For the UK theatrical release of the film, the BBFC removed a total of four seconds from two scenes. In the scene where Lou (
Peter Iacangelo) beats up Tyler (
Brad Pitt), an overhead shot as Tyler receives a punch to the face is missing, and in the scene where The Narrator (
Edward Norton) beats up Angel Face (
Jared Leto), the third punch in the first load of hits, as well as several hits as his face becomes bloodied during the last load of hits have been removed. The BBFC argued that these cuts were made because of "excessively sustained violence" and "an indulgence in the excitement of beating a defenseless man's face into a pulp". Interestingly however, prior to the release of the film, the BBFC was petitioned to ban the film altogether, but they refused, disputing claims that it contained "dangerously instructive information" and could "encourage anti-social behavior". In fact, they actually came to the defense of the film, pointing out that "the film as a whole is - quite clearly - critical and sharply prodigy of the amateur fascism which in part it portrays. Its central theme of male machismo (and the anti-social behavior that flows from it) is emphatically rejected by the central character in the concluding reels." For the 2007 Definitive Edition DVD re-release of the movie in the UK, all previous cuts were waived, and the film was released with the deleted four seconds reinstated.
