Of all the questions that have come my way since the advent of home video, the one that most often reoccurs is this: Why aren't toned-down versions of movies ever released on DVD?
And those who ask aren't talking about having the studios spend money on new edits. These films already exist, edited for commercial television and for airlines, with profanity removed, and violence and sex softened.
The answer given by filmmakers is a simple one: They don't like them.
Oh, they reluctantly agree to family-friendly versions for TV and air travel, but they don't want them on DVD. Which doesn't make a lot of sense to me. They'll re-edit their priceless art for one venue but not another?
Not that they mind alternate versions of movies that go the other way. You know, "unedited" or "expanded edition" or "director's cut" versions that are often more harsh than the originals.
Yet, releasing versions without foul language or with less bloody violence or less explicit sexuality seems to be out of the question. With all the multiple editions of various films being released does no one in Hollywood realize that "family-friendly" versions could be another avenue for making more money?
Well, apparently someone does.
One of the most influential filmmakers in Hollywood, James Cameron — whose movies are often hailed as artistically advanced but also make tons of money for everyone involved — seems to have embraced the first step in that direction.
The latest home-video edition of "Avatar," labeled "Extended Collector's Edition" and released just a couple of weeks ago, boasts no less than three versions of the movie: the original theatrical version, the re-released "Special Edition" theatrical version and a new three-hour "Collector's Extended Cut."
Now, here's the interesting part: Both of the theatrical versions feature a "Family Audio Track," explained as "all objectionable language removed."
Really?
To get the effect, I watched an hour of the first theatrical film in its original form, then watched it again with the cleaned-up audio track. It was a seamless transition.
The substitutions for profanity, obscenity, and vulgar words and phrases, would not even be noticeable on a first viewing. No lips going the wrong way; no odd or implausible verbal substitutions.
Except that, at the end, someone who goes to a lot of movies might notice there had been no swearing. (Sort of like the old joke about the guy who lived in the middle of a railway yard and slept through trains rumbling by every night. But when a strike stopped all the trains, he woke up to the dead silence and muttered, "What's that?")
The downside is that there are no family-friendly subtitles. If you listen to the cleaned-up dialogue but put on the closed captions for a hearing-impaired member of the family, you'll be reading the profanity while hearing the substitutions. And the new three-hour "Extended Cut" version does not have the "Family Audio" option.
This little bonus feature was brought to my attention by a story in the New York Times, of all places. It was just a casual sentence by David Kehr in a capsule review that was part of his weekly DVD column. I did a double take and decided to take it for a test run.
It's a pricey set, of course. The three-disc Blu-ray retails at $54.99 (I found it for $23) and the three-disc DVD at $34.98 (the lowest price I saw was $17).
Whether or not you care about "Avatar" or the "Family Audio Track" on this set, the fact that it's an option at all is something to think about.
If someone of Cameron's caliber is allowing a profanity-free zone for one of his biggest movies, maybe it's the start of a trend.
e-mail: hicks@desnews.com