Say goodbye to the Countess Dracula/Vampire Lovers DVD (1 Viewer)

[William Miller]

It looks like MGM has done it again.

Remember when they pulled Swamp Thing because of complaints that the PG rating did not match the actual sexual content in the movie?

The rumor is that they have done this again with the recently released Countess Dracula/Vampire Lovers DVD. Countess is rated PG and they apparently have recevied many complaints about this rating.

There are still a lot of copies out there but it won't be long before the only place you will be able to buy one is on eBay.

A quick search of various online retailers seems to confirm this rumor because it looks like it is going...going...almost gone.

 

[Sergio Martorel]

The things I want to say about that will automatically ban me from this board, so I´ll fume silently instead.

 

[PhilipG]

All they have to do is replace "PG" with "Unrated" on the cover.

Lunacy.

But stranger still that people would buy a horror double-bill called "Countess Dracula" / "The Vampire Lovers", and not expect horror or the odd bit of exposed flesh.

At the end of the day, it's a great disc at a great price, so I don't expect it to last long on the shelves.

 

[EdwardKarlinski]

Would you mind citing the source of your information? Unsourced rumors are absolutely worthless.

 

[William Miller]

Would you consider the MGM website a good source?

It currently says this about Countess Dracula/Vampire Lovers:

"This DVD is currently unavailable."

 

[EdwardKarlinski]

Would you consider the MGM website a good source?

Not in this case, as the website does not confirm your rumor. It merely states that the DVD and VHS are currently unavailable on this title. As no reason is given, you still need to source your rumor that this is due to a problem with the rating. You certainly did not get it from that MGM web page.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

I was surprised that they haven't ever rereleased Swamp Thing with the cover corrected to Not Rated. Maybe they resubmitted it for rerating?

 

[AlanBrom]

Yeah, I have been asking everyone about this, and it seems to be just a rumor. It's still on the shelves everywhere, and from what I hear, it's been a top seller with online retailers.

 

[William Miller]

As I stated in my orignal post, it is a rumor.

I did not say it was a fact.

I got my information from various message boards.

Many posts on this forum contain various rumors that do not turn out to be true. But on the other hand, many rumors posted here in the past have turned out to be correct.

The fact that there are still copies out there and the fact that it has been a best seller have nothing to do with the fact that now it might be discontinued.

 

[EdwardKarlinski]

Many posts on this forum contain various rumors that do not turn out to be true. But on the other hand, many rumors posted here in the past have turned out to be correct.

This may be true, but it is irrelevant, as we are discussing only your current thread.

 

[William Miller]

Boy, Edward is certainly on my case.

Journalists do not tell their sources.

But I am not a journalist, so I don't care about that.

I will give you one link below but I am not going to take the time to go back and find all of the ones I saw last night as I was squandering time surfing the web when I should have been working at my home based business.

 

[William Miller]

I believe the rumor that the reason it possibly has been discontinued is due to the PG rating because MGM has set a precedent with the Swamp Thing episode.

I don't know how Countess Dracula got a "PG" rating because it looks like it fits into a "R" rating. And if there are parents who have let their children see this and were outraged by the rating, I don't blame MGM for doing what they have to do. Of course, the other movie on the same disc is rated "R" but I guess that doesn't matter.

I don't think you can say "Unrated" on a movie if it has been officially rated. So MGM would have to resubmit this movie for a new rating and hope that this time it would get an "R". I assume the "PG" came from the original rating and times have changed as to what determines ratings these days.

 

[John Hodson]

William; I think you've done everyone that has even the slightest interest in the excellent two film set a favour. If the rumour is correct, they will be in before the stocks dry up, and if not, well, they'll have added a very nice disc to their collection for a moderate cost. If you're a fan of the genre, you couldn't ask for a better presentation than MGM have given these Midnite Movies.

Win win

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So many films, so little time...

 

[EdwardKarlinski]

Thank you, William. That is what was required. Now we have a basis for judging the substantiveness of the rumor.

 

[Sergio Martorel]

I think the only FACT we have here is that this movie is getting increasingly difficult to buy online. And that, by itself, is annoying enough.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

If you're a fan of the genre, you couldn't ask for a better presentation than MGM have given these Midnite Movies.

Almost. They should have made Countess Dracula an anamorphic transfer, but MGM is ignorant to how to do 1.66:1 films properly on DVD.

Also, as far as providing proof by linking to other forums, I think this practice is frowned upon here. Official sites or news is fine, but discussion groups are not AFAIK.

 

[AlanBrom]

Actually, when 20th Century Fox originally released COUNTESS DRACULA in U.S. theaters, most of the nudity was cut to get a PG rating (I saw this with an even worse butchered VAMPIRE CIRCUS). MGM's transfer reflects the British version which would probably get a PG-13 or an R today.

 

[MattHR]

In a recent dealer promo-mailing from MGM, they indicated this dvd was accidentally labeled "PG", when in fact it should have been "R". They said dealers could return their inventory if they chose. They said they would be correcting this "typo" on the next pressing, and the title would NOT be discontinued.

 

[John Hodson]

Accepted.

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So many films, so little time...

 

[Dan Rudolph]

The MPAA website lists COuntess Dracula as PG (originally R). The website makes no distinction between edited versions and simple reratings though. While you were able to get away with a lot more in a PG in the pre-PG-13 days, Countess Dracula seems a bit over the line. Most likely they put the R version on and didn't realize it was a different cut that had been rated PG.