Taking the 'R' Out of R-Rated Movies

CHATTANOOGA, TENN. - Marlon Brando may be untouchable, but can "The Godfather" really be "The Godfather" without the blood?

What if Eddie Murphy's non-stop profanities in "Beverly Hills Cop" were muted?

And can the disturbingly charming Dr. Hannibal Lecter of "The Silence of the Lambs" properly be portrayed as a man-eater if the movie's gruesome bits are cut out?

In an unusual videostore in this Bible-belt city, the shelves are stuffed with rentals that have been edited to be "clean."

The parent company's in-house editors remove much of the sex, violence, and nudity from films, which is proving popular with a lot of families disenchanted with Hollywood: Some 65 "Cleanflicks" stores have opened across the country in just the past 18 months.

But the idea of someone in a back room, no matter how well-intentioned, playing the role of Francis Ford Coppola or Martin Scorcese and fiddling with content is also raising debate over decency versus artistic vision.

"It's like watching a film on TV that's been heavily censored, and you feel utterly cheated," says Mr. Dixon, the film studies professor at the University of Nebraska. "The very idea of taking something and cutting it out on the grounds of it being acceptable violates the integrity of the work itself."

But David A'Hearn, the manager of this Cleanflicks branch, says these family-edited flicks are perfect for parents who want to enjoy a good Hollywood movie with their kids - minus those inevitable awkward moments.

Leaning on the shiny counter of his admittedly sparse storefront in a Chattanooga strip mall, Mr. A'Hearn, answers charges of censorship by saying that people can still go to any video store for the uncut version.

"So many movies today turn the viewers into voyeurs," says A'Hearn, who opened his shop three weeks ago. "Instead, these movies leave the intimation of violence up to the viewer's imagination, which I personally think is more effective."

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