The movie we saw was PET SEMETARY and (yes, years ago) I was on a date with this cool blonde chick. The whole time, she kept burying her head into my shoulder to avoid the scary parts. You know, "sometimes dead is betta," rolled from big Fred Gwynne's lips. But what would have happened if the scary parts were clipped down a bit and all those scenes with that possessed little kid running amuck with a tiny knife just filtered away?

"ClearPlay filters provide instructions to the DVD player to skip or mute certain segments of the movie based on time codes. ClearPlay creates unique filters for DVD's as they are released. ClearPlay's technology is seamless and frame accurate." Bill Aho Clearplay CEO told EI by email.

That's right parents, that scary little kid with the knife can be zipped right out of there. Clearplay, Inc., offers filters for 100s of feature films allowing the user to filter out graphic violence, explicit sex and nudity, as well as vulgar language. I took the RCA Clearplay enabled DVD player out for a spin and it was very easy to use. When you put a DVD into the machine it automatically recognizes the disk and if the Clearplay filter for that film is installed (100 come with the machine already loaded) a filtered version of the movie can be viewed.

The DVD player allows you to choose from 14 filter categories for the setting that is appropriate for the viewing audience. Of course, this will primarily be used for parents to keep specific content from being seen by children.

"Why not just limit what kids are shown period instead of altering the content of movies that would be otherwise inappropriate viewing?" I asked Aho.

"Why should those be your only choices?" Aho responded. "I may order a salad, but take out the tomatoes. I may buy a house, but paint it a different color. Or perhaps I purchase a car, but decide to change the wheels."

Aho continued.

"Or consider this: Peter Jennings tells us that the upcoming footage is graphic and some people might be uncomfortable with it. I decide to turn the TV off for 3 minutes, or change the channel. ClearPlay does the same thing for you automatically and better. Knowing that occasionally there is graphic video doesn't keep us from watching TV. We don't decide to quit watching the news. Nor do we swear off Peter Jennings. Rather, we are just grateful for the warning and the ability to react to it. That's how ClearPlay customers feel. They still want to watch movies. And they still may choose to watch that movie. But they would rather avoid a certain kind of scene or content."

"Isn't what Clearplay is doing a little more than changing the color of a single house, rather like changing a work of art into something completely different without the approval of the filmmaker? The 'Mona Lisa' wouldn't be the 'Mona Lisa' without the eyes, you know." I asked Bill while also admitting that I knew that many films are often made with airplane and made for television versions in mind.

"Completely different?" Aho responded. "Do you really mean that? Please watch a few ClearPlay movies and tell me if they are completely different. Is an airline version completely different? A TV version? Actually, it strikes me that painting a house a different color is a bigger change than watching a movie with the 2 minutes deleted.

"ClearPlay does not create a separate version," Aho continued, "any more than when I listen to a CD with my equalizer settings do I create a different version of the song. ClearPlay offers the consumer over 16,000 different possibilities to view any given movie. At the end of the day, the DVD hasn't been changed."

Of course, the possibility exists from creating something different by cutting a scene that is critical to the point of the film, especially if the film depends on a moment of violence or a sexual encounter for its impact, I thought. Aho agreed that some films just couldn't be filtered.

"ClearPlay opponents typically jump between two very contradictory positions." Aho said. "One suggests the sanctity of the directors' intent. However, when it is pointed out that there are many changes made to the movie, both before release (as a result of producers, marketing, focus groups) and afterwards (myriads of different versions), some of which are supported by the filmmaker and others not at all, but all of them deviating from the director's vision or intent, then it is suggested that these are OK because they are "authorized" by the director. In other words, they are contractually approved for economic reasons. So the whole notion of a sacred intent is thrown out the window in exchange for a fistful of dollars? So it's a matter of contract and law vs. artistic integrity? You just can't have it both ways."

It often all comes down to money. I wonder if one day the Clearplay filtering rights (if such a thing is legally cognizable) would be negotiated like the TV or airplane version rights.

"There are many filmmakers who support what we are doing." Aho told me. "But I suspect that most don't want to do it publicly. We do get some positive responses in the press. Keith Carradine spoke favorably in the press. Also, a director interviewed for the DGA show said he didn't have a problem with the ClearPlay concept."

I asked Aho about the staff of "movie professionals" Clearplay employs to create the filters.

"Our ClearPlay filter development team are trained, full-time professionals." Aho responded. "Nearly all of our people have some type of movie experience, either educational or practical. They are very good at what they do."

Aho is right, I watched a trimmed down version of BRAVEHEART on the RCA player and was impressed by how efficiently it dissected out the content I asked it to cut. Obviously, I prefer the film without the editing, but it was still a mature and literate viewing experience.

I asked Aho what the hardest genre was to filter and whether a rating could be assigned to a film once a filter was used.

"Slasher films and the "teen sex" genre like American Pie." Aho answered. "And yes, there are many films that cannot be filtered. Fortunately, there is little demand for these. ("Hey kids, let's all watch AMERICAN PIE, but this time with ClearPlay!") The movie rating system is copyrighted by the MPAA and is not published. We don't use it."

Yeah, right, and let's watch SOMETHING ABOUT MARY Clearplayed without, well, most everything. Of course, if you have kids, you might just warm up to the technology. No matter what, there is no doubt that like the edited for television versions and the awful airplane edits, Clearplay filters are here to stay and will provide viewers who want to control what they see all the power they need.

Clearplay, Inc., can be found on the web by going to http://clearplay.com/

Jonathan W. Hickman