It suggests something clandestine or taboo."

According to data compiled by Santa Ana-based Home Media Research, unrated versions of DVDs account for 80% to 90% of a title's sales when both versions come out simultaneously. Others say the figure is closer to 65% — still a windfall.

Not every movie is a contender, however. Teen comedies and thrillers such as "Blade: Trinity" are made to order, while animation, family fare and most PG-13 movies are not. A loyal following is crucial: fans who want more of what they liked the first time around.

Unrated merchandise dates to the late 1990s. But only in the last 18 months has the concept taken off. Part of the problem was limited distribution. Though Best Buy, Tower Video and Amazon.com came aboard fast, Wal-Mart, a family-oriented video behemoth, wouldn't carry DreamWorks' unrated "Old School" when it came out in 2003.

"Retailers at first were skeptical and that kept the numbers down," said Matt Lasorsa, executive vice president of marketing for New Line Home Entertainment. Now, after reviewing the material in advance, "most of them will stock it. Having an unrated DVD in the mix leads titles to 'over-perform' … total sales go up 20% to 80%, depending on the title."

The unrated version of "American Pie" (1999) is considered one of the genre's earliest successes. It was a breakthrough for Universal Studios Home Entertainment, said Ken Graffeo, executive vice president of the company, helping to boost sales to over 1 million units — rare in an age when rentals were still dominant.

Releasing an unrated "American Pie" was an afterthought, he recalled. But now it's part of the game plan.

"We sit down with the filmmaker in the script phase, figuring out if we can shoot additional scenes that won't make the cut. One of those shot for the unrated version of "American Wedding" — the third in the "American Pie" franchise — "was so great they actually put it in the movie."

The trick, studio executives said, is to differentiate unrated DVDs enough from the original to boost sales but not so much that it alienates the fan base.

New Line's unrated "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle" contains more gratuitous breast shots and suggestive party scenes, Lasorsa said — a direction clearly communicated on the package. The movie's stars are superimposed on a naked female torso whose breasts are shielded by an "extreme unrated" sign. The unrated-version box of New Line's "Blade: Trinity" shows the trio of vampire fighters with weapons drawn — to suggest more vivid violence.

Sony's "In the Cut," an erotic thriller, serves up footage of oral sex and revealing shots of the male lead, Mark Ruffalo. All this is done in collaboration with the director and the approval of the actors, according to Tracey Garvin, Sony's Home Entertainment's vice president of marketing, studio and acquisitions.

"The consumer gets more, an experience they didn't have in the theaters," she said. "And from our perspective and the retailers, it's another product to serve up."

Even the squeaky-clean Walt Disney Co. has thrown its hat in the ring. While its Touchstone division has never released an unrated DVD, Buena Vista Home Entertainment released "Badder Santa" last year. Containing new footage — a hot tub scene and a striptease — it's an unrated version of "Bad Santa," a comedy starring Billy Bob Thornton that was distributed by Disney's Miramax subsidiary.

Jack Valenti, former head of the MPAA and interim supervisor of the group that awards ratings to big-screen releases, said he has no problem with unrated material — as long as the packaging is honest. "All we want to do is be transparent with the public, letting them know what's in the film," he said.

Studios, as a result, rely on self-regulation — and take that mandate seriously.

Paramount's Lesinski said the decision to include a raunchier sex scene in "Team America" triggered internal discussion. In the end, they decided to go for it. "The characters are puppets," the executive observed, "and it's only make-believe."

DreamWorks SKG, for its part, released unrated DVDs of movies such as "Road Trip" (with an extended shower scene), "Old School" (with additional footage of Will Ferrell streaking down Main Street and a class in fellatio), and "Anchorman" (with beefed-up fraternity humor and slang) only after submitting the material to in-house lawyers and a staff ratings-board liaison. The company said it tries to adhere to the original parameters that elicited the big-screen rating.

"If the unrated version of 'Anchorman' had been submitted, it would have again met the PG-13 guidelines," said Kelly Sooter, head of domestic home entertainment for the company.

Unrated merchandise, analysts say, will remain a powerful — if intermittent — part of the Hollywood landscape.

"People — young males, especially — want to choose what they see, they don't want censors in their lives," said Judith McCourt, head of research for Home Media Research. "It's a great way to extend the life of a movie because brand recognition stimulates awareness and differentiation encourages sales."

[Brazoliange]

its just a marketing ploy but when it is used correctly i thikn there is nothing wrong with a movie being unrated.  FUCK CHARLIES ANGELS .  Leave it to them to put out and Unrated dvd hahah what a joke.

I wasn't disappointed with the unrated cut of Dreamers (though I haven't seen the non-), I think that if Bertolucci thought the material added to the overall quality then it belonged in.

Companies like Troma release almost everything unrated, because Lloyd Kaufman refuses to cut most things down for the MPAA... why should he change his movie for a board that won't be watching his movies in the first place?

[I Don't Believe in Beatles]

There's an unrated cut of The Dreamers? I've only run across NC-17 and R-rated versions.

Anyway, I don't think the NC-17 version of that was a marketing ploy.  I think it was actually just the uncut film.

[Brazoliange]

There's an unrated cut of The Dreamers? I've only run across NC-17 and R-rated versions.

Anyway, I don't think the NC-17 version of that was a marketing ploy.  I think it was actually just the uncut film.

err, yeah, NC-17 was what I meant I'm just not thinking much today.

[Ravi]

Whenever I am at a store that sells used DVDs, I normally see a lot of copies of Taking Lives unrated, which probably means a lot of people bought it hoping for a lot of Angelina Jolie nudity, but were disappointed in it.

[ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ]

This unrated crap gives me mixed feelings.  

It either is cool that the director gets more control, and gets more scenes in, if they may be controversial, but not as easily acceptable in theaters, but for the most part, I know it's not the case.  It's usually to push more fucks, tits and dirty jokes, but overall to get the movie sold.

[grand theft sparrow]

This unrated crap gives me mixed feelings.  

It either is cool that the director gets more control, and gets more scenes in, if they may be controversial, but not as easily acceptable in theaters, but for the most part, I know it's not the case.  It's usually to push more fucks, tits and dirty jokes, but overall to get the movie sold.

And it works every time.  But this all brings up another question: before the studios realized it was a cash cow, they were trimming down films that initially got an NC-17 rating for an R-rated theatrical release.  So if the average 13 year old, who can't get into the R-rated Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle in the theatres but can buy the unrated DVD or see it on cable, then who the hell is the MPAA protecting?

[socketlevel]

"We sit down with the filmmaker in the script phase, figuring out if we can shoot additional scenes that won't make the cut. One of those shot for the unrated version of "American Wedding" — the third in the "American Pie" franchise — "was so great they actually put it in the movie."

The trick, studio executives said, is to differentiate unrated DVDs enough from the original to boost sales but not so much that it alienates the fan base.

this qoute makes me hate everything about the world.

-sl-

[Pwaybloe]

Really?  That's the one thing that you picked to hate the world?

[Ravi]

http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/cl-et-goldstein5jul05,0,4441517.htmlstory?coll=cl-calendar

No longer a scarlet letter
By Patrick Goldstein, Times Staff Writer


R-rated comedies, often box-office busts, are making a comeback, thanks to big DVD sales. When New Line had its first research screening of "Wedding Crashers" in Pasadena last fall, the studio knew it had a potential hit on its hands. The madcap romantic comedy, which stars Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn as a pair of lovable rogues who get their kicks from partying at stranger's weddings, got a resoundingly enthusiastic reception from a theater full of young moviegoers.

One of the studio's only concerns about the film, which arrives July 15, was its rating. The film's director, David Dobkin, was contractually obligated to deliver a PG-13 movie, largely because R-rated comedies today rarely perform as well as PG-13 films. But when the audience filled out a research survey after the screening, most of the scenes they checked off as their favorites — including one featuring a furtive sexual act performed under the table at a formal family dinner — clearly put the movie into R-rated territory.

According to Dobkin, when members of an audience focus group were asked what rating they thought the movie should have, it was not a hung jury. "Twenty out of 20 people said they wanted the film to be rated R," Dobkin recalls. "After that, New Line never raised the issue again. The scenes people liked the best were the R-rated ones."

New Line's decision to release a potential summer comedy blockbuster with an R rating has raised eyebrows at rival studios — and with good reason. In recent years, thanks to political and demographic pressures, the R rating has been in a precipitous decline. Since 1999, when R-rated movies made up 41% of all box office, the R-rated business has dropped 30%, while PG and PG-13 films have risen considerably. The drop in R-rated movies has been especially dramatic since Hollywood chieftains were hauled before Congress in September 2000 following the release of a scathing Federal Trade Commission report accusing entertainment companies of cynically marketing R-rated movies to children.

This being Hollywood, the decision to pull back is rooted more in marketing concerns than in moral ones. Even though Congress has moved on to more pressing issues, like trying to pass bills against flag burning, many of the studios' self-imposed marketing restrictions remain, notably that R-rated movies can't be advertised on TV before 9 p.m. "Wedding Crashers," for example, was able to advertise on "The MTV Movie Awards" only in a segment of the show that aired after 9.

The numbers speak for themselves. According to data compiled by Exhibitor Relations Co., since the 2000 congressional hearings, 15 comedies have made more than $115 million at the box office. Only one, "American Pie 2," had an R rating. 2004 was an especially miserable year for R-rated comedies. "Eurotrip," "The Girl Next Door," "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle" and "Team America: World Police" were all box-office disappointments, with only "Team America" making more than $20 million in its theatrical release.

Studio marketers say the R rating puts them at a clear disadvantage. Many exhibitors are reluctant to play trailers for an R-rated movie in front of a PG-13 film. Even worse, R-rated humor is verboten in TV commercials, so it's impossible to show a film's raunchiest scenes on TV. Despite these restrictions, the R-rated comedy is beginning to make a comeback. "Wedding Crashers" will be followed in August by "Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo," with Rob Schneider, and "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," starring Steve Carell. More R-rated comedies are due early next year.

The reasons for this mini-comeback are simple. In recent years, the real action in the movie business has shifted from theatrical box-office to DVD sales, which now make up more than 60% of studio revenues. One of the hottest profit centers is a new genre devoted to raunchy "unrated" DVD versions of R-rated films. As The Times' Elaine Dutka reported recently, the unrated versions of such R-rated comedies as "Bad Santa," "Harold & Kumar" and the "American Pie" series accounted for nearly 90% of their video sales.

This trend speaks volumes about the tendency in America to say one thing but do another. People claim they want wholesome family entertainment, but the big money on the Internet and in pay TV comes from pornography. In the rare instances when a studio puts out a feel-good valentine, like "Because of Winn-Dixie" or "My Dog Skip," the movie dies on the vine. For all the talk of our country's obsession with moral values, nothing succeeds with the American people like the salacious promise of a little extra nudity or hanky-panky in their DVD packages.

No subtlety is required — in fact, the video stores are lined with DVDs with the cheesy-cake look of a "Girls Gone Wild" assemblage. When New Line released its unrated "Harold & Kumar" DVD earlier this year, the package showed the film's stars superimposed on a naked female body, the woman's breasts coyly obscured by an "extreme unrated" sign. 20th Century Fox's unrated version of "The Girl Next Door" has Elisha Cuthbert, who plays a porn star in the film, seemingly naked, her torso covered by brown paper wrap. Disney's unrated version of "Bad Santa," which come with a racy hot tub scene that didn't make the original film, is called "Badder Santa," as if it were a porn knockoff made in someone's living room in Chatsworth.

This unlikely boom in raunchy videos has been made possible by the fact that the Motion Picture Assn. of America, which rigorously regulates the ratings of theatrical films (and, just as important, their trailers and TV spots), has taken a see-no-evil, hear-no-evil approach to the video marketplace. Former MPAA chief Jack Valenti, who still oversees the ratings board, told Dutka that as long as the packaging is honest, he has no problem with unrated movies. Apparently the same goes with Wal-Mart, which has long refused to carry hip-hop CDs with parental advisory warnings but now happily stocks unrated DVDs, at least as long as they are assured by studios that the videos would be rated R if they had received a rating.

It's quite a flimflam. The retailers display unrated videos, saying that they've been told they would be rated R if they'd actually gone through a ratings process. But the video packages project an entirely different message. "The Girl Next Door," for example, is adorned with the come-on: "What they couldn't show in the theatres!"

As you might suspect, this boom in unrated videos is quietly playing a role in the studios' renewed interest in R-rated comedies. Whatever a studio loses in theatrical business could easily be made up for on the home-video end. As Universal Studios Home Entertainment chief Craig Kornblau told me, when his studio was debating whether to greenlight "40-Year-Old Virgin," "I was jumping up and down, going on about how well it could perform. I'm telling our theatrical [production executives], 'Whatever your box-office results are, we'll outperform it on our end.' "

In fact, all of those R-rated comedies that underperformed at the box-office last year were big hits in their DVD release. Kornblau says the "American Pie" DVDs, largely on the strength of sales from unrated videos, are the biggest-selling home-video franchise in the studio's history. "American Wedding," the third installment in the series, had a 20-minute "bachelor party sequence" that was scripted specifically for the unrated DVD. It's a no-brainer to imagine that, as this becomes standard practice at every studio, R-rated films will enjoy a renaissance. As Kornblau puts it: "It's really hard to have an unrated [version of a] PG-13 film. In home video, it's a huge marketing advantage to have an R-rated movie."

It's always possible that some moralist like James Dobson may someday try to put the kibosh on this new pot of gold, shocked by the presence of a naked girl in a shower or a puppet sex scene (one of the additions to the unrated "Team America" DVD). But the studios now have a great card to play. In order to get Congress to stiffen penalties against piracy, they agreed to legislation that allows businesses to market family-friendly censorship devices like ClearPlay, which allow skittish parents to edit sex, violence or bad language out of their DVDs. Having embraced ClearPlay, studios can spiritedly defend this new generation of unrated videos, saying that if some parents have the right to defang saucy movies, why can't others enjoy a little extra sex or violence in an unrated version?

In the long run, thanks to the arrival of an assortment of new technology, most of these ratings issues will probably lose most of their relevance. The studios have already quietly found ways to disseminate R-rated marketing material across the Internet. Soon kids will be watching hi-def movie trailers on their 3G cellphones. It won't be long before they'll be seeing the movies themselves on some kind of hand-held video device. Unless the studios feel heat from Washington, most of these areas will remain outside the enforcement capabilities of the MPAA's ratings board.

Despite New Line's jitters about marketing "Wedding Crashers," you can bet the studio will make its money back selling an unrated DVD of the movie. In America, if something is forbidden fruit, you'll always find plenty of people eager to take a bite out of the apple.

The Big Picture appears Tuesdays in Calendar. Comments can be e-mailed to patrick.goldstein@latimes.com.

[MacGuffin]