As stated previously, 2 versions of the film exist: the international & korean ones. But now, you can add the incredible BBFC version — from the British Board of Film Classification.
In the UK, the film got a 15-rating for “strong bloody violence” and “hard drug use“. AND, the best part, “cuts were required to remove sight of real animal cruelty“.
Which means, in England, you won’t see this:
Check it out on the trailer, between 1:27-1:31:
And there’s one more “cruel horse fall” I haven’t found. These cuts were done according to the Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937 which clearly prohibits films involving “the cruel infliction of pain or terror on any animal or the cruel goading of any animal to fury“. Did you know that?!
So, the BBFC version has 05 secondes missing. Just for that.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I don’t think it’s a bad thing to cut those scenes out but I think that the bbfc is a little hypocritical. Every year the most barbaric horse racing event The Grand National is broadcast on tv to millions of viewers….shouldn’t the tv censor (Ofcom) stop it from airing live?
go to around the 1:50 minute mark to see how brutal this sport is
I think that if the BBFC should make cuts to The Good, The Bad, The Weird, Ofcom should not allow The Grand National to air completely as a preventative measure and edit all the scenes where horses are injured out before allowing it on the air.
Again around the 4:33 mark another horse getting injured
Hmm… I wonder if the octopus scene from Park Chan-wook’s “Oldboy” and the fish scene from Kim Ki-duk’s “The Isle” would also be censored under this act. There’s also a simulated, but very realistic dog hanging scene in Bong Joon-ho’s “Barking Dogs Never Bite,” but the credits make it quite clear that no dogs were harmed during filming.
“Oldboy” & “The Isle” are both 18 rated in the UK. But, only “The Isle” got cut because of this act (~1min50 missing).
It looks like “Barking Dogs Never Bite” isn’t yet classified in the UK.
Wow, such a comprehensive answer, and so fast! That site looks like a great resource, I will definitely bookmark it for future reference. I love that the page for “The Isle” even has a spoiler alert! Thanks for this.