Christopher Nolan's much-hyped espionage-epic Tenet has been gently tweaked for a non-controversial viewership rating ahead of its UK release this month. Nolan, who has famously helmed Oscar-winning flicks like Inception and Dunkirk, has turned to a secretive, brain-frazzling time-inversion plot for his next blockbuster. Tenet was primed to be a runaway hit for Nolan. Touted as one of the biggest cinematic releases of 2020, the John David Washington and Robert Pattinson movie has already amassed a bustling fanbase worldwide. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic jeopardized its launch, and the movie will now only premiere on a limited scale.
Tenet was first scheduled to premiere on July 17, 2020, in the US. But given the coronavirus pandemic, it was delayed twice, first to July 31, and subsequently to August 12. The virus, however, displayed no signs of petering out, hence Tenet was held up indefinitely. Warner Bros. ultimately arranged for Tenet to release internationally on August 26 in seventy countries, including the UK. A revised September 3rd premiere date was also allotted to the film for selected theatrical release in the US, and the following day the film was also scheduled to hit cinemas in China. Although Tenet will first debut in the UK, the film there will be slightly different from Nolan's original version.
Film Stories revealed today that the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) has made a few, diminutive changes to Tenet ahead of its UK premiere. Warner Bros. had sought the counsel of BBFC to get a 12A rating for Tenet. But the institution found the film to be a classified 15 uncut. Hence it advised the distributor to make a few alterations to the film. Following BBFC's suggestion, few shots of a man kicking a woman were removed from Tenet, and the movie was subsequently submitted for formal review. Tenet is now classified 12A, meaning that anyone can experience the WW-III-prevention saga in cinemas, as long as they are accompanied by an adult.
The recent alterations have quite insignificantly affected Tenet's lengthy runtime. The movie has lost around only a total of 9 seconds, and the particular scene that was edited out wasn't crucial from a narrative standpoint. Despite the changes however, Tenet will still depict moderate violence, domestic abuse, threat, and infrequent strong language. But the aforementioned tropes aren't a new avenue in the enigmatic Nolan movies. Nolan has infamously landed a 12A sweet-spot for all his previous prestigious releases with little in the way of compromises.
While it is true that the sparse BBFC edits aren't a big deal, the deleted scenes do hint at Tenet's plot. Nolan has always resorted to plot secrecy for his films, and Tenet likewise has a mysterious storyline. Although the main plot is still largely under wraps, the deleted shots indicate that domestic violence will be a recurring motif in the movie. Truly, however, fans won't find out how brain-pumping this new Nolan passion-project is until they watch the movie for themselves.
Source: Film Stories
