These 6 Artists Censored Their Own Work
Filmmakers, comedians and Hollywood icons had serious seconds thoughts
The “buy physical media” argument grew again this week … with a caveat.
We’ve seen examples of classic works getting tinkered with for several reasons.
- The work itself is no longer “woke”
- The artist in question had second thoughts
- The art wasn’t up to snuff, creatively speaking
A prime example? The 1971 Best Picture winner “The French Connection” had a racial slur censored from the film on multiple platforms.
The only way to protect yourself from censored art? Buy the film or TV show on physical media. Except fans of the 1998 film “Pleasantville” will get a rude awakening if they do just that.
Shout! Factory’s new 4K Blu-ray edition of director Gary Ross’s drama snipped a line from the original film. The theatrical version finds Reese Witherspoon’s character saying, “I did the slut thing, David. It got kind of old,” to her brother, David (Tobey Maguire).
The “slut” line got the heave ho in the latest version. World of Reel says Ross himself approved of the censorship. Entertainment Weekly reached out to the director for comment, but the story has not been updated.
If Ross approved the censorship, he’s not alone. Here are five other examples of artists who have censored their own work.
George Lucas, “Star Wars”
It’s perhaps the best example we have of this phenomenon. Lucas’s iconic film changed Hollywood on many levels, but the filmmaker later went back and souped up the film’s special effects.
That’s not all he did.
Lucas also had the treacherous Greedo character shoot Han Solo first before the rapscallion could do the honors. The original version had Solo gunning down the character, an early sign of his dangerous nature.
Steven Spielberg, “E.T.”
The Oscar winner circled back to his 1982 smash to soften the imagery for young audiences. Specifically, Spielberg removed the guns being held by the government agents chasing down poor Elliott and his extraterrestrial buddy for the movie’s 20th anniversary.
They became walkie-talkies in the “updated” version. Many fans howled at the switcheroo, and even Spielberg later admitted he made the wrong call.
“I never should have done that. ‘E.T.’ is a product of its era. No film should be revised based on the lenses we now are, either voluntarily, or being forced to peer through.”
Walt Disney, Inc., “Song of the South”
The 1946 film’s signature song, “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah,” won an Oscar. The movie itself earned re-releases up until 1986. That’s when Disney ruled against a home video version of the controversial film and shelved it indefinitely.
That’s where it remains, an artifact of another era that critics say glossed over the horrors of slavery in ways that make its re-release unfathomable today. Others disagree, but the point is moot. The modern Disney company would sooner release “The Mandalorian and Grogu 2” than “Song of the South.”
Tina Fey, ’30 Rock’ Episodes
The “Saturday Night Live” alum once told an interviewer she won’t explain jokes moving forward. At the time. Fey stood up for a comedian’s right to tell jokes their way and on their terms.
That Fey gave way to a woke version, one who quickly blinked following the death of George Floyd in 2020. Suddenly, any show or film that so much as hinted toward blackface had to be excised from the culture.
Fey did just that. She starred and co-produced the NBC sitcom “30 Rock,” and she approved the decision to remove four episodes from the series that flirted with the subject.
“As we strive to do the work and do better in regards to race in America, we believe that these episodes featuring actors in race-changing make-up are best taken out of circulation.”
Jerry Lewis, ‘The Day the Clown Cried‘
The comedy maestro’s Holocaust drama has never seen the light of day. That was by design.
Lewis felt the unfinished 1972 film was so bad it should never be shared with the public. The plot suggests part of the reason why.
Lewis plays a circus clown who angered Adolf Hitler during the Second World War. His character is sent to a concentration camp, where he’s forced to entertain child prisoners and, ultimately, lead the unsuspecting tykes into the gas chambers.
Footage from the film exists, and since 2024 is available in very rough form at the Library of Congress. Lewis passed in 2017.