Casino Royale Becomes The Longest James Bond Film
It was previously revealed on CBn that Casino Royale was set to tie On Her Majesty’s Secret Service for the longest run time in the entire James Bond series.
Now, the BBFC reveals that Daniel Craig’s debut as 007 has indeed broken the record, with a run time of 144 minutes, 7 seconds. This news comes along with the report that the UK cut of the film, specifically the torture sequence, has been edited to secure the 12A rating. The full message:
This film was originally seen by the BBFC in an unfinished version, for advice as to the film’s suitability at ’12A’. The BBFC advised the company that the torture scene placed too much emphasis on both the infliction of pain and the sadism of the villain for the requested ’12A’ category. When the completed version of the film was submitted for classification, reductions to the torture sequence had been made, including the removal of lingering shots of the rope, close shots of Bond’s facial reaction and the substitution of a more distant shot of the beating compared to the original version. This re-edited version of the scene was considered acceptable at ’12A’, where the Guidelines permit violence provided there is no dwelling on detail or emphasis on injuries.
Stay tuned to CBn for all the latest Casino Royale coverage.