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Mad Max II / The Road Warrior (1982)
Director	George Miller
Cut Formats	VHS, Film, DVD
Classifications	R (1/12/1981 - 94 and 95 mins film), M (30/8/1984 - rental), MA (23/2/1999 - DVD)
Cut Footage	(a) A close-up of Wes pulling the arrow from his arm during the opening sequence [speculation]. (b) "Wells trying to pull a boomerang out from his dead pal's head is no more". [The ATTIC]    A scene cut before release was placed before the opening chase sequence jumps straight into the action with the camera pulling out of the V8's supercharger. This scene was originally shot with Max driving past a farm that Wez and others were ransacking, the bodies of the owners hanging dead from a tree. Seeing Max they all ran to their vehicles and gave chase and there were several cars. The camera then panned out of the car's charger to signify a short passage of time and then the scene is as we know it, with just Wez and two cars still still in pursuit due to the Interceptor's power. The US The Road Warrior version is apparently missing a few extra seconds of good guy torture. [Source: IMDB]    More comments about cuts: "Mobius poster Mark Savage - who worked for Australian distributor Village Roadshow in the early 80's - mentioned to me recently that he attended a pre-release distributor screening of Mad Max 2 prior to the film being submitted to the Australian censorship board (OFLC). Miller's (and late producer Byron Kennedy's) original completed cut of the film, fully scored, mixed and post-produced, was much bloodier and more violent than the version that was eventually released. Gory additions to scenes and some entire sequences were removed to enable Village Roadshow to release the film with an 'M' rating (recommended for age 15 and up) and to avoid the Australian 'R' rating (our version of the NC-17 rating). The smoking gun, if you can call it that, was not only did Mark see an original, noticeable more violent and extended cut, but that he was later the actual staff member sent to deliver the printed list of cuts - which came to something like three pages of specified trims - to enable the excisions to be carried out. Those deleted shots, scenes and sequences have never been restored and the ultimately shortened Australian 'M' rating version became the release edition of choice for all international markets. (The later US television edition with variant narration and some alternate shots is a different version entirely and not related to the excessively violent pre-release version that Mark managed to watch). You can see one quick example of the Village Roadshow-sanctioned trimming-down from the violent original in the quick shot of the silver blade boomerang scalping the blonde motorcycle companion of Wes (just prior to the "I've got it" finger-chopping gag) early in the film, as the sequence of shots originally ran longer (without any editorial 'speed-up') and featured a much more bloody and lingering look at the aftermath. Similar excisions of various lengths, some apparently quite major, are apparently present in the film's various other action scenes - including the classic car chase climax - and Mark confirms that all trims essentially removed images of violence that would have raised the classification rating of the film to a more restrictive rating. If Warner does eventually do a special edition of Mad Max 2/The Road Warrior, they would be doing everyone a great service if they attempted to track down the original undiluted cut - if it still exists in a vault somewhere, nearly a quarter of a century later - and released it to markets worldwide for the first time ever." [Anthony Thorne, Mobius Home Video Forum]
Reason	Cut before release.
Uncut Releases	"At least the UK videoversion (cert.18) released in the 80's (the re-release is the R-rated cut) contains the fully uncut version." [The ATTIC]
Comments	All home video releases suffer the crossbow cut. The original cinema print had the entire sequence intact and it may be assumed that restoration is impossible. The UK VHS is apparently uncut. No news on the local DVD status, which does have the US Road Warrior logo and was probably mastered in the US. The UK DVD (Warner Bros) is the same as the US DVD (Warner Bros).
More Details	Discussion thread about pre-release cuts.

 

Madame Fung Shen's Lover / Demon Wet Nurse (1974)
Director	Jo Fai Ha
Cut Formats	VHS, Film
Classifications	R (20/10/1992 - 95 mins film), Banned (24/8/1992 - 99 mins film)
Cut Footage	Approximately four minutes is missing.
Reason	Cut to avoid being banned.
Uncut Releases	Unknown.

 

Mad Foxes (1981)
Director	Paul Grau
Classifications	Banned (1982)
Uncut Releases	Euro DVD released in 2003.
Original Entry	Refused-Classification. [Thanks to RC]

 

Madhouse (1981)
Director	Ovidio.G.Assonitis
Cut Formats	VHS
Classifications	M (1985)
Cut Footage	Unknown.
Reason	Sourced from a cut master. [speculation]
Uncut Releases	None.
Original Entry	Refused-Classification. [Thanks to RC]

 

Malèna (2000)
Director	Giuseppe Tornatore
Cut Formats	Film
Classifications	M (22/1/2001 - 92 mins film)
Cut Footage	Nudity. [Source: IMDB]
Reason	Cut by Miramax to obtain a US R rating.
Uncut Releases	Italian theatrical version reportedly running to 109 mins film, Italian DVD (Medusa) running to 103:25 PAL or 107:43 film.

 

Man Bites Dog / C'est Arrivé Près De Chez Vous (1992)
Directors	Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel, Benoît Poelvoorde
Cut Formats	VHS, Film, DVD
Classifications	R (11/3/1993 - 91 mins), Banned (3/2/1993 - 92 mins)
Cut Footage	Rape sequence.
Reason	Cut to avoid being banned.
Uncut Releases	US DVD and laserdisc (Criterion), French DVD (Universal), UK DVD (Tartan) and VHS (Tartan), Finnish film.
Comments	This is a gritty, low budget black and white art-house film about two French film makers who film a killing spree they perpetuate.

 

Man From Deep River / Deep River Savages / Mondo Canibale (1972)
Director	Umberto Lenzi
Cut Formats	VHS
Classifications	R
Cut Footage	"Banned in its uncut 94 min variant, but passed with an R in its shortened 91 min version. Tongues being cut out, a cannibalism sequence (actually the first of its kind within the sub-genre), and a few other nips and tucks were requested by the OFLC (I think the sexual ritual is even abbreviated). What's even worse is that most all versions have been made available in pan & scan versions, massively compromising the original 2.35 Techniscope aspect ratio. Simply shocking!!!" [M. C. Thomason]
Reason	Cut to avoid being banned.
Uncut Releases	Local Italian VHS, German DVD (Video World), UK DVD (DVD Classics).
More Details	Visit Cutlass Video.

 

Mania (1959)
Director	John Gilling
Cut Formats	DVD
Classifications	M (may not be an official OFLC rating)
Cut Footage	Some extra nudity and a longer hanging scene.
Reason	This is the cut US version.
Uncut Releases	US DVD (Image).
Original Entry	Refused-Classification. [Thanks to RC]

 

Maniac (1980)
Director	William Lustig
Cut Formats	VHS, Film
Classifications	R (1982 and 1984), Banned (1981)
Cut Footage	Several gory moments including Tom Savini's head explosion, a longer take of a strangulation, and the Maniac's head getting ripped off during the finale, the scalping and other bits.
Reason	Cut to avoid being banned.
Uncut Releases	US laserdisc and DVD (Elite Entertainment and Anchor Bay). An uncut VHS edition may also have been released in the Netherlands.

 

Maniac Cop II (1990)
Director	William Lustig
Cut Formats	VHS, Film [assumption]
Classifications	R
Cut Footage	Parts of the police station massacre. This scene appears in its entirely during a flashback sequence in Maniac Cop 3. [confirm]
Reason	To obtain a US R rating.
Uncut Releases	None.

 

Maniac Cop III (1992)
Director	William Lustig
Cut Formats	VHS
Classifications	R
Cut Footage	Unspecified violence. [confirm]
Reason	To obtain a US R rating.
Uncut Releases	None.

 

Mario Sperry - Vale Tudo Series 1
Director	Mario Sperry [assumption]
Classifications	Banned (2003)
Uncut Releases	Unknown.
Original Entry	Refused-Classification. [Thanks to RC]

 

Marked for Death (1990)
Director	Dwight H. Little
Cut Formats	VHS, DVD
Classifications	R (18/10/1990 - film 93 mins), M (29/4/1990 - VHS 89 mins)
Cut Footage	These cuts relate to the local DVD (Fox) incorrectly marked as being rated R compared to the R-rated rental VHS tape, which is officially rated R.     (a) At 54:45, when Steven Seagal knocks a Jamaican thug to the floor in the shop, he breaks the thug's arm at the elbow. Exactly 60 frames or just over two seconds PAL are missing.    (b) At 76:28, when Seagal is attacked by Jamaican thugs in their house just after escaping ritual death, he dispatches two of them: one with a neck break and the other by snapping his arm and knocking him to the ground. These two deaths are completely missing and last for 13 seconds on the uncut VHS tape. The cut is hidden by returning to the shot of the gang leader brandishing a sword at Seagal.    (c) At 84:35, Seagal gouges the eyes of the Jamaican gang leader during an inserted special effects shot that lasts for 17 frames. The cut version simply continues with the medium shot of the two actors wrestling and Segal pretending to do the eye gouge.    (d) At 84:54 in two shots, Seagal's character lifts the gang leader into the air and breaks his back across a bended knee. This deleted sequence lasts for about five seconds. The cut version shows Seagal about to pick the gang leader up, but then cuts to the next shot where his crippled body is thrown into the elevator shaft.    Note that the impact shot of the gang leader hitting the huge metal bolt on the floor of the shaft is not actually shown in the uncut edition. Instead there are two aftermath shots which are identical in both versions. Similarly, the decap is the same in both versions; there is only one frame showing blood spurting from the neck wound.    The cut local DVD runs to 89:11 PAL, while the R-rated VHS rental tape and Dutch DVD (Fox) both run to 89:31 PAL if you stop timing on the tape at the point where the DVD video ends, making a difference of 20 seconds PAL. I have yet to confirm that the M-rated VHS rental cassette is the same version as the cut UK release we now have on DVD.
Reason	Sourced from a cut UK master.
Uncut Releases	Dutch DVD (Fox), Local VHS rated R (Fox) labelled as "uncut version" on the clamshell case, US laserdisc, US DVD. The uncut VHS can still be found in Australia if you visit enough video shops.
Comments	"The US R rated version was complete, as was the original R rated VHS edition released through Fox Video. The R4 DVD has been mastered from the cut UK R2 version (surprise, surprise!), per is Fox's want to do. Fox did release this one in dual classification versions back in the early nineties locally (M and R), but the M-rated version quickly superseded the R-rated version and has remained in circulation ever since." [M. C. Thomason]

 

Mark of the Devil (1970)
Director	Michael Armstrong
Classifications	Banned, R
Uncut Releases	US DVD (Blue Underground), Dutch VHS. It has been released in Australia theatrically rated R. The Anchor Bay DVD is missing some violence and the end credits. The Blue Underground disc runs up to and including "The End".
Comments	"Refused classification locally in about three different versions, eventually released in a reconstructed edition with the extended coda tacked onto the end of the film (a much rumoured sequence where Udo Kier is consumed by the spirits of the dead)." [M. C. Thomason]

 

Mark of the Devil II (1972)
Director	Adrian Hovan
Classifications	R, Banned
Uncut Releases	Unknown. Bootleg VHS [assumption].
Comments	"The distributor opted not to resubmit in a modified version, as this film was more violent (not gorier) than the original film. The violence is more overtly sexual in the sequel, and the majority of it directed at the female cast. A big no-no with the OFLC I'm afraid." [M. C. Thomason]

 

Massacre in Dinosaur Valley / Cannibal Ferox II / Nudo e Selvaggio (1985)
Director	Michael E. Lemick aka Michele Massimo Tarantini
Cut Formats	VHS
Classifications	R (29/8/1989 - 85 mins PAL)
Cut Footage	Various sexual and violent elements, such as animal cruelty, cannibalism, and breast carnage.
Reason	Sourced from a cut UK master, or Premier used the cut English language version. [assumption]
Uncut Releases	German DVD (Dragon). The Greek letterboxed VHS tape called Stranded in Dinosaur Valley is supposed to be cut, but being an English language version it is most likely cut.

 

Mausoleum (1983)
Director	Michael Dugan
Cut Formats	VHS
Classifications	R
Cut Footage	Gore.
Reason	Sourced from a cut UK master.
Uncut Releases	UK re-release.
Comments	"Originally, passed uncut with an R rating here though. Recently re-released in the UK uncut." [M. C. Thomason]

 

Maximum Overdrive (1986)
Director	Stephen King
Cut Formats	VHS
Classifications	R
Cut Footage	Six seconds of the Dixie Boy shoot out. Three seconds of the steam roller running over the boy. Three seconds of the salesman's face falling into his lap. King's thoughts and further info on these cuts can be read in the book The Lost Work of Stephen King by Stephen J. Spignesi.
Reason	To obtain a US R rating.
Uncut Releases	Not yet available.
Comments	The local DVD and US Anchor Bay DVDs contain the theatrical versions.

 

Menace II Society (1993)
Directors	Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes
Cut Formats	VHS, Film, DVD
Classifications	R (27/8/1993)
Cut Footage	"The R rated version has incredible amount of cuts applied to the most mild shootings probably due to the film's 'color': (a) Tat Lawson (Samuel L. Jackson) pumping rounds to his player buddy in the card table is briefly cut (one bullet hitting him upfront, and a single exit wound blasting from the player buddy's back are trimmed). (b) The burger-stand revenge shooting is trimmed (the wounded thug gets less shots on-screen from the 'G' dude). (c) Caine's (Tyrin Turner) death has lost a slo-mo shot of four bullets blasting to his chest.    The cuts total to approx. 10 sec. Some sources say that Sharif's death is also reduced, but this appears to be false." [The ATTIC]    A prison riot scene is also rumoured to exist, which was cut to avoid a NC-17 rating.
Reason	Cut to obtain a US R rating. We have inherited the cut UK DVD master. [confirm]
Uncut Releases	US laserdisc (Criterion), Dutch DVD (Universal).    "The completely uncut unrated version is to my knowledge only available on the out-of-print Criterion widescreen laserdisc" [The ATTIC]

 

Men Behind the Sun II / Laboratory of the Devil (1989)
Director	Godfrey Ho
Cut Formats	VHS, Film
Classifications	R (19/10/1992 - 91 minutes film), Banned (5/8/1992 - 95 mins film)
Cut Footage	Four minutes are missing, mainly comprised of the autopsy scene at the beginning of the film.
Reason	Cut to avoid being banned.
Uncut Releases	Dutch DVD (Japan Shock), Dutch VHS (Eastern Heroes/Forbidden Asia).
Comments	"The film was refused at 95 mins for Australian release, whereupon Chinatown Cinemas cut 4 mins from the film (largely the autopsy sequence near the beginning of the film) and got it passed with an R rating. Hong Kong laserdiscs and VHS editions were also cut, though not as much as the local theatrical print. Eastern Heroes first released the film uncut on their Dutch video label, Forbidden Asia, in the late nineties." [M. C. Thomason]

 

Men in Black (1995)
Director	Barry Sonnenfeld
Cut Formats	VHS, Film, DVD
Classifications	M (9/5/2000 rental, possibly for DVD), PG (9/9/1997, film), M (27/8/1997, appeal dismissed), PG (24/6/1997, film and rental)
Cut Footage	"(a) When Will Smith chases the alien guy on to the rooftop about 12 minutes into the film, the alien vanished in a puff of smoke while falling to avoid the implications of suicide. In the DVD version, the original scene is restored - you don't see the body hit the ground, but he falls farther and a thud is heard. (b) Approx. 13 minutes into the film, Edgar is taken into the crater by the bug. The impact of this scene was reduced by cutting the visual of Edgar's empty skin being tossed out of the crater. This is restored on the Australian DVD version. (c) Around 22 minutes into the film, the newly possessed Edgar disposes of a pest controller who has come to the farm. In the theatrical version the intensity of the pest controller's death was reduced by trimming the scene slightly, but on DVD this scene is fully restored. (d) At the 40 minute mark, a scene of the folded-in-half body of the waiter that Edgar has just killed was edited to reduce its impact. The DVD version shows the complete scene. (e) Ditto for the scene at 41 minutes where Edgar kills the 2 aliens in the restaurant with a spike. In the DVD version, this scene is restored to its original version.    Most of these changes required only minimal editing, so there was no radical difference in running time between the 2 versions.    There is one further difference with Columbia TriStar's Australian DVD version of the film, but this has nothing to do with the theatrical release-well not in Australia anyway! For the UK and their own unique censorship requirements, two uses of the word 'prick' were substituted for 'jerk'. Despite these audio changes, with the film restored to its original version for the DVD release, the M rating now applies." [Source: Columbia Tristar]
Reason	"...Listed below is an explanation of why the DVD version of Men In Black has a higher rating than when it was released both theatrically and on video in Australia.    To avoid an M rating, which would have limited Columbia TriStar's advertising and promotional opportunities, the theatrical division of Columbia made a number of changes to the film (that were approved by the director). These changes...reduced the rating to PG and it is this version that Columbia TriStar also released on video." [Source: Columbia Tristar]
Uncut Releases	US DVD (Columbia Tristar), US laserdisc.
Comments	"Yes, the local theatrical release was modified for a lower classification, but no the local DVD wasn't a 'restored' version per se. It was simply the UK R2 version ported over to R4, as evidenced by the language substitutions at the tail end of the press release. The R4 disc is still an edited version of the film, albeit the UK edit of the film. Columbia simply ported the R2 version over for Australian release." [M. C. Thomason]

 

Mondo Sexualis (1985)
Director	David Adnopaz
Classifications	Banned (1987)
Uncut Releases	Unknown.
Original Entry	Refused-Classification. [Thanks to RC]

 

Monster's Ball (2001)
Director	Mark Forster
Cut Formats	Film
Classifications	M (23/4/2002), R (12/11/2002, DVD)
Cut Footage	Nudity in the sex scene between Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton.
Reason	Cut to obtain a US R rating, after being threatened with an NC-17.
Uncut Releases	Local DVD and VHS, Canadian DVD.

 

Moon, Star and Sun (1988)
Director	Michael Mak
Cut Formats	Film
Classifications	R (1989), Banned (1988)
Cut Footage	Sexual violence - rape and general mistreatment.
Reason	Cut to avoid being banned.
Uncut Releases	None.
Original Entry	Refused-Classification. [Thanks to RC]

 

Mother's Day (1980)
Director	Charles Kaufman
Classifications	R, Banned
Uncut Releases	Local VHS, US DVD (Troma).
Comments	According to Phil Brophy's Shocking Cinema, this movie was originally released by Roadshow Video for rental, then the censors banned it. It can still be found in video shops but technically it is banned. The local VHS rental tape is uncut with a running time of 86:40 PAL.

 

Mrs Doubtfire (1983)
Director	Chris Columbus
Cut Formats	DVD
Classifications	PG
Cut Footage	Offensive language.
Reason	Sourced from a cut UK master.
Uncut Releases	Local VHS and film print, US DVD.
Original Entry	MichaelDVD. [Thanks to MD]

 

Mulholland Dr. (2001)
Director	David Lynch
Cut Formats	VHS, DVD
Classifications	R
Cut Footage	When Rita (played by a former Miss USA) drops her robe before joining Betty in bed, the full-frontal shot of her has been darkened so that her torso and crotch details are vague.
Reason	David Lynch made the change to stop people circulating the images on the Internet. The effect is subtle and unnoticeable if you are not anticipating it. It is not known whether this was done for home video only, and that cinema prints were unaltered.
Uncut Releases	Film prints.
Comments	Every DVD release around the world contains this modified version.

 

The Mutilator / Fall Break (1985)
Director	Buddy Cooper
Cut Formats	VHS
Classifications	R, Banned (1985)
Cut Footage	Several gore moments, for example when a man is cut in half, and various interactions with tools.
Reason	Cut to obtain a US R rating.
Uncut Releases	German DVD (Dragon), UK DVD (Vipco).
Comments	"This was actually cut for its Australian video release through Palace at the behest of the OFLC to gain an R classification. The UK DVD through Vipco is less cut than the Australian version; the BBFC only requested cuts to a sequence where the murderer gores a female victim with a fishing gaffe, as the gaffe disappears between the victim's legs, only to emerge from her stomach leaving no doubt as to its passage. The OFLC requested this cut, as well as virtually all of the film's graphic violence sequences." [M. C. Thomason]

 

My Bloody Valentine (1981)
Director	George Mihalka
Cut Formats	VHS, Film
Classifications	R
Cut Footage	(a) Gore was cut from the pre-credits sequence where the woman is pushed backwards onto a pickaxe. (b) Mabel's mutilated body was originally on screen for much longer. (c) The scene where the bartender is playing peek-a-boo with the Harry Warden dummy was edited so that no blood is shown. He was pickaxed up his chin and out his left eye, then dragged along the ground with his eyeball hanging out. (d) The face-boiling of Dave was shortened so you don't see the after-effects while he is dying. (e) Graphic head-on shots of Sylvia's shower impalement were deleted. (f) A stock footage close-up of the miner's light being shown at the camera replaces the bulk of a shot of Hollis' bleeding face after he has been nail-gunned. In the widely-seen release, the scene picks up after Hollis has mostly turned away. (g) Howard's hanging is shortened. In the original print, he was decapitated. The decapitation was cut out, so it looks like his body just falls, stops short when the end of the wire is reached, sprays blood all over Patty and Sarah, and then resumes falling. Not only do the cuts imposed render the scene senseless, but they also make it so there's no payoff to Hollis' earlier comment that Howard would lose his head if it weren't attached. (h) Axel's left arm gets trapped under rocks in the cave-in at the end. He rips it off to get away, leaving his limb behind to horrify everybody else. But since the key footage of the arm removal all had to be removed itself, it is hard to see exactly what happened. [Source: IMDB]
Reason	Cut to obtain a US R rating.
Uncut Releases	The uncut version apparently played UK cinemas on its original run on a double bill with Tobe Hooper's Funhouse.
Comments	The only version now in existence seems to be the USA R-rated version. "As in interesting trivia note, the above mentioned double-feature also screened across Australia in the very early eighties. The prints utilised for these screenings were sourced from the UK via the local arm of CIC (Cinema International Corporation), the then distributor for Paramount and Universal product. There is a slim chance that the local cinema prints were similarly uncut versions; however as the prints have undoubtedly been long junked, proof of this is extremely hard to obtain. A friend, who attended this double feature in 1982, assures me that Valentine was the same censored R-rated print released on video." [M. C. Thomason]    "Moviehounds have drooled to see the full version of this for years, but Paramount seems to have no interest in restoring it, even though the film's producer has the negative for the complete version!" [The ATTIC]

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