Warner Home Video: for shame!
15-06-2005 20:00 | 13046 views | Michael Mackenzie | Show Backlinks
Warner Home Video has recently released the Tom & Jerry Spotlight Collection: The Premiere Volume two-disc DVD. There have been some questions about which versions of these cartoon shorts are available on the DVD set (edited vs. uncut). The Spotlight Collection contains a variety of original animated shorts produced between 1943-1956, including uncut versions of some early cartoons that were first shown in theaters, along with some versions edited for television. The DVD packaging correctly refers to the cartoon shorts as "remastered"; it does not state that all the shorts are uncut. -- Warner online DVD chatAs I write this blog post, Warner Home Video have announced, via a web-based chat, that contrary to previous statements, they have no plans to re-author the disc in last year's Tom and Jerry: Spotlight Collection release.
The scandal arose as a result of advertisements prior to release which stated that the Spotlight Collection would feature these beloved cartoon classics uncut for the first time. (Click here for a scan of one such advertisement.) Cartoon fans the world over rejoiced and began salivating at the prospect of finally getting their hands on good quality uncut versions of cartoons that in some cases had not been seen in their original glory since the 1960s. Then, disaster struck. The set was released, and customers were quick to discover that three of the cartoons were still shorn of gags that had been deemed racially sensitive. Jerry Beck, animation historian and general expert on all things cartoony, who provided commentaries for the DVD, was quick to respond, stating that Warner was aware of the situation and that the cut cartoons had been included in error, and that a replacement programme would soon be established, allowing customers to mail in the disc in question (the three cut cartoons were all contained on a single disc) and receive an uncut version for free.
Months passed, and no fresh information was forthcoming. Then, not long ago, in an online chat, of all places, it was casually mentioned that no, Warner had no plans to re-release the set uncut, stating that the packaging did not mention anywhere that the cartoons were uncut. This is, quite simply, ridiculous. Do Warner seriously want us to accept that we cannot expect an uncut release unless the cover explicitly labels it as such? So much for their blatant advertisement of the cartoons in this collection as being, and I quote, "in their original, uncut form". So much for the trust cartoon fans put in them. None of that seems to matter in Warner's eyes: simply put, they feel that, legally, they have done nothing wrong, and therefore the situation, as it stands, is perfectly fine. I'm sorry, but this is quite blatantly unacceptable.
Personally, I feel that I have been used - not, of course, to the same extent as Jerry Beck, whose reputation for honesty and reliability has been abused - but I am concerned that my own review will have led to copies being sold of a product that did not deserve to sell. Indeed, on more than one occasion, I received personal correspondences from readers inquiring about the disc replacement programme, to which I foolishly encouraged them to go ahead and buy the set. I now feel that I owe these readers a personal apology. Make no mistake, though: the ones that should be doing some serious grovelling are Warner.
This, then, is my personal request to Warner: recall all copies of the Spotlight Collection that are still on store shelves and re-issue them with the offending shots intact. Set up the replacement programme you promised. Issue an apology, to Jerry Beck and everyone else who was duped. And finally, most importantly of all, ensure that all future releases in the Spotlight Collection, and any other release of classic cartoons, are uncut. Until then, I urge all customers to exercise extreme caution when buying DVDs from Warner Home Video - regardless of whether they are animated or live action. They clearly do not respect the wealth of wonderful materials they own the rights to, so why should we have any respect for them?
Click here to review an updated and corrected version of my original review.
Comments
Banned
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They removed 'Half Pint Pygmy' and 'Uncle Tom's Cabana' and censored many other cartoons, particularly the fantastic 'Blitz Wolf' where the bombing of Japan was removed.
This is political correctness gone mad, and more importantly draconian censorship of what I consider to be art.
Warner are doing great work on their DVDs and film restoration, what has happened to the animation division ??
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Also, Warner point out that the packaging says "remastered". I'd like to point out that it actually says "40 restored & remastered shorts". To me, and probably the casual buyer, restored means "brought back to its original form" and implies "uncut". Combining this with the above mentioned ad paints a pretty clear picture.
Chris
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However, I do have to disagree with your suggestion that they include the cut cartoons, unmolested, in the next set. While that would probably be a more straightforward solution, I do feel that it would be unfair because it would effectively be making people pay money for something that, by rights, they already paid for in the first place. Don't get me wrong, I think that most people who want these cartoons uncut would be more than willing to buy the Spotlight Collection Volume 2 (or whatever they decide to call it), but the principle of the matter doesn't really rest well with me.
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The look as good as they ever will on the Spotlight Collection. Due to the fact the original negatives were destroyed in a vault fire a long time ago no pre-cinemascope Tom & Jerry (or any other MGM cartoon for that matter) will ever look as good as what we get with the Looney Tunes sets or the Disney Treasures.
It's sad, but there ain't much we can do about it.
As far as the release goes: I'm still willing to believe someone at Warner's screwed up and now they're afraid to admit it. They probably don't think T&J are worth the trouble and money. I'll buy the 2nd Volume without a doubt since it'll still be better then whatever's out there right now. (The R3 collection is seriously lacking quality wise, not to mention special features)
I'd be curious to see if Warner continues the set and how they'll handle Mammy. They ought to know by now they'll be lynched if the Mammy shorts are censored in any way. They can get away with 2 or 3 shorts out of 20 ... but censoring Mammy ... that'd just be too much of it.
Apart from that it'd also be interesting to see if they ever release the Chuck Jones shorts and whether or not they'll get restored (those negatives still exist as far as I know) ...
In the end I guess we'll have to wait and see. Tom & Jerry may be problematic to release in the US. But Tex Avery is an even bigger problem if you ask me, the French didn't censor all that much compared to what would be censored out in the US or UK if you ask me :-S
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