Alternate versions

An edited version was produced for network TV broadcast in which extreme violence was removed, and certain dialogue was redubbed by the original actors (eg. an expletive Barbera Lux uses at the end of the movie was changed to "Bullsquat").

When the film aired on TV3 in New Zealand in the early 1990s, graphic scenes of violence and profanity were cut for censorship: The "F' words are missing. The graphic violent scenes in the film that were cut is as follows: Digo's head exploding in the opening prison breakout sequence is missing. The graphic close-up shot of Sub-Zero's throat being sliced by barb wire is missing. Buzzsaw's death was edited which blood splattering on his face and his high pitched scream is removed. Ben's fake death was also edited, which the shot of the spikes impaling his body is removed and an innocent bystander being shot and killed by a ICS soldier in climatic shootout sequence at the end of the movie is missing.

When screened on the UK's Channel 5 at 9pm during the '90s, significant cuts were made; mainly for violence, but also for profanity:

• Shortening of the close-up of the dead prisoner during the opening ("This one's had it.").
• Removal of Laughlin breaking a guard's neck during the prison break.
• Removal of the second cut to the wide-shot of Chico, lying dead on the ground after his head's been blown off (a curious cut to make, as the actual head explosion was included).
• Shortening of a scene of Killian arriving at the ICS office, so that it cuts after "Just give them an evasive answer...", to remove the follow-up line: "Tell them to go fuck themselves."
• Removal of close-ups of Sub-Zero being throttled with razor wire.
• Removal of the shot of blood beginning to spray on Buzz-Saw's face after Richards sticks the chainsaw between his legs (it cut straight from the chainsaw to the audience's reaction, then back to him already bloodied and high-pitched screaming).
• Removal of the shot of Fireball's burning corpse (including on the public screen afterwards).
• The old lady's line is edited so that she seems to say "That boy's one mean fucker!", instead of "That boy's one mean motherfucker!"
• Removal of 'Amber''s neck being broken by Captain Freedom in the falsified fight, and shortening of her body falling between the razor wire.
• Removal of Captain Freedom spitting blood as he's punched.
• Removal of front-on shot of 'Richard''s dying after being impaled on the spikes, and of the subsequent shot which confirms that a body-double was indeed killed for the ruse, along with the accompanying dialogue ("It's part of life's rich pattern, and you'd better fucking get used to it!")
• Removal of a final close-up of Dynamo dying his last breath as he's electrocuted.

The German Video-version (FSK-16) is heavily cut (about 10 Minutes) to remove extreme violence.