Alexander Skarsgård’s full frontal Pillion moment softened for at-home release
Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling in Pillion (A24)
If you didn’t catch Pillion at the cinema, it turns out you might not get to watch the original version.
The BDSM/biker movie, starring Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling, released last year in the UK but got it’s US release earlier this year. It has now been made available to stream at home in the US… or at least, a less uncut version.
Indie film distributor Jasper Basch noted on X recently: “PSA: The Pillion you get at home will be an edited down version of the Pillion you saw in theatres, which presumably would have been rated NC-17. The home video movie Pillion just got its R rating, after edits, and is officially now the only version titled Pillion.”
The cinema version featured a very close up, in your face shot of Skarsgård’s character Ray’s pierced penis (albeit prosthetic), as well as plenty of graphic sex and all the noises that come with it.
In the UK, it was (obviously) rated 18 for “strong sex” and “nudity” by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). It kept the same rating for its at-home release.
But in the US, the movie was first shown in its “NR” or “Not Rated” format, which showed the more graphic moments, including Ray in all his glory.
The softer R-rated release was edited down as the Motion Picture Association (MPA) told film company A24 that the sex scenes were “too realistic”, according to World of Reel.
How many versions of Pillion are out there?
As per The Hollywood Reporter, there is the NR version which was screened at festivals. It was also distributed in cinemas when it was released in the US in February.
The other is the R-rated version.
It’s reported that some of the requested changes included reducing the amount of sexual content in the first meet between Ray and Harry Melling’s Colin, the wrestling scene and the bikers’ picnic.
The MPA reportedly also asked producers to “de-shine” the prop semen on Colin, too.
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