No Joke…McG’s This Means War cut for a US PG-13 rating

Read more US Censorship News at MelonFarmers.co.uk

See article from chicagotribune.com

Fox has made cuts to its new movie offering This Means War. The Studio has now cut out a few sex jokes from actress Chelsea Handler, according to a source close to the project. The cuts were to avoid the R Rating handed down by the US film censors and obtain a PG-13 instead. Before making cuts Fox did in fact try to appeal against the R Rating but the appeal was turned down. This Means War is directed by McG and stars Chris Pine, Tom Hardy and Reese Witherspoon. Pine and Hardy play best friend CIA operatives who fall for the same woman.

Possessed by Censors…The Possession cut down to a children’s horror film

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See article from dreadcentral.com

Distributors Lionsgate have got their heart set of a PG-13 rating for the children’s horror The Possession. The film was originally given an R Rating but Lionsgate appealed. The appeal was turned down by the MPAA in November 2011 and so the R Rating stood. Now Lionsgate have cut down the movie to obtain the required PG-13 rating. Jeffrey Dean Morgan stars in The Possession, formerly titled Dibbuk Box, with Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert producing, and Ole Bornedal directing. The movie follows a divorced father whose youngest daughter becomes strangely connected to an antique wooden box she purchased at a yard sale. The film will open at the end of August 2012.

Friday the 13th…New page to maintain the cuts status of the series of Friday the 13th films

Read more Friday the 13th Films at MelonFarmers.co.uk

A new page has been added to maintain details of the MPAA and BBFC cuts to the Friday the 13th series of films: Friday The 13th (1980) Friday The 13th Part Two (1981) Friday The 13th Part III (1982) Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) Friday The 13th: A New Beginning (1985) Jason Lives: Friday The 13th Part VI (1986) Friday The 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988) Friday The 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday (1993) Jason X (2001) Freddy vs. Jason (2003) Friday The 13th (2009 remake) See BBBC Cuts Friday the 13th Films

007 Censor Cuts…Moaning Censors: Die Another Day at the MPAA

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In a turnaround for the Bond movies, 2002′s Die Another Day was passed ’12A’ uncut (and later ’12′ uncut on VHS, DVD and Blu-ray) in the UK, whilst a slightly edited version went out in the US, courtesy of the MPAA. Shortly after it’s release, producer Michael G. Wilson — perhaps aware of Bond’s tough censorship history in the UK — laughed and remarked, People have to buy the British version to see the whole thing! See article: Die Another Day at the MPAA

007 Censor Cuts…Rough Treatment. How film censors got their hooks into GoldenEye

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GoldenEye came before the BBFC in 1995, who viewed the film in a rough cut form. This is a common practice with filmmakers who are seeking a certain rating. They can submit their film (in an unfinished state) to the Board informally, who will suggest cuts to the film so that the desired rating is more likely to be achieved when the final, formal submission is made. Like Licence to Kill before it, GoldenEye went down this route. These are the cuts originally made in 1995 to the rough cut of the film. See article GoldenEye at the BBFC

Nightmare Censorship…Nightmare on Elm Street Collection on UK Blu-ray

Read more Latest UK Cuts at MelonFarmers.co.uk

UK 2011 Warner 1-7 Collection R0 Blu-ray at UK Amazon just released on 17th October 2011

Nightmare on Elm Street has suffered a little bit more from the US and UK film censors than perhaps it really deserved. A new UK Region 0 Blu-ray has just been released featuring the collection of Nightmare on Elm Street movies 1-7. There have no new submissions to the BBFC so the versions included are those previously released in the UK. Here is a summary of the current censorship state of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies in the UK. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1985 by Wes Craven) The cut US R Rated Theatrical Version was passed 18 without BBFC cuts. The US Collectors Edition laserdisc (Elite Entertainment) details cuts made as the film went through the MPAA: 5s : Tina’s corpse hitting the bed, and the resultant large splash of blood all over her boyfriend Rod 8s : A geyser of blood spurting up from Glen’s bed and hitting the ceiling. This R Rated Version is the defacto standard version in the US and UK, but there is a hard-to-find uncut version available, eg in Turkey A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s revenge (1985 by Jack Sholder) Uncut for an 18 rating here and an R Rating in the US. The film has never troubled the US nor the  UK film censor. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987 Chuck Russell) The US R Rated Version was passed 18 without BBFC cuts. But the US R Rated version was cut by the MPAA: The MPAA required some toning down of the gorier scenes. Most famously, the death of Taryn (switchblade toting punk girl). Originally Freddy injected her with heroin to the degree the top of her head blew out. The subtle tone down is kind of obvious when watching the film, as it fades to white before we’re shown the results of Freddy’s actions However this R Rated Version is the best available. A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988 Renny Harlin) Recent UK releases are 15 uncut. The film has never troubled US censors for its R Rating. Previously the BBFC cut the 1989 cinema release and subsequent VHS to obtain an 18 rating. At the time the BBFC censors were banning martial arts weaponry, so the following scenes have been cut: The first being the character “Rick” practicing martial arts in his garage and swinging the nunchuks. Secondly the character “Alice” realizes that she is absorbing all of her dead friends powers when they are killed by Freddie so she has a swing of the nunchuks. A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child (1989 Stephen Hopkins) The cut R rated Version was passed 18 without BBFC cuts. However this Version suffered 30s of cuts to appease the MPAA: A scene showing tubes and the likes from a motorcycle painfully embedding themselves into the unfortunate rider Dan and eventually totally fusing with the victim. A scene showing Freddy force feeding Greta her own innards extracted from a gaping hole in her stomach. There is also an uncut Unrated Version that was passed 18 uncut for the 1990 cinema release and subsequent VHS. However the cut R Rated Version has become the defacto standard for DVD releases. Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991 Rachel Talalay) The latest releases are uncut and 18 rated. The film has never troubled the US censors for its R Rating. Previously the BBFC cut the 1991 cinema release and 1992 Guild VHS to obtain an 18 rating. At the time the BBFC censors were banning martial arts weaponry and crossbows, so they made the following cuts: A sight of throwing star in Freddy’s leg was cut. Another throwing star pinning Freddy’s sweater to a wall was also cut. Maggie throwing another at Freddy deleted Maggie firing a crossbow bolt into Freddy’s leg was cut ( Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994, Wes Craven) Latest releases are 15 uncut here with an untroubled R Rating from the US censor. Previously, when it was first released on video in 1995, the BBFC gave it an 18 Rating.

PG13ification…A PG-13 version of Columbiana may be a squeeze too much for the UK

Read more US Censorship News at MelonFarmers.co.uk

Thanks to Gavin Salkeld

Columbiana is US/French action thriller about a female assassin who sets out to avenge her father’s murder. It has been noted amongst US film reviewers as perhaps the most violent of films that have been squeezed into a US PG-13 rating. As explained by Vaugh Fry in an article from vaughnonmovies.com: From a business perspective the PG-13 equals an increase in revenue. It allows the attractive high body count that appeals to a huge demographic: teenagers. It also allows these teens to go to the movies without their parents, be it through their own means or the tried and true dropped off method. Generally speaking, a film is planned out in the vision of the writer and then cut by the studio to meet the MPAA standards to attain this rating. R-rated franchises have fallen victim to PG13ification in their attempts to return money. Live Free or Die Hard omitted a recurring phrase made famous by series hero John McClane. Terminator Salvation rewrote the actions of characters, which in their very names are intended to kill, so that they instead harmlessly toss people around like toys. The themes found in a film should have a bigger role in the MPAA rating. Just this past weekend I reviewed Colombiana, a PG-13 movie about a female assassin. Maybe I’m on crazy pills but surely I’m not the only person in the world who can read this synopsis and clearly envision an R. By making Colombiana PG-13, the movie actually fails to deliver expectations, opting to blur or totally cut deathblows. Well maybe this is all a bit too much of a squeeze for the UK distributors. The version submitted to the BBFC seems to be a little more grown up and seems to sit happily with the uncut 15 rating awarded by the BBFC. The US film censors of the MPPA rated ColombianaPG-13 for violence, disturbing images, intense sequences of action, sexuality and brief strong language. The MPAA are very hot on strong language in PG-13 and stick to a maximum of 1 use, which is then referred to as ‘brief strong language’. However the version submitted to the BBFC contains 9 uses of strong language (eg ‘fuck’) as well as mild language (eg. ‘bullshit’, ‘bastard’, ‘shit’). The BBFC also describe the violence in Colombiana, and it seems to sit very easily with their 15 rating, and if anything, seems to be justified against not requiring an 18 rating. The BBFC wrote (spoiler alert): The film also contains scenes of strong violence. The thriller maintains a gritty and violent feel to the action and conflict and there are several scenes of strong, impressionistic violence with briefly focused upon visual detail. The early shooting of the protagonist’s father and the young daughter stabbing a knife in the hand of a criminal both have a strong impact. There are further strong moments such as an extended fight between the protagonist and a mafia henchman. This includes the some heavy blows to the face and groin, attempted strangulation with a towel, bashing of the head against a bathtub and further images of attempted strangulation with a belt. The Guidelines on violence at 15 state Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain and injury. While the violence in the film is strong, with some detail and sight of pain and injury being inflicted, it does not dwell on these elements. So perhaps the UK and presumably Europe are releasing an R Rated or Unrated version.

Violent Dream…Appeal for a PG-13 rating for Dream House rejected

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See article from thewrap.com

The MPAA Appeals Board have ruled against Morgan Creek Productions, deciding that Dream House,starring Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz, that the R rating stands.The board decided that the movie merited the rating because of some violence. Morgan Creek’s executive VP of marketing, Greg Mielcarz, told TheWrap that he still believes the film will ultimately receive a PG-13 rating: They gave us a list of several things in the movie that they thought should be cut. We’re going to … work with them together to ensure that we receive a PG-13. In order to have a rating changed, two-thirds of the members of the appeals board have to agree that the rating is clearly erroneous. The Motion Picture Association of America says that the ratings board reviews between 800 and 900 films each year and that fewer than a dozen ratings are appealed each year.

Significantly Cut NC-17 Version…More details on the US release of a Serbian Film

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See article from blogs.indiewire.com

Srdjan Spasojevic’s A Serbian Film will soon be getting a U.S. theatrical and VOD release. Twitch has done some digging and is reporting that low rent distributors Invincible Pictures will be giving the film a limited theatrical release on May 13th in cities still yet to be named. It will arrive on the big screen in an NC-17 cut running 98 minutes, with a longer but still slightly edited unrated version hitting FlixFling at the same time and running 103 minutes. Home video details are still being worked out, but apparently the theatrical version will land on DVD with the stronger cut getting the high-def treatment. By comparison the UK version runs 99:25s after 4:11s of BBFC cuts albeit with some cuts substituted. The BBFC noted the uncut submitted running time as 103:36s.

Target Audience…MPAA downgrade Miral’s R to PG-13 on appeal

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See article from hitfix.com See article from bbfc.co.uk

The US film censors of the MPAA, have agreed to overturn the R rating on director Julian Schnabel’s Miral. Schnabel and producer Jon Kilik had contested the ratings board’s decision that denied the film the lower PG-13. Their appeal succeeded. I understand the MPAA is by nature a protective organization, but I felt very strongly that they didn’t need to protect teenagers from my film, said Schnabel in a statement: Quite the contrary, teenagers are the intended audience for Miral’s story. I am very happy the MPAA proved to be open minded and ultimately agreed. Producer Jon Kilik agreed. We are happy to have the MPAA find that our film respected the guidelines of their rating system, he said. To have lost the ability to share Miral with the generation most affected by the story’s message would have been at odds with the meaning and purpose of our film. For comparison the UK film censor rated the film 12A uncut with the advice: Contains moderate language, violence and injury detail. The BBFC explained further in their extended classification information: Miral is a drama telling the stories of several generations of Palestinian women living through the occupation of their land since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. The film was classified 12A for moderate language, violence and injury detail. The film contains aggressive and directed uses of the words bitch and whore. This moderate language exceeds the terms of the BBFC’s PG Guidelines, where there may be mild bad language only and is therefore more appropriately classified at 12A. The film contains several sequences of documentary footage from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict depicting violence in military action and street riots that will be familiar from television news broadcasts. There is also one dramatised street riot scene in which a teenage girl is shot and killed. There is, however, little detail in these images which give a sense of the chaos and tragedy of the situation without presenting gratuitous displays of violence. The implied strangling of a character and the beating of a young woman with a stick, as part of an interrogation procedure by security forces, are also presented with discretion and without lingering on the details of the violence being inflicted. The Guidelines at 12A/12 state that Moderate violence is allowed but should not dwell on detail. There should be no emphasis on injuries or blood, but occasional gory moments may be permitted if justified by the context. Injury detail is seen in a hospital setting with some sight of injured soldiers but this is not dwelt upon to any undue extent. A key scene in the film involves the suggestion of a young teenage girl being sexually abused by an older male member of her family. The event dictates the path the girl’s life will take and although it is briefly distressing, the abuse is not shown with strong detail and mostly plays off the frightened reactions of the girl’s younger sister who is also in the room. The Guidelines at 12A’/’12 state that Sexual violence may only be implied or briefly and discreetly indicated, and must have a strong contextual justification. The film also contains a discreetly implied suicide, scenes of smoking which are not glamorised to any significant extent, and milder language such as hell and shit.