Has Moonwalker been released uncut on blu-ray?

ChrisC

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I watched Moonwalker the other day and it reminded me how the European Bluray release is cut. Any reference to drugs and the syringe in the scene where MJ turns into a robot are missing in my copy.

Was it released uncut in any territory on Blu-ray?
 
I haven't watched the movie since ages. The dvd release was uncut, right?
 
I have the unofficial DVD of “Moonwalker” and it was indeed uncut.
 
Just found this on Twitter. DVD and Blu-Ray versions side by side. Doesn’t help with the question, but maybe some haven’t seen the different versions yet. :)

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Blu-Ray release of &quot;Moonwalker&quot; features 2 scenes edited out. The first features Mr. Big (played by Joe Pesci) hitting Katie, the other shows Mr. Big attempting to inject heroin into Katie. (1988/2005/2010) <a href="https://t.co/XQIAFi8sfg">pic.twitter.com/XQIAFi8sfg</a></p>&mdash; MJJVariety (@MJJVariety) <a href="https://twitter.com/MJJVariety/status/1264680153084358657?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 24, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
I always knew they rerelease on DVD with this scene funny to realize this tweet was post as soon this thread was made. good timing I guess. from watching the scenes, I can understand why they cut it. today if people saw this they would flip. but to me in my opinion maybe it was good to show that so kids know that drugs are bad. it's no differences like the commercials on tv tell people don't drink and drive etc. which is somewhat more info then this.

shoutout to Michael. these things were and this is a problem today.
 
I always knew they rerelease on DVD with this scene funny to realize this tweet was post as soon this thread was made. good timing I guess. from watching the scenes, I can understand why they cut it. today if people saw this they would flip. but to me in my opinion maybe it was good to show that so kids know that drugs are bad. it's no differences like the commercials on tv tell people don't drink and drive etc. which is somewhat more info then this.

shoutout to Michael. these things were and this is a problem today.

I don't understand it at all. Cheap censoring.
 
I don't understand it at all. Cheap censoring.
Stuff has always been censored, like when theatrical movies are shown on regular TV. There is a version of E.T. on DVD where a scene with guns is edited out and changed to walkie talkies. A lot of entertainment made in the past wouldn't fly with today's cancel culture/me too generation. If you watch some older movies and TV shows you'll see there's a lot of smoking, even on talk shows like Johnny Carson & Mike Douglas. There's no smoking on TV talk shows now, and no cigarette commercials. Entertainment changes with society in general.
 
I don't understand it at all. Cheap censoring.

The scene where the grandma and her grandkid are reacting to Michael got changed too, when the kid is trying to get Michael's name out but can't say it so the grandma tries to finish it for him. In one version the grandma says "Prince?" and in another she says... some Italian name I can't remember entirely. I forget which one the Bluray has.
 
The scene where the grandma and her grandkid are reacting to Michael got changed too, when the kid is trying to get Michael's name out but can't say it so the grandma tries to finish it for him. In one version the grandma says "Prince?" and in another she says... some Italian name I can't remember entirely. I forget which one the Bluray has.

really? i never notice that. lol. Michael side comments about Prince.
 
Wow... I didn't notice this either (probably watched the BD only once though). Can anyone imagine why they changed this Prince line? The BD was released almost 6 years before Prince's death.
 
Stuff has always been censored, like when theatrical movies are shown on regular TV. There is a version of E.T. on DVD where a scene with guns is edited out and changed to walkie talkies. A lot of entertainment made in the past wouldn't fly with today's cancel culture/me too generation. If you watch some older movies and TV shows you'll see there's a lot of smoking, even on talk shows like Johnny Carson & Mike Douglas. There's no smoking on TV talk shows now, and no cigarette commercials. Entertainment changes with society in general.

I'm not talking about movies being shown on television or commercial advertising. That's a completely different argument. Why would that have anything to do with a DVD release of a well-known movie?

Spielberg's editing of E.T. has been criticised many times, as cheap censoring in the wake of the September 11th attacks, and I wouldn't consider that as any kind of example of a trend in famous movies being amended, which it appears you're suggesting. Also I might add, although the censored version of E.T. was exhibited in cinemas on it's 20th anniversary, when it came to the 20th anniversary DVD release, both the new version and the original uncut versions were presented. And when E.T. was last shown on television in the UK (within the last year) they reverted back to showing the original uncut version. And guess what, nobody gasped that the cops were holding guns haha

In fact, in the modern day, the strictness that led to older films being cut on their home video/DVD release has been substantially relaxed and a lot of films that never saw the light of day in their uncut form are now freely available. We are further seeing a relaxation in sexual content too, with the likes of an erect penis passing into films without a cut (no jokes please!) - and yes, also making it onto the DVD.

In the UK, all content released to the home market on physical media, and cinemas, is subject to age classification. So things that were deemed unsuitable for certain age groups receive the appropriate age rating. It is increasingly rare to see films now passed with an 18 certificate when films that 30-40 years ago with similar content would have automatically received this rating or indeed, would have been refused a certificate unless cuts were made.

I mean do you really think I couldn't go on Amazon now and purchase a DVD of a film from the same period as Moonnwalker that features a reference to drugs?

The Disney+ situation re: racially offensive content from 70 years ago is on one hand understandable and I would consider under the category of 'societal change', but their insistence to make everything child friendly, on the other hand, is also cheap censoring. Netflix I think came under fire for the amount of smoking on screen in their own productions, but they haven't gone back and edited every movie available and edited it to show lollipops instead(!)

The Moonwalker edit has absolutely nothing to do with society changing. Warner Brothers merely made a choice to exorcise the content that they considered may be controversial to a minority family audience 'just in case' and in turn short changed the audience who paid for the film as it was intended to be seen. I dare say Warner Brothers never even consulted the filmmakers or Michael Jackson (if he was still with us) prior to making the cuts. As I say, it's cheap censoring.

Edit: also regarding the Prince change. I have never seen the Prince version. I saw the film in cinemas in 1988, I owned a VHS copy purchased in 1994, I have the DVD from the 2000's and the Blu-ray - they all reference(d) Mantovani.
 
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Maybe it depends where you live. I live in the US. some stuff wouldn't fly here today like they did in the past. so i'm not sure.
 
I've never seen the 'Prince' edit of Moonwalker, does anyone have a clip?
 
The scene where the grandma and her grandkid are reacting to Michael got changed too, when the kid is trying to get Michael's name out but can't say it so the grandma tries to finish it for him. In one version the grandma says "Prince?" and in another she says... some Italian name I can't remember entirely. I forget which one the Bluray has.

It's Mantovani :), but it always was as far as I remember, and that's how it works: the kid stutters "Mi... Mi... Mi... Mi..." and then the grandma guesses it as Mantovani.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantovani

Are you sure you're not confusing it with Bubbles wearing a Prince T-shirt (lil' MJ asks about it at the end of the Badder segment, which is quite funny BTW :D)?
 
It's Mantovani :), but it always was as far as I remember, and that's how it works: the kid stutters "Mi... Mi... Mi... Mi..." and then the grandma guesses it as Mantovani.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantovani

Are you sure you're not confusing it with Bubbles wearing a Prince T-shirt (lil' MJ asks about it at the end of the Badder segment, which is quite funny BTW :D)?

Yeah that was the name, thanks.

And I'm certain I'm not confusing it with the "Prince T-shirt" scene that happens prior to the scene with the tourists. Though looking through the posts on here I'm starting to question if it's even real to begin with and if I'm experiencing some Mandela Effect shit lol. But I swear I saw a version of that scene where the grandma says Prince's name instead.
 
Yeah that was the name, thanks.

And I'm certain I'm not confusing it with the "Prince T-shirt" scene that happens prior to the scene with the tourists. Though looking through the posts on here I'm starting to question if it's even real to begin with and if I'm experiencing some Mandela Effect shit lol. But I swear I saw a version of that scene where the grandma says Prince's name instead.

Perhaps in a dubbed version? As horrible as it sounds, I can imagine that dubbed versions exist even for Moonwalker. :D
 
Perhaps in a dubbed version? As horrible as it sounds, I can imagine that dubbed versions exist even for Moonwalker. :D

Yea, i'm pretty sure a dubbed version does that joke, It sounds very familiar. Or maybe you're thinking of the "Prince T-Shirt" line from earlier.
 
The Disney+ situation re: racially offensive content from 70 years ago is on one hand understandable and I would consider under the category of 'societal change', but their insistence to make everything child friendly, on the other hand, is also cheap censoring. Netflix I think came under fire for the amount of smoking on screen in their own productions, but they haven't gone back and edited every movie available and edited it to show lollipops instead(!)

Great post, I completely agree with everything. Yes, entertainment changes with society of course, but that's an ongoing process and doesn't work backwards.

The way the entertainment industry handles this situation is not only wrong but even harmful IMO. It's dumbing-down the topics, treating the public as complete idiots, trying to shelter them from issues on screen they wouldn't be able to avoid in real life, it's hypocrisy, it's false, it's erasing history.

The solution is not erasing what's problematic and pretend it never existed (how dangerous is that?!), but explain it, give context, discuss why and how things changed, be aware of them and appreciate them (and those who fought for it). Avoid oversimplification too and emphasize how important it is to consider the era/context when interpreting things, as we can't except today's norm from former decades. To understand how unfair this would be, think of someone who were way ahead of their time with their views on society in the past, but we would say it's too little as our society is even more developed now. And it's also important to be aware of dark issues from the past in order to not take today's progression for granted.

I quoted the Disney part as I think it illustrates the complexity of the issue quite well. The fact that sings of racism were present even in cartoons displays perfectly how deep it was rooted in everyday life, and how it presented itself in visuals/sounds (not just in klansmen shouting racial slurs). So it would be a mistake to deny the existence of these products - sure it's too cringy for entertainment, but it's useful as education. Pretending that something uncomfortable simply doesn't exist instead of explaining it is dangerous.

BTW I can't fathom how can this method prevail mostly in the US where freedom of speech and opinion is the most important thing, theoretically.

On a lighter note, prepare to be horrified at the fakeness:


Sorry for being carried away and going :eek:fftopic: a bit. :blush:
 
Perhaps in a dubbed version? As horrible as it sounds, I can imagine that dubbed versions exist even for Moonwalker. :D

It's possible, as I know there's versions of the movie out there that dub over the spoken parts (I think there's a German and/or French dub). Though I swear the clip was in English.

Yea, i'm pretty sure a dubbed version does that joke, It sounds very familiar. Or maybe you're thinking of the "Prince T-Shirt" line from earlier.

I'm not confusing it with the Prince T-Shirt bit. I distinctly remember it being two separate scenes. Unless again, I'm having some Mandela Effect moment.

Great post, I completely agree with everything. Yes, entertainment changes with society of course, but that's an ongoing process and doesn't work backwards.

The way the entertainment industry handles this situation is not only wrong but even harmful IMO. It's dumbing-down the topics, treating the public as complete idiots, trying to shelter them from issues on screen they wouldn't be able to avoid in real life, it's hypocrisy, it's false, it's erasing history.

The solution is not erasing what's problematic and pretend it never existed (how dangerous is that?!), but explain it, give context, discuss why and how things changed, be aware of them and appreciate them (and those who fought for it). Avoid oversimplification too and emphasize how important it is to consider the era/context when interpreting things, as we can't except today's norm from former decades. To understand how unfair this would be, think of someone who were way ahead of their time with their views on society in the past, but we would say it's too little as our society is even more developed now. And it's also important to be aware of dark issues from the past in order to not take today's progression for granted.

I quoted the Disney part as I think it illustrates the complexity of the issue quite well. The fact that sings of racism were present even in cartoons displays perfectly how deep it was rooted in everyday life, and how it presented itself in visuals/sounds (not just in klansmen shouting racial slurs). So it would be a mistake to deny the existence of these products - sure it's too cringy for entertainment, but it's useful as education. Pretending that something uncomfortable simply doesn't exist instead of explaining it is dangerous.

BTW I can't fathom how can this method prevail mostly in the US where freedom of speech and opinion is the most important thing, theoretically.

On a lighter note, prepare to be horrified at the fakeness:


Sorry for being carried away and going :eek:fftopic: a bit. :blush:

I remember when that cut of the movie came out. I think Spielberg realized that cut of ET was a mistake because every release since then has restored it, thankfully. I agree about the censorship too. Warner Bros released their animated shorts with racist content on DVD but had introductions before them explaining "this is how it was back then, but it's wrong now". Disney could really benefit from doing the same (and restore the Simpsons episode with MJ while they're at it).
 
Amaya;4291409 said:
Warner Bros released their animated shorts with racist content on DVD but had introductions before them explaining "this is how it was back then, but it's wrong now". Disney could really benefit from doing the same (and restore the Simpsons episode with MJ while they're at it).

OMG, please don&#8217;t give them the idea to add a content warning for Leon Kompowsky! :eek:
This would be even worse than banning the episode.
 
Great post, I completely agree with everything. Yes, entertainment changes with society of course, but that's an ongoing process and doesn't work backwards.

The way the entertainment industry handles this situation is not only wrong but even harmful IMO. It's dumbing-down the topics, treating the public as complete idiots, trying to shelter them from issues on screen they wouldn't be able to avoid in real life, it's hypocrisy, it's false, it's erasing history.

The solution is not erasing what's problematic and pretend it never existed (how dangerous is that?!), but explain it, give context, discuss why and how things changed, be aware of them and appreciate them (and those who fought for it). Avoid oversimplification too and emphasize how important it is to consider the era/context when interpreting things, as we can't except today's norm from former decades. To understand how unfair this would be, think of someone who were way ahead of their time with their views on society in the past, but we would say it's too little as our society is even more developed now. And it's also important to be aware of dark issues from the past in order to not take today's progression for granted.

I quoted the Disney part as I think it illustrates the complexity of the issue quite well. The fact that sings of racism were present even in cartoons displays perfectly how deep it was rooted in everyday life, and how it presented itself in visuals/sounds (not just in klansmen shouting racial slurs). So it would be a mistake to deny the existence of these products - sure it's too cringy for entertainment, but it's useful as education. Pretending that something uncomfortable simply doesn't exist instead of explaining it is dangerous.

BTW I can't fathom how can this method prevail mostly in the US where freedom of speech and opinion is the most important thing, theoretically.

On a lighter note, prepare to be horrified at the fakeness:


Sorry for being carried away and going :eek:fftopic: a bit. :blush:

I completely agree with you actually. I mean, it wasn't my intention to talk about how I felt about that particular issue in the post but it warranted referencing when people were blaming the Moonwalker cuts on society changing. However it doesn't surprise me that Disney would take this position - it's almost as if they want to present their world in some kind of Disneyland bubble, free of society's ills and none of the baggage. I find it increasingly worrying when you consider that Disney's empire continues to grow and expand in all directions. What kind of world will be left when Mickey Mouse has waved a sanitised glove over everything?

With regards E.T., I actually like some of the changes. E.T. running back to the ship in the opening sequence is significantly improved, and the fluttering cape in the iconic moon flight just brings the image to life in a delicate nuanced way. But the rest is unnecessary at best and shameful at worst - not to mention the CG effects on E.T.'s face don't hold up another 20 years on.
 
It's the world we living in now. while I don't like all changes that has happen, I do agree somethings should not be erase. mostly if it's history (no pun) is involved.
 
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