Happy to have a parental movie companion

One of my favorite movies is “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”

I’ve seen it at least 10 times and each time I watch it I find new

jokes. The movie is a sarcastic look at King Arthur, his knights and

their search for the Holy Grail.

The movie has only one four-letter word, but it does have a fair

amount of violence which, if it is possible to be so, is funny.

Still, the violent scenes are not images we wish our children to see

so we fast forward through those.

Another really good movie is “Big,” starring Tom Hanks. It’s the

story of a 13-year-old boy whose wish to be “big” is granted. He goes

to sleep one night and wakes up the next morning looking about 25.

“Big” has no violence, a few four-letter words and one slightly racy

scene. We fast forward through a few parts of “Big,” too.

Cay and I have often wondered why foul language, sex scenes and

violent images are included in some movies because they would seem to

be just fine without them -- perhaps better.

We liked “In the Bedroom” in part because there were several

instances in which they did not succumb to the usual temptation to

show the violence or the sex. In “In the Bedroom,” scenes were cut

just prior to those events or the scenes were crafted in a way that

assumed the viewer’s intelligence.

In the movie, a young man becomes involved with an older woman.

One day his father shows up at home early. His dad calls out for his

son a couple of times but gets no response. As he starts to walk

upstairs, the two lovers appear at the top, fully clothed, trying

hard not to be embarrassed.

The director, the editor or both figured that people were smart

enough to figure out what the two were up to. Most filmmakers,

however, would have to show everything for the film to have the

proper artistic value.

It should be noted that “In the Bedroom” is not devoid of sex and

violence. There is one brief scene that shows someone with a fatal

head injury. And despite this fine editing, this is not a kid flick.

A couple of days ago, my friend Sandy Bennett alerted me to a

cottage industry that is the answer to the prayers of many parents

who want to share great movies with their kids but cannot due to

certain scenes.

The industry has produced TVGuardian, a foul language filtering

technology built into Sanyo DVD Players and VCRs and available at

Wal-Mart.

Other sources of edited movies are: MyCleanFlicks, a nationwide

mail-order rental service that mails censored videos to consumers

throughout the country; and MovieShield, a company that charges $240

for a subscription to an online service that allows the owner’s

computer to download editing “shields” for selected movies into a

transfer box that is connected to a VHS or DVD player.

Another company, ClearPlay, also provides editing guides for

selected movies over the Internet. These edit guides instruct a

computer based DVD-ROM to skip and mute offensive material while

playing the original DVD movie version.

Sounds great, doesn’t it? At last, parents will be able to share

so many more movies with their kids; movies that are just a scene or

two away from being a family flick.

But some industry muckety-mucks don’t think that these filters are

a good idea and they’ve sued to block the technology from being used,

declaring that the practice is illegal and unethical.

“We will fight to express ourselves on this issue. We will fight

to get control of this technology,” Directors Guild of America

President Martha Coolidge is quoted as saying. “We are talking about

a technology that obliterates the intention of a movie. Parents can

control what their child sees by not allowing it in the house.”

That control part is true. The rest of Coolidge’s statement is

petty, selfish and just plain bad business. After all, with this

technology, potential audiences of some movies could be greatly

increased.

TVGuardian spokesman Rick Bray commented that “Hollywood should be

sending us a fruit basket every time someone buys a Sanyo DVD player

or VCR with TVGuardian built in.”

The flap is more evidence that those in charge of the media have

no interest in producing decent images that kids can watch. For them,

it is strictly a numbers game to see how much soap they can sell or

how much they can make off rental income and overseas rights.

They’re in it for the money, that’s all. They don’t care about you

and your opinion or what your kids watch as long as someone watches.

But thanks to TVGuardian, I think I’ve found my “Holy Grail.”

* STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and freelance writer.

Readers may leave a message for him on the Daily Pilot hotline at

(949) 642-6086.