Steven Spielberg blasts revising old films for modern audiences
Steven Spielberg has slammed the revision of old films in a bid to make them more appealing to modern audiences.
The legendary director admitted that he regrets editing scenes, specifically one from his hit 1982 film “E.T.” that showed government agents armed with guns.
The scene ultimately didn’t make it into the 2002 re-release of the film and instead had the guns replaced with walkie talkies.
“That was a mistake. That was a mistake,” he said at the Time 100 Summit Tuesday, adding, “I never should have done that because ‘E.T.’ was 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.”
“‘E.T.’ was a film that I was sensitive to the fact that the federal agents were approaching kids with firearms exposed and I thought I would change the guns into walkie talkies. Years went by and I changed my own views,” the Oscar-winning director added.
Spielberg echoed a similar sentiment in 2011, and this week double down and urged others not to repeat his mistakes.
The legendary director revealed his biggest regret from his hit 1982 film “E.T.” Corbis via Getty Images
“I should never have messed with the archive of my own work, and I don’t recommend anybody really do that,” he said.
“All our movies are a kind of measuring – a signpost of where we were when we made them, what the world was like, and what the world was receiving when we got those stories out there. So I really regret having that out there.”
One particular scene in “E.T.” showed the agents chase children while carrying guns. Universal Pictures
Spielberg changed the scene to show agents carrying walkie talkies for the 2002 re-release of the film. Universal Pictures
Spielberg said he “should never have messed with the archive of my own work.” Moviestore/Shutterstock
The actor was then asked if he believes the same thinking should be applied to other art forms, specifically films adapted from books such as Roald Dahl’s “Charlie & The Chocolate Factory” that had some offensive words taken out for the film’s script.
“Nobody should ever attempt to take the chocolate out of Willy Wonka! Ever! And they shouldn’t take the chocolate or the vanilla, or any other flavor out of anything that has been written,” he said in response.
“For me, it is sacrosanct. It’s our history, it’s our cultural heritage. I do not believe in censorship in that way.”
Source: New York Post
