Weekly News

WWE is a US wrestling organisation that is known for outrageous but entertaining hype. In addition to the wrestling it shows feature theatrical beatings and the like that are not shy of showing a little blood.

Netflix recently took to screening WWE programming and agreed censorship rules with WWE to censor (or no doubt to get some ideas not to get written into the script in the first place).

Nethertheless the censorship rules are being noticed by wrestling fans seeing some diminished fun in the proceedings. An example is Netflix's recent censorship of Monday Night Raw .

WWE made the decision to tape this week's Monday Night Raw which opened with angle of hype that saw Royce Keys and OTM attack The Usos in the parking lot, leaving them a bloody mess.

Unfortunately for the angle, and WWE for that matter, Netflix made the call to censor the segment heavily. Not only did it negate the angle's impact, but it also drew heavy criticism from the WWE Universe online. Shortly after Raw went off the air on Monday, Triple H took to social media to post the segment in its entirety, uncensored.

See a video of that uncensored segment in an article from si.com

BBFC Chief Censor David Austin will step down in July 2027. He can look back at a underwhelming career of guiding the BBFC into a more secretive organisation with reduced transparency towards public scrutiny.

During Austin's tenure we have seen:

• A 25 year rule imposed where the BBFC will not detail nor enter into conversation about any censorship or classification decisions in the last 25 years
• The removal of the facility for anyone to monitor recent rating and censorship decisions
• The removal of detailed cuts from the BBFC public facing database to be replaced by saying nothing or else adding a few vague and unspecific comments.

But on the positive side Austin has at least maintained policies of previous BBFC directors in making minimal cuts to 18 rated films. It's a bit hard to confirm whether the same is true of R18 films because there is no feasible method of monitoring such decisions.

The BBFC has found plenty to laud about though:

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) today announced that David Austin OBE will retire as Chief Executive following 23 years with the organisation, including the last 10 years as CEO.

David will step down from his executive responsibilities in July 2027 and will continue to support the BBFC as a member of its Board, ensuring continuity and providing strategic guidance as the organisation enters its next chapter.

David joined the BBFC in 2003 as an Examiner, now known as Compliance Officers, following a career in the Diplomatic Service, with postings in South Asia, Central Africa and the former Yugoslavia. He became Assistant Director, Policy and Public Affairs at the BBFC in 2011, before taking up the Chief Executive role in March 2016.

During his tenure, David has overseen a period of significant transformation for the BBFC, leading the organisation through major changes in the way audiences access and consume content.

Under his leadership, the BBFC continued to expand beyond traditional cinema classification, establishing self-rating partnerships with major streaming platforms including Netflix, Prime Video and HBO Max. He also drove the organisation's engagement with emerging technology, including the use of artificial intelligence to support classification work, culminating in a first-of-its-kind agreement with HBO Max to develop and deploy a bespoke AI tool to support BBFC Compliance Officers in the classification of the streaming service's entire content library.

These developments have strengthened the BBFC's ability to support audiences in navigating an increasingly complex digital media landscape, while remaining firmly focused on its core mission of protecting children and helping audiences make informed viewing choices.

The BBFC Board will begin a recruitment process for a new Chief Executive immediately, with the successful candidate expected to be in post by July 2027. David Austin will continue to serve as Chief Executive until that time to ensure a smooth and orderly transition and will take up a Board position in July 2027. In his Board capacity, David will continue to be one of the BBFC's four Statutory Classifiers.

David Austin OBE, Chief Executive of the BBFC, said:

Leading the BBFC has been the privilege of my career. I am incredibly proud of everything we have achieved together over the past 23 years, including my last 10 as Chief Executive, and I am deeply grateful to the many people who have supported our work and to the UK audiences who place their trust in the BBFC every day.

What began as a curious fascination with film and classification, born out of my love of horror, has grown into a deep love for the BBFC. There is no other organisation quite like it, and I could not have imagined dedicating so much of my career to anything else. What has made my time here so special is not only the importance of our mission to protect children and help audiences make informed viewing choices, but also the exceptional people I have had the pleasure of working alongside.

I know the BBFC is in a strong position for the future. It is a dynamic and innovative organisation with a clear purpose, talented people and a strong foundation on which to build. As the content landscape continues to evolve, there remains important work to do, and I am confident the BBFC will continue to play a vital role in supporting UK audiences.

While the credits may be rolling on my time as Chief Executive, this is far from my final scene at the BBFC. I will continue to support the organisation as a member of the Board, and look forward to seeing it continue to evolve and thrive in the years ahead.

Natasha Kaplinsky OBE, President of the BBFC, said:

David has made an outstanding contribution to the BBFC and to audiences across the UK. His leadership, vision and commitment have helped ensure the BBFC remains one of the most trusted and respected classification bodies in the world. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank David for his exceptional service and dedication over the past 23 years. We are delighted that he will continue to contribute to the organisation as a member of the Board.

The push to make people show ID to access the internet assumes those documents will stay secure. A database of 153 million license scans shows how reckless that assumption is.

If you ever needed more proof that governments pressuring companies to collect ID data from customers or users is a bad idea, you only have to look at what happened this week. A dark-web service advertised on August 31 has been offering over 153 million scans of driver's licenses, more than 10 million other identity cards, over 3 million travel documents and/or international IDs, and at least 579,000 medical cards.

Campaign group Reclaim the Net did some research as to the likely US source of the data breach. See article from reclaimthenet.org

Reclaim the Net further comments:

This is the system politicians are selling: showing your papers at every move you make. Next, they want you to show ID to speak online or access the speech of others, all under the name of child safety.

It is nothing but a surveillance dragnet that can only end in disaster.

Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks is a 1976 Canada/US women in prison film by Don Edmonds.
With Dyanne Thorne, Max Thayer and Jerry Delony.  

Banned by the BBFC from 1973 cinema release. Unbanned and uncut in 2013. The US R rated version is heavily cut for violence

Summary Review: Resplendent in khaki shorts

Dyanne Thorn returns in the storming sequel to She Wolf , and it seems to have been given a budget boost, as the setting moves to an Arabian oils sheik's kingdom in the middle of the desert, where Ilsa presides over his palace as right hand security guard and keeper of his harem of kidnapped beauties.

The film doesn't quite match the excesses of the first film in bad taste, and the camp comedy elements have all been increased, but there are still many gruesome scenes as the harem women are abused and tortured for various reasons, including a pretty revolting sub-plot to assassinate the sheik by deploying a bomb placed inside a woman's body that will detonate during sex!

Uniform fans will be pleased to see Ilsa resplendent in her khaki shorts and boots, but she does not have the same presence as in the previous film because she is herself punished at one point by despotic sheik, and its a shame to see that the film recycles her weakness of falling in love with a hunky American, which once again leads to her downfall.

Versions

uncut run: 93:03s pal: 89:20s		UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong sex, nudity and scenes of sexualised violence for: 2013 Lions Gate video The BBFC commented in the Annual Report covering 2013: Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks was refused a certificate when it was originally submitted to the BBFC in 1977. In 2013 it was submitted on video for DVD release and passed 18 without cuts. While there are scenes in which women are abused and experimented upon with a love machine , these now appear dated and unrealistic and do not raise credible harm concerns. Netherlands: uncut for: NL 2006 Prime Time R2 DVD at UK Amazon US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for: 2025 Kino Cult R0 4K Blu-ray at US Amazon #ad released on 25th November 2025 2000 Anchor Bay R0 DVD via US Amazon
extensive cuts cut:   run: 91m pal: 87m		US: The R Rated version is significantly cut for violence for: 2012 Cheezy Flicks R0 DVD From sexgoremutants.co.uk : When Satin and Velvet deliver a death blow to their victim, the camera lingering over the victims' bloodied face and screams has been removed. A few minutes later a few frames have been removed when a bag of body parts are emptied out the harem floor. In the teeth removal scene , shots of blood dripping onto feet as the little white tootsies hit the floor have been purged. A full sequence of 1:11s is completely cut, ie the sadistic torture sequence in which a hapless whore's breasts are clamped in a medieval style vice. Missing shots of ants eating into flesh Omitted shots of a gouged eye socket The most infamous scene of the movie (and arguably the whole ILSA series) the exploding dildo sequence suffered numerous snips. Most notably Ilsa inciting the inevitable carnage with her demands of faster and deeper have been removed along with various shots of the victim's moans of pleasure. Obviously the brief but potent shot of penetrated detonation itself simply skips to blood hitting for El Sharif's face.
banned		UK: Banned by the BBFC for: 1973 cinema release Presumably there is a date error in the BBFC database as the ban is 3 years before the worldwide release

The Man Who Could Cheat Death is a 1959 UK horror drama by Terence Fisher.
With Anton Diffring, Hazel Court and Christopher Lee.    

Cut by the BBFC for its original cinema release and the cuts have persisted into all subsequent releases.

Summary review: Melodrama

A remake of The Man in Half Moon Street.

A mad doctor plans to live forever through periodic gland transplants from younger, healthier human victims.

Jimmy Sangster's screenplay based on the Barre Lyndon play tends to be heavy on the melodrama and short on the thrills.

Some stylish direction from Fisher and Christopher Lee in a supporting role and good acting on hand from Hazel Court and others.

Versions

best available cut:   run: 83m pal: 80m sub: 82:59s

UK: The cut cinema version was passed 12 for moderate injury detail for: 2015 Eureka Entertainment Ltd (RB) Blu-ray/R2 DVD Combo at UK Amazon UK: Passed X (16) after BBFC cuts for: 2015 Eureka Entertainment Ltd (RB) Blu-ray/R2 DVD Combo at UK Amazon 1959 cinema release Italy: The cut UK cinema version was released for: It cecchi gori R2 DVD at UK Amazon US: The cut UK cinema version was MPAA Unrated for: 2025 Vinegar Syndrome R0 4K Blu-ray at US Amazon #ad released on 25th November 2025 2025 Vinegar Syndrome R1 DVD at US Amazon #ad released on 25th November 2025 2025 Vinegar Syndrome Amazon VoD [US] at US Amazon #ad 2017 Kl Studio Classics (RA) Blu-ray at US Amazon 2017 Kl Studio Classics (R1) DVD at US Amazon 2011 Legend Double Bill (+The Skull) R0 Blu-ray via UK Amazon and at US Amazon 2008 Legend R1 DVD via UK Amazon and at US Amazon The cuts were: a famous shot of Hazel Court's breast as she briefly unfurls a wrap during a modelling session. Apparently shot for a continental version which may have been located in France but it hasn't made it to any DVD releases yet. It is also reported that Hammer Films retains a copy with the nude scene. cuts to the climatic disintegration of Anton Diffring

Mixed Blood is a 1984 France/US comedy drama by Paul Morrissey
Starring Marília Pêra, Richard Ulacia and Linda Kerridge  

BBFC cuts were required for 18 rated cinema and VHS releases in 1985 and 1986. Uncut and MPAA Unrated in the US.

Summary Notes

Brazilian dealers battle Latino rivals in Manhattan using teen soldiers. Conflict grows to involve German supplier, his English girlfriend, Puerto Rican ex-cop, and Japanese captain amid corruption and violence.

Versions

uncut		US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for: 2025 Cinématographe R0 4K Blu-ray/RA Blu-ray Combo at US Amazon #ad
cut:   run: 97:50s pal: 93:55s		UK: BBFC 18 rated after BBFC cuts: 1986 Embassy Home Entertainment VHS (rated 28/04/1986)  Presumably the cuts are the same as the cinema release but I am not sure.
cut:   run: 98:30s pal: 94:34s		UK: BBFC 18 rated after BBFC cuts: 1985 Mainline Pictures cinema release (rated 15/11/1985)

Promotional Material

*This listing is for the standard edition version and does NOT come with a limited edition slipcase!*

Rita la Punta (Marília Pêra, Central Station), a Brazilian single mother living in New Yorks Alphabet City, resides with her drug-dealing son Thiago (Richard Ulacia) and his gang of teenage delinquents. In an attempt to control the drug trade below 14th Street, Rita goes against the leader of a rival neighborhood gang, Juan the Bullet (Angel David, The Crow), spurring a turf war. When Carol (Linda Kerridge, Fade to Black), a friend of a drug lord known as The German (Ulrich Berr, Beethovens Nephew), expresses an interest in Thiago, things become even more complicated.

Written and directed by NYC art scene, and exploitation cinema luminary Paul Morrissey, MIXED BLOOD is a characteristically grimy descent into urban malaise that is often punctuated by moments of gallows humor. Featuring an eclectic ensemble cast that includes the screen debut of John Leguizamo (Summer of Sam) and Warhol superstar Geraldine Smith (Flesh, Bad), MIXED BLOOD is an essential, but often overlooked, entry into the canon of independent films made on the streets of New York in the 1980s. Cinématographe is proud to present the world blu-ray and UHD debut of Paul Morrisseys renegade crime comedy from a new 4K restoration of its original camera negative.

Bonus Features:
1. 2-Disc Set: 4K Ultra HD + Region A Blu-ray
2. New audio commentary with film historians Howard S. Berger and Steve Mitchell
3. Tremendous Drama - a new video interview with casting director Leonard Finger
4. Nothing As Wild - a new video interview with editor Scott Vickrey
5. The Real Places - a new video interview with producer Steven Fierberg
6. The Brazilian on Avenue B - a new video essay by film historian Chris O'Neill
7. Archival video interview with director Paul Morrissey from The Joan Quinn Profiles, recorded in 1994
8. Stills gallery of archival materials from The Paul Morrissey Film Trust
9. English SDH subtitles

Ali G: Who Iz I? is a 2026 UK/US comedy by Sacha Baron Cohen
Starring Sacha Baron Cohen, Morgana Robinson and Stewart Rodeheaver

Hip-hop journalist Ali G returns after 20 years to make a documentary with real people. Cameras follow him for over a year as he takes classes, walks the streets, and appears on shows, often with his pregnant girlfriend.

It's been a while since anybody has called for a movie to be banned in UK cinemas but an obscure group is campaigning against Ali G: Who iz I? claiming that it is enforcing racist stereotypes.

The Amazon MGM film is due for release in cinemas on October 23.

Baron Cohen released the first trailer for Ali G: Who Iz I? last week, marking his return to the satirical character after a 20-year absence. The actor, in his directorial debut, filmed the movie secretly over the course of a year with the mockumentary following his character's life since the world went to crap, alongside his pregnant girlfriend, played by Morgana Robinson.

A day after the trailer's release, NewsCord, a UK news comparison and media monitoring platform, started a campaign urging cinemas around the world to refuse to screen the film. The campaign group have said they have emailed 15 major chains globally. As of Sunday, the campaigners claim they have been instructed to send 41,000 emails on behalf of its website readers. The campaign group said:

Ali G is a cover to laugh at Jamaican culture. The character enforces harmful stereotypes of how a Jamaican man behaves in society.

Ali G smokes weed, is a misogynist, and does nothing meaningful in life. He does this because he thinks this is what a Jamaican does.

The world laughs at Ali G. But the real butt of the joke are Black people and specifically Jamaicans, they added. This is evident in a number of Baron Cohen's films, where a race or religion is the victim of the "joke".

Phil Clapp, head of the UK Cinema Association, told Variety in response to the campaign:

Cinemas are there to engage and entertain the widest possible audience. They are not there to act as censors or arbiters of public taste.

So where a film has been given a certificate by the BBFC, they will decide whether or not to play it solely with the likely response of their audience in mind.

A defiant Baron Cohen himself also addressed the growing backlash, writing on X:

In an age where a comedian's career can be ended by a single un-PC joke, I thought I'd play it safe and bring this guy back.

 

Comment: The Ali G haters are the dumbest people alive

1st September 2026. See article from spiked-online.com by Brendan O'Neill

 

UK internet censor Ofcom has provided a statement outlining progress in blocking 14 unnamed websites that it classes as 'small but risky' services. 7 have self blocked all UK users, 2 have introduced ID/age verification, 3 have refused to communicate. Ofcom writes:

Ofcom's Small but Risky Services Compliance Taskforce is a dedicated team focused on identifying and driving compliance from regulated services with small userbases that pose a disproportionate risk of serious harm to UK users.

On 24 July 2025, Ofcom launched an enforcement programme focussing on services whose principal purpose is the hosting or dissemination of Primary Priority Content or Priority Content, to ensure such services used highly effective age assurance to prevent children from accessing the service. Since then, the Compliance Taskforce has monitored and carried out active engagement with providers of 14 services that represent a significant risk of harm to children from the harmful content they host or disseminate. Today we are providing an update on progress.

Geo-blocks implemented:

Following proactive engagement by the Compliance Taskforce, seven of the identified services, each of which were dedicated to hosting particularly harmful types of content - including suicide and self-harm content, violent and graphic content, and eating disorder content - have geo-blocked the UK and are no longer accessible to UK users (including children) as at the date of this update. This includes five services dedicated to hosting graphic violence and serious injury content, and two dedicated to hosting suicide content.

Warning letters:

Providers of three identified services who failed to engage have been sent warning letters from Ofcoms Enforcement team. These notify them of their requirements under Section 12 of the Act to prevent and protect children from encountering content which is harmful to them on their service, including through the use of highly effective age assurance. We continue to assess whether additional action is required and will take into account their response in considering our options.

Highly effective age assurance implemented:

Two high profile services identified by the Compliance Taskforce, dedicated to hosting graphic violence and serious injury content, have implemented highly effective age assurance to prevent access by UK children following engagement.

Next steps:

The work under this enforcement programme has been coordinated across Ofcoms Supervision and Enforcement teams. It has so far demonstrated that seeking voluntary engagement from services is often the most rapid way to protect users. Particularly in cases involving smaller services that may not have a wide reach but that represent a significant risk of harm by hosting or promoting content that is particularly harmful to children.

We have made good progress with the majority of services we have engaged with so far. Going forward, we will continue to prioritise active engagement with services that pose the highest risk of harm to children.

Where service providers do not engage or fail to comply with their duties under the Act, including those in Section 12, we will not hesitate to move to formal enforcement action.

We will provide further updates on the work of the Compliance Taskforce in due course.

A Republican congressman and ally of President Trump, Michael Rulli, has filed a bill that would prevent the British internet censor Ofcom from enforcing Orwellian online safety rules on websites based in the US. This landmark bill would also prevent US courts from recognising or enforcing foreign fines relating to online speech.

Since Donald Trump returned to the presidency, he and his administration have been fiercely critical of the UK Government's approach to free speech, particularly online, repeatedly citing the Online Safety Act. These concerns are also levelled at the EU for its Digital Services Act. In the eyes of the US administration, these censorious legislative regimes have infringed not only on the free speech of British and European citizens, but also on the First Amendment rights of US citizens, while unfairly targeting American businesses.

The bill introduced by Congressman Rulli is called the Granite Act (Guaranteeing Rights Against Novel International Tyranny and Extortion).

Speaking to The Times, Rulli said: F

Foreign bureaucrats do not get to decide what Americans can say. My bill makes clear that if a foreign government tries to punish an American for speech protected by the First Amendment, that judgment is dead on arrival in our courts.

Ofcom has repeatedly gone after US websites for alleged breaches of the Online Safety Act, notably 4chan and Kiwi Farms. In March, Ofcom fined 4chan a staggering £520,000 after finding that it had failed to comply with its duties under the Act.

Both 4chan and Kiwi Farms have launched legal action in the US seeking an injunction against Ofcom. The regulator responded by asking for the case to be dismissed, arguing that, as a foreign governmental body, it was protected,claiming sovereign immunity, from being sued under US law. Rulli's bill would remove that protection.

It is not expected that this particular version of the bill will make it onto the statute book, but with support from a number of key Trump officials, the House Judiciary Committee, and the backing of both the White House and State Department, similar proposals could be taken forward.

The wording of the bill reads:

LIMITATION ON ENFORCEMENT OF FOREIGN CENSORSHIP JUDGMENTS.

(a) LIMITATION ON ENFORCEMENT

Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal or State law, a domestic court shall not recognize or enforce a foreign judgment, or a fine, order, or demand issued by a foreign court or a foreign state, enforcing a foreign censorship law.

(b) RIGHT OF ACTION

A United States person against whom a foreign judgment described in subsection (a) is entered, or upon whom a judgment, fine, order, or demand described in subsection (a) is served or purportedly served, may bring an action in an appropriate district court of the United States seeking declaratory relief that such judgment, fine, order, or demand is unenforceable under subsection (a)

 

The Tree of Life is a 2011 US fantasy drama by Terrence Malick
Starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain  

The Theatrical Version is uncut and MPAA PG-13 rated in the US, and BBFC 12 rated in the UK. There also exists an Extended Version.

Summary Notes

The story of a family in Waco, Texas in 1956. The eldest son witnesses the loss of innocence and struggles with his parents' conflicting teachings.

UK: Uncut and BBFC 12 rated for scenes of potentially dangerous behaviour:

• 2025 Criterion Special Edition [Theatrical + Extended Version] (RB) Blu-ray at UK Amazon #ad released on 17th November 2025
• 2025 Criterion Amazon VoD [UK] at UK Amazon #ad

Promotional Material

Terrence Malick's magnum opus, a visionary hymn to nature and grace, in an edition featuring a new extended cut.

Four decades into an already legendary career, Terrence Malick realized his most rapturous vision to date, tracing a story of childhood, wonder, and grief to the outer limits of time and space. Reaching back to the dawn of creation, Malick sets a story of boyhood memories on a universal scale, charting the coming of age of an awestruck child (newcomer Hunter McCracken) in Texas in the 1950s, as he learns to navigate the extremes of nature and grace represented by his bitter, often tyrannical father (Brad Pitt) and his ethereal, nurturing mother (Jessica Chastain, in her breakout role). Achieved with the aid of cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki and production designer Jack Fisk, the Palme d'Or-winning The Tree of Life marks the intimately personal, cosmically ambitious culmination of Malick's singular approach to filmmaking.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED TWO BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES:

• New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Terrence Malick and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
• New extended version of the film featuring an additional fifty minutes of footage
• Exploring "The Tree of Life," a 2011 documentary featuring collaborators and admirers of Malick's, including filmmakers David Fincher and Christopher Nolan
• New interviews with actor Jessica Chastain and senior visual-effects supervisor Dan Glass
• New video essay by critic Benjamin B about the film's cinematography and style, featuring audio interviews with Lubezki, production designer Jack Fisk, and other crew members
• New interview with critic Alex Ross about Malick's use of classical music
• Video essay from 2011 by critic Matt Zoller Seitz and editor Serena Bramble
• Trailer
• PLUS: An essay by critic Kent Jones and a 2011 piece on the film by critic Roger Ebert

A Better Tomorrow Trilogy is a film set by John Woo, Tsui Hark
Starring Chow Yun-Fat, Dean Shek and Leslie Cheung  

There are no censorship issues with this release. The third film has alternative versions.

US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:

• 2025 SHOUT! FACTORY [I Theatrical + workprint, II Theatrical, III for Extended + Taiwan] R0 4K Blu-ray/R0 Blu-ray Combo at US Amazon #ad released on 18th November 2025

A Better Tomorrow III is a 1988 Hong Kong action film by Hark Tsui.
With Yun-Fat Chow, Tony Leung Ka Fai and Anita Mui.  

Exists as a Theatrical Version, an Extended Version and a Taiwan Version.

Promotional Material

The beloved Hong Kong action trilogy helmed by legends John Woo and Tsui Hark!

A Better Tomorrow
A reforming ex-gangster tries to reconcile with his estranged policeman brother, but the ties to his former gang are difficult to break.

A Better Tomorrow II
A restauranteur teams up with a police officer and his ex-con brother to avenge the death of a friend's daughter.

A Better Tomorrow III: Love and Death in Saigon
A man travels from China to Vietnam, on the brink of war with America, to retrieve his uncle and cousin but find complications when he falls in love with a female gangster with a dangerous ex.

Bonus Content:

Disc 1 - A Better Tomorrow:

• 4K Scan From the Original Camera Negative
• Presented In Dolby Vision
• Optional English Subtitles Newly Translated for this Release
• Audio Commentary with James Mudge, Hong Kong Film Critic at easternKicks

Disc 2 - A Better Tomorrow:

• 4K Scan From the Original Camera Negative
• Optional English Subtitles Newly Translated for this Release
• Audio Commentary with James Mudge, Hong Kong Film Critic at easternKicks
• Better Than the Best: Interview With Director John Woo
• Between Friends: Interview with Producer Terence Chang
• When Tomorrow Comes: Interview with Screenwriter Chan Hing-ka
• Thoughts on the Future: Interview with Filmmaker Gordon Chan
• Better and Bombastic: Interview with Filmmaker Gareth Evans
• Trailers
• Image Gallery

Disc 3 - A Better Tomorrow II:

• 4K Scan From the Original Camera Negative
• Presented In Dolby Vision
• Optional English Subtitles Newly Translated for this Release
• Audio Commentary with James Mudge, Hong Kong Film Critic at easternKicks

Disc 4 - A Better Tomorrow II:

• 4K Scan From the Original Camera Negative
• Optional English Subtitles Newly Translated for this Release
• Audio Commentary with James Mudge, Hong Kong Film Critic at easternKicks
• A Tumultuous Tomorrow: Interview with Director John Woo
• Better Than Ever: Interview with Film Historian Frank Djeng
• Trailers
• Image Gallery

Disc 5 - A Better Tomorrow III:

• 4K Scan From the Original Camera Negative
• Presented In Dolby Vision
• Optional English Subtitles Newly Translated for this Release
• Audio Commentary with Critic and Author David West

Disc 6 - A Better Tomorrow III:

• 4K Scan From the Original Camera Negative
• Optional English Subtitles Newly Translated for this Release
• Audio Commentary with Critic and Author David West
• Third Time Lucky: Interview with Screenwriters iu-Ming Leung and Foo Ho Tai
• All Our Tomorrows: Interview with Hong Kong Filmmaker and Academic Gilbert Po
• Nam Flashbacks: Interview with Vietnam War Researcher Dr. Aurélie Basha i Novosejt
• Theatrical Trailer
• Image Gallery

Disc 7:

• Long-Lost A Better Tomorrow II Workprint Featuring Over 30 Minutes of Never-Before-Seen Footage!
• A Better Tomorrow III: Taiwanese Cut

US Chief District Court Judge Bryan Biedscheid ordered Meta to pay $567 million into a New Mexico abatement fund. He refused to overtly order age verification across Facebook and Instagram. But then he ordered a narrower version of it, aimed at the accounts Meta's own systems predict belong to children under 13, which would ultimately lead to age verification anyway.

New Mexico Attorney General Raoul Torrez sued Meta and Mark Zuckerberg in 2023, alleging that the company failed to protect children from abuse, online solicitation and human trafficking. This legal action was addressed in two trials:

A Santa Fe jury in March found 75,000 violations of the state's Unfair Practices Act and imposed $375 million in civil penalties , the maximum state law allows. The jury determined that the company knowingly harmed children's mental health and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its platforms.

Now a second, bench asked whether the platforms are a public nuisance, and Biedscheid concluded that they are a significant contributing cause of the teen mental health crisis in New Mexico.

Torrez had asked the court to require Meta to apply various age-verification tools on its platforms , accurate to 99%, enough to keep under-13s off the apps entirely.

Because of the COPPA Rule, it is the Court's conclusion that it cannot order Meta to request children to submit personal data or be passively tracked online, even for age-verification purposes, Biedscheid wrote. But how would Meta know that an account belongs to someone under 13 without at the very least passively tracking them, what they write, say, and do?

What Biedscheid did order on age came from Meta. He adopted the company's own proposed relief, calling it far from ideal or sufficient and, all the same, most appropriate. Meta must keep improving its age assurance models in New Mexico using AI tools, and must attempt within two years to build a dedicated under-13-years-of-age prediction model. Where it cannot estimate a precise age, it must treat the user as under 13 or under 18 until they verify. And verify here likely means adults have to show ID to speak online, even though Judge Biedscheid said he wasn't mandating that.

Meta must also delete the personal information it has already collected on under-13s, and build a portal with schools or a child safety organization for flagging suspected underage accounts.

The money will be paid over five years, with $420 million of it going to treatment and the rest to awareness, prevention, screening, referral and evaluation. It comes on top of the March penalties.

 

Comment: The Meta Settlement: What It Means for Your Speech and Privacy

Under the teen safety provisions is a court-supervised identity system for every Facebook and Instagram user.

See article from reclaimthenet.org