# Does Walmart censor movies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 6, 2001, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-walmart-censor-movies/80061 "2001-09-06T16:34:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jet\_Jaguar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jet_jaguar/32/3562_2.png) [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2001, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-walmart-censor-movies/80061/1 "2001-09-06T16:34:20Z")
I never buy CDs from Walmart because they only sell censored, “radio-edit” versions. Do they edit movies? Sometimes they have good prices on DVDs, but my experience with their music has kept me from buying movies from them. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2001, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-walmart-censor-movies/80061/2 "2001-09-06T16:55:40Z")
[This article](http://www.tnmc.org/dvd/0713011.shtml) leads me to believe they do. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2001, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-walmart-censor-movies/80061/3 "2001-09-06T17:30:31Z")
Well, Blockbuster definitely censors, in that they won’t carry anything more explicity than R. So I think censored versions are created for them, and then that’s what Walmart sells. ---
**Author:** ![lurkernomore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@lurkernomore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lurkernomore)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2001, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-walmart-censor-movies/80061/4 "2001-09-06T18:18:54Z")
Good link, Ellen. If the stores wish to sell edited tapes/dvds, they should be allowed to, but they should be required to display “EDITED” as prominently as they do the explicit language/lyrics stickers. ---
**Author:** ![xanadu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c4cdca/32.png) [@xanadu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanadu)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2001, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-walmart-censor-movies/80061/5 "2001-09-06T22:42:10Z")
I actually work at Wal- Mart (something that I’d like to forget about right now) and I can tell you that all of the edited CDs do say that they are edited, but it is in very, very, tiny print. I do agree with lurkernomore, though. The Cd or DVD should say very clearly whether or not it is edited. I have reason to believe that they do, though. They still have a ban on Sheryl Crow’s CD, and if they won’t carry a CD of hers, I seriously doubt that they would carry unedited versions of violent movies. ``` *This is in no way an endorsement for Wal-Mart. I absolutely despise the place, and urge you all to shop elsewhere. :D ``` ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-walmart-censor-movies/80061/6 "2001-09-07T02:06:25Z")
Yep, they do. I recently bought two DVD’s there; **Weekend at Bernie’s** (for nostalgia), and **Young Guns** (because it’s just a damn good movie). About halfway through 'Bernie’s I started wondering why it was rated R because there seemed to be no violence or foul-language. Then when I put Young Guns in and it didn’t take me long to figure out that these movies are **censored**. I was extremely pissed, but naturally, being the red-blooed American that I am, too lazy to do anything about it. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-walmart-censor-movies/80061/7 "2001-09-07T13:34:54Z")
Is Wal-Mart editing the films or are the distributors editing the film so they will be sold at Wal-Mart. You could argue that Wal-Mart is so huge that they pressure the studios to change the films content or they won’t sell a title. But I thing the studios would just pull all their product and tell Wal-Mart to stuff it. **Cisco** , what spefically did you see that made you think the films were edited. Was there obvious ‘dubbing’ over swear words? ‘You [sup]Freaking[/sup] idiot!’ Or were scenes that you remember in the theartical release not there now? ---
**Author:** ![Oblong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c0e974/32.png) [@Oblong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oblong)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-walmart-censor-movies/80061/8 "2001-09-07T13:50:37Z")
Wal Mart is not editing them. That would be a violation of copyright laws. Besides, they would need some pretty fancy equipment to edit the movies and manufacture them. The studios or distributors sell edited versions of their movies, like those shown on airplanes, and these are the ones that Wal Mart chooses to put on their shelves. It’s not Wal-Mart’s responsibility to put EDITED in bold letters on the packaging. ---
**Author:** ![CnoteChris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/278dde/32.png) [@CnoteChris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CnoteChris)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-walmart-censor-movies/80061/9 "2001-09-07T14:01:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Oblong \* > **It’s not Wal-Mart’s responsibility to put EDITED in bold letters on the packaging.** Why not? ---
**Author:** ![Oblong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c0e974/32.png) [@Oblong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oblong)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-walmart-censor-movies/80061/10 "2001-09-07T14:29:34Z")
because they aren’t the ones who edited it. That’s the manufacturer’s responsibility. They are simply choosing which merchandise to sell. If you buy an edger and want a gas edger and mistakenly buy an electric, then it’s up to the makers of the edger to display the box properly so that people get the correct one. Wal mart could do something but it’s not their responsibility. If enough people have problems with returns then it will get back to the manufacturer. ---
**Author:** ![Why\_A\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Why\_A\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Why_A_Duck)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-walmart-censor-movies/80061/11 "2001-09-07T14:43:19Z")
More grist for the mill. Click [here](http://www.senate.gov/~gov_affairs/072501_mcmillon.htm) for a Wal-Mart honchos congressional testimony on this very subject. and more [info](http://www.artistsrights.org/cf/news/detail.cfm?QID=29), this time from [artistsrights.org](http://artistsrights.org). ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-walmart-censor-movies/80061/12 "2001-09-07T22:30:13Z")
**Oblong** , how is it not Wal-Mart’s responsibility to display the content of a product it sells? I bought a Godsmack CD a few months ago, and came home to realize that it was edited. I actually looked the CD up and down to see if there was something on it that says “EDITED” but there was not. I have seen CD’s that display “EDITED” in all caps on the little sticker that seals the CD case shut on some CD’s, but not all. I think they should announce this more prominently, it would cause far fewer mix ups in the future for all its customers. ---
**Author:** ![Oblong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c0e974/32.png) [@Oblong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oblong)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2001, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-walmart-censor-movies/80061/13 "2001-09-07T22:49:36Z")
Because Wal-Mart didn’t edit them. They don’t take the CDs, open them up, reformat them the way they like, then wrap them back up. It’s a packaging issue. The retailer doesn’t package the product, the manufacturer or distributor does. If you didn’t like your Godsmack CD the way it was, then you should have taken it back and explained why and gotten something else, or your money back. Then Wal-Mart will get credit for that return from whoever they bought it from, then they will see what a problem this causes.