The British Board of Film Classification is the United Kingdom's version of the MPA and, to welcome in the New Year, they've just made some noteworthy changes to how several movies are rated.
Enter the Dragon, Raging Bull, Mean Streets, Friday the 13th, and Gangs of New York have had their ratings relaxed from 18 to 15 (the former is rarely used these days, anyway). Santa Claus: The Movie, Casper, The Addams Family, and School of Rock are among those to have their classifications raised from U to PG.
However, as we first reported on SFFGazette.com, the one which is causing the biggest stir online is Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.
This comes as a result of "moderate violence, mild threat" which has led to the BBFC raising concerns about whether the movie's content is truly suitable for all ages without there being at least some parental guidance.
It may sound silly, but here's what proved problematic for the censors upon their latest review:
Moderate Violence
A man is repeatedly electrocuted and reacts in pain. A villain's hand is cut off at the wrist; however, there is limited detail. A woman is fed to a fantastical creature. A man is thrown to his death; however, his death is not shown on screen. There are also laser gun fights, aerial dogfights, and fight scenes which include masked blows and the occasional use of improvised weapons.
Mild Threat
A woman is chained by the neck to an alien creature. Characters are threatened with being fed to a creature. There are also scenes in which characters are threatened at gunpoint and held hostage.
A BBFC spokesman shared a statement with Mail Online which reads, "We embarked on our latest guidelines review this year where we spoke to a diverse range of parents, families, teenagers and educators across the length and breadth of the country."
Directed by Richard Marquand and written by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas, Return of the Jedi was the movie that ended the original Star Wars trilogy. As well as featuring the apparent demise of Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader's story also came to an end after he found a measure of redemption by saving his son, Luke Skywalker.
Arriving in theaters on May 25, 1983, the movie was released on VHS and LaserDisc in this form multiple times during the 80s and 90s. Eventually re-released with changes in 1997, the special edition arrived on DVD in 2004, and is the version that can currently be found on Blu-ray and Disney+.
Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) battles horrible Jabba the Hut and cruel Darth Vader to save his comrades in the Rebel Alliance and triumph over the Galactic Empire. Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) reaffirm their love and team with Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), the Ewoks and the androids C-3PO and R2-D2 to aid in the disruption of the Dark Side and the defeat of the evil emperor.