Was the VHS cover censored?


I own the 'B' poster for this film, a very nice painted affair showing all the principal characters and the Lotus shooting its rockets, and Steranko's chateau exploding at the bottom. Awesome poster, really invoking that classic Bond feel that the movie tried to shoot for (nevermind it sort of failed).

Anyway! This, of course, was used for the movie's VHS release. But one problem. On the actual, large-size poster, Steranko is holding a gun to Mariska's head... but on the VHS cover's art, the gun has been painted out, so Steranko is holding, well, nothing. His hand is still posed in the position to hold a gun, but there's nothing in it. He's holding thin air (or an "invisible gun," as Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged would say).

Does anyone have the faintest clue why this was done? I get that these days people are all censor-happy because God forbid the villain be seen wielding a gun and doing something villainous. But were they like that back when this film first hit the home video market in '92 or '93? I don't remember them being. So the removal of Steranko's gun from the VHS cover art is very odd to me.

"I mean, really, how many times will you look under Jabba's manboobs?"

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This probably has something to do with British laws.

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But the gun-less cover is in the US.

I mean, really, how many times will you look under Jabba's manboobs?

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U.S., has become censorship prone.

The special edition cover art for The Killing Joke comic book was also censored, along with various other comics where cleavage, thigh, glutes, and sex appeal has been censored.

We live in the age of Social Justice Warriors, and nothing is safe... sadly that even goes for old VHS covers.

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In Los Angeles 1990/1991/1992 there was a peak in gun crime. This was blamed on movies and several posters was amended.
Kuffs received a lot of pushback.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104647/?ref_=rvi_tt

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i only remember the cover having grieco on a car relaxing,

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