"Saints and Soldiers" was originally rated "R" by the MPAA, solely for war violence and related images. The director, writers, and producer wanted a rating of "PG-13". Some criticism has been leveled against the MPAA rating board with regard to their rating independent films more harshly than those of the large studios. (See also "LDS cinema and MPAA ratings".) The MPAA never communicated to the filmmakers any specific scenes that warranted the rating though Deseret News film critic Chris Hicks speculates that the reason may be due to two scenes, one in which Nazis execute prisoners of war and another that showed a closeup of a leg wound. Producers edited the film to receive a "PG-13" rating for commercial distribution. The film was officially granted a PG-13 rating on March 30, 2004.