Kudos to Steven Spielberg for speaking out against wacko censorship
nypost.comregrets editing the guns out of “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” and digitally swapping them with walkie-talkies for the 20th anniversary re-release in 2002. “That was a mistake,” a repentant Spielberg said of his misguided attempt to reduce the ending’s peril. “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.”Mea culpa, mea culpa!Sorry Steve may have arrived at this obvious conclusion 21 years too late, but he’s absolutely right.
It’s ludicrous, not to mention historically destructive, to endlessly rework old art because of society’s ever-changing mores.
How refreshing it is to hear a director of his stature and popularity publicly acknowledge this self-righteous censorship trend for what it really is: completely cuckoo.Back when Spielberg first wielded his egomaniacal eraser, overarching directorial revisions were deservedly mocked and ridiculed by comedians and satirists.
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