# film censorship



## sammylou (Oct 29, 2012)

just wondering if anyone knew for sure if the films being shown in the cinemas here are censored/edited?


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## saraswat (Apr 28, 2012)

yupp.. they are.. although it seems like they do miss a couple of things once in a while (human error??!!??) lol.. definitely heard/seen things that would be a definite no-no out here in the theater version.. but for the most part it's all edited...


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## sammylou (Oct 29, 2012)

saraswat said:


> yupp.. they are.. although it seems like they do miss a couple of things once in a while (human error??!!??) lol.. definitely heard/seen things that would be a definite no-no out here in the theater version.. but for the most part it's all edited...


boo! i thought maybe they didn't. i've only been out once here, saw Skyfall, but there were a couple of sexy scenes with the ladies involving nudity that i would have thought would be cut but weren't. le sigh. so disappointed as i am a huge movie fan


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## TexIndian (Jan 6, 2013)

Sorry Sammy I'm going to hijack your thread! 

For us newbies, there are a few options for movie theaters. Are there any that some senior expats would recommend? Hopefully in the JBR area. Back home we had a few theaters with full service restaurants. Where entrees were delivered to your theater seat? Does this exist in Dubai? 

Secondly, and maybe I shouldn't write this. Jynxgirl had posted in another thread that no one will come after you for piracy here in the UAE. While I don't think that's true and don't want to go down that route, the lack of streaming film and tv providers is making me consider it. Providers like Netflix or Crackle don't work here. Is there a UAE equivalent?


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## Roadworrier (Jul 3, 2012)

Well, the iTunes Store is now open for the first time in the UAE...though my account is set up for the US store (already installed on my IMac and iPhone). Not really streaming but a lot is available. Though I was looking for the Commitments (which is about 21 years old and on an old VHS tape stuck in storage back in Virginia) and amazingly, given it is about a white Irish soul band, not available in the iTunes store.


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## thickodicko (Nov 13, 2012)

Roadworrier said:


> Well, the iTunes Store is now open for the first time in the UAE...though my account is set up for the US store (already installed on my IMac and iPhone). Not really streaming but a lot is available. Though I was looking for the Commitments (which is about 21 years old and on an old VHS tape stuck in storage back in Virginia) and amazingly, given it is about a white Irish soul band, not available in the iTunes store.


so I can get iTunes the same as i can in the UK?


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## Roadworrier (Jul 3, 2012)

thickodicko said:


> so I can get iTunes the same as i can in the UK?


I'd think that similar to the US, if your Apple account was set up in the UK and you have iTunes already on a computer that you had set up in the UK, then you would be able to access the UK store directly. If you set up your account here, then you will be able to access the new UAE store. Knowing there are some things available in the UK or other international stores that are not available in the US, I would suspect the UAE store may have certain titles available that aren't available elsewhere, and of course vice versa.


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## pamela0810 (Apr 5, 2010)

Reel Cinemas in Dubai Marina Mall does that thing of bringing your food to your seat, providing you will pillows, blankets, etc! There's also "Gold Class" at Mall of the Emirates where you can enjoy an elevated cinema experience or something like that.

As for piracy, yes it is illegal and there have been many busts on pirated DVDs, etc. There are some people that sell pirated DVDs from door to door but I stopped buying those some time ago. There's always a first time for everything so you never know.


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## Roadworrier (Jul 3, 2012)

pamela0810 said:


> Reel Cinemas in Dubai Marina Mall does that thing of bringing your food to your seat, providing you will pillows, blankets, etc! There's also "Gold Class" at Mall of the Emirates where you can enjoy an elevated cinema experience or something like that.
> 
> As for piracy, yes it is illegal and there have been many busts on pirated DVDs, etc. There are some people that sell pirated DVDs from door to door but I stopped buying those some time ago. There's always a first time for everything so you never know.


I like the DMM cinemas. 

They used to sell DVD's on the street in Bur Dubai for a while around 2001-2002 as I recall from "the old days"......now you have to go to stores on Fahidi Street or in one of those hole in the wall minimalls, usually the same ones that sell fake Ed Hardy shirts.


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## ccr (Jun 20, 2010)

Roadworrier said:


> ...I would suspect the UAE store may have certain titles available that aren't available elsewhere...


For example, the app GamePass which allows access to NFL Game Pass (paid) account in IOS - to watch NFL games when outside of US.

For some obscure legal reasons, there is no access to this app from US iTunes store independent where you live.

Now I can create (yet!) another iTunes account to get this app... :clap2:


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## ccr (Jun 20, 2010)

And, *YEESSSS!,* I now have GamePass (thanks Roadworrier) on iPad. And hopefully, AirPlay will work with AppleTV tonight.

Huhmmm... SuperBowl party on big screen HD TV might be possible this year...
:clap2:izza::cheer2::rockon::whoo:


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

sammylou said:


> boo! i thought maybe they didn't. i've only been out once here, saw Skyfall, but there were a couple of sexy scenes with the ladies involving nudity that i would have thought would be cut but weren't. le sigh. so disappointed as i am a huge movie fan


There was no nudity in Skyfall when we watched the movie (I think in Vox MOE) - actually had no idea that there was nudity in the movie. I remember being hugely irritated because the scenes just seemed to skip which i HATE. 
I remember watching the Hangover 1 in a theatre as well here. There was so much of censorship that I might as well have not turned up to watch the movie. 

OSN is uncensored and Du is uncensored as well. Elife from Etisalat is censored, and given the interface and an even crappier selection of movies, will cancel the subscription pretty soon I think.


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

I was amazed at what they left in Horrible Bosses! I could only assume that the censor/editor didn't understand what was going on.

You know how they used to edit movies? They have a guy watch it, he has a torch and he flashes it at the editor 'chop here - chop here' and he'd then basically slap the two bits of film together - which is why it used to jump all over the place and not make sense. The movie editing is certainly not as bad as it used to be. It really hacks me off when they edit dvd's for sale though - yep they do that too - my version of 300 that I bought here is heavily edited.

What really ticks me off is the tv editing on channels like Dubai One - they'll take out any kissing scenes, yet it's perfectly ok to see people being tortured and having their brains blown out. MBC need to really look at their scheduling, so many inappropriate things at inappropriate viewing hours - I don't wanna see people being stabbed/shot etc whilst I have my breakfast!


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## LONGGOOD BYE (Dec 26, 2011)

Been here almost 8 years and have done the black market DVDs most of the time and still do,they are a lot better quality now days and a lot of my friends use bit torent and download things. I get the NFL and college football through some link from Europe and it works good and free.If you want free streaming stuff you just have to search for awhile because it on here.


In the Theather Killing,torture ect is just fine in the movie but Nudity is just not right[lol].


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## ccr (Jun 20, 2010)

LONGGOOD BYE said:


> ...I get the NFL and college football through some link from Europe and it works good and free...


Thanks for the tip:

Is it HD-ready ?
I assume that you either watch on computer screen, or have to connect to TV port ?

Any chance for a PM on these links ? 

At the moment, I am OK with paying $40 for the rest of the NFL play-offs + SuperBowl. Planning for next year, I would prefer to save a few hundred $ if possible.


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## LONGGOOD BYE (Dec 26, 2011)

I will send you a PM later no worries.

I did get the ESPN360 for a month so I could watch all the bowl games in replay since I knew I would miss a lot and did not want to get up every morning early early to watch the games.


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## fcjb1970 (Apr 30, 2010)

ccr said:


> Thanks for the tip:
> 
> Is it HD-ready ?
> I assume that you either watch on computer screen, or have to connect to TV port ?
> ...


I have yet to find a free service that is nearly as high quality as Game Pass, to me it is well worth the money. Plus I love that the games that were on Fox and ESPN are shown commercial free when you watch on afterwards (for some reason the CBS games don't always do that). After watching the Bears and Donkeys games, I will just keep games on during the week for background when I am doing other things


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

TexIndian said:


> While I don't think that's true and don't want to go down that route, the lack of streaming film and tv providers is making me consider it. Providers like Netflix or Crackle don't work here. Is there a UAE equivalent?


If there were to be such a service, I would subscribe to it in a heartbeat. I am willing to pay what netflix charges in the US for such subscriptions. But unfortunately this is not a market anyone wants to target and I am forced to watch stuff for free - obviously it is better for my pocket, but I feel that it is unethical to do so. I love movies, and watching movies, and watching stuff for free is bad for the movie industry in the long run (obviously). only forces tried and tested blockbuster sequels (which I dont mind and love watching - but I would love to see more independent non mega budget movies as well).


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## Roadworrier (Jul 3, 2012)

ccr said:


> And, *YEESSSS!,* I now have GamePass (thanks Roadworrier) on iPad. And hopefully, AirPlay will work with AppleTV tonight.
> 
> Huhmmm... SuperBowl party on big screen HD TV might be possible this year...
> 
> :clap2:izza::cheer2::rockon::whoo:


No, thank YOU.....I wish I had known that before paying 30 dhs / month for the ESPN sports tier on my Du cable plan (which gets coverage of 4 additional Sunday afternoon games on the Fox Sports and ESPN America channels, plus the Thursday, Sunday and Monday night games, on top of OSNSports 2HD which carries two games a week. Actually no complaints about the coverage - 9 NFL games a week isn't bad). 

Now, just waiting to get my NHL fix now that the lockout is over and the Redskins are out of the NFL playoffs.......


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## Roadworrier (Jul 3, 2012)

LONGGOOD BYE said:


> Been here almost 8 years and have done the black market DVDs most of the time and still do,they are a lot better quality now days and a lot of my friends use bit torent and download things. I get the NFL and college football through some link from Europe and it works good and free.If you want free streaming stuff you just have to search for awhile because it on here.
> 
> 
> In the Theather Killing,torture ect is just fine in the movie but Nudity is just not right[lol].


I do know "Argo" is showing at Ibn Battuta cinemas but "Zero Dark Thirty" is not showing anywhere here...nor I suspect will it, given the amount of torture shown in it or that allegedly there is a pro-torture perspective in the movie. Guess we won't be able to judge for ourselves.


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## expatsue (Aug 21, 2013)

Reviving this thread as searching for info on whether OSN is censored. Rsinner above says that it isn't - can anyone confirm before we shell out on an expensive premium package? I'm new to Dubai and a bit naiive and nearly went to see Wolf of Wall Street in the cinema - until I noticed it was only two and a quarter hours long and of course the full movie is 3 hours! Hmmm, I wonder if it would be shown in full on OSN...

Also we will be with Du in Arabian Ranches - would OSN be cable or satellite there?


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

Some channels are censored, others aren't so much. To be honest all the movies/series I want to watch I get on torrent download.


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

OSN with OSN set top box is uncensored
OSN with a Du subscription is uncensored
OSN with an Etisalat subscription is censored

Whether you can get a Du or Etisalat subscription depends on where you live. Only one or the other serves particular areas/buildings. The advantage with this is that if you want OSN + other packages (e.g. sports on beIn sports) its easier to subscribe without the hassle of another satellite card or set top box.
OSN with the OSN set top box would require you to either have a pre-installed antenna or have one installed. In a lot of places that might not be an option.


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## expatsue (Aug 21, 2013)

rsinner said:


> OSN with OSN set top box is uncensored
> OSN with a Du subscription is uncensored
> OSN with an Etisalat subscription is censored
> 
> ...


Very helpful, thank you


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## arabianhorse (Nov 13, 2013)

Chocoholic said:


> Some channels are censored, others aren't so much. To be honest all the movies/series I want to watch I get on torrent download.


Is that legal?


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## Felixtoo2 (Jan 16, 2009)

Apparently the Saudi version of "Thelma and Louise" only last 8 minutes!


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## mac86 (Mar 14, 2013)

thickodicko said:


> so I can get iTunes the same as i can in the UK?


Yes, that's what I do with my UK iTunes, and then use it for certain films that don't make the cinemas here (Alpha Papa... AHA!) and going to use it for heavily censored movies (i.e. Wolf of Wall Street)...


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## indoMLA (Feb 6, 2011)

Chocoholic said:


> Some channels are censored, others aren't so much. To be honest all the movies/series I want to watch I get on torrent download.


This.


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## saraswat (Apr 28, 2012)

arabianhorse said:


> Is that legal?


Well all over the globe, uploading and distributing copy written material is illegal. Downloading it is not .... (yet)


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## Byja (Mar 3, 2013)

saraswat said:


> Well all over the globe, uploading and distributing copy written material is illegal. Downloading it is not .... (yet)


Yeah, but if you're downloading something using torrents, it means that you're also uploading it to someone else. Meaning you're distributing copyrighted material, therefore you're breaking the law (, breaking the law... you don't know what it's like...).

Murky, yet somehow legal way is downloading via file sharing networks and/or Usenet.


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

I also subscribe to Netflix and watch things through that. The most well know torrents would be shut down by now if they weren't allowed to do it - totally grey area.


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## saraswat (Apr 28, 2012)

Yeah it is an grey area. While anyone downloading a torrent is also uploading it at the same time, that particular practise is a function of the way the network works and as such not attributable to clear intent of the downloader to distribute the material. 

But for the torrent to exist in the network, there is a requirement of one particular user (or even a group of them) to distribute the material initially. Those would be the ones with clear intent to distribute said material and thereby their actions would be breaking the law ... 

p.s: just my understanding of the situation, partly from following the piratebay saga ...


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

Piratebay is still running - they just changed site.


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## londonmandan (Jul 23, 2013)

Chocoholic said:


> Piratebay is still running - they just changed site.


I've gone off TBP as there haven't been many good releases lately do not check YIFY and do not check EZTV they are not the best I have seen :nono:


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## ACertainRomance (Jun 21, 2013)

If you buy the blu rays/dvds from virgin are they edited?


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