“Back to the Future II” writer Bob Gale has put the blame squarely on Universal Pictures, rather than Netflix, in regards to a recent discovery by fans that the streaming version of movie on Netflix included a small edit.
That edit removed the slightly racy cover of an adult magazine from a scene in the movie. Marty McFly conceals an adult magazine in the future almanac at the center of the film’s story and the reveal is a key part of the film’s narrative – making the edit decidedly awkward.
This version has since been replaced with the original theatrical version, showing the cover. Gale spoke with THR and addressed the change – saying not only has it been repaired, but it can never happen again as they’ve had the edited copy destroyed:
“The blame is on Universal who somehow furnished Netflix an edited version of the movie. I learned about it some ten days ago from an eagle-eyed fan, and had the studio rectify the error. The version now running is the uncensored, unedited, original version. Apparently, this was a foreign version which neither director Robert Zemeckis nor I even knew existed, for some country that had a problem with the Oh La La magazine cover. I asked that the studio destroy this version. FYI, Netflix does not edit films — they only run the versions that are supplied to them. So they’re blameless. You can direct your ire at Universal, but I think they will be a lot more careful in the future – and with ‘the future’.”
Now that’s taking charge. Various streaming services have come under fire in recent years for making edits to brief shots of nudity or language in otherwise PG or PG-13 films – including the infamous “Splash” CG shaggy haired bottom moment. Other edits have ben more random and baffling (ie. ‘Maclunkey’).
