Why was the Jango headbutt cut out of the UK version?

I was surprised to learn about this edit. Was there a reason for this? I'm pretty sure Jango's decapitation in the Geonosis arena was left in, and I would''ve thought that a beheading would be far worse then a headbutt.

Are there other examples of movies where there have been censored edits? I would like to get an idea of how different countries perceive what is acceptable and what isn't.

[image=http://www.sgtfretsurfer.com/Grilled-Sarlacc/s/i/splash.jpg] [image=http://www.sgtfretsurfer.com/Grilled-Sarlacc/s/i/aotc_dvd026.jpg]
Headbutt in action.

 

Headbutts are very tightly regulated by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). To keep the PG-rating, that headbutt had to be cut out.

I don't know why it is, but both headbutts and ninja weaponary (especially nunchakas) are usually banned/removed from all but the higher rating videos and programmes. When the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon was shown here, Michealanglo fight scenes were heavily edited so that we barely ever saw a whirling nunchaka. The title also got changed to Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles.

However, apart from a few little foibles like that, the BBFC is one of the more lenient film boards in the world. Everything got passed on a pretty easy PG, even the decapitations. We also have no problem showing blood, wheras I believe Germnay has strict edits on that kind of thing, to the extent that blood has been removed from videogames before to conform.

Well, there y'go, potted history
If AOTC was a 15-rated film (films are rated U, PG, 15 and 18 here, with a little-used 12 rating included for movies) then the headbutt would've gotten through fine.

 

Well, DamonD answered it. I'm strongly against censorship, and whenever a film has been cut in the UK, I buy the DVD from another Region, usually the USA or Australia. I got AOTC uncut from Australia because it was quite cheap

Other films that were cut in the UK by the BBFC because of headbutts are: Charlie's Angels 2, The Matrix, xXx, Daredevil (theatrical version only, the DVD is uncut), The Mummy Returns and Sinbad (yes, the animated version). But they are inconsistent. Fellowship Of The Ring has a headbutt in it, but it got a PG uncut. I think it sometimes boils down to who gives the headbutt. If the bad guy headbutts the good guy, then I think it will be cut. But if the good guy headbutts the bad guy (like FOTR) then it has a better chance of being passed uncut.

But as DamonD said, the BBFC aren't as strict on other things. Look at Terminator 3, an R-rated film in the USA and it got a 12A in the UK and was not cut. The 12A is basically the same as the PG-13 in America.

But having a multi-region DVD player is essential. I can not watch a film if I know it has a bad cut in it, and the headbutt removal in AOTC is a poor edit (I saw it 5 times in the cinema so I still remember it quite well). A point to note about the Australian R4 DVD is that not only is it uncut, but it is dual-encoded with R2 as well, so it will work in a normal UK R2 DVD player

 

Thanks for the good info. So does that mean the UK versions of AOTC DVD still leaves out that 2-second headbutt? That would be funny that Lucasfilm produced a batch of DVDs to leave that out, but I can understand it if they had too. And about the ninja swords in the UK, were movies like Kill Bill and The Matrix Reloaded edited too?

I don't know why it is, but both headbutts and ninja weaponary (especially nunchakas) are usually banned/removed from all but the higher rating videos and programmes.

[edit-- ah, forgot about that part with the higher-rated videos/shows. So I would assume Kill Bill and Matrix Reloaded wouldn't have to be edited then.]

Another example of wildly different takes on ratings is a new Meg Ryan movie, called In the Cut (ironic title) which was edited down here in the US for explicit sexual content. It barely got by with an R Rating and almost received the dreaded NC-17 (no one under 17 allowed). Whereas in France it is shown uncut and passed by with a 13-rating just like that [face_shocked] and the UK had a 16-rating I believe. It's very interesting to hear about these different edits from so many countries.

 

To Summerise = BBFC suck.

Indy Jones and the Temple of Doom is edited too

And some of us don't have multi-region players

 

The BBFC is a lot better than it used to be (since the new director took over about 4 years back), and it's still one of the best around in terms of easing up on censorship.

It's not perfect, but it doesn't suck.

ah, forgot about that part with the higher-rated videos/shows. So I would assume Kill Bill and Matrix Reloaded wouldn't have to be edited then

Exactly. Same with stuff like Blade, or (back in the day) Highlander.

 

Well, if we're not getting everything the Americans get, I say it sucks.

 

JWOO

I live in the UK. I was amazed this year when Reloaded got a "15" and there is really nothing that graphically violent in it, whereas T3 got a "12a" and that had the "F" word and some gory violence.
I'm surprised that Daredevil was cut - it was a 15 in the cinema.

"12a" seems to have become the most popular certificate.

The UK censor is more lenient when it comes to sex - we have an "18" rating : no-one under 18 admitted, and in that they can go pretty far, they've even allowed scenes of fellatio recently. But "18" is not the same as NC17 which I believe is problematic because a lot of places won't advertise NC17 or even show it (is that right?).

BTW - does anyone know if us Brits are finally gonna get the uncut Temple of Doom on DVD?

g

 

If I remember correctly, the official reason for the cut was because someone wearing a helmet headbutted someone without a helmet, and they didn't want kids to emulate it and get hurt.

Doesn't make sense to me (considering some of the other things seen in the film), but censors never seem to make sense.

 

"does anyone know if us Brits are finally gonna get the uncut Temple of Doom on DVD"

No, the version of Temple of Doom on DVD in the UK is cut by 66 seconds. I bought the R1 boxset to get it uncut

The Rules Of Attaction (UK theatrical version) is a good example of the BBFC being more lax. They passed it with an 18 uncut for its cinema release. The American R-rated version is cut and is over one minute shorter than the UK theatrical version. But the BBFC have different rules for cinema and video, and Rules Of Attraction got cut by 90 seconds (it was the suicide scene that was cut - it was deemed too informative). The whole scene wasn't removed, but a lot of shots were substituted.

"I'm surprised that Daredevil was cut - it was a 15 in the cinema."

This wasn't the BBFC's fault. 20th Century Fox wanted a 12A for Daredevil and asked the BBFC for advice. Then Fox UK cut out a headbutt and a scene where Bullseye stabs Elektra through the hand with one of her weapons, and she pulls it out. But the BBFC still deemed the film too violent for a 12A so it got a 15. Fox restored the cut scenes for the UK DVD, so the 15 rated UK DVD is the same as the American uncut version

If you don't have a Multi-Region DVD player, go to this web site and see if you can hack your player.

 

The editing of Attack of the Clones by the BBFC greatly confused me. They left in decapitations, arms getting cut off, and talks of killing women and children, yet they edited out a headbutt. Crazy Brits

 

Weird, I never knew about that...Well I'mm American so I wouldn't know.

 

DarthFisto,
thanks, some interesting info there.
You say Matrix was cut too - but that was a "15" anyway, what was cut ?

g

 

To sum up:

The BBFC is more strict on violence, more leneint on sex.

The MPAA is more strict on sex, more lenient on violence.

Swell, eh?

And I believe headbutts are frowned upon in the UK because it's a popular tactic used by soccer hooligans in riots.

 

"You say Matrix was cut too - but that was a "15" anyway, what was cut ?"

Headbutts in two occasions. In the bathroom where Morpheus fights Agent Smith, when they are both lying on the ground (Morpheus on top ) Agent Smith has his glasses on. In the uncut version, Smith then begins to rapidly headbutt Morpheus (thus breaking his glasses) and then throws him off. But in the UK version you just see him throw Morpheus off and rise with his sunglasses.

The other headbutts happen in the end fight with Smith vs Neo. Can't remember the specific details. If you are in the UK, Channel 5 are showing The Matrix on Thursday night, I think. Last time they showed it, they showed the uncut version, so I bet any money they show the uncut version this Thursday (there is also a making of Matrix Revolutions on afterwards).

"The BBFC is more strict on violence, more leneint on sex."

That's true to a degree. Gun violence is not as frowned upon by the BBFC because guns aren't as freely available in the UK as in America. This is probably why T3 got a 12A despite featuring some gore (hand through stomach ) and multiple uses of the f-word. But a heatbutt is seen as an imitable technique, so it is cut out of films so they can get a lower rating.

The BBFC website is very good, and gives good descriptions of films that have been cut and why (probably more info than the studios would want to be published ). To check out the BBFC website, click here.

 

Wow, just checked the TV guide and The Matrix is on Channel 5 tonight at 9pm. Sorry for the wrong info.

 

In New Zealand AOTC was rated

M

Recomended for Mature audiances of 15 years or older!

 

If you think about it, kids in the playground know that cutting someones head clean off pretty much, without exception, results in the death, of the decapitatee. (Apparently 9 out of 10 decapitated people die). Also the kind of 'tool' needed to decapitate someone are hard to come by for most kids (american kids not included obviously).

However headbutts are something any little tyke can do anytime he likes without knowing just how dangerous they can be. Also the fact that Jango's mask was a toy for sale was a factor too (reason being a headbutt from a kid in a moulded plastic mask would be even worse).

Bloodless decapitations, however strange it may seem are more fantastical and therefore less likely to invite copycat behaviour than headbutting.

 

gezvader28, that's right, NC-17 films barely get any advertising here but there have been few NC-17 films at all. And some do survive through word-of-mouth and genuine curiosity, such as Showgirls. And about those movies in the UK that feature "fellatio", what were they? Were these movies released here in the US too, or movies only released in the UK?

As with the headbutts, very good points -- lightsabers and decapitations are not likely to be imitated on some playground or street but headbutts or other strikes could still cause serious or fatal injuries.

 

Is this why we had to come to the rescue during WW II?

 

No, President Roosevelt was known to be a firm supporter of the Jango headbutt.

 

Is this why we had to come to the rescue during WW II?

I'm no expert on history, but would you really have come to help had the Japanese not bombed you at Pearl Harbour first?

 

Is there any reason why the ratings on DVDs and TV have to be different? Here in Australia, the AOTC DVD is M rated and they're showing AOTC on TV soon. That's PG.

 

"Is there any reason why the ratings on DVDs and TV have to be different? Here in Australia, the AOTC DVD is M rated and they're showing AOTC on TV soon. That's PG."

Well, here in the UK the TV adverts showed the headbutt, so all the kids had probably already seen the headbutt anyway. There is usually two different bodies to rate things and they both have different standards.

 

Some people just can't handle my brutal tactics.