The Abyss: Fancy new version BANNED in the UK

[dontpaintyourteeth]

the octopus was a wrongun.

[dead-ced-dead]

the octopus was a wrongun.

Octopus was a nonce. I have sources. Just not ones I'm going to share, so there!

[madhair60]

octopaed

squiddy fiddler

[Dr Rock]

Octopus is a food stuff over there, It's like if in an Adam Sandler movie he ate a lobster. With hilarious results.

[Theoretical Dentist]

In Oldboy your man eats a live octopus. How is that alright but waterboarding a rodent isn't?

Cruelty to octopuses (and crabs) is apparently OK (or at least not illegal to show in a cinema) because they're invertebrates. The Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937 only covers 'protected aninals' under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, which the BBFC classification guidelines summarise as 'vertebrates which are domesticated or otherwise under the control of man' (but that's inaccurate or badly phrased, since the definition also includes animals 'of a kind which is commonly domesticated in the British Islands' even if the individual animal isn't domesticated).

(Octpuuses, lobsters and crabs have more recently been recognised as sentient under the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 but as far as I can see that doesn't make the Animal Welfare Act 2006 apply to them so doesn't affect film censorship.)

So cruelty to invertebrates, or wild vertebrates from species that aren't commonly domesticated, isn't illegal to show in cinemas and effectively banned for home video releases. It could result in a higher certification but not an outright ban. And I guess what appears on screen would be more relevant than whether actual cruelty was involved in the production.

Apart from that, eating a live octopus might not be considered cruel, particularly if it's legal in the UK. I'm not sure if it is legal but I found this petition from 2021 calling for a ban in the UK which would imply it's legal, although the text is a bit confusing over whether they want to ban eating octopus completely or just when it's alive.

[JesusAndYourBush]

I may be misremembering, but I think Ed Harris nearly drowned and when the shot was done and he was back breathing air, Harris punched Cameron.

Harris was breathing that water-stuff as well?

[dissolute ocelot]

Harris was breathing that water-stuff as well?

From what I've read, they simulated it by having Harris's suit full of water but him holding his breath. Which didn't work out too well for Harris.

As previously mentioned and in the linked articles, liquid breathing is impractical outside very specialized settings, because you need to get about 10 litres of fluid per minute in and out of someone's lungs. Which isn't possible without a lot of equipment.