Raiders of the Lost Media - Bully (Original Uncut Version)

Disclaimer: I could be wrong on some details. So take this post with a grain of salt.

Welcome to another Raiders of the Lost Media and this time I'm doing something slightly different. Typical when I do lost films it's usually scripted but this time I decided to do a documentary. This movie was still released but it was censored. So let me tell you about the uncut version of Bully.

Part One - What was Bully?


Bully was a 2011 - 2012 American documentary. The documentary followed the lives of five students who face bullying on a daily basis at their schools. It's produced by Where We Live Films and Cinereach and distributed by The Weinstein Company. It was directed by Lee Hirsch.




Part Two - Rating Controversy


The Weinstein Company initially planned to release the film unedited. However this caused a major uproar because film contained six usage of the word fuck which was said by students. Then on February 27, 2012 an online petition was created and directed towards the CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) in order to reduce the movie's rating from R to PG-13, because the R rating would prevent the intended audience from seeing the film. Over 300,000 signatures were signed but the MPAA was reluctant.




Part Three - Response


Joan Graves of the MPAA said "though Bully is a wonderful film, the organization's primary responsibility is to provide information to parents about the film's content". On March 26, 2012 The Weinstein Company announced that it would release Bully unrated in protest of the MPAA's decision. This restricted the movie to art-house and independently owned theaters since AMC, Cinemark, and many other American cinema chains have rules against showing unrated films. However AMC said it would allow minors to watch the film as long as they had a signed permission slip from a parent or guardian. Regal Cinemas did indicate they would play the film but it would be treated as a R-rated movie.




Part Four - From R to PG-13

In April The Weinstein Company came to an agreement with the MPAA. After toning down the film it received a new rating of PG-13. Which meant that children of all ages could watch the movie without an adult. Then The Weinstein Company announced that the PG-13 rated version of Bully would be released nationwide on April 13, 2012, it's widest release was in 265 theaters.




Part Five - Is The R-Rated Version Out There?


Both the Blu-Ray and DVD versions of the film only contain the edited version and the original uncut movie has yet to see the light of day. Although it has been said that R-rated movie has been released on DVD in other countries but whether or not that's true remains a mystery since no copies have surfaced online.




So that ends another Raiders of the Lost Media. Come back next time because I'll be telling you about a lost episode to the popular show Mythbusters. Also I updated the schedule to State of the Project.




State of the Project (Jul 10th - Jul 29th)


Jul 10th - Spider-Man: Homecoming Easter Eggs


Jul 13th - No War for the Planet of the Apes Review. Sorry.


Jul 17th - Road to Justice League - Justice League: Throne of Atlantis Review


Jul 20th - Raiders of the Lost Media - Bully (Original Uncut Version)


Jul 22nd - Valerian and The City of a Thousand Planets Review


Jul 24th - Cinematic Disasters - Foodfight


Jul 27th - Underrated Films - Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Review


Jul 29th - The Emoji Movie Review



NOTE: IF ANYTHING CHANGES I WILL TELL YOU.