Note: The modified screens listed on this page, shown on videocassettes and DVDs as well as on non-premium television and airlines, are used in the United States of America and Canada. They are also used in some international countries.
April 13, 1994-present
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Visuals: On a black background, we see the words "This film has been modified from its original version. It has been formatted to fit this screen." in a Times New Roman font.
Trivia:
- This modified screen was also used by DreamWorks Home Entertainment around this time, mostly from 1998-2003.
- It exists in filmed and videotaped variants; the latter has a smooth fade in and fade out. The videotaped version is mostly seen on DVDs, though the 2003 Paramount DVD of The Wild Thornberrys Movie (fullscreen option) and the 2007 DreamWorks fullscreen DVD of Flags of Our Fathers use the filmed variant.
- Strangely enough, it also appeared on some Sony tapes (from 1994-95 and 2002-05), a few 20th Century Fox videos, and newer Universal Pictures films when shown on airlines until 2018.
Variants:
- On the 1994-95 VHS releases of Flesh and Bone (the first tape to use this screen), Addams Family Values, Searching for Bobby Fischer, Intersection, Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult, and Drop Zone, the text is in a bold, sans-serif typeface.
- This variant is also used on Lassie and the original rental release of Clear and Present Danger, except the spacing is looser.
- On the demo tape of Carlito's Way, the text is in a different font, cuts in and out, and the "this screen" in the second sentence is replaced with "your TV".
- On Spanish VHS editions of Universal films, the text is translated into Spanish, in all-caps and a different font, and appears over a blue background.
- A sub-variant exists on Spanish-language DreamWorks tapes, where the text is in a smaller font.
- On the 2000-01 Universal VHS releases of Erin Brockovich, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, U-571, and The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle, the filmed variant is squeezed.
- On the 2003 Paramount DVD of Rugrats Go Wild, the videotaped variant is stretched.
- On French Canadian VHS releases, the text is translated into French.
- Beginning with South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, many Paramount releases, mostly VHS tapes and DVDs, have the text in Garamond.
- On some Paramount VHS releases from the 2000s, such as My First Mister and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, the text is more condensed.
- On some 2000s Paramount tapes with the above sub-variant, the "this" in the last sentence is changed to "your TV."
- A couple of the earliest MGM/UA DVDs and the original airings of Save the Last Dance and Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging have the text displayed in a different, bolder serif font.
- On unrated DVDs and Blu-rays from Universal such as The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, American Gangster, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall (but on the latter format, it only appears if you select "Go to Extended Version" on the main menu and hit "Play"), the text reads "This film has been modified from its original version to include additional material not in the original release." in a bolded Arial font. This appears just before the films' unrated versions. On TV airings of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, additional text reads "It has been formatted to fit this screen."
- An early version appears on the 2000 DVD of Pitch Black, where the text is in Times New Roman, spaced across three lines, and fades in and out.
- On the 2019 UHD of American Gangster, this text is in a different font.
- On widescreen TV airings of Paramount and/or Paramount-distributed films, the modified text is written in Lucida Sans.
- The text may be revised to mention editions for aspect ratio, content and/or time constraints.
- On the 2004 VHS of The Manchurian Candidate, the fades are faster.
- On the 1999 VHS of Antz, the text looks thicker, the layout looks similar to Paramount’s variant introduced that year, and the "this" in the second sentence is replaced by "your television".
- On the 2005 Unrated UMD of Dawn of the Dead, the text simply reads "This film has been modified from its original version."
- A French Canadian variant exists on the 2003 VHS of The Core.
- On the original full-frame VHS of Apollo 13, the screen's duration is 3 seconds.
Technique: A digital graphic with fading effects. Most DVD releases from Paramount omit the fading effects. (Fullscreen DVDs from Universal, such as About a Boy and Evan Almighty, retain the fading effects.)
Audio: None.
Audio Variant: On Descriptive Video Service VHS's with this format screen, a DVS narrator reads out the complete text. Examples are Rena Baskin on Apollo 13, Kria Sakakeeny on E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Pat Lince on Meet the Parents, Chloe Leamon on Babe and Shrek, and Miles Neff on Seabiscuit and Ray.
Availability: Very common.
- Seen on fullscreen Paramount and (MCA/)Universal VHS releases from 1994 (with the standard variant first appearing on Paramount's Wayne's World 2) until the format's end in 2006 (ending with a screener tape of Paramount's An Inconvenient Truth). Also appears on fullscreen DVD releases, such as the Back to the Future, Jurassic Park, Babe, American Pie, The Mummy, Bring It On, The Fast and the Furious, and The Bourne films released prior to 2010, the first two An American Tail films, The Land Before Time, We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story, Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, Dudley Do-Right, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, The Scorpion King, Hey Arnold! The Movie, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, Kicking and Screaming, Curious George, Flushed Away, Kung Fu Panda, Titanic (international prints) and Hotel for Dogs. It also appeared on DreamWorks DVD releases formatted in fullscreen, as well as some VHS tapes, such as Forces of Nature, Road Trip, Evolution, The Time Machine, The Tuxedo, and the rated version of Old School (other DreamWorks tapes, including the unrated version of Old School, use their own modified screen). It also appears on the 1996 Triboro Entertainment Group VHS of Red Line, and the fullscreen version of Blue Underground's DVD of The Final Countdown.
- On DVD, the "edited for content" version appears on the 2000-07 widescreen DVD releases of Wonder Boys and The Heartbreak Kid (the latter's HD-DVD and Blu-ray counterparts also contain it).
- Strangely, it does not appear on the 1996 tapes of Jade (the 2001 special edition VHS does have this screen) and Primal Fear (only without previews), the VHS and full-frame DVD versions of Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure (TV airings and VHS/DVD releases outside US & UK still have this screen), and the screener tapes of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, The Prince and Me, Alfie, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, The Honeymooners, Elizabethtown, Aeon Flux, Year of the Dog, and Ghost Town, which do not have any modified screen at all.
- Even more surprisingly, it appears before the Feature Presentation bumper on the screener tape of Queer Duck: The Movie.
- It also appears on some Mexican VHS releases, such as Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius and The Crow (the latter a Miramax/Dimension Films production distributed by Warner Home Video there), and on the 2002 Universal demo VHS of Butt-Ugly Martians: Hoverboard Heroes, a series initially produced in full-screen.
- The "...formatted to fit this screen and edited for content" variant appears on the 1996 Paramount Family Favorites VHS of Andre and the 2007 fullscreen DVD of The Heartbreak Kid.
- The "...formatted to fit this screen and edited to run in the time allotted and for content" variant appears on the Television cut of Army of Darkness on the Shout! Factory Blu-ray.
Editor's Note: Nothing wrong with this modified screen, but it looks very unoriginal.
September 1, 1998-August 31, 2004; June 27, 2006-August 28, 2007
Visuals: Same as 1994-2005 Fox modified screen.
Technique: A digital graphic with fading effects.
Variants:
- On the 2006 demo VHS of Failure to Launch and 2007 full-frame DVDs of Dreamgirls, Norbit, and Blades of Glory, the 2005 variant of the Fox modified screen is used.
- On the 2004 VHS of Twisted, the word "its" was made into a contraction as "it's".
Audio: None.
Availability: Seen on the 1999-2001 VHS releases of 200 Cigarettes, The Birds, and Scrooge (in Scrooge's case, it was likely because the film was a Cinema Center Films production; CCF's library is owned by CBS, who previously had a video deal with Fox), as well as the 1998 pan-and-scan VHS/Laserdisc of Titanic. It was also seen on a 2002 UK VHS of The Trouble with Harry.
August 24, 2001-December 18, 2007
Visuals: Same as the Sony Pictures Home Entertainment modified screen.
Technique: A digital graphic with fading effects.
Audio: None.
Availability: Seen on the 2001 VHS of Enemy at the Gates and the 2007 screener VHS of Stardust.