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REWIND FEATURE: CENSORSHIP

We live in a strange world.

In America can watch people being shot, stabbed or strangled but if there is any sign of a breast or naked body on the TV screen then it is immediately censored! Over here in th UK, whilst we have more of a liberal outlook on sex and nudity (although hardcore pornography is still a no no), violence is a great concern to our censors - i.e. the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). They don't like to be referred to as censors, more as classifiers. However, they do censor quite a bit but it isn't always them who make the decision. This Rewind Special Feature explains censorship in the UK a bit more detail.

WHEN IS A FILM CONSIDERED CUT HERE AT REWIND?

Here at Rewind we judge a DVD release's cut status based upon the THEATRICAL VERSION in the original country of release. Should a DVD be released that contains additional footage (for a example a Director's Cut or a TV Version) then this will be noted in the comparison, however the original version is still UNCUT. For a examples of this, please see "Scream" or "Halloween".

WHO ARE THE BBFC?

The BBFC was first introduced on January 1st 1913 and were known as the British Board of Film Censors. Their first two rules were no nudity and no images of Christ! Their job was to view each film prior to release at the cinema and give it a certificate. It was set up by the government to "protect" members of the public from shocking scenes on the screen.

Jump on some 70 years to 1984 and, with the new technology of the Video Cassette Recorder becoming increasingly more popular, the Video Recordings Act (VRA) was brought into force. This new medium demanded that all videos must now also be classified just as films at the cinema are. The main reason for the VRA was due to the video nasty media scare of the early 1980's. In 1985, the BBFC got the greenlight to be the organisation to have the task of classifying home videos. Following this decision, they changed their name to the British Board of Film Classification to reflect their new role.

To this day, every film and TV programme that is released at either the cinema or on video or DVD has to be classified by the BBFC.

WHAT ARE THE CERTIFICATES THE BBFC USES?

The BBFC currently uses 8 certificates for film and video classification - Uc, U, PG, 12, 12A, 15, 18 and R18. Certificate 12 was not introduced to videos until the mid 1990's. Before then the film's certificate was either risen to 15 or cut to make it a PG. Certificate 12A is a cinema only certificate and came in force in September 2002. R18 (Restricted 18) is for films on sale in licensed sex shops only and feature harder and more explicit material. A history of the certificates and a wealth of other information can be found on the BBFC website.

WHAT OFFENDS THE BBFC THE MOST?

The most common scenes cut from movies are that of headbutts. Films which have had headbutts removed include The Matrix, Fight Club and even the U certificate Disney film Mulan! The BBFC do not approve of combined sex and violence either. Films such as Straw Dogs, which involves a troublesome rape scene caused the film to be banned in the 1970's. Two applications for a video certificate were rejected in 1999 (despite the fact that it had finally received a film certificate in 1995). It wasn't until 2002 that it was released on video.

The Japanese weapon Nunchukas also cause a headache for the BBFC. Until recently, any scene in any film which featured these illegal weapons had to be removed completely. However, there have been some re-releases recently such as Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story on DVD where less cuts have been applied.

Since the departure of the BBFC's long running president James Ferman, there has been a slightly more liberal attitude at the organisation. Films such as The Exorcist, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Driller Killer, Tenebre and The Toolbox Murders have all been granted certificates. The former two were passed uncut whereas the latter two still suffered over 2 minutes of cuts each. Driller Killer was initially released pre-cut by the distributor but is now also available uncut. Even the shock rape film The Last House On The Left directed by Wes Craven from 1974 was allowed a screening in a British cinema and has now been granted a certificate - albeit with some cuts.

IS IT ALWAYS THE BBFC WHO CUT FILMS?

This is one of the greatest misconceptions about British censorship. When a film has been cut, people often automatically assume it was "the scissor happy people at the BBFC" but this is not always the case. Sometimes, to gain a lower certificate, the distributor of a movie either pre-cuts a film themselves or asks the BBFC to do it for them. For example, here are 3 Warner Brothers films which demonstrate this point (you should note though that they are by no means the only company who do this):

Lethal Weapon 4 - to promote the more light hearted nature of the movie, over 2 minutes of footage was cut (including nunchukas) to reduce the movie from an 18 to a 15.
The Matrix - removal of headbutts. The BBFC would have allowed them to remain in the movie with an 18 but Warner again they wanted a 15.
Wild Wild West - removal of headbutts for a 12. Again if Warner had accepted a 15, the BBFC would have left them in.

The reason why film companies request a lower certificate is because more people can see it at the cinema, thus making them more money, but these cuts meant that Region 2 users had to lose out on all the audio commentaries because they would not have made sense with footage missing.

Related note - Fight Club was cut having headbutts removed and the film is Certificate 18. Apparently, the headbutts were particularly vicious even for an 18 rated movie.

IS IT ALWAYS ON SCREEN ACTION THAT IS REMOVED?

Not always. There is also occasions to reduce the sound in fight sequences. Again, The Matrix is quite a good example of this. Watch the fight sequences and you will notice how softer the blows sound. This, in someway, reduces the impact on the viewer.

Bad language is also sometimes cut. Entrapment had the removal of the f-word in order to receive a 12 rather than a 15.

IS IT THE SAME AS THIS IN AMERICA?

In America they have a completely different classification system. For example, at a British cinema a Certificate 18 film means no one under the age of 18 can enter the cinema. In America, their system is to allow under 18's in provided they are accompianed by a parent or guardian who is 18 or over. Their general attitude is that it is up to the parents to decide and control what their children are allowed to watch. The BBFC recently said that if the British public was ready for a system like this, they would be happy to make changes.

ARE THERE ANY FILMS WHICH ARE NOT CUT IN THE UK BUT ARE IN THE US?

Not normally. However, recently there have been some uncut films over here that have been censored in the US. American Psycho played uncut at UK cinemas whereas a few scenes were trimmed in the US. Also, Stanley Kubrick's final movie Eyes Wide Shut starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman was digitally altered in the US to remove shots of naked bodies and sexual activity. They did this by placing additional people in the contentious scenes to obscure the view. In the UK, it was completely untouched.

IF A US VERSION OF A MOVIE HAS A LONGER DURATION, HAS THE UK VERSION BEEN CUT?

There is a good chance that this movie would not have been cut. The US uses a television system called the National Television Standard Commission (NTSC). The UK and Europe uses Phase Alternate Line (PAL). Because of the different frame rates, a film in the US that has a running time of 90 minutes, may only be 86 minutes in the UK. There would have probably been no cuts applied to this film whatsoever. For more information, please visit the Rewind FAQ page.

HOW CAN I FIND OUT IF A PARTICULAR MOVIE HAS BEEN CUT?

If it is featured in the Rewind Comparison Database, then it will tell you there if it has been cut for UK release. Failing that check out Melon Farmers for a detailed list of cuts made to films or why not visit the classifiers themselves, the BBFC.

Thanks go to the BBFC for their help in compiling this article.