Melon Farmers Original Version

The Hunger Games


UK version gets cut for a 12A


 

Update: The Daily Mail and Mediawatch-UK recommend...

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire


Link Here 17th November 2013
Full story: The Hunger Games...UK version gets cut for a 12A
The Daily Mail is thankfully providing a little hype for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Surely the film makers are appreciative as otherwise the film seems to have proven very uncontroversial compared with the previous film. the Daily Mail writes:

With a public execution, a violent beating and frenzied animals, it hardly sounds like ideal entertainment for children. But film censors appear to think otherwise -- granting The Hunger Games: Catching Fire a 12A rating, which means it can be seen by under-12s if they are with an adult.

In one scene viewers witness a man being flogged and whipped by soldiers and are shown his wounded and bloodied back. Later, an elderly man is clubbed by two soldiers and publicly executed by a gunshot to the head.

The BBFC passed the film 12A for moderate violence and threat and infrequent strong language .

Vivienne Pattison, of the morality campaign group Mediawatch-UK spouted:

The problem with this particular film is that it originates from a book designed for children. Success: The blockbuster has made Miss Lawrence a household name. But critics blast the appeal to children

And there is a very big difference between reading a gory image on the page than burning it into the retinas of young children watching it on the big screen in the cinema.

Although the rating suggests there may be some adult scenes there is still little guidance, and there is nothing in place to stop parents or guardians from taking children as young as six or seven to the cinema to see the film.

The story environment at times is quite realistic and therefore the horrific violence is glamorised.

In a society in which children are exposed to so much violence and adult imagery we should be working to protect youngsters from further exposure in films and games. We don't need to terrify children to entertain them.

Pippa Smith of the religious morality campaign group, Safer Media said:

The film industry puts too much responsibility on parents. It isn't fair they should have to make the decision whether they take their child or not when the guidelines are so vague. Classification on films needs to be much stricter.

 

 

Update: The Hunger Games...

Pictorial BBFC cuts published


Link Here18th September 2012
Full story: The Hunger Games...UK version gets cut for a 12A

The Hunger Games is a 2012 US Sci-Fi action film by Gary Ross.
With Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth. See IMDb

The good people of movie-censorship.com have identified the BBFC cuts for the 12 rated version of The Hunger Games:

  • Blood has been digitally removed from a brick, which had presumably being used as a weapon
  • 2 instances of bloody knives being de-bloodied
  • 4 instances of wounds that no longer spurt blood
  • 2 shots of blood were cleared up from a wall and a suitcase
  • 2 shots of a bloody corpse have been de-bloodied
  • 2 Scenes showing Katniss' wound featured less wound and more tending
  • A scene showing Katniss threatened with a small knife featured less of the knife and more close ups of the aggressor's face

...See pictorial details

Note that the current 12 UK DVD features this cut version whilst the 15 rated UK Blu-ray features the uncut version.

 

30th March
2012
  

Updated: The Hunger Games...

A pre-cut version is further cut by the BBFC for a 12A rated cinema release

The Hunger Games is a 2012 US Sci-Fi action film by Gary Ross. With Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth. See IMDb

A pre-cut version was further cut by 7s by the BBFC for a 12A rating for intense threat, moderate violence and occasional gory moments for:

  • UK 2012 cinema release

The BBFC commented:

  • The company chose to make cuts in order to achieve a 12A classification. A number of cuts were made in one scene to reduce an emphasis on blood and injury. These cuts, which were implemented by digitally removing sight of blood splashes and sight of blood on wounds and weapons, were made in accordance with BBFC Guidelines and policy.

    An uncut 15 classification was available.

    These cuts were made in addition to reductions already made following an earlier advice viewing of an incomplete version

The US release is PG-13 rated

Update: Pre-cuts Outlined

14th March 2012. See article from bbfc.co.uk

The BBFC have updated their page describing cuts to The Hunger Games. They have now outlined the pre-cuts.

The BBFC comments now more fully explain the cuts:

  • This work was originally seen for advice in an unfinished form. The company was advised that the film was likely to receive a 15 certied 12A classification could be achieved by making a number of cuts and visual reductionont>

    When the finished version of the film was submitted for formal classification, cuts had been made in four scenes of violence and in one scene showing details of injuries. These reductions were implemented by a mixture of visual cuts, visual darkenings and the digital removal of sight of blood.

    In addition to the reductions already made during the advice process, the Board required further reductions in one scene following formal submission of the finished feature. A number of cuts were made in one scene to reduce an emphasis on blood and injury. These cuts, which were implemented by digitally removing sight of blood splashes and sight of blood on wounds and weapons, were made in accordance with BBFC Guidelines and policy.

    An uncut 15 classification was available.

Offsite Comment: 13-year-olds should be allowed to see splashes of blood

14th March 2012. See  F rom  blogs.telegraph.co.uk by Brendan O'Neill

And secondly, the whole point of The Hunger Games is that it is bloody and gory and gross and mental. As anyone who has spoken to a teenage fan will know, the thing that adolescents love about this trilogy of books, written by Suzanne Collins, is their violence (and also their strongly anti-state undertone).

The reason teens love these books is because, unlike Twilight (which actually has lots of blood but absolutely no personality), they are quite violent and disturbing. The trilogy's army of young fans will be able to handle seven seconds of red stuff.

Offsite: Daily Mail have been trawling Twitter and Mumsnet for comments from 'concerned parents'

27th March 2012.  See  article from  dailymail.co.uk

Some parents have complained the film scenes of murder and bloodshed were too graphic to be appropriate for children and suggested it should be rated 15.

Scenes that have upset some parents include one where a girl screams for her life as she stung to death by killer wasps, another when a young child is skewered with a spear, another battered with a brick and scenes were piles of bodies lay fallen after bloody battles between the combatants. The film's star, Jennifer Lawrence has defended the film's content

Some took to social networking sites such as Mumsnet and Twitter to voice their concern.

One mother said: It is really good, but I thought it was really stretching the 12 rating. [My 12-year-old] was so distressed at one particular part, not long before the end that we had to leave the cinema.

Another added: You don't see much gore but it's implied and some death scenes are quite shocking. You see a lot of dead faces and it's very realistic. There's one bit where the whole cinema rocked back in its seats and went "aaargh" together.

Others suggested it should have been rated 15 to avoid the risk of younger children being brought to see it by parents unfamiliar with the content.

...Read the full article

Offsite: Daily Mail find a couple of experts to whinge at The Hunger Games

28th March 2012.  See  article from  dailymail.co.uk

Geoffrey Beattie, professor of psychology at Manchester University, says watching teens killing each other will have a stronger effect on young people than adult battle scenes. He said:

If you identify with the characters then it is going to seem more familiar and ... the things that happen will feel more visceral and have a stronger emotional impact on you.

There is a danger that there is so much death or violence that teens become desensitised.

Writing about the film on her website, best-selling author and paediatrician Dr Meg Meeker said:

Kids process images they construct in their minds from written words differently than they process large, hyper-real images on a screen. Starlets: The film which stars Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth grossed ?5million in the UK in its opening weekend

During the preteen and teen years, children's minds are mentally pliable. They are being hard-wired... So, when an image comes into a teen's brain it melds into that wiring and sticks.

Offsite: But Support from the Telegraph

30th March 2012.  See article from telegraph.co.uk by Robbie Collin

The BBFC have got the 12A rating spot on. There's nothing in The Hunger Games that a 12-year-old shouldn't see, but more importantly, there's a lot that they should.

...Read the full article




 

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