Posted in: Birds of Prey, Movies, Warner Bros | Tagged: Birds of Prey, dc, hbo max, movies, Warner Bros

HBO Max Has Modified Birds of Prey to Make It Less R-Rated [UPDATE]

UPDATE: According to IGN, the TNT broadcast version "mistakenly added to the service," and that "the unedited original version will be available on HBO Max instead.". Original story is as follows:

Ever since streaming and digital media became a thing, there has been an ongoing conversation about whether or not there is still a reason to buy physical blu-ray discs anymore. Some people do, some people don't, some people just make exceptions and buy certain discs but not all of them. It really depends on the person and the movie. People in favor of physical media say is that once a disc is in your hands, it's yours, and a studio can't modify or change it in any way. Largely, people who are not quite as in favor of physical media have said that it is a lot of fear-mongering, but there is a brand new example that is going to be cited as yet another reason to buy blu-rays of your favorite movies. Initially reported by CBR and independently confirmed with me and my subscription on HBO Max, the service has made the baffling decision to upload an edited version of Birds of Prey to the service. There is text at the beginning confirming that the movie has been edited, but the R-rated and warnings are still at the top. Some of the edits include getting rid of Harley's two middle fingers, dropping some of the fuck's, and the most egregious is the blurring of Renee's shirt when she's in the station.

This is, as the kids say, not a good look. Does this mean that fans of The Suicide Squad should expect the same treatment as Birds of Prey? We'll have to see, but the movie isn't back on the service. This decision makes absolutely no sense, though. This is HBO Max; there is a ton of adult content on there; at least when Disney edited movies, you could at least sort of understand that decision, even if it is a stupid one. So far, there doesn't appear to be a comment from HBO Max, but if you're angry enough about this, and you should be because Birds of Prey is a delightful hot mess a lot of you missed out on, make sure to throw a fit on social media.

Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, directed by Cathy Yan, stars Margot Robbie, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Rosie Perez, Chris Messina, Ella Jay Basco, and Ewan McGregor.

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