Do It Yourself Censorship

This week’s release of Titanic on video in the States has been a huge money spinner. It went on sale at a minute after midnight on Tuesday, with fans camping outside stores to make sure they were able to buy a copy. There were even ructions reported, with two men having a fight and one running off with the other’s copy. Already, the film is well on the way to becoming the best-selling video of all time. But aside from all the commercial fuss, it’s also raised a censorship and copyright issue. According to the Associated Press, Sunrise Family Video in American Fork, Utah, has an offer whereby it will turn the movie from a PG-13 movie into a G (the equivalent of our U). For $5, the store say they will remove the steamy love scene in the back seat of a car between Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, as well as the scene where Winslet poses nude. And for another $3, they’ll remove any other scenes the viewer finds objectionable. More than 50 people apparently took them up on the offer on Tuesday. Needless to say, Paramount are less than happy about this. "It's not with Paramount's blessing, and it's illegal," says a studio spokeswoman. She added that if viewers object to certain scenes, they shouldn't buy the video. It remains to be seen whether they will take legal action.