BBFC confirm 12A certificate for `Casino Royale` UK release, 144 minute running time

01-Nov-2006 • Casino Royale

The British Board of Film Classification today announced a 12A certificate for the upcoming James Bond film Casino Royale. The news confirms the information released by Sony earlier in the week.

The final running time for the 21st 007 film has also been confirmed as 144 minutes 7 seconds, making it the longest James Bond film in the 44 year history of the franchise (beating out 1969's "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" that ran for 140 minutes).

A note has been published by the BBFC explaining the decision to rate Casino Royale as 12A:

"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."

Thanks to `The Arkichef` & `Grunther` for the alert.