8 Times Movie Censorship Backfired

Probably the funniest and most encountered type of film censorship is the TV edit. Films regularly get cut down for broadcasters to accommodate time slots and to remove potentially offensive content that could be seen by younger audiences. These changes can sometimes even impact films that air after the designated broadcast watershed, which, when taking advert breaks into account as well, can make watching films on TV a less-than-optimal experience.

However, sometimes a TV edit can enter "so bad it's good" territory, which was very much the case for some U.S. viewers who tuned in to watch Blazing Saddles as it first started to make its way to television sets in the 1970s. One of the most iconic scenes in Mel Brooks' rip-roaring comedy Western is also a movie first - where a number of cowboys gather around a campfire, eat some beans, and toot up a storm.

It's one of the film's most abruptly funny moments, but it was also the victim of one of the funniest TV edits. Rather than broadcast Blazing Saddles farts-intact, many stations elected instead to remove the onscreen flatulence altogether. With the farts removed, the cowboys look like they're engaging in some kind of ritualistic dance, which is somehow even weirder than if the stations had cut the scene entirely.