Oliver Stone - Oliver Stone's Savages Re-cut For Lower Rating In Britain

Film regulators in the U.K. looked likely to slap an 18 classification on the crime thriller, which stars Blake Lively, Aaron Johnson and John Travolta, meaning viewers under the age of 18 would not have been able to see the movie.

However, distributors were keen to land a 15 rating to open the film up to a younger audience and sought advice from regulators - and as a result, they re-edited several scenes.

A statement from the British Board of Film Classification (Bbfc) reads, "This work was originally seen for advice. The company was advised that the film was likely to receive an 18 rating but that their preferred 15 rating could be achieved by making changes to a number of scenes.

"These were to reduce various moments of strong bloody violence, sadistic violence, strong sex and some focus on drug use. When an edited version of the film was submitted for formal rating, changes had been made to satisfactorily address these issues and the film was consequently rated 15."

The movie, which has already earned $48 million (£30 million) since its U.S. release in July (12), is set to hit cinemas in Britain next month (Sep12).