Remember remember, the fifth of november
the gunpowder treason and plot,
I know of no reason
why the gunpowder treason
should ever be forgot...
Yesterday I bought the DVD for "V for Vendetta". I already have the Alan Moore masterpiece of a Graphic Novel. I also caught the movie while I was abroad. While not as radical as the book, the movie is quite good in it's own right. So I decided to add it to my collection.
The DVD is from BIG Home Videos, the print quality is pretty good and so is the Dolby Digital 5.1 surround mix. What are missing are major parts of the movie!!!
Watching a censored version of V for Vendetta is just to ironic. For the uninitiated, it is a movie about an anarchist who wreaks havoc on a totalitarian regime in England. I mean, the logic behind the censorship of an "A" (Similar to 18+) rated movie completely beats me. Okay, so what was censored? In the movie a gay couple is shown kissing. Now the resourceful and highly intellectual, moral police (a.k.a the censor board ) thought it was inappropriate for the indian adults to see this.
What is my problem with the removal of the scene? Simple, it breaks the continuity of the movie. Below I print the list of other DVD's (of the ones that I own or have seen) that are victims of censorship:
1) Bram Stroker's Dracula - Seems like half of the movie is gone. It is almost impossible to even begin to understand what is going on in the movie. For god's sake the theatrical version (I saw it twice, both times in Calcutta) was far more complete than the DVD version. (Sony)
2) Sin City - Half of the movie is gone (UTV)
3) 300 - Many scenes have been removed. (WB-SareGama - I think)
4) Casino Royal - Daniel Craig torture scenes are almost completely gone. Another scene where murino tells craig about the whereabouts of dimitrios has been edited out. Now, this is done such ruthlessly you would completely miss why suddenly craig suddenly orders for caviar and leaves. (Sony)
5) Schindler's List- Can you imagine they put knife even to this masterpiece!! (Univeral)
6) Kingdom of Heaven - Some important intimate scenes between eva green and orlando bloom (Fox)
Many others (read most others) have removals that make them unfit for viewing.
Currently the state that we are in, the only way to see a complete movie is to download it off the internet. Is this the way recommended by the govenrment? I want to know this, because, I spent 750 bucks on buying the platinum edition of Casino Royal. And none of the others that I mentioned cost less than 300 bucks. Most cost considerably higher.
The people sitting on the censorboard, I think, are completely clueless as to the importance of freeness of art for the proper development of society. Otherwise they would think twice before touching Schindler's List. I recommend to them, the movie "Salo" by Peir Paolo Pasollini (assuming, of course, they are qualified enough to read subtitles). What would they do about that? Or movies by Goddard, Bunuel, Antonioni, Bergman? What would happen to Apocalyse Now without the controversial scene of the bull sacrifice? Limit them to film festivals .. of course, so only a few are able to see them. I did. But howabout afterwards? What will I show to my friend in place of Salo, which I think is the single most powerful commentary on the perverseness of a totalitarian and fascist regime?
I am angry. I am depressed and I am sorry. Sorry for us. Sorry for the people that elect governments that censor art before public consumption. Why does the govenment need to censor a movie even after it is given a rating? Censorship is a social disease. It needs to be eradicated from it's root. The last time I checked we live in a democratic repulic. One with the largest number of voters. As the protagonist "V" so poignantly puts foward in one of his discourses to Evey Hammond:
The people should not be afraid of the government, The government should be afraid of the people
If this finds a place on your mind, please feel free to share with me what you think of censorship in art.
