In the UK, it is no rare occasion that films are submitted to the BBFC during post-production in order to get an idea of what the final rating could be in cinemas. We've had plenty of cases of that in recent months as our news section shows. One of these films is Pompeii starring Kit Harington and Emily Browning as the leads. For the desired 12A rating, the BBFC suggested some violence censorship.

This work was originally seen for advice. The company was advised that the film was likely to receive a 15 certificate but that their preferred 12A classification could be achieved by making some changes. The company was advised to reduce stronger moments of violence where there was a dwelling on particular acts and to reduce the emphasis on blood on bladed weapons. When the film was formally submitted, changes had been made which addressed these concerns. Consequently, the film was passed 12A.

The film has the same classification on the UK DVD and Blu-ray which is why one could expect that the movie is censored on there, as well. However, after comparing the UK version with the German (FSK 12) and US (PG-13) releases, no differences could be found between them. Neither cuts nor digital alteration of bloodied weapons came up. The BBFC 12 version is thus uncut, too.

Still, it is possible that - thanks to the BBFC - the censorship has been made for all available releases worldwide because they were applied during the post production process.