I've had an email (thank you!) to say that the 'without cutting' comes from the print the distributor (Entertainment in the UK) submitted. So the BBFC asked for no additional cuts *to that print*. So I bet it's cut to buggery in the UK, as the US version has an awful lot of swearing...

gossi | April 11, 16:34 CET

Will the UK DVD be just as butchered when it comes out?

Jackal | April 11, 16:56 CET

Why would that be the case gossi ? I seem to remember that 'Midnight Run' for instance (from my, as it turns out quite small, mental repository of films with a lot of swearing in) arrived more or less uncut and that was a 15.

Now if it had head-butting in it, that'd be a whole different ball of fish kettles.

(for those who don't know, UK film and TV has a special aversion to head-butts and has cut them from 'Attack of the Clones' and 'Goldeneye' to name but - ahem ;) - two films affected)

Saje | April 11, 17:14 CET

There's no head butting! The children are safe again.

gossi | April 11, 18:41 CET

Far more seriously, the BBFC cut a "head-butt" from Buffy episode Dead Man's Party as well.

bovik | April 11, 18:43 CET

You've got to be kidding me. Head butting is forbidden for kids, ffs? And I thought US censorship was out of control. *shakes head*

billz | April 11, 20:25 CET

Whilst many decisions made regarding film and TV/DVD certification are often inexplicable I do have to say that having been on the receiving end of more than one head-butt in my life (possibly a downside of being Scottish) I am not inclined to recommend it for kids!

alien lanes | April 11, 21:52 CET

"UK film and TV has a special aversion to head-butts"

Really? I've seen countless numbers of head-butts on "Shameless". Complete with that horrible sickening sound...ugh. Its all they seem to do.

Apocalypse | April 11, 22:45 CET

TV and film are regulated by different people. To make matters more confusing, the BBC and other channels are also regulated by opposing forces. So, basically, if you are on Channel 4 - headbutts are fine. BBC? No. Films? No.

That said, with regards to pretty much everything else, the UK is lax. You won't find networks being fined large amounts for showing breasts here. Manic swearing? Also fine.

gossi | April 11, 22:55 CET

Part of Channel 4's mandate is to offer alternative programming (to the more mainstream first 3 channels) so they have always been more lax with nudity, swearing, violence etc. (especially if it's the sort of thing that the BBC wouldn't traditionally have shown). BTW, it's not that you can't have head-butts, it's just that it may nudge your certificate up (in the cinema) or the recommended time of broadcast (on TV). Shameless, for example, is usually shown at about 10:30 to 11 pm or later, way past the watershed.

As gossi says though, most other things are pretty lax. It's always amusing to see US guests on UK late night talk shows (say around 10:30 pm) since they're amazed that they can say shit, bastard, crap maybe even fuck and it's not much of an issue (I think the C word would be a bit much though).

And, yep, second that dashboardprophet, it's like getting punched square on the nose (bad enough in itself) by a large, bony, football shaped fist. It's not big and it's not clever. Say No to Head-Butts Kids !

Saje | April 12, 00:15 CET

Very clear description, Saje! I definitely, definitely wouldn't like to get head-butted, but considering the kind of gun violence and exploding-heads and car crashes that get a PG-13 in the States, and considering that the UK has no problem with boobies (yay! crash bang!) or "language," I'm still just surprised that the UK film ratings get squirmy about head butts.

billz | April 12, 07:28 CET

Yeah, we can be a pretty strange bunch billz ;)

(have you seen/heard of Morris dancing ? There goes the national reputation... ;-)

Saje | April 12, 13:26 CET

I wonder if it's to do with the actual likelihood that kids will go out and copy things. Guns and high explosives? Not readily available for the average suburban pre-teen. Swearing? Not really a big deal. Boobies, also not a huge deal. But headbutting really *does* hurt, and is fairly easy for a kid to copy.

I also saw my first Slither ads in the UK yesterday, on a bus. Naked lady knees in a bathtub, with a big slug on the edge of the bath.

Mehitabel | April 12, 14:17 CET

Exactly right Mehitabel. Headbutting is classed as "imitable violence", I think the phrase is. (There was a headbutt cut from Attack of the Clones I think.)

But as others have said, we have no aversion to swearing in our films.

mjwilson | April 12, 15:21 CET

For anybody interested, there's a ton of Slither stuff on James Gunn's website (jamesgunn.com), where he talks about Joss and Nathan. He's also put up 'furry' artwork for the movie people on SerenityMovie.org have drawn.

gossi | April 12, 16:54 CET

Headbutting is classed as "imitable violence"

You know, that actually makes sense. Although, I have to say that the sad truth is, in the U.S., putting a cap in someone's ass using a gun to harm someone is actually very "imitable," too. :-(

(have you seen/heard of Morris dancing ? There goes the national reputation... ;-)

*clicks on link*

*jaw drops*

Aw, that's ok, Saje. We have square dancing. And Deal or No Deal. (gods, I hope that's not based on a British show!) ;-)

Actually, I appreciate your explaining Morris Dancing. It's mentioned in some eps of Blackadder, one of my favorite DVDs, and I figured it was something very British and very not-awesome, and now I know for sure. Heh!

billz | April 13, 03:25 CET

We have Deal or No Deal too, although it's a bit less glamorous as far as I can tell. Not sure where it started though.

mjwilson | April 13, 20:32 CET

The other thing about the head-butts is whether in the context it is clear that the person actually doing the head-butt is hurt, too, not just the person being head-butted.

Often you'll find that a lower certificate is granted if the head-butt is removed, but that the distributor was offered the higher certificate without the cut: those details are put onto the BBFC website these days.

I've always wondered whether the head-butt in Serenity is why that got a 15.

But language isn't usually too much of an issue, these days - even the "C" word gets into 15 films now (whereas a few years ago, that was an automatic 18).

Kiddo | April 14, 14:58 CET