Films cut by distrubitors

[Rick Grimes]

I had to start a new thread to vent due to what I consider to be a ridiculous decision from the Australian Classification Board.

Bumblebee just scraped by, censored, to a PG rating!
The Uncut version was given an M rating.
Then a censored version was also given an M. But cooler heads prevailed, upon review, and the initial "modified version" that was submitted got by with a "PG - Mild science fiction violence, mild themes, some scenes may scare young children"

Here is how it all went down:
The Classification Review Board has received an application to review the classification of the film Bumblebee.
Bumblebee was classified M (Mature) by the Classification Board on 20 November 2018. A subsequent modified version was submitted and was classified M (Mature) by the Classification Board on 4 December 2018.

The distributor asks for the decision to be reviewed.

On December 11 a three-member panel of the Classification Review Board has unanimously determined that the film Bumblebee is classified PG with the consumer advice 'Mild science fiction violence, mild themes, some scenes may scare young children'.

The UK has a cut version that was submitted to get a UK rating 12A (Aussie PG equivalent), so I would assume we will be getting the same censored UK theatrical version at our cinemas.

For more, here is the link to the OFLC regarding the Bumblebee classification saga: http://www.classification.gov.au/Pub...-releases.aspx

There is a trend here as these kinds of crazy decisions are not new:
In 2015, Blinky Bill the movie was initially rated PG, but got a G rating upon review.
In 2016, TMNT: Out of the Shadows got an M rating, but upon review got a PG rating.
And also in 2016, X-Men: Apocalypse initially got an MA15+, but upon review, got an M rating.
FYI, Blair Witch got an MA15+, but after it was reviewed, it stayed MA15+... Considering Jigsaw was initially R18+ and it got an MA15+ upon review, I think it is ridiculous that Blair Witch couldn't get an M, considering Jigsaw had way more graphic violence than Blair Witch (which was pretty tame).

However, the biggest worry is that this is the first time in a long time (if not ever), that a film other than R rated or Refused Classification films has been modified to make the classification board happy.
I am perturbed because this case sets a bad precedent. The last thing I want to happen here in Australia is that we start getting censored theatrical and/or Blu-Ray releases, just like the UK does.

Hence, in this case, I hope we get the US Blu-Ray with a branding "Harder Extended Cut" (with an M classification), to be made available for the Australian Blu-Ray release, and simply a copy of the UK disc, with a PG rating.