Reader comments
Filter cleans up films — legally

I can tell you how to edit movies free of charge.....

Don't watch them. Turn off the t.v. send the children out to play, give them activities that use their imagination, and read together with your family!

When you do want to watch a movie as a family, be very careful! There are a "few" out there worth watching.

At our home PG means "pretty gross" and R means "Rancid".

There have been many movies we have started and turned off! Have the courage to stand a little bit taller than the rest!

It seems to me that the device offers people the opportunity to say "I saw that movie" without the offending parts showing up on their screen. The assumption being that all offensive scenes, words and editable concepts are superfluous to the plot. Is that a guarantee or a vain hope?

I edit the movies my grandchildren see by not viewing them when we watch movies. I have explained to them that when they are mature enough and old enough, they will be able to see and do all the adult things they want, but not now.

If a person is desirous of living a good witness, then the halfway behavior of making objectionable movies acceptable is like hanging around with drunks and saying you only drank tea. If you want to be part of the world that enjoys the kind of movie that needs to be filtered, maybe you need to look past the movie itself and consider the motivation that drives a person to want to be associated with a movie that can not be viewed in its original form.

My golly goodness! Do I have to write a flippin' sequel to RATED F?

Sour grapes Mr. Thompson? What you were doing was breaking 1st grade copyright law and I believe you knew it and most of your customers knew it. But we love to rationalize many things in Utah County, even our own integrity. You shut down because you were running an ILLEGAL movie editing operation. You shut down to avoid going to court because you knew you couldn't win. I wonder if those of you who paid for these services will keep your illegally edited versions or will you trash them like an honest person would do. Your films were illegal when they were made, not when the battle was lost in court.

I mean, really, folks. What is wrong with trying to "clean up" this world that surrounds us a little. Myself, I'll take the help wherever I can get it. Seems like a family can't even be safe with a cartoon anymore.

Thankfully, the courts have given us the right to filter movies within our own home. The movie industry wanted to stop us from using our mute button for bad language. Clear Play has been in my home for over a year and my children received one as a gift. We all love it and the control it gives. The quality of our movie watching now meets our personal standards not Hollywood's. Companies who are breaking the law should close their doors.

My response is to Ken. Ken, you have certainly missed the point here. There are dozens of movies I could list off to you including Braveheart, Last Samurai, which are incredibly moving and inspiring movies but which many people prefer to watch without some of the most graphic scenes. There are dozens of inspirational PG movies such as Goonies, the Rookie, etc which are great movies but have dozens of references to swear words and taking the Lord's name in vain which I wouldn't want to hear personally, nor my kids. We're not suggesting you watch Diehard 1, 2 or 3 with your kids. We're also not suggesting that if you ClearPlay a movie that it's automatically acceptable for children. What we are suggesting, is that you choose what content and movies are appropriate, and then use ClearPlay to make sure that offensive content doesn't come into your home. Thanks and happy movie watching!

-Pete

We have been Clear Play members for almost 2 years. Although taking the "higher road" and choosing not watching any movies in our home is an option, it probably isn't going to happen. We've appreciated the option of filtering out language and scenes that we deem innapropriate. And, contrary to Mr. Thompson's opinion, it is done very professionally. I choose to support businesses that are working for families like mine.

I think this is a great alternative! This is the first I have heard of Clear Play and i will definitely consider it! The next battle will be the near R rated commercials on TV. ie: Victoria's Secret, Male enhancemnet etc. I mean really, do we need to hear about a four hour side effect?

We are on our 3rd Clear play. Everyone we have had has petered out, and we have had to return it. It is good, but do not expect it to be your DVD player for very long.

I don't have a problem with most erotica in movies. I think it adds to the spice of life. However is someone else wants to edit their movies, have at it. I think Hollywood is being a real ninny for trying to force people people to watch such stuff or to watch not at all. If there is freedom of speech, there is also freedom of hearing/seeing.

We love Clear Play in our house. So many movies are great except for a few unnecessary scenes or words, and Clear Play lets us enjoy those movies. We used to use Clean Flicks, and to be honest, I don't see much of a difference between the quality of the two services. I definitely wouldn't call it an inferior product.

We've been using ClearPlay since back when you had to watch the DVDs on your computer. In the early versions, the edits were choppy. I would have to disagree with Mssrs. Thompson and Merrill, however, on the quality of the current ClearPlay filters�it is almost without exception an excellent job. And as far as Mr. Lines' assertion that his customers only want movies that don't need filtering, I think that's wishful thinking. There are a host of excellent movies with uplifting and delightful plots that can be dramatically improved with the loss of a few expletives. Take the Back to Future trilogy: we were shocked to realize that the TV networks had been filtering quite a bit of offensive language from the three films once the DVDs came out. But watch them with ClearPlay and the language is gone and the stories are unaffected. The other cool thing w/ClearPlay is you can tweak the filtering level on each of the filtered categories to suit your family's preferences.

Our biggest problem now is watching films in the theatre. Until you see them without the language, you don't realize just how much there is!

So refreshing to put that aside!

First let me frame my comments by saying I have not used any of these services.
I do not believe that those companies doing the editing were breaking the law and I do not think that the judge in this case ruled correctly and I believe that our copyright laws are flawed all because money can buy anything in this world. If I went and bought the Mona Lisa (which I wish I had the money to do) I can do whatever I want with it. I can slash and burn it if I want. I can hire someone to paint over it if I want. If I buy a reproduction of it I can do the same.
These people that were editing the movies were doing the same thing. They were buying the movies then altering them for themselves or customers. To say this is hindering the "creative or artistic" nature is pure poppycock. The movie industry is full of megalomaniacs who do not see their real opportunity. Airlines and others do deals with them to edit their shows, why not offer those to the public. Bytheway honest Abe you profane his good name with your air of superiority.

I just dont understand. You cant tell your children that this is innappropriate language for em? My parents never hid me away from bad language in movies. I saw tons of Rated R movies as a child and I never would of dreamed of using that language. I always understood the distinction between what the movie was and reality. What are you afraid of? Seriously, what is it? All of the values that you aspire to have nothing to do with language in a movie? This is purely cosmetic righteousness. "Cosmetic" is the perfect word for it. Its only purpose is to set you apart from others. Loosen up. Explore the values you seek a little more. Try to understand the cause and effect of what your trying to achieve. Surely you bigger things to worry about. No?

To ajd:
Rather an odd post. I'm still trying to understand where you're coming from, and why you're so agitated about someone else's choice of what they see or hear.

As for us, we actually don't have any children left at home. Nothing "cosmetic", or even "righteous" about it, not "afraid" of anything�we just don't care to listen to foul language. It offends us, simple as that. That make it any easier to understand?

For "entertainment" at home there are still libraries and books, are there not? I still remember with joy Dad and Mother after dinner was over, sitting with their four kids, reading "Cheaper By the Dozen." We could laugh, fall off our chairs, join the conversation without having to find the "pause" button. We were not controlled by some dimwits in Hollywood trying to re-create the world in their image. And when we'd finished a dozen of the libraries offerings, Dad would re-create Hans Christian Anderson to fit our family and we loved it and him. Turn off the tube!

To Long-time ClearPlay customer.
It does "agitate" me that that people take such means to alter movies. I feel very passionate that they are forms of expression and should not be altered. Thats a slippery slope. And I do not understand the motivation, especially absent of the "for the children" umbrella. Why cant you make the distinction of not not wanting to use foul language or having used toward you and simply hearing it on a movie separate from reality. Articulate the objection for me. Why would you care? That being said, if it is deemed legal to alter these movies then that is completely your perogative and im not going to argue with that. That would be absolutely your right just as it is mine to be "agitated" about it. I simply do not understand the motivation to do so.

What part of "it offends us" don't you understand? Some people, myself included, like to watch explosions and car chases without having the F word blaring in our ears. We like to be entertained, and many R rated etc movies are excellently done, but if the F word is blaring over and over it ceases to be enjoying to watch. It's just our preference. You prefer otherwise, and we respect that. Why can't you accept the diversity of our opinion?

I absolutely respect your right to do this but it is "diversity" itself that I seek to protect. The act of changing film to conform is contrary to any notion of diversity. It makes them uniform to what you want. Its an exclusionary act by its very nature. And the simple "it offends us" answer is precisely what I mean when I call it cosmetic. Once again, im not for one second saying you dont have the right to do it IF its legal but that doesnt preclude us from debating the motivations in a public forum does it?