Latest Cuts: BBFC and MPA

The Long Goodbye is a 1973 USA crime mystery thriller by Robert Altman.
With Elliott Gould, Nina van Pallandt and Sterling Hayden.  

Cut by the BBFC for an X rated 1973 cinema release but uncut on home video. Uncut and R rated in the US.

Promotional Material

When private eye Philip Marlowe (Elliott Gould) is visited by an old friend, this sets in train a series of events in which he s hired to search for a missing novelist (Sterling Hayden) and finds himself on the wrong side of vicious gangsters.

So far so faithful to Raymond Chandler, but Robert Altman s inspired adaptation of the writer s most personal novel takes his legendary detective and relocates him to the selfish, hedonistic culture of 1970s Hollywood, where he finds that his old-fashioned notions of honour and loyalty carry little weight, and even his smoking (universal in film noir) is now frowned upon.

Widely misunderstood at the time, The Long Goodbye is now regarded as one of Altman s best films and one of the outstanding American films of its era, with Gould s shambling, cat-obsessed Marlowe ranking alongside more outwardly faithful interpretations by Humphrey Bogart and Robert Mitchum.

Versions

uncut run: 111:42s pal: 107:14s		UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong language and violence for: 2013 Arrow Academy RB Blu-ray at UK Amazon 2004 MGM R2 DVD at UK Amazon 1999 Warner VHS 1998 Warner VHS US: Uncut and MPAA R rated for: 2014 Kino Lorber (RA) Blu-ray at US Amazon 2014 Kino Lorber R1 DVD at US Amazon
cut cut:   run: 112m pal: 108m		UK: Passed X (18) after BBFC cuts for: 1973 cinema release Thanks to Pete who obtained the BBFC cuts list: Reel 3 In the scene in which Marty smashes a bottle and mutilates a girl's face, etc.., cut from the flash of the bottle being smashed to the point, after she has been covered with a towel to the point where she moves left and is masked by the backs of the gangsters in mid foreground.

Bad Lieutenant is a 1992 US crime thriller by Abel Ferrara
Starring Harvey Keitel, Brian McElroy and Frank Acciarito  

Uncut and BBFC 18 rated for 1992 cinema release. The video release got caught up in the video nasties moral panic and was cut for BBFC 18 rated VHS release in 1995. It was released uncut for BBFC 18 rated DVD in 2009. The film was once banned in Ireland. The film was uncut and MPAA NC-17 rated in the US but there was also a cut version for release in Blockbuster video rental stores.

Summary Notes

While investigating a young nun's rape, a corrupt New York City police detective, with a serious drug and gambling addiction, tries to change his ways and find forgiveness and redemption.

Versions

uncut run: 96:05s pal: 92:14s		UK: Uncut and BBFC 18 rated for sexual violence, drug misuse: 2025 101 Films R0 4K Blu-ray at UK Amazon #ad released on 18th August 2025 2025 101 Films Amazon VoD [UK] at UK Amazon #ad UK: Passed 18 uncut for: 2003 Pathe R2 DVD at UK Amazon 1992 cinema release US: Uncut and MPAA NC-17 rated for: 2024 KL Studio Classics R0 4K Blu-ray/(RA) Blu-ray Combo at US Amazon #ad 2024 KL Studio Classics Amazon VoD [US] at US Amazon #ad 2010 Lions Gate R0 Blu-ray via UK Amazon and at US Amazon 2009 Lions Gate R1 DVD at US Amazon
cut cut: 1:47s run: 94:13s pal: 90:27s		UK: Passed 18 after 1:47s of BBFC cuts for: 1995 Guild VHS The video version suffered the bad timing of being released soon after the James Bulger media panic. Rape of the nun: cut: scene where nun's pants are removed revealing pubic hair. Injecting heroin: cut: close-up of Zoe Lund's arm as she injects herself. Injecting heroin: cut: Keitel drinking as he watches Zoe. Injecting heroin: cut: another shot of Zoe's arm with the needle in it. Injecting heroin: cut: close up of Zoe's face. Injecting heroin: cut: Zoe drawing liquid from spoon. (still present in the trailer!) Injecting heroin: 31s replaced by crude dissolve: Zoe injects Keitel. Led Zepplin threatened legal action against a track sounding slightly like "Kashmir". The offending song has been removed from 4 points in the video. Street drug dealing just before Keitel arrives to buy crack: now no music at all. Nun's rape originally to backing track "signifying rapper": now church organ music. Long tracking shot following Keitel into the hospital: now no music at all. End credits: now have Abel Ferrara himself singing.
cut		US:   Blockbuster created a cut version as it was company policy to refuse to stock NC-17 rated videos.
banned	Ireland	Ireland: IFCO banned the film around the time of release and the film has not been submitted since.

Promotional Material

101 Films presents Abel Ferraras iconic neo-noir Bad Lieutenant (1992), released on 4K UHD in the UK for the first time. Driven by a career best performance by the legendary Harvey Keitel as the titular Lieutenant, Abel Ferraras unfiltered tale of self-destruction, guilt, forgiveness and redemption shocked audiences and critics alike with its uncompromising depiction of crime in New Yorks seedy underbelly. In a career full of provocative filmmaking, the notorious Bad Lieutenant stands alone as Ferraras most incendiary and certainly his finest piece of work.

For twenty years, he has ruled the streets--gambling, stealing, using, killing. A corrupt, drug-addicted New York City cop spirals deeper into vice while investigating the brutal assault of a young nun. As the case forces him to confront his own sins, he walks the line of self-destruction and the elusive promise of redemption.

Brand new extras: - Shooting in New York - Interview with Abel Ferrara - Ken & Abel: Interview with Cinematographer Ken Kelsch - Bad Neighborhoods - The locations of Bad Lieutenant - Limited edition booklet includes Body of Evidence: How Harvey Keitels Bad Lieutenant Topped a Career of Fearless, Frank Performances by James Mottram, and Morality Crisis: The Vice and Virtues of Abel Ferrara by Rich Johnson

Archive extras: - It All Happens Here - The making of Bad Lieutenant - Audio Commentary with Abel Ferrara & Ken Kelsch - Interview with Abel Ferrara - Original Trailer

• Available for the first time in the UK on 4K UHD
• New interviews with crew and critics
• Newly commissioned artwork
• Limited edition includes essay booklet
• All existing extras included

Blaxploitation Classics: Volume Two is a 2025 film by Jack Hill, Arthur Marks
Starring Pam Grier, Peter Brown and Yaphet Kotto

There were four films that once fell foul of the BBFC.

US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:

• 2025 SHOUT! FACTORY [Blaxploitation Classics Vol 2] R0 4K Blu-ray at US Amazon #ad released on 19th August 2025

Cotton Comes to Harlem is a 1970 USA action comedy by Ossie Davis.
Starring Godfrey Cambridge, Raymond St Jacques and Calvin Lockhart.  

Cut by the BBFC for an X rated 1971 cinema release. Not released since in the UK. Uncut and MPAA R rated in the US.

Slaughter is a 1972 USA / Mexico action crime drama by Jack Starrett.
Starring Jim Brown, Stella Stevens and Rip Torn.    

Cut by the BBFC for 1973 cinema release and cut again for VHS. Uncut and MPAA R rated in the US.

Slaughter's Big Rip-off is a 1973 US action thriller by Gordon Douglas
Starring Jim Brown, Ed McMahon and Don Stroud

Cut by the BBFC for X rated cinema release in 1973.

Foxy Brown is a 1974 US action film by Jack Hill.
With Pam Grier, Antonio Fargas and Peter Brown.  

Uncut for 1974 cinema release and a 1982 VHS  which was seized by the police during the video nasties moral panic. Cut for 1987 VHS but uncut in all home video releases since 1998. Uncut and MPAA R rated in the US

Promotional Material

A film movement that defined a decade and made an indelible mark on American culture forever, blaxploitation cinema produced some of the most beloved and iconic action films of the 1970s and launched superstars along the way. Collected here together on 4K for the first time, Shout is proud to present 6 of the most essential films of the genre, starring icons like Pam Grier (Jackie Brown), Fred Williamson (From Dusk Till Dawn), Jim Brown (Mars Attacks!), and many more. Films included are Foxy Brown, Friday Foster, Cotton Comes to Harlem, Bucktown, Slaughter, and Slaughter's Big Rip-Off.

Bonus Content:

Disc 1 - Foxy Brown:

• 4K Scan/Restoration from the Original Camera Negative
• Presented in Dolby Vision
• Audio Commentary with Director Jack Hill

Disc 2 - Foxy Brown:

• 4K Scan/Restoration from the Original Camera Negative
• Audio Commentary with Director Jack Hill
• From Black and White to Blaxploitation: Interview with Actor Sid Haig
• A Not So Minor Influence: Interview with Actor Bob Minor
• Back To Black: Interview with Actors Fred Williamson, Austin Stoker, and Rosanne Katon
• Theatrical Trailer
• Image Gallery

Disc 3 - Friday Foster:

• 4K Scan/Restoration from the Original Camera Negative
• Presented in Dolby Vision

Disc 4 - Friday Foster:

• 4K Scan/Restoration from the Original Camera Negative
• Theatrical Trailer
• Image Gallery

Disc 5 - Cotton Comes to Harlem:

• 4K Scan/Restoration from the Original Camera Negative
• Presented in Dolby Vision

Disc 6 - Cotton Comes to Harlem:

• 4K Scan/Restoration from the Original Camera Negative
• Theatrical Trailer

Disc 7 - Bucktown:

• 4K Scan/Restoration from the Original Camera Negative
• Presented in Dolby Vision

Disc 8 - Bucktown:

• 4K Scan/Restoration from the Original Camera Negative
• Theatrical Trailer

Disc 9 - Slaughter:

• 4K Scan/Restoration from the Original Camera Negative
• Presented in Dolby Vision

Disc 10 - Slaughter:

• 4K Scan/Restoration from the Original Camera Negative
• Theatrical Trailer

Disc 11 - Slaughter's Big Rip-Off:

• 4K Scan/Restoration from the Original Camera Negative
• Presented in Dolby Visi

Disc 12 - Slaughter's Big Rip-Off:

• 4K Scan/Restoration from the Original Camera Negative
• The Cost to be the Boss: The Blaxploitation Films Of A.I.P., Part Two -- An In-Depth Documentary Featuring New and Archival Interviews with Filmmakers, Authors, and Film Historians, Including a Brand-New Exchange with Director Jonathan Kaplan
• Theatrical Trailer

Thriller: A Cruel Picture is a 1973 Sweden action thriller by Bo Arne Vibenius (as Alex Fridolinski).
Starring Christina Lindberg, Heinz Hopf and Despina Tomazani.

The Original/Festival Version including director approved hardcore inserts was banned by the Swedish films censors for cinema release and was subsequently significantly cut to obtain a cinema release. The film was also heavily cut in the US for an MPAA R rating. This US Version was banned by the BBFC from a 1974 cinema release. Heavy cuts were then made to obtain an X rated UK cinema release in 1976. The Original Version was submitted to the BBFC in 2026 but the BBFC cut the hardcore inserts for a cut 18 rated Blu-ray release. There are several other versions featuring a mix of material from the above versions.

UK: The Original Version was BBFC 18 rated for sexual violence for sexual violence after BBFC cuts:

• 2025 Screenbound Pictures Blu-ray (rated 28/07/2025)

The BBFC commented in board meeting minutes [pdf] from darkroom.bbfc.co.uk :

The Classifiers discussed Thriller: A Cruel Picture, a Swedish crime drama, from 1973, in which a woman is forced into prostitution and later seeks violent revenge against her abusers

The film was previously submitted to the BBFC, in a pre-cut version, for cinema release in 1974 and found unsuitable for classification. It was resubmitted in 1975 203 following a change in BBFC leadership 203 and classified X in 1976 after further cuts were made to scenes of violence and sexual violence. It has not previously been classified for home video release

The film has now been submitted for a video rating, in its original uncut version.

The Classifiers focused in particular on two scenes of sexual violence, which depict the protagonist participating in sex work with male and female clients while under the control of a pimp who has forcibly addicted her to heroin. The scenes include explicit images of unsimulated masturbation, vaginal and anal penetration, and ejaculation.

The BBFC supports adults' right to choose their own entertainment as long as it remains within the law and is not potentially harmful. However, where a film or video raises issues or concerns that cannot be addressed by classification at a particular category, we may require cuts or other changes as a condition of classification.

Our Classification Guidelines state that such cuts may be required to portrayals of sexual violence that make rape, other non-consensual sexually violent behaviour or sadistic violence look appealing.

The Classifiers noted that the volume and detail of the real sexual activity in Thriller: A Cruel Picture far exceeds previous, and very rare, precedents for unsimulated (or apparently unsimulated) sexual activity during scenes of sexual violence in films classified by the BBFC. They unanimously agreed that the nature and quantity of the explicit and unsimulated images, in the context of scenes of sexual violence, is such that their effect is to eroticise rape in a manner that poses a risk of harm to viewers under the Video Recordings Act 1984.

The Classifiers determined that the scenes breached the BBFC's Guidelines and policy on depictions of sexual violence, and that cuts were therefore required to remove all explicit imagery in order to make the film suitable for classification at 18.