Video Hits: Hard 18s

9 Songs

• Nine Songs

Passed uncut by the BBFC in 2004 on both film and DVD

The uncut region 2 DVD is available at UK Amazon
The uncut UK Blu-ray is available at UK Amazon

The uncut region 1 DVD is available at US Amazon
The uncut US Blu-ray is available at US Amazon

Review from UK Amazon: Tenderness

First and foremost, yes, there is a lot of explicit sex and it is as explicit, but fortunately not nearly as unrelenting, as many pornographic films. But hey, I expected the explicit sex. What I did not expect was the tenderness with which those scenes were directed and played out. They had a sincerity and depth of feeling that is rarely if ever seen in pornos, and whilst I know the actors are only doing their job and were not a couple in real life at the time, both seem completely at ease with the raw intimacy involved and even display significant on-screen chemistry. Neither O'Brien nor Stilley are typically attractive in the Hollywood, plastic, overly-made-up artificial sense of the word; rather they are real and human, and beautifully imperfect. And so the sex (despite it being so truly believable that at times I almost thought I was watching myself!) is undeniably hot.

The emotion and chemistry carries over into the rest of the characters' relationship. They are a credible couple, at times both likable and hateful as we all are and this only served to make me care about them more. At the sad yet inevitable disintegration of their union I even felt a pang in my chest - exaggerated perhaps by the stunning, desolate Antarctic shots that evoke a deep and slightly disturbing sense of isolation and loneliness. As such, the entire film (at its relatively short length of, ah-hem, 69 minutes) is tinged with melancholy, reflected well in the dim lighting and low-key cinematography.

The music perhaps does not add quite what the production team may have wanted - the much sought after 'edge' - but it does fill out the film and serves as an unusual way to timeline the couples' demise.

Overall the film is unusual in style and substance, and whilst I'm not sure it has quite achieved what it set out to (the much discussed 'commentary on censorship' is notably absent, and having seen the film just the idea of that is irrelevant and unnecessary - it stands up fine without anything like that), I thoroughly enjoyed it - it left me with the most bizarre mixture of feelings... both pensive and turned-on! Not previously a fan of Winterbottom, in my opinion he did a great job here and this film is an admirable addition to his body of work that I would recommend it to anyone with an open mind. It is not the great controversial release of the noughties that it was hyped as, but simply an enjoyable and moving film... in more ways than one.

1900

• Novecento

Uncut version is available at:

The Uncut Italian Version was passed 18 uncut for:

• UK 2009 20th Century Fox R2 DVD at UK Amazon
• UK 2007 20th Century Fox R2 DVD

The BBFC noted: Contains one scene of strong real sex.

The US release is uncut and MPAA Unrated for:

• US 2006 Paramount R1 DVD at US Amazon

The 2007 version is missing the crucial opening credits. This was corrected for a re-release in 2008.

From cuts details on IMDb:

This version is uncut and includes the scenes with the main characters as young boys examining each other's genitals (this scene is much less graphic than many believe), and the prostitute masturbating Robert De Niro and Gerard Depardieu.

The BBFC passed the 2002 Meridian DVD 18 uncut and noted: Frequent, strong, real sex/nudity

Anatomy of Hell

• Anatomie de l'enfer

No cuts to the 2004 cinema release nor the 2005 Tartan DVD.

The uncut region 0 DVD is available at UK Amazon
The uncut region 1 DVD is available at US Amazon

Review from UK Amazon: Words and ideology

I think that it is unwise to see the film if overly prejudiced by the suppositions and interpretations of others, especially when their attention only focuses on one aspect of the film i.e. the explicit shots or the menstrual blood scene. The movie is not simply about the visuals. This film is as much about words and ideology as the imagery is about fragility, beauty and censorship. The script is powerful and confronting and the dialogue is beautifully supported by the equally powerful visual aspects.

We become voyeurs on an exploration of myth, ideology, sexuality, and identity, going through as much of a revelation as the male lead does when personal ideology impacts with truth.

Breillat is hard hitting, and we feel the punches that she does not bother to pull. And why should she?

The audience becomes drawn into a complex world where the dialogue not only exists between the characters, but between the director and the audience, and in the final unreal sequence we realise that the message is already within us, whether transplanted or not.

Breillat ultimately reveals strengths to be weakness and weakness to be strength. Or is that merely prejudice?

The BBFC passed the 2005 Sheptonhurst DVD 18 uncut and noted: Contains strong real sex and nudity

Antichrist

• Antychryst

The film was passed 18 uncut for the 2009 cinema release and 2010 Artificial Eye DVD.

The BBFC explained:

At '18', the BBFC's Guidelines state that the more explicit images of sexual activity are unlikely to be permitted unless they can be exceptionally justified by context and the work is not a 'sex work'. A 'sex work' is defined as a work whose 'primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation'. It is clear that ANTICHRIST is not a 'sex work' but a serious drama exploring issues such as grief, loss, guilt and fear.

The brief images of explicit real sex (sight of a penis penetrating a vagina during a consensual sex scene and sight of the man's penis being masturbated to climax) are exceptionally justified, in this context, by the manner in which they illustrate the film's themes and the nature of the couple's relationship. Their relationship is depicted throughout in a graphic and unflinching fashion, both psychologically and physically.

The BBFC has permitted comparable explicit images in a number of previous features at the '18' level (eg L'EMPIRE DES SENS, 9 SONGS, SHORTBUS and Lars von Trier's earlier film, THE IDIOTS) where it has been clear that the purpose of the work - and the individual images in question - is not simply to arouse viewers but to illustrate characters, relationships and themes.

Note that the hardcore shots are inserted into the sex scenes and are attributed to body doubles Horst Stramka and Mandy Starship.

The uncut region 2 DVD is available at UK Amazon
The uncut UK Blu-ray is available at UK Amazon

Assassin(s)

The BBFC passes the 2007 Optimum DVD 18 uncut with the advice: Contains strong violence, real sex and sexual violence references.

The uncut region 2 DVD is available at UK Amazon

Baise-Moi

• Fuck Me
• Rape Me

The BBFC cut 12s from the 2002 Universal DVD and 2002 Feature Film Company DVD: Cuts required to two sequences of sexual violence involving strong sexual imagery (explicit close up of sexual penetration of woman during rape scene; sight of gun being pressed into man's anus prior to being fired)

Contains hardcore segments even after being censored by the BBFC

The uncut region 1 DVD is available via UK Amazon
The uncut region 1 DVD is available via US Amazon

Review from UK Amazon: Crude but exhilarating

This is an extreme film, and a glance at the many reviews on here will demonstrate that it provokes extreme reactions.

All these people comparing Baise-Moi to Thelma and Louise and finding it wanting by comparison are missing the point. Baise-Moi has much more in common with films like Natural Born Killers and Rafal Sielinski's Fun, and viewers who won't enjoy the nasty music, nasty violence and nasty sex should stick to safe, predictable Hollywood production-line films.

Baise-Moi is a crude but exhilarating walk on the wild side which definitely won't be to most people's taste, and that's fine. For those with stronger stomachs, this will be a cult film to watch repeatedly.

Battle in Heaven

• Batalla en el cielo
• Bataille dans le ciel
• Eine Schlacht im Himmel

Uncut when submitted for a Tartan DVD in 2005.

The uncut region 2 DVD is available at UK Amazon
The uncut region 1 DVD is available via US Amazon

Review from US Amazon: Best be forewarned

Apparently people just aren't much into "faking it" anymore, even when it comes to sex in the movies. The Mexican film, Battle in Heaven, opens with a graphic scene of a young woman performing oral sex on the main character - and we can clearly see that this is not a simulation (it's also not much of a stimulation given the man involved). I don't know if the various hardcore scenes were actually included in the movie when it played theatrically in the United States in 2006. But they are certainly in the video, and those easily offended by such activity had best be forewarned.

For me, the sex scenes themselves are not the problem. It is the movie as a whole that I object to. For Battle in Heaven is a pretentious, arty contrivance that seems to be operating under the assumption - quite rightly perhaps, since the movie ended up on quite a large number of ten best lists last year - that it can earn points with the critical intelligentsia if it can just manage to bore its audience into a state of complete catatonia.

Bedways

Uncut version is available at:

Passed 18 uncut for:

• UK 2011 Crabtree R2 DVD at UK Amazon

The BBFC commented:

• Contains strong real sex

Review from IMDb: Fascinating

It's really a brilliant film about sex, love and desire. With great music, located in Berlin and yes, with graphic sex scenes, but no porn!

Some words about the actors: The performance of the lead actress Miriam Mayet is awesome! She has a remarkable presence, not only at the great masturbation scene in one take, without a cut for around 10 minutes!

Bedways is for me a fascinating film project and real independent cinema from a wild brand new director from Berlin/ Germany, called RP Kahl!

Blood and Rain

• La sangre y la lluvia

Uncut version is available at:

Passed 18 uncut for:

• UK 2011 Axiom R2 DVD at UK Amazon

The BBFC commented:

• Contains infrequent scenes of sexual violence and real sexual activity

Summary Review: Bogata Underworld

Jose s night shift as a cab driver is fuelled by an overwhelming need for revenge following his brother's murder by a gang of violent psychopaths. Unexpectedly joining forces with the firecracker fare that is Angela, this unlikely pair of damaged goods fall further into the rain-soaked underworld of Bogota.

This film has pervasive strong language, full frontal nudity, some strong sexual content, drug & alcohol abuse & violence, some of which is graphic & disturbing. Leave the kiddies home.

Boys on Film 2 : In Too Deep

Uncut version is available at:

Passed 18 uncut for:

• UK 2009 Peccadillo R2 DVD at UK Amazon

The BBFC commented:

• Contains strong images of real sex

Review from UK Amazon: Unmissable

Like its predecessor in the series, this is a truly excellent collection of nine short films, with the added benefit that more care has been taken this time to ensure an international flavour, including films from Sweden, France, Germany, Mexico and Australia. It's unusual for short film compilations to maintain a consistently high standard throughout, typically having several fillers thrown in; here, however, almost without exception, the films are superb (and several sport a welcome dark or supernatural twist).

[Perhaps the most likelt to contain 'real sex']

• Bramadero (Mexico, 22 min): An abandoned construction site high above the bustle of Mexico City provides a location for two young men to perform a silent, prolonged mating ritual. A wordless and explicit, passionate and violent, posthuman and sensual, communion between bodies.

Overall, a fantastic compilation, with eclectic originality and a strand of sci-fi / fantasy (which seems to be an emergent trend). A collection that will easily bear multiple viewings. Highly recommended for all.

Boys on Film 6 : Pacific Rim

Uncut version is available at:

Passed 18 uncut for:

• UK 2011 Peccadillo R2 DVD at UK Amazon

The BBFC commented:

• Contains brief strong real sex and one use of very strong language

Promotional material from UK Amazon:

Boys On Film goes down under to bring a fresh batch of funny and touching tales courtesy of our Aussie and Kiwi cousins, while from the USA and Hawaii to Singapore via Korea several more stories of men falling in love round out the collection.

Rising stars Xavier Samuel and Callan McAuliffe put their own twist on traditional coming out fables in Craig Boreham s second contribution to the Boys On Film library, Drowning and the Berlin Film Festival Crystal Bear winner, Franswa Sharl.

The Brown Bunny

Based on article from timeout.com

Difficult to take seriously as drama, Vincent Gallo’s strangled lonely-guy odyssey was a must-see for its extended Chloë Sevigny blow job

The uncut region 2 DVD is available at UK Amazon

Caligula

• Caligola

The DVD was submitted and cuts were waived for a 152:57s version. There is also a 156:00s 're-edited version' passed uncut at the same time.

See full article from the sBBFC:

In 2008, the full uncut version of Caligula was resubmitted to the BBFC for DVD release. The passage of nearly 30 years had significantly diminished the film's impact and after careful consideration it was decided that it could now be classified '18' uncut.

This decision accords with the BBFC Guidelines, which state that At '18', the BBFC's guideline concerns will not normally override the wish that adults should be free to chose their own entertainment, within the law.

Although there are scenes in Caligula that some people will find shocking, offensive or disgusting, the film does not contain any material that is illegal in terms of current UK law and nor does it contain any material that is likely to give rise to harm for adults audiences, most of whom will be well aware of its controversial reputation.

The DVD version was classified '18' uncut with the consumer advice Contains strong violence, sexual violence and strong real sex.

Uncut region 2 DVD is available at UK Amazon
The uncut UK Blu-ray is available at UK Amazon

Uncut region 1 DVD is available at US Amazon
The uncut US Blu-ray is available at US Amazon

Dead End Job

The BBFC passed the 2003 cinema release as 18 uncut noting: Contains brief explicit sexual image and moderate violence

Destricted

The cinema release of 2006 and the DVDs of 2006 and 2007 were all passed 18 uncut by the BBFC

Based on article from thedailybeast.com:

Destricted's roster of shorts varies from the international release, to the U.S. release, to what is screened at the festival: the U.S. version features eight short reels, all of which are explicit in nature; six short films, including some not on the U.S. release; and seven shorts, a mix-up of the previous lists, appear on the U.K. version.

The uncut region 0 DVD is available at UK Amazon

Review from UK Amazon: Strong Stuff

I bought this DVD and can safely say it is the most explicit thing I have ever seen passed with an 18 certificiate.

Seven artists have made a short film each based on art and pornography. Larry Clark's is the best - a 38 minute film where Larry interviews a group of boys about their pornography viewing habits, before selecting one to have sex on camera with a porn star. Of the five girls, the young lad selects his favourite (the oldest woman there) and proceeds to live his dream as Larry films the event, warts and all.

Sync is good, as is Balkan Erotic, whilst Hoist and Gaspar Noe's segments are tough to watch, but never less than compelling.

Much more than exploitation, Destricted actually has a lot of validity in presenting its varied range of sexual imagery (is masturbation good?), and I'm sure it will become a huge talking point in weeks to cum...

Dirty Stop Out Cuntro Classics

The BBFC passed the 2009 DVD 18 uncut noting: Contains explicit images of real sex

The uncut CD/DVD is available via UK Amazon

Dogtooth

• Kynodontas

See trailer from youtube.com

Uncut version is available at:

Passed 18 uncut for:

• UK 2010 Verve RB Blu-ray at UK Amazon
• UK 2010 Verve R2 DVD at UK Amazon
• UK 2010 cinema release

The BBFC commented:

• Contains incest theme and infrequent real sex

The BBFC further commented in their 2010 Annual Report:

Includes two scenes of real sex. One is a clip taken from a real sex work and the other a portrayal of a brother and sister engaging in incestuous sex. In this case the surrounding narrative of a corrupted family gave sufficient justification for these scenes at 18.

Enter the Void

Uncut version is available at:

Passed 18 uncut for:

• UK 2011 MIHK/Bluelight/Entertainmentone R2 DVD at UK Amazon
• UK 2010 cinema release which was cancelled in favour of a shortened version

The BBFC commented: Contains hard drug use and strong real sex

The BBFC explained their 18 rating:

Enter the Void is a drama following the lives of a brother and sister living in contemporary Tokyo. The brother, Oscar, is a small-time drug dealer and his sister, Linda, works as an erotic dancer in a strip club. The film was classified 18 for frequent hard drug use and strong real sex.

The film contains frequent sight of hard drug use, including the use of cocaine, LSD, GHB and DMT. At 18, the BBFC's Guidelines state that cuts may be required to any detailed portrayal of [...] illegal drug use, which may cause harm to public health. More generally, the Guidelines state that No work taken as a whole may promote the misuse of drugs and any detailed portrayal of drug misuse likely to promote or glamorise the activity may be cut. Although Enter the Void places some emphasis on the pleasures of recreational drug use, most notably through extended sequences filmed from the point of view of the hallucinating drug user, the dangers of drug misuse are made clear throughout the film, both in the dialogue and in the narrative itself. For example, one of the central characters is shot by police during a drugs raid and finds himself lying on the floor of a toilet cubicle, covered in his own blood. Such scenes serve to reduce any glamorisation of the lifestyle depicted. Additionally, although various methods of drug use are shown, such as taking pills, smoking drugs and snorting lines, none of the material shown presents information that is likely to be novel or instructional to an adult audience.

The film also contains several scenes of strong sexual activity and nudity, including sight of naked couples thrusting during sex, sight of implied fellatio and sight of erect penises. These scenes exceed the terms of the 15 Guidelines where Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail and are therefore more appropriately placed at 18. In addition there are infrequent scenes of strong real sex, including sight of vaginal penetration by dildo and by penis and sight of ejaculation. At 18, the Guidelines state that cuts are likely where there are more explicit images of sexual activity which cannot be justified by context. The images in question are relatively brief and are not dwelt upon. Their purpose is not to arouse or titillate the audience; rather, their purpose is to illustrate the hedonistic and often seedy world inhabited by many of the film's characters.

In addition, Enter the Void contains frequent strong language and two uses of very strong language. It also contains scenes of strong violence, some strong gory images (including sight of head wounds in the aftermath of a car accident), strong verbal sex references and a scene depicting a pregnant woman undergoing an abortion procedure in a hospital or clinic. The latter scene in particular includes sight of surgical instruments being used on the woman and close sight of the dead foetus lying in a metal dish, which some viewers may find disturbing. The film also includes occasional suggestions of an incestuous relationship, including inappropriate kissing between siblings and sight of a brother sniffing his sister's discarded underwear. However, no incestuous sex is actually shown.

Enter the Void also includes a number of sequences of flashing and flickering lights that are likely to trigger a physical reaction in vulnerable viewers. It also contains extended sequences featuring rotating and handheld camerawork that may induce motion sickness in some viewers.

The Erotic Films Of Peter De Rome

Passed 18 uncut for:

• UK 2009 BFI R2 DVD but not yet released

The BBFC commented:

• Contains strong real sex

The BBFC added in their 2010 Annual Report:

The Erotic Films of Peter De Rome is a collection of eight short films that date from the early 1970s, some of which feature strong scenes of real sex. The work as a whole has artistic, cultural and historical merit and, in tone and treatment, is distinguishable from a sex work.

From promotional material: Highly regarded gay art films

Amateur filmmaker Peter De Rome first started shooting 8mm films in 1965 producing a set of painstakingly crafted, atmospheric sexual scenarios for the amusement of himself and his friends. Pioneering producer Jack Deveau saw one of these at a festival and convinced him to collect eight of the shorts, blow them up to 16mm, and release them commercially as The Erotic Films of Peter De Rome.

The eight short films in the cycle take the viewer on a charged sexual expedition which exists at the intersection of artistry and eroticism. Here, de Rome explores the full experience of intimacy the longing, the pursuit, the passion, the afterglow, and in some cases, the aftermath. From humorous to sardonic, de Rome truly pushes the boundaries of filmmaking as his characters find themselves in surreal scenarios ranging from a wondrous garden to an underground subway. The Erotic Films of Peter de Rome showcase some of the most highly regarded gay art films ever made.

The BBFC passed the short 2007 Infinity DVD 18 without BBFC cuts noting: Contains strong real sex

Note that the 1996 Lifetime video ran longer at 77:23s

The uncut region 2 DVD is available via UK Amazon

Ex Drummer

The BBFC passed the 2008 Tartan DVD 18 uncut with the comment: Contains strong real sex, violence and very strong language

The uncut region 2 DVD is available at UK Amazon
The uncut region 1 DVD is available at US Amazon

Review from US Amazon: Twisted

Ex Drummer is one of the most twisted pictures I've seen in a long time. It's certainly a lot crazier and far more offensive than most would expect.

The film is about a small group of physically handicapped punk rockers who recruit an acclaimed writer to be their drummer in their band, with the hope of getting good enough to play a show at the battle of the bands. The writer, however, begins to maniacally take over the band and begins to mentally turn them against each other.

Certainly one of the most disturbing films to come out of Europe in recent memory. In addition, the film also has a rather unnerving sense of in-your-face viciousness that you rarely see in films these days.

It's fearless, uncompromising, and in-your-face. It has a rather gritty and ugly style that makes it unwatchable for most audiences, I fear. The ending is particularly shocking in it's graphic gore.

The film also contains unsimulated sex, so definitely be wary if you're seriously considering watching this.

The film also has an emotional core to it believe it or not. I think that's the most impressive thing about it. It takes the time to get involved in some serious exposition that not only left me stunned and heartbroken, but also shaken to the core.

I cannot say that you will enjoy watching it, but it's going to have an effect and if you are looking for a film that is challenging, emotional, shocking, and humorous in equal measure, this is your film. It's just like watching Trainspotting for the first time, all over again.

Garçon stupide

• Stupid Boy

The BBFC passed the 2007 TLA DVD 18 ubcut with the comment: Contains strong real sex and strong language.

The uncut region 2 DVD is available at UK Amazon
The uncut region 1 DVD is available at US Amazon

Review from US Amazon: Exceptional film

Garcon Stupide (Stupid Boy) is an emotionally-packed punch. The film and it's lead character, Loic, had me hooked from the start. With the exception of a few slower scenes, I thoroughly enjoyed the film from start to finish. A few laughs, intense thought and emotion, and a few tears were generated from this well directed and acted film..

The story itself follows the plight of Loic, a young handsome 20-year old who works in a chocolate factory by day, and entertains men of all ages by night for extra cash. In the film, he has a close loving friendship with a girl, Marie. He also develops a relationship of trust with a man he meets on the Internet, Lionel. The 2 never have sexual relations, just conversation about life.

This is overall, an exceptional film - very good acting, great soundtrack, unique camera angles and film styles, wonderful story, and well-directed.

Glue

• Historia Adolescente En Medio De La Nada

The BBFC passed the 2008 Parasol Peccadillo DVD 18 uncut with the comment: Contains very strong language, substance abuse and images of real sex

The uncut region 2 DVD is available at UK Amazon
The uncut region 1 DVD is available at US Amazon

Review from UK Amazon: Hanging-out & sniffing glue

Glue (Spanish, with English subtitles) is a film not easily forgotten. The cast is minimal, focusing largely on Lucas, our 16 year old protagonist, his best friend Nacho, and their age-mate Andrea. We are treated to a glimpse into a few short weeks in the lives of these three characters, as they hang-out, flirt, sniff glue, and enjoy polymorphous physical intimacy in a dusty South American desert town.

But to categorize Glue as a coming-of-age film would be trite in the extreme. While there are many examples of what would be considered the usual adolescent angst (secretly comparing body development against that of friends, awkward silences, parental conflict, watching porn on TV, the importance of music as a form of expression), the portrayal of youth in Glue is more iconoclastic; they are not simply going through a phase. There is no sense that the characters will ultimately follow in the subservient footsteps of their parents: they are the last in the line; the contemporary, disenfranchised generation.

The three main characters - Lucas, Nacho and Andrea - are seen in various combinations of sexual interaction; but again, there is none of the typical sexual confusion that we usually see in a pro forma coming-of-age film: they simply follow instinctual enjoyment of physical intimacy, unburdened by their forefathers' limiting preoccupation with gender role:

What's the difference between kissing a boy or a girl? Boys have beards. That's the only difference, otherwise it'd be the same thing...Why is it that boys don't cry?...Why are there 'girl's things' and 'boy's things'?

Clearly Glue will not be for everyone: those who find comfort in the simplicity of hard plot lines and linear story-telling, or the superficiality of good guys/bad guys scenarios, will struggle to see the cold, desolate - yet captivating - beauty that provide Glue with it's enthralling, brilliant portrait of contemporary youth.

Gods of Plague

• Götter der Pest

The BBFC passed the 2007 Freemantlemedia DVD 18 uncut with the comment: Contains strong images of real sex

Passed 18 after 10:22s of BBFC cuts for:

• UK 2009 Third Millenium DVD

The BBFC commented:

• Contains strong real sex
• Company chose to remove examples of extended and explicit real sex in order to achieve an 18 classification, where that sex served no further educational or illustrative purpose beyond that already presented in a sexual education context.

• Loving Sex

The BBFC passed the 2007 Alexander Institute DVD 18 after cuts noting: Contains strong real sex.

However the distributor made about 2:12s pre-cuts and the BBFC cut a further 1:46s with the comment: The distributor chose to make cuts to sexual detail (to clearly unsimulated penetration of vagina by penis and fingers, masturbation). An R18 uncut was available.

An uncut R18 version is available.

The cut region 2 DVD is available at UK Amazon

Greek Pete

The BBFC passed the 2009 Peccadillo DVD 18 uncut with the comment: Contains strong real sex, nudity, sex references and drug use

The uncut region 2 DVD is available at UK Amazon
The uncut region 1 DVD is available at US Amazon for release on 4th May 2010

See review from IMDb: Intelligent debate

This film won prizes at Outfest and some other festivals and was British, quite a rarity, so I made sure I checked it out.

I left the screening wanting to talk about the film, to discuss it with as many people as possible as it is nothing like I have ever seen before.

Some scenes are incredibly powerful and moving, and I wanted to know exactly which moments were real and which were staged. Nothing seemed staged at all and although Pete himself has approached this line of 'work' with a goal to pull together enough finances to invest in an education and a better future, some of the other boys amongst his friends do not have this immediate sense of ambition. What happened to them?

This is what I thought was very brave about the film. It never at any point made a judgment. It was an intimate peek into the lifestyle of a rentboy and dashed any preconceived ideas that people have about the oldest profession in the world. Pete is not that person you expect to see, but some of his friends are, yet they all look after one another. This is not Wiktor Grodecki, and anyone who watches this thinking that their Daily Mail high-ground will be bolstered by a mucky, seedy voyeurism that condemns it's subject matter via subjectivity will not get what they want. There is care, love and affection here, alongside extremely raw moments of insecurity and depression simmering beneath that confident veneer you see in many young men. There is no forced introspection. No moment where Pete must explain himself to camera. This is a film projected from within a society that does not judge itself and would never care to.

Greek Pete will divide audiences, but if you go in with an open mind, you will be stirred, jolted into action. It will make you think, and talk about it with others who have seen it. Any film that encourages intelligent debate should be seen, and this is one of them.

The BBFC passed the 2008 BFI DVD 18 uncut. Contains real images of sex organs and sexual activity

Hollywood, je t'aime

See video from youtube.com

Uncut version is available at:

Passed 18 uncut for:

• UK 2010 TLA R2 DVD at UK Amazon

The BBFC commented:

• Contains strong real sex

The BBFC further explained in their 2010 Annual Report:

Hollywood, je t'aime is a romantic odyssey about a gay Parisian who travels to Hollywood and falls in love with a drag artist and transsexual prostitute. The film includes some images of strong real sex as the principal character walks through a night club. These were allowable at '18' in that they established the seediness of the sex club setting.

House of Boys

Uncut version is available at:

Passed 18 uncut for:

• UK 2011 Peccadillo R2 DVD at UK Amazon for release on 22nd August 2011

The BBFC commented:

• Contains brief strong real sex

Summary Review: Well worth watching

Well worth watching gay drama set in the 80's. Two teenage boys meet, both after having just left home, in an Amsterdam gay club. One ends up sick with AIDS.

Stephen Fry plays a sympathetic doctor who can do little to help.

There's a few short porno scenes, some nice music and good direction.

I Dreamt Under the Water

• J'ai rêvé sous l'eau

The BBFC passed the 2008 TLA DVD uncut 18: [The film] contains explicit images of real sex. However, the nonpornographic nature of the work and the similarity of the sexual content to that in other works that have been passed at ‘18’ enabled it to be passed uncut for adults.

The uncut region 2 DVD is available at UK Amazon
The uncut region 1 DVD is available at US Amazon

Review from UK Amazon: Bleak

I Dreamt Under the Water' (French, with English subtitles) is a sombre portrayal of human misery in a contemporary inner city environment. Antonin, lives with his mother, who is still reeling from an unpleasant divorce, in a situation of some poverty. He plays guitar in a band, and has an unrequited crush on the band leader, and his best friend, Alex. When Alex dies of a heroin overdose, Antonin is stricken over his loss, and spirals into an underbelly of Parisian life of drugs and anonymous sex. He meets a woman, Juliette, and has a second-chance to save the life of someone he loves.

The dark lighting, underground clubs and grimy alleyways all serve to complement the film's bleak ambiance, which offers little hope for redemption. The sex scenes are passionless, explicit, and unsimulated. The most memorable feature is the performance given by Hubert Benhamdine (Antonin), who beautifully depicts the mental torment suffered by Antonin after Alex's death.

The film suffers somewhat after the first half, becoming quite slow-moving following the entry of Juliette. More seriously, 'I Dreamt Under the Water' offers little thematically that is new or original. If you can find a copy, 'Fogi is a Bastard' deals exquisitely with similar issues in a much more intense manner.

Overall, 'I Dreamt Under the Water' is worth a watch - if only for Hubert Benhamdine's performance and the superb music soundtrack - though it is doubtful whether it would rate a second-viewing.

The Idiots

• Idioterne
• Dogma 2: The Idiots

Passed 18 uncut for:

• 2000 Palisades Tartan R2 DVD at UK Amazon
• 1999 Tartan VHS
• 1999 cinema release

From UK Amazon: Actual Intercourse

Shot with handheld digital cameras and using natural lighting and natural locations, THE IDIOTS possesses an urgency that makes it feel like a documentary. Von Trier sparked a heated controversy with his decision to film the sex scenes with actual intercourse, adhering to the Dogme tenets. (He hired porn actors for the close-ups.) This controversy aside, the film nonetheless raises questions about cultism, modern ethics, and the idea of individuality within the absurdity of the characters' world.

Import Export

The 2008 cinema release and the 2009 Trinity DVD were passed 18 uncut with the BBFC advice: Contains strong real sex and very strong language

The BBFC further explained:

Import Export is a subtitled feature film from Austrian director Ulrich Seidl. It tells two parallel stories, one concerning a nurse who moves from Ukraine to Austria in search of a better life and the second concerning an unemployed security guard who travels from Austria to the East in order to sell goods. The BBFC classified the film ‘18’ for strong real sex and very strong language.

The very strong language in the film is reasonably frequent and is used within a sexual context. The film also contains frequent use of strong language throughout. The current BBFC ‘15’ Guidelines regarding bad language state that ‘there may be frequent use of strong language (eg 'fuck'). But the strongest terms (eg 'cunt') will be acceptable only where justified by the context. Continued aggressive use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable’. The frequency and context of the very strong language prevented the work from being classified at ‘15’.

The strong real sex occurs within two scenes – both of which contain explicit sexual images that are usually reserved for ‘R18’ category. However, the BBFC’s ‘18’ Guidelines make allowance for works containing explicit images of sexual activity that ‘can be exceptionally justified by context', provided that 'the work is not a 'sex work'’. The first scene featuring the main female character Olga, takes place in a tower block apartment in which an internet porn site is being run, connected to a number of rooms full of webcams and monitors. In each room is a woman performing solo sexual poses and acts for the gratification for paying online viewers; in one shot these include explicit images of digital penetration that are both reasonably clear, yet in the background of the shot on a computer monitor. The scene is designed to confront the audience with the grimness of the limited job and survival opportunities offered to Olga if she stays in Ukraine. The look and tone of the scene is deliberately cold, un-erotic and ultimately not pornographic in nature.

The second sex scene features another main character Michael, humiliating a prostitute in a hotel room to impress and bond with his stepson Pauli. The scene centres on Michael’s attempt to exert his masculinity and wealth and results in the prostitute performing oral sex on him. However, although we see the prostitute performing the act, throughout the scene Michael is unable to achieve an erection. In this case it was felt that the focus of the scene was very much on Michael’s impotence and the fact that the money and power he has holds no relevance to his misconceived ideas of masculinity. The scene has little erotic charge and is justifiable in terms of both the unfolding narrative and the power dynamic between father and stepson.

The uncut region 2 DVD is available at UK Amazon

In the Realm of the Senses

• Ai No Corrida
• Ai No Korida
• L'Empire des sens
• The Realm of the Senses

See trailer from youtube.com
 

Uncut version is available at:

The Producers Cut was passed 18 uncut with all BBFC cuts waived for:

• UK 2011 Optimum Online
• UK 2011 Optimum RB Blu-ray + R2 DVD Combo at UK Amazon

The BBFC commented:

• Contains strong real sex, bloody mutilation and sexual fetish theme

Summary Review: Dark and disturbing

A dark and disturbing psychological drama about sexual obsession.

This movie is definitely not for all tastes or who are easily offended by graphic scenes of sex. But recommended for those adventurous souls looking for something different and interesting.

Inside Deep Throat

NC-17

The Theatrical NC-17 Version was passed 18 uncut for:

• UK 2006 Technicolor/Momentum R2 DVD at UK Amazon
• UK 2005 cinema release

This is a documentary about Deep Throat, not the classic film itself. However the UK release does contain a key 15 second hardcore sequence from the original oral sex scene in Deep Throat

However there is also a cut US R Rated version that deleted the blow job and several other explicit glimpses and also softer sex scenes. See pictorial cuts details from movie-censorship.com

See review from IMDb: Insightful

All I can say is wow, this was a great documentary. Because of the subject matter it isn't for everyone, and the fact that it has an actual X-rated scene in it doesn't help either. But if you can get past that, this is an insightful, fascinating look at adult films and our society. And there is a lot of humor in it as well.

I wasn't surprised that several people in the audience walked out, since even I didn't realize how graphic the language/visuals would be. Showing how Deepthroat brought the "BJ" into the mainstream of adult films was interesting, and the interviews with the people actually making porn were very insightful.

Inspiring Passion: A Guide to Improving your Sensual & Sexual Pleasure

The BBFC passed the 2005 Focus 100 DVD 18 uncut. Contains explicit images of real sex

The uncut region 0 DVD is available at UK Amazon

Intimacy

• Intimidad
• Intimité

Uncut version is available at:

Passed 18 uncut with one notable scene of real oral sex for:

• UK 2001 Pathe R2 DVD via UK Amazon
• UK 2001 cinema release

The US release is uncut and MPAA Unrated for:

• US 2004 Koch Lorber R1 DVD at US Amazon

There is an extensively cut US R Rated version to avoid which is missing 6:11s from the sex scenes.

Review from UK Amazon: Beautiful, sensitive erotic story

I think this is an extra-ordinary cameo of a brief sexual affair between two strangers. If the sex scenes are controversial then I think it's because they are natural and realistic, contrasting with stylised sex in mainstream films. This is a beautiful, sensitive erotic story.

What makes it erotic is the compelling attraction between the two characters - this is done without words and is a strong point in the film, as Jay remarks on several occasions. Their encounters are the stuff of fantasies - anonymous sex. What is really refreshing from a woman's point of view is Jay's strength of feeling and tenderness in the role, performed brilliantly by Mark Rylance. To see a Jay cry in the last scene gives us another insight: a man needing more than sexual gratification - he wants relationship. By the end of the film we know he didn't leave his wife just because their sex life was over it was much more complex than that. As for Claire's role - well women aren't supposed to act like that are they? You know so detached emotionally? This is a brave film that turns gendered stereotypes and behaviour around. Another reason why it is so refreshing.

Justine's Hot Nights

• Les nuits chaudes de Justine

The BBFC passed the Nucleus Films DVD uncut in 2009. The BBFC consumer advice reads: Contains strong sex and nudity and infrequent real sex

The BBFC added in their 2009 Annual Report: Les Nuites Chaudes de Justine was a 1976 French sex romp that includes brief scenes of explicit sexual activity. It was passed uncut at 18. Although the work includes elements of titillation, the Board was satisfied that its primary purpose was to entertain and amuse and, as it was not a sex work, there was no justification for applying the additional restrictions of R18 for adult audiences.

The uncut region 0 DVD is available at UK Amazon

From publicity material: Some Sex Very Real

The World DVD premiere of another kinky classic from the director of the best-selling Education Anglaise and Dressage!

Mik Farez (Philippe Gasté) is an out of work "serious" film director. A sleazy producer with a mirrored floor and a naughty and knickerless secretary offers him the chance to direct a new movie, but he’s told that it must be a sex film. With just one evening to come up a script, Mik is bereft of ideas. However, following a steamy sex session with his willing wife, the kinky couple dream up all manner of sexy scenarios for the movie. These are portrayed as a series of erotic and often amusing vignettes, each of which revolves around a cute young girl in black stockings called Justine, whom they have recently seen performing in a nude ballet...

This erotic extravaganza features nuns, mermaids, confessions, virgins, stockings, an ape, Henry Kissinger (!) and copious amounts of sex – some of it artistic, and some of it very real.

See also Review from the Wilson Bros from dvdactive.com

Those who go in blind will be very surprised to find that there’s sex sequences in this ‘18’ certificate which actually deliver on their promise and show you penetration. Yep, when one of our hungry girls decides to munch on a human bratwurst, she really does put it in her mouth! Nerves must have set in during filming, as at least one guy has—what Russ Meyer once called—a ‘limber burrito’, or what John Waters would describe as a ‘Hollywood loaf’, but there are instances of oral sex for all to see. To get this into an ‘18’ rated movie was not easy, as it was ‘touch and go’ with the BBFC, and we doff our (Dutch?) caps to Marc Morris for being able to get Justine’s Hot Nights though unscathed in the UK.

Ken Park

Hasn't had a UK release yet

The uncut region 0 DVD is available via UK Amazon (Russian but has option for English sound)

See review from IMDb: Not About Much

Much has been made of this film's depiction of sex. Depending on who you ask, the scenes in question are "brutally honest" or simply "disgustingly pornographic". Both descriptions boil down to the same thing either way: you get to see erections. And ejaculate. A shiver goes through the audience, people shift in their seats - we are not used to seeing this in a non-pornographic movie, and it kind of throws us off-balance for a moment. But then, as it must, the film goes on and we are left to wonder what it was actually about. The reason I dislike this film, as I did both Kids and Bully (two movies that appear tame by comparison), is simply because once you take away the shocking aspects of it - the violence, the no-holds-barred sex scenes - it really isn't about anything much.

La Vie de Jesus

• The Life of Jesus

Uncut version is available at:

Unrated

Passed 18 uncut for:

• UK 2008 Eureka R2 DVD at UK Amazon

The US release is uncut and MPAA Unrated for:

• US 1999 Fox Lorber R0 DVD via US Amazon

The BBFC commented: Contains images of real sex, strong language, violence and racism theme.

• Ur kärlekens språk

The film was passed 18 uncut for the 2008 Revelation DVD. The BBFC commented: Contains real sex. (But I suspect only in a scientific sex education documentary context)

Review from UK Amazon: Not recommended

Transferred from old 1970s video tape. content dated and not what I call erotic. It is about old duffers talking about sex. not recommended for viewing.

Leap Year

• Año bisiesto

See trailer from youtube.com

Uncut version is available at:

Passed 18 uncut for:

• UK 2011 Axiom R2 DVD at UK Amazon
• UK 2010 cinema release

The BBFC commented:

• Contains strong sadomasochistic sex

The BBFC further explained:

Leap Year is a subtitled Spanish language drama about a Mexican woman who embarks on a sadomasochistic sexual relationship. The film was classified 18 and contains scenes of strong sadomasochistic sex.

The film is an exploration of a character's psychological condition, although much of her history remains untold and mysterious. The woman is shown to engage in empty sexual encounters which seem only to reinforce her apparent loneliness. Although these scenes of sexual activity are strong they are lacking in the detail of sex and fall within what is permitted by the BBFC's Guidelines at 15 which state that Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail.

The portrayal of the sadomasochistic sex in which the woman engages with one man she meets, and which represents the most enduring of her relationships, is however stronger in tone and detail. These scenes include asphyxiative sex, a cigarette being stubbed out on her body, a knife being played over her body, and the woman being urinated on by the man as she masturbates. There are also explicit images of the woman masturbating the man during a scene in which she proposes to him an ultimate thrill he might experience with her. Although these scenes are strong and require restriction to the 18 classification, in this serious dramatic context the material is not harmful for adults and there is no likelihood that the urination onto the woman would be in breach of the Obscene Publications Act 1959.

The film also contains strong language and verbal references to sexual behaviour.

The BBFC passed the video 18 uncut noting: Contains strong real sex

• Better orgasms for Women: Lovers' Guide 3
• The Lovers' Guide: Better orgasms for Women

The BBFC passed the video 18 uncut noting: Contains strong real sex

The BBFC passed the video 18 uncut noting: Contains strong real sex

• The Lovers' Guide 3D: Igniting Desire

Uncut version is available at:

Passed 18 uncut with the comment: Contains strong real sex for:

• UK 2011 Online
• UK 2011 Optimum RB Blu-ray at UK Amazon
• UK 2011 Optimum R2 DVD at UK Amazon
• UK 2011 cinema release

The BBFC further explained their rating:

The Lovers' Guide: Igniting Desire is a sex education work that provides information and advice on sexual techniques and relationships. The film was classified 18 for strong real sex.

This is the latest in a series of sex education works and is characterised by a continuous narration that covers aspects of sexual relationships and techniques, and is illustrated by various couples putting them into practise. Each of these individually short scenes contains full male and female nudity and strong sexual activity with some explicit images of, for example, real oral and penetrative sex.

The BBFC's Guidelines in respect of sex education at 18 state, Where sex material genuinely seeks to inform and educate in matters such as human sexuality, safer sex and health, explicit images of sexual activity may be permitted. In the case of The Lovers' Guide: Igniting Desire, the explicit images of sexual activity fall within a genuine educational context and are allowable at 18 under the Guidelines for sex education.

A longer version was passed R18 without BBFC cuts for the 2006 Alexander Institute DVD

OTTO; Or Up With Dead People

Passed 18 uncut for the 2010 Peccadillo DVD with the BBFC comment: Contains strong real sex and strong violence.

The uncut region 2 DVD is available at UK Amazon for release on 12th July 2010
The uncut region 1 DVD is available at US Amazon.

Review from UK Amazon: Political gay zombie movie

I have long been a devoted admirer of Bruce LaBruce's work, and for me, OTTO is unquestionably his finest piece yet. That said, this film is absolutely *not* going to appeal to everyone.

In a film-within-a-film, Medea Yarn is making an indie political-gay-zombie movie, with the aid of her girlfriend, Hella Bent, and her brother Adolf. The setting: the not-too-distant future, where the undead are commonplace, and, in particular, the homophile undead.

Otto, a young zombie, is subliminally drawn to Berlin, and onto the set of Medea's movie, where he is quickly cast into a lead role... though the cast don't believe that he is a real zombie, and think he's just living the role. Otto has flashbacks to his life before he joined the ranks of the undead, but can't remember how or why it happened (I was a zombie with an identity crisis). He is isolated, persecuted, lonely, displaced, shunned even by conformist-gays... and has come to the anonymity of the city for refuge. He is housed by one of the other cast members, Fritz, who is evidently attracted to him. Will Otto find love, sanctuary... assimilation?

At the level of the image, the viewer may find enough (highly-explicit) male/male action, and gory entrails-eating (you'll need a strong stomach), to keep him/her watching... though ultimate satisfaction will perhaps be elusive, since there will be no final resolution; and the boy-meets-zombie, boy-and-zombie-fall-in-love, boy-loses-zombie, boy-finds-zombie, story arcs do not play out as expected.

The Piano Teacher

• La pianiste
• Die Klavierspielerin

Unrated

Passed 18 uncut for:

• UK 2002 Artificial Eye R2 DVD at UK Amazon
• UK 2001 cinema release

The US release is uncut and MPAA Unrated for:

• US 2002 Kino R1 DVD at US Amazon

Review from electricsheepmagazine.co.uk: Porn Booth

More remarkable still is a scene towards the beginning of the film in which Erika visits a pornographic film viewing booth. Early in the film, we see Erika aggressively enter the space of a porn arcade. She goes into a video booth, whereupon there follows a seven-second shot of a split-screen monitor showing four separate image tracks: each a clip from a generic hardcore porn film. The film cuts back to Erika as she selects an image, then back to the selected porn film on the monitor. The pornographic image track recurs on the cinematic screen twice more, as the film continues to intercut between the diegetic screen and Erika watching it. The camera then lingers on Erika as she reaches into a waste-paper basket and pulls from it the tissues used by a previous occupant to wipe up his ejaculate. She inhales the tissue deeply while watching the film, her face impassive, her very reaction an inversion of the excesses of masturbation.

The Pornographer

• Le Pornographe

Uncut version is available at:

Unrated

Passed R18 uncut for:

• UK 2002 Tartan DVD (unreleased?)

The US release is uncut and MPAA unrated for:

• US 2005 Koch Lorber R1 DVD via UK Amazon and at US Amazon

Review from US Amazon: Not that Bad

Now in his late-fifties/early-sixties Jean-Pierre Leaud is still a fine actor who hits all the right notes in his performance as an aging pornographer. Leaud plays Jacques, a pornographer that had a slew of hits in the seventies but has retired. He now has a wife and an adult son he rarely speaks too, but decides to return to making movies.

Problem is, porn has changed since Jacques was making it and he's not able to make it the way he wants it too. As his world falls apart around him, Jacques begins to re-examine himself and, in the process, begins to lose his mind.

The movie is actually a really good character study, although it sometimes takes itself to seriously. The movie has probably got more attention for it's graphic sex scene than anything else. This scene (which occurs about 30 minutes into the movie) is graphic...But it's not. You see more of the guy than you do of the girl, in fact you really don't see anything of the girl. It is, technically, graphic...But.

A lot of the reviewers on here say the movie is dull. I didn't find it dull; I actually found it pretty interesting and thought provoking. It's no masterpiece, it's not in a league with masterpieces, it's not even the best look at the world of pornography, but it's definitely an underrated film.

• UK 2002 Tartan R2 DVD
• UK 2002 cinema release

The BBFC commented: Sight of man ejaculating on woman's face removed. Contains explicit images of real sex.

Princesses

• Princesas

Passed 18 uncut for:

• UK 2008 Drakes Avenue R2 DVD

The BBFC noted: Contains strong real sex

The uncut region 2 DVD is available at UK Amazon

Review from UK Amazon: Charismatic leads

Fernando Leon De Aranoa latest offering Princesas is a slice-of-life film experience, strongly empowered by it's two charismatic leads, Candela Pena and Micaela Nevarez.

Caye ( Pena ) is a prostitute working on the streets of Madrid . Seemingly unapologetic about the reasons that led her to this profession , she's a pessimistic creature , weary and doubtful about her chances of happiness . Best time of the day is with other fellow collegues hanging out at a beauty salon a friend owns . Worst time of the day ( or week or month...) is at the family dinner with her mother and brother with whom she has no real communication to speak of . Zulema is a dominican statuesque beauty working too on the streets of the spanish capital , with no papers to feel any security for herself . She has a little boy back in home to whom she sends most of the money that she earns .

Aranoa choses an earthy , unpolished aproach to his material . The girls' grim reality is something the director doesn't shy away from . Still , there is a sweetness in the film - life is a bittersweet mystery afterall .

Candela Pena has been a key supporting figure in many great spanish films during the last decade . Here , in one of her few leading roles , she's exceptional , her traumatised gaze displaying all the vulnerability and compation of her struggling character . Along with graceful newcomer Nevarez ,they create one of most believable pair of friends ive ever seen on screen . Finally , special credit must be given to Manu Chao's music colouring the film - his songs about all the poor lost souls of this earth meet a perfect match with this movie's social sensibilities.

Prostitute

Uncut version is available at:

Passed 18 uncut for:

• UK 2011 BFI Online
• UK 2011 BFI R2 DVD at UK Amazon

The BBFC commented: Contains strong real sex

Promotional material from UK Amazon: Fully Uncut

Tony Garnett, one of British television's most critically acclaimed figures, has been responsible for producing some of the most radical and controversial UK drama, and is associated with ground-breaking directors such as Ken Loach.

His directorial debut, Prostitute, is the tale of two women - Sandra (Eleanor Forsythe), an ambitious but naive Birmingham working girl who moves to London with the hopes of securing wealthier patrons, and Louise (Kate Crutchley) her social worker friend who is fighting to change the antiquated and hypocritical prostitution laws. As both strive to achieve their goals, a cold dose of reality dashes their hopes, and the built-in biases against women in society are unmasked. This frank and controversial expose' is finally presented here fully uncut and uncensored.

Puffball

• Puffball: The Devil's Eyeball

No cuts to the 2008 cinema release or the Yume DVD. The BBFC explained their decision:

PUFFBALL is a drama that explores in a supernatural setting the determined desires of two different woman - one who wishes to have a child; and the other who considers abortion when she finds herself pregnant - and how these desires come into conflict.

It was passed '18' uncut for images of strong real sex.

In this work, there are a number of clear images of real sex. They occur during scenes of consensual sexual activity between adults. In each case of sexual activity, the couples remain clothed although a woman's breasts and a man's buttocks are exposed on one occasion. The images show in extreme close-up: sperm exploding inside the vaginal canal, a condom-covered penis as it withdraws from inside the vaginal canal, sperm shooting up inside the vaginal canal and sperm dispersing inside the vaginal canal. The key point is that these images are filmed inside the vaginal canal and are similar to images seen in documentaries or scientific features. These images can only be obtained by using a special microscopic camera inserted under medical supervision inside a woman's body, usually for medical investigative / documentary purpose. Although startling - because unexpected - each image is brief. The exceptional contextual justification is that they serve to suggest either that the condom has been ineffective or that witchcraft has rendered the condom useless. In a broader context, the images support the narrative which is concerned with a woman's fertility, the obsessive desire to have a child, conception and the superstition surrounding these matters. There are two further real sex images. They also occur during consensual sexual activity. These show in extreme close-up, images of a penis penetrating the vagina, externally. Despite being washed in a green tinge to suggest night vision, the images are clear and are no different from explicit sex images found in 'R18' sex works. However, they are brief; and are justified by the broader context of the narrative already mentioned earlier. Their purpose here is not to arouse but to add a graphic dimension to the scene while exploring the links between sex and relationships.

In all the scenes of sexual activity, the couples remain clothed - apart from one scene when a woman's breasts and a man's buttocks are exposed. The sexual activity is conveyed by the mechanics of sexual positioning and thrusts, and ecstatic gasps, and enhanced by the brief images of real sex already mentioned. There is also one brief scene of masturbation which is impressionistic.

The uncut region 2 DVD is available at UK Amazon
The uncut region 2 DVD is available via US Amazon

The Raspberry Reich

The BBFC cut Peccadillo Pictures DVD in 2004 with the following explanation: Distributor chose to remove clear and explicit images of sexual activity which could not be exceptionally justified by their context (some explicit images allowed to remain). An uncut R18 was available.

The uncut region 1 DVD is available at US Amazon
The uncut region 1 DVD is available via UK Amazon

Review from US Amazon: Fantastic

I saw this film in Greece, and I'm sure that the American version is probably a little softer than the European (original cut). But I'm not too sure. This film is fantastic! I cant stress that enough. the cinematography... and just the overall satirical and witty premise of the film is worth watching. I think I'm going to make a t-shirt that says: "Masturbation is Counter-Revolutionary!" This movie is so smart...

Romance

Uncut version is available at:

The US release is uncut and MPAA Unrated for:

• US 2003 Lions Gate R1 DVD via UK Amazon and at US Amazon

Review from US Amazon: Such a Good Film

As you may or may not know, here in the UK we're not allowed to show scenes of "hardcore" pornography, on the grounds that they're titillating and corrupting. For the first time in history, the censors have let a film contain such scenes, and that film is Romance.

The point is, of course, that the scenes aren't titillating- in fact, they are quite horrifying in places. The whole film is a journey into the dark side of female sexuality, and (speaking as a heterosexual male) it can become highly disturbing.

The plot, briefly: our heroine is told that her boyfriend loves her but doesn't want to have sex with her. In emotional turmoil, she has a series of sexual encounters, increasingly degrading and bizarre, as she tries to find a link between her twin needs for sexual satisfaction and emotional fulfilment.

Excellent cinematography and a bleak script; by far the best film I saw last year, and probably the best I'll see again this year.

The BBFC cut 1s for:

• UK 2000 Blue Light R2 DVD

From cuts details on IMDb:

Although the BBFC passed the film uncut for British cinemas, they required 1 second to be removed from the video version. The cut to the UK video and DVD versions removed a brief close-up of a man ejaculating onto a woman's stomach. This occurs at the end of a fantasy brothel sequence, and is followed by a jump-cut to a similar shot of ultra-sound gel being squirted onto Caroline Trousselard's stomach. Without the first shot, however, the effect is lost in the UK version.

• UK 1999 cinema release

• The Lovers' Guide: Satisfaction Guaranteed

The BBFC passed the video 18 uncut noting: Contains strong real sex

The uncut region 2 DVD is available at UK Amazon

Passed 18 uncut for:

• UK 2010 Fremantle R2 DVD at UK Amazon

The BBFC commented: Contains strong real sex and nudity

Shortbus

Uncut version is available at:

Passed 18 uncut for:

• UK 2007 Universal R2 DVD at UK Amazon
• UK 2006 cinema release

The US release is uncut and MPAA Unrated for:

• US 2007 Velocity/ThinkFilm R1 DVD at US Amazon

Review from UK Amazon: Graphic

The film is extremely sexual graphic in places - and I expect will or already has ellicited a campaign by the Daily Mail to "BAN THIS FILTH!". It's far more extreme than Winterbottom's Nine Songs - previously the most "sexually shocking" mainstream UK film - was, and the uncensored nature of these scenes is a tool that director John Cameron Mitchell uses to convey the intensity of the sexual relationships. So, this is definitely not a film you'd want to in the presence of your parents. Whilst the orgies and ejaculations might be the reason the film has attained so much notoriety, it would be a shame if you were put off by the film's sexually explicit nature - I wouldn't have said the sex is gratuitous - it serves to demonstrate the emotionally vapid nature of some of the main characters' lives, and the director also skilfully addresses the wider emotional context. This film rarely misses a beat throughout and finishes with a lavish crescendo that can't help but make you feel that you've felt something as you leave the cinema. Don't accept any edited or censored versions.

Spetters

Uncut version is available at:

Unrated

The Director's Cut was passed 18 uncut with BBFC cuts waived for:

• UK 2005 MGM R2 DVD at UK Amazon
• UK 2004 Channel 4 unreleased video submission

The US release is uncut and MPAA Unrated for:

• US 2002 MGM R1 DVD at US Amazon

The BBFC commented:

• Contains strong sexual violence and real sex

Review from US Amazon: Saucy Holland Days

Spetters (a Dutch slang term for male ejaculate) remains the in-your-face director's most audacious and fascinating work to date. Popular in Holland but largely ignored upon its initial U.S. release, the film has slowly built a cult following over the years, thanks to word-of-mouth amongst film buffs and some critical backpedalling due to Verhoven's subsequent box-office successes.

Following the hormone-fueled misadventures (from comedic to tragic) of a trio of motocross-obsessed teenage pals and thier girlfriends, the film is a sort of Dutch take on Saturday Night Fever or Quadrophenia with a pinch of social satire tossed in.

The young (mostly unknown) principal players all deliver energetic, superb performances and are ably supported by Jeroen Krabbe and Rutger Hauer.

The MGM DVD thankfully restores the 8 minutes of "graphic" sexuality (not really that shocking to Europeans) that was excised in order to earn an "R" rating and make the film more palatable to our "puritan" American tastes.

79:25s
=76:14s

93:17s
=89:33s

Love Play: 1973 release Sweden adult film

More about the Language of Love: 1970 Sweden/Denmark sex education documentary by Torgny Wickman. See IMDb

The BBFC noted in the 2009 Annual Report: Collection 2, Swedish Erotica, a compilation of three early 1970s films from Sweden (Wide Open, Love Play and More About the Language of Love) was passed 18 without cuts. The work, which includes explicit images of sexual activity, is now very dated. By contemporary standards it is clearly not a sex work, but rather a genuine attempt to inform and educate, and the Board concluded that there was sufficient contextual justification to allow these scenes at 18.

Passed 18 uncut for:

• UK 2008 Alexander Institute DVD

Taxi Zum Klo

• Taxi to the Toilets

Uncut version is available at:

Passed 18 uncut with BBFC cuts waived for:

• UK 2011 Peccadillo R2 DVD at UK Amazon
• UK 2011 cinema release
• UK 2004 Film Four video version. For TV showing not released on DVD

This decision is particularly notable as it contains explicit real gay sex and also includes an unsimulated golden shower scene (one man urinating in another's mouth)

Review from IMDB: Good Film

I watched this film on Film4 with the customary warnings from the announcers and introduction by Mark Kermode.

Thank god, a person who makes films with good content and not afraid to add in explicit content, as an adult I was glad that I had the choice to watch such a film and not have it cut by the censors.

An excellent film, worth watching. Anybody wanting to learn about the secret lives many gay men have to live to have their sexuality kept secret should watch this film.

Taxidermia

Uncut version is available at:

Passed 18 uncut for

• UK 2007 Tartan R2 DVD at UK Amazon

The US release is uncut and MPAA Unrated for:

• US 2919 E1 R1 DVD at US Amazon

The BBFC commented:

TAXIDERMIA is a subtitled Hungarian black comedy which tells the story of three generations of men from the 1950s to the present. The film was classified '18' for scenes containing gory images, real sex and very strong language.

TAXIDERMIA contains a number of gory images, most notably a sequence in which a character is shown to disembowel himself. Although the sequence is fantastical and unreal and occurs within a comically absurd context, it contravenes the BBFC's Guidelines at '15'.

The film also contains brief sight of aroused male genitalia and close up shots of female genitalia. Additionally, two sequences include brief sight of real sexual activity (male masturbation and vaginal penetration).

The BBFC's Guidelines at '18' state that such explicit images will only be permitted where the work is not a 'sex work' (i.e. a work whose primary purpose is sexual arousal) and where the images can be exceptionally justified by context. In the case of TAXIDERMIA, the BBFC did not regard the images as having the primary intention of sexual arousal and considered that they formed an integral part of the work, each justified by context. This decision was in line with other recent works such as NINE SONGS, DESTRICTED and SHORTBUS, all of which contain images of real sex. The film also contains 6 uses of very strong language, which were considered to lack the necessary contextual justification to permit them below '18'.

TAXIDERMIA also includes five uses of strong language, some strong sex references and a scene showing a pig being killed and subsequently butchered. However, this scene was considered to show a humane kill and was therefore not in breach of the Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937, which prohibits the exhibition of films where animals have been treated cruelly for the purpose of film making.

Review from UK Amazon: Speed-Eating Cataclysm Time

Honestly, with all the fuss surrounding this superlative film, you'd expect Sodom-And-Gommorah to shoot through your Cathode Ray Tube and vomit creosote into your wallet. Nope. It's all very survivable, apart from a few graphic instances (which the dear-old Auntie BBFC could have excised within a heartbeat, but they didn't. There MUST be a God!). I suppose vegetarians may have a few Heart Palpitations, but there you go.

It also cocks a snoot at those naysayers who have a firm belief in the inferiority of Eastern-European cinema - "Taxidermia" is crammed with more CGI than your average Jenna Bush photoshoot. Guy Ritchie be damned, he's scrawling graffiti on the side of the Venus De Milo and can't spell "OK" yet. Take note, British cinema is LIGHT YEARS behind this. We've lost the war Comrades.

Tony Manero

The 2009 cinema release and 2009 Sound & Media DVD were passed 18 uncut by the BBFC:

Tony Manero is drama set in Chile in 1978 against a backdrop of Pinochet’s dictatorship. It follows the story of a middle-aged man whose need to impersonate the lead character from Saturday Night Fever has found him turning to crime in the pursuit of his obsession. It was passed '18'' for infrequent explicit and strong sex.

The film focuses on the increasingly dysfunctional life of the lead character and one of the areas in which this is apparent is his impotence. The sex scene is symbolic of his failure in life generally. In an early intimate scene with his lover the couple try to make love. She takes his flaccid penis briefly into her mouth, but he remains unaroused. The sex is unsuccessful and she accuses him of being aroused only by thoughts of dancing. At '18', the BBFC's Guidelines state that 'the more explicit images of sexual activity' are only acceptable if 'they can be exceptionally justified by context and the work is not a 'sex work'. In the context of this dramatic work the purpose of the scene is to convey the breakdown of his sense of reality and as such it was felt to be exceptionally justified at the adult category. There is another sex scene in which, once again, the man is not aroused, but the scene includes close-up images of nipple kissing and a woman masturbating to orgasm but without explicit detail. This too is acceptable at '18'.

The uncut region 2 DVD is available at UK Amazon for release on 28th September 2009

Passed 18 uncut for the Third Millenium DVD with the comment: Contains strong real sex