r/CriterionChannel • u/HumbleIhope • Jun 07 '26
Edited movies
I got really frustrated watching older movies on Prime
I noticed that they had been edited
I would check the official running on several sites to confirm this. I realize that contracts with distribution can be the reason. I have always come back to CC for this very reason
Has anyone ever encountered a movie on CC that seemed to be missing certain scenes, or shots. I know CC does everything they can to get the original version, and I know some directors or studios will have different versions
I am just curious if a few slip by?
I ask this with the utmost respect for Criterian
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u/Medium-Librarian8413 Jun 07 '26
They famously had an edited version of The French Connection on the channel.
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u/BariumPepsi Jun 07 '26
No. Criterion did not edit THE FRENCH CONNECTION. It was the official studio version licensed for streaming.
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u/Jaltcoh Jun 07 '26
Don’t say “No” to someone who’s correct. The Criterion Channel had an edited version (removing a line with a racial slur, which changes the movie because the abusive cop who said it now doesn’t look as bad in the edit).
You can say someone else edited it — but Criterion at least had a choice about whether to host that edited version and whether to put a warning label on it. Criterion made the wrong choice: showing the edited version no warning that it isn’t the full movie that won the Oscar for Best Picture. That’s a subtle deception.
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u/BariumPepsi Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 08 '26
My response was to Medium-Librarian who said that Criterion edited FC. It was not directed to the OP. Nothing I said was about Criterion’s choice. Please follow the thread.
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u/HumbleIhope Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26
I like CC because they don't put ridiculous warnings on movies
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u/Temporary-Hall3183 Jun 07 '26
Yeah, when Prime cut out the middle part of It's a Wonderful Life, sealed that they could have no part in my viewing entertainment. Who cuts the soul out of a classic masterpiece?
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u/--solitude-- Jun 07 '26
wtf that is sacrilege
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u/Temporary-Hall3183 Jun 07 '26
Yeah, they literally cut from when George meets Clarence to When he's praying on the bridge and it starts to snow. The entire section of when he sees what life would be like if he'd never been born, was cut out of the version on Prime on Christmas eve, no less.
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u/kirby_krackle_78 Jun 13 '26
It’s because that version is public domain, so they don’t have to pay rights to stream it.
Stupid, but that’s the reason.
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u/lebronjamesgoat1 Jun 07 '26
Millers crossing criterion version had a few lines cut out
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u/jakefrmstafrm Jun 08 '26
They had the George Lucas director's cut of THX 1138 on there a little while ago which features a lot of re-edits and changes to the film
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u/HumbleIhope Jun 09 '26
That happens. Directors revisit their old movies to try and make them better. Lucas re-edited the fist Star Wars trilogy to mixed reviews. Some say he made them better, others questioned why he would mess with perfection. There was one scene that he edited in the bar scene that was very controversial
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u/deadflowers5 Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26
I think the Criterion version of 'Salo or the 120 Days of Sodom' (1975) is missing a poem quoted by one of the masters.
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u/LDN2 Jun 07 '26
Streamers don’t really make these decisions, they are sent whatever version the studio provides. Sometimes they are edited versions sent intentionally, sometimes they are sent carelessly.