SHAM031/SHAM201 - Cannibal Holocaust: The BBFC Advice & Decision
 

Shameless Screen Entertainment has submitted a fully uncut version of Cannibal Holocaust to an advisory board at the BBFC who have advised them that the film would (only) have to be cut by 14 seconds!

"At 18 minutes - Remove sight of man killing small mammal with a knife. Cut required from 0:18:21 - 0:18:35."

The BBFC feels that all previous cuts to the scenes of sexual violence can now be waived as the scenes in question are horrifying and repugnant, and clearly not designed to eroticise or promote sexual violence. As for the other animal cruelty scenes (the turtle, monkey and pig), the BBFC's view is that these killings were quick, clean and humane and therefore do not contravene BBFC policy.

In conversation, Deodato has advised Shameless that, in his mind, the muskrat scene was the only animal-killing in the film where the animal was sacrificed, all of the other animals were eaten as was normal practice in that part of the world.

This minimal cut makes for the longest ever UK version of the film, although it should be noted that this is at the advisory stage and therefore the film has not yet been submitted for or received formal classification. This is such exciting news that Shameless has decided to release not one, but two versions of the film! This means that the Shameless release will feature this longest ever UK version and Deodato's 21st Century Edit, which will see the animal cruelty toned down.

This means that Deodato's new edit will not simply cut out the animal cruelty scenes, but rather will edit out the actual, obvious pain and cruelty inflicted on the animals, but keep the "fact" that it happened. As a result, Shameless is pleased to announce that in accordance with the director's wishes, Shameless' release of Deodato's 21st Century Edit version will contain less animal cruelty than the BBFC classified version!

This advice from the BBFC has got everyone at Shameless, Cine Excess and Cult Labs very excited as it will help us to develop an amazing edition of Cannibal Holocaust for the UK.

Watch this space for more news to follow over the coming weeks and months!

That's fantastic new for Shameless, I never imagined the BBFC would let this through without more sever cuts. I am really looking forward to this BD release now.

Looks like I'll be getting this after all!

fantastic

wow thats great news!!
Although I think most people will watch the 2011 edit!

nice looking forward to seeing what extras will be included

Amazing news- even though it's still some time till the final verdict.:cool:

Here's a real chance for creating one of THE defining "Cannibal Holocaust" releases.:rockon:

Fantastic news. I honestly expected the animal scenes to be still a major problem and therefore be cut to ribbons!

It will very interesting to see how Deodato's edit compares with the new UK edit. :nod:

14 seconds is 14 seconds to much..sorry but its 2011 ..movies should not be cut! Glad i have it uncut on many diffrent editions!

be glad its only 14 seconds...animal cruelty aint something many people wanna watch anyway.

I think most people were expecting the cuts to be a lot deeper. 14 seconds in practically nothing compared to what some people were discussing prior to this announcement!

I´m not happy at all! It´s part of the movie and should be left alone! But like i said ..who cares when it´s avalible uncut in other countries!

It´s funny when you read about people complaning about the great Arrow realeses if theres a small sound glitch for 1 sec or if theres a picture fault thats over before see it!...but if a movie is MISSING footage then it´s ok! Can´t understand it!

It's completely up to you and I know some people will be very unhappy about even such a minimal cut. But this is a pretty landmark decision on the part of the BBFC and goes completely against what the majority were expecting.

Wow! That's amazing news, who would have predicted that outcome?

Yeah, definitely. I'm one of the people who, perhaps hypocritically, didn't want to watch the animal cruelty and so am glad that an edited version is also going to be made available as well. This really is surprising news!

I'm pleasantly surprised as well to learn about this. Like many of you, I was expecting the BBFC to be harder on the film.

What the...hats off to the BBFC on this one. This is excellent news!

Like the other comments, I'm amazed that (if confirmed) the cuts are so minimal. I always thought that the BBFC were a bit harsh with some of the cuts, but I never thought that I'd see the turtle scene in full in the UK.

Bloody hell, I thought that they would want more than 14 seconds of cuts. I won't miss the killing of the muskrat one little bit. Even with all the stuff that's in the film, I found that scene abhorent and I have no problem with it's removal. As others have said, if they want an uncut version, it's pretty easy to get a hold of one. Sometimes the BBFC can pleasantly surprise you with their decisions.

Wow! :eek: I did not expect this kind of news in a million years! Well done BBFC (obviously, I still realise this is not the final verdict) :clap:

I have always used this argument when it came to the turtle and the monkey (I didn't know that they ate the pig afterwards). I don't understand how in the old BBFC cuts, they allowed the footage of the killing of the spider and the snake, but not the animals which were actually eaten afterwards. They used actual tribes people which consider monkey brains a delicacy.
I do completely agree with the muskrat comment though - that is the hardest animal scene for me to watch, probably followed by the pig.

yup exactly
this is a good step forward for the BBFC.

I'm gobsmacked by the decision and, if the whole BBFC feel that way, it basically gives Deodato free licence to do what he likes with the film and put out his own 'definitive vision'. It's great news for Shameless and a milestone decision (if it is verified) by the BBFC.

14 seconds? :confused: From my memory the killing of the muskrat only lasted a few seconds...I'll have to revisit the Grindhouse release...though it will only be the second time I've ever watched the full version :shocked:

this is fantastic news, I would probably go for the new Deodato version anyway as it saves me hitting fast forward on the animal scenes.

Has it been confirmed anywhere if this will be a dvd only release or is it also coming to blu-ray?

Oh and if anyone's listening, can we have Ferox next please?

That's pretty incredible news.

Cannibal Ferox is a different story when it comes to the animal killings - they are protracted and the animals are obviously in a great deal of suffering (the creature being crushed by the python for example)

I've never liked Ferox. It seemed like Lenzi absolutely wasted his talents from that film on.

Not me for one.
Totally gobsmacked!

Let's hope it all goes as planned.

I take my hat off to Shameless and the BBFC......

my point was can we an animal friendly but otherwise uncut Ferox?

aside from the animal killings would the rest of it pass uncut now?

The removal of the animal killings would be the best thing to happen to that movie...perhaps it would pass? Not too sure about the breast impalement though!

It has been confirmed that this will be a DVD and Blu-ray release. I confirm it in this thread.

Wow this is great news! Really surprised by the outcome, I honestly didn't see the BBFC being quite so lenient. Fingers crossed they don't change their minds in final stages.

You've jinxed it now! :fear:

Don't say that! :shocked:

that's made my night Sarah thank you,

day 1 purchase for me and the first cannibal classic to hit High Definition, can't wait

I must be the only person that agrees with you, OK I admit it's nice to see only 14 seconds being cut, but a cut's a cut. WHEN WILL THE BBFC START TREATING ADULTS LIKE ADULTS?

Point taken......but compared to what was previously released,it's a bloody miracle!

If I want to watch the muskrat scene I'll watch my uncut dvd. As it is, I take my hat off to Shameless and the BBFC, well done. And whilst I'm holding my hat here does anyone have any sauce to make it a little tastier, as I'm currently eating it.

Shaping up to be a pretty essential release. Too early for artwork talk I'd imagine, but the GO Video artwork is a shoe-in, right? Without the carrot of course.

Wow, i'm shocked the BBFC have let everything else through but the muskrat scene. I wonder how Cannibal Ferox would fair these days?

Too much salt is bad remember Trench! :lol: