MovieChat Forums > The Detective (1968) Discussion > Racist Robert Duvall line cut from DVD r...

Racist Robert Duvall line cut from DVD release?


I saw The Detective on cable a few years ago. I distinctly remember a scene in which Robert Duvall's character says the N-word, I think in reference to the new African-American detective who joins the unit. It's just a minor moment, which shows how bigoted and nasty the Duvall character is meant to be, even to his fellow detectives.

So, I just finished watching the DVD version of this film and there was no such moment! Now, it could be that I had misremembered this but honestly, I'm 99% sure my memory's correct. I wonder, is it possible 20th Century Fox censored the film for its DVD release, or perhaps Duvall himself requested that it be taken out?

If anyone else can back me up on this or has a theory to add, please reply.

Jeremy

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IOf that's the case, it's really sad that they still kept the "fag" word so prominently. Gay still is the new black.

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Apparently Al Sharpton's people are watchdogs for new DVD's and lodge protests about language aimed at African Americans. I believe that rewriting film history can be arbitrary and a threat to freedom of speech.

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Apparently Al Sharpton's people are watchdogs for new DVD's and lodge protests about language aimed at African Americans. I believe that rewriting film history can be arbitrary and a threat to freedom of speech.
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I don't find that to be true. some films i have bought over the years have been in tact. i just looked at American History X and if above were the case, then the movie would not have been released on DVD.

maybe you're thinking of Badge 373?

one disturbing scene was when the black detective said he got the idea of interrogating the old man in the nude from the nazis. that was kind of disturbing.

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I love how Blazing Saddles, a brilliant anti-bigotry film, still carries an R rating over that word. I'm sure Hollywood finds its poking fun at gays to be deplorable as well. But honestly, it barely rates PG13.

We are oh-so-close to films getting a pass on unlimited f-bombs, but a solid R rating based on the appearance of cigarettes.

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Poster called "watpho" said:

<< IOf that's the case, it's really sad that they still kept the "fag" word so prominently. Gay still is the new black. >>

No, it isn't. Some gay people never discuss their private lives or even their marital status at the workplace, and therefore no one calls them *beep* or discriminates against them. You can't keep your skin color a secret.

This movie presents several gay characters fairly and without bias. If you don't like the way they are presented, then don't watch the movie.

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It's kind of ironic that the black detective played by Al Freeman, Jr. proves himself to be as brutal as Duvall later in the film when he too abuses a suspect by forcing him to strip nude.

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Since when are blacks less brutal than whites? Just look at Africa.

I guess what's ironic is the fact that blacks (and other minority groups) can be just as discriminatory against people who are different from them when in a position of power. (And even when not.)

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~~~~~Since when are blacks less brutal than whites? Just look at Africa.

I guess what's ironic is the fact that black people (and other minority groups) can be just as discriminatory against people who are different from them when in a position of power. (And even when not).~~~~~

I think the point you're grasping for is that power is bad for people and that racism is one of the things which helps disguise the fact. It's the environment that corrupts the new detective, not his skin tone.

Marlon, Claudia and Dimby the cats 1989-2005, 2007 and 2010.

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-my question to you is are you asking to really clarify something that has your mind boggled memory wise, are you asking for the sake of film integrity or is there another reason?

Personally, given Duvall's character, especially in the 60's, dropping the N bomb would be no different from drinking coffee and cleaning his hand gun.

Hell, I remember going 12 years back when they would play regular movies on tv, they would edit out all the bad words except the N word-what does that tell you.

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One of the most obvious signs of the PC scourge is that the f-bomb is no longer obscene, but the N-word is. Just wait until we get that icky Civil War edited out of our kinder, gentler history books.

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I don't understand editing out the word when it serves to show how racist and bigoted the cop was. Without hearing that cop say the word, we see a watered down version of his racist self. So what's the point of editing it out?

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They didn't edit out anything. The original poster "thinks" he heard it - it was never in the film. Ever. Do you believe everything you read on the imdb because if you do, well, you're kind of an idiot. :)

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I can't believe what I just read here. I'll bet you have a fifty foot circle around you at the office. :-)

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