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DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES

The Doom Generation

Comparison:

  • Unrated
  • Director's Cut (HD/4K)
Release: Oct 15, 2024 - Author: Muck47 - Translator: Muck47 - external link: IMDB

Comparison between the theatrical version (UK DVD from Second Sight) and the Director's Cut (American Blu-ray / 4K UHD from Criterion Collection)


– One changed scene
– Difference: 3.2 sec

 

Censorship related to Gregg Araki's TEEN APOCALYPSE trilogy

In 1993, Gregg Araki made the episodic Totally F***ed Up, which focuses on the more or less everyday problems of a few gay and lesbian teenagers. Two years later, The Doom Generation once again focused on marginalized groups in society, and the wild orgy of violence and sex may have become interesting for some viewers later, not least thanks to Rose McGowan, who was still unknown at the time. In 1997, Nowhere, a somewhat more restrained film in terms of visuals, formed the conclusion of the Teen Apocalypse trilogy. 

Regarding The Doom Generation our report on the R-rated version shows that there were a number of censorship cuts for the US release, but at least the unrated version was available on DVD in the UK. It was also the only film in the trilogy to receive a small Blu-ray release in the US in 2023. Araki already explained in an interview at the time that all three titles had been newly restored and that, for the first time, previously censored material could be seen in two of the films that had not been there on any previous release:

What was added back during the restoration process?

For Doom there was just a little bit in the last reel, but for Nowhere there were about 8-10 scenes throughout. Doom was so intense and like an X-rated movie, subversive and out there, and after making it I wanted to do a version that spoke to the same outsider, punk rock weirdos but was more accessible. A PG-13 version, basically, of that sensibility, a Dawson's Creek or 90210 with a subversive David Lynch side accessible to younger kids, like 14 and 15 year olds, and if you study it, the characters never say “f*ck” or “sh*t.”

But after it got picked up the MPAA was like, “this is NC-17!” I'm all, what? There's no real nudity, sex is filmed very discreetly, but all these scenes came back and it was stuff like dialogue that was over the top. I begrudgingly did [the cutting] because I wanted the movie to get released, but for this remaster we were able to go in and restore all of that. For people who know the film really well, there's new stuff for them to see.

 

The uncensored HD/4K version of THE DOOM GENERATION

From September 24, 2024, a 4K UHD/Blu-ray set from The Criterion Collection is available in the US that includes The Doom Generation and Nowhere in the new 4K restorations in UHD. Totally F***ed Up is included as a 2K restoration on Blu-ray. It is not explicitly advertised, but since the 4K restorations were approved by Araki, the longer, uncensored film versions of both films are included here as expected. A Blu-ray-only edition has also been released at the same time.

While Nowhere had some differences in the new director's cut, only one scene is affected in The Doom Generation. But it's a doozy, because there's a lot more to see of the castration with hedge trimmers and the subsequent stuffing of the genitals into the boyfriend's mouth. The whole thing is artistically alienated in many short flickering individual images between black screens and was already extensively censored and re-edited in the R-rated version. In the new director's cut, the editing differs yet again in detail from the two well-known versions and is a little more explicit.

Incidentally, we were also able to check the Blu-ray released by Strand Releasing in the US in 2023. As you could already guess from the logo at the beginning, the same, slightly longer cut version was already available here. That being said, the Criterion release, with excellent picture quality, a booklet worth reading and new bonus material, is of course recommended to every fan.

 

Running times are arranged according to the scheme
UK DVD in 25fps / US Blu-ray in 23.976fps

Other logos to start off the movie.

Director's Cut 22.1 sec longer

Unrated (British DVD)Director's Cut (Criterion Blu-ray)




Alternative
74:07-74:17 / 77:39-77:52

After George has cut off the penis of Jordan with the hedge trimmer (suggested in single images instead of regular shots), only the Director's Cut now shows a close-up of his hand with the bloody piece. The line ‘Wake up, loverboy’ was slightly shifted in the Director's Cut: In the Unrated version it comes after the reaction shot to Amy, in the Director's Cut it comes before it. When George presses the penis into Xavier's mouth, the Director's Cut shows this for a much longer time – and there's another re-edit with the reaction shot to Amy being placed a little different.

The Unrated version also has a few insignificant individual frames more in this sequence. However, direct comparison is difficult because each frame in the entire scene only flickers briefly between black frames. Therefore, only the striking additional material from the new HD scan and the Director's Cut is shown here.

Director's Cut 3.2 sec longer




The HD version has an additional information panel after the identical credits. On the DVD, there is more black screen for this.