The Acrobat is a 2019 Canada gay drama by Rodrigue Jean. Starring Sébastien Ricard, Yury Paulau and Victor Fomine.
Passed 18 uncut for 2020 DVD release
with the BBFC comment that the film contains strong real sex.
Summary Notes
Montreal is snowed under. While the downtown cranes dance their hypnotic ballet, two strangers meet randomly in
an unfinished apartment. Their chance encounter leads to a violent attraction and a dependency beyond reason. One man is a Russian-born professional acrobat whose future is jeopardized by a broken leg. The other is a buttoned-down, well groomed man of
few words. Which one dominates? Which one manipulates? As it turns out, love is painful and human relations are complex.
Ke is a young man who is a Beijing Opera actor. He decides to pursue acting, and soon becomes a commercial sex worker for men.
There is plenty of full male nudity, and
there are many explicit sex scenes. The sex scenes are there to make the film commercial, but they do not distract the deep subplots about the meaning of life, reincarnation and karma
Always Say Yes is a 2019 Chile/Mexico gay drama by Alberto Fuguet. Starring Gerardo Torres Rodríguez, Pavel Akindog and Anty de la Vega.
Passed 18 uncut for scenes of real
sex, strong nudity.
Summary Notes
Héctor travels from Hermosillo to Mexico City with the hope of posing naked for photography collective Feral. His friend Carlos chose not to go with
him, and Héctor, determined to experiment with his desire without limits, promises himself to always say yes.
Versions
uncut
run:
106:33s
pal:
102:17s
UK: Passed 18 uncut for scenes of real sex, strong nudity:
American Gods Season 1 is a 2017 US TV series by David Slade, Guillermo Navarro, Vincenzo F Natali... Starring Ricky Whittle, Ian McShane and Emily Browning.
Listed as the film contains a brief
sights of an erect penis.
Versions
uncut
459:06s
UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong bloody violence, gore, sex, sexualised nudity, very strong language:
2017 Studiocanal Amazon Prime VoD
[UK only] at UK Amazon
The BBFC annual report covering 2017 revealed:
One of the episodes contains strong sexualised nudity when a man searches through images on his dead wife's phone to find evidence of her infidelity and discovers
photographs of an erect penis. There is also brief sight of a man with an erect penis in a later scene. These scenes meant that this episode is more appropriately placed at 18.
The BBFC commented in the Annual Report covering 2012:
In addition to sight of erections, there is a sequence in which a pornographic film is viewed, which includes real masturbation and oral sex. However, the emphasis
is on the character watching the film and the briefly seen sex illustrates the character's sexual obsession, rather than being the focus of the scene. It could therefore be contained at 18.
Annabelle partagée is a 1991 France drama by Francesca Comencini. Starring Delphine Zingg, François Marthouret and Jean-Claude Adelin.
Versions
uncut
76:08s
UK: Passed 18 uncut for:
1993 Tartan VHS
1992 cinema release
The BBFC commented that Annabelle partagée is one of the small group of videos featuring unsimulated sex that has been classified by the BBFC at the 18 category
Antichrist is a 2009 Denmark/Germany/France/Sweden/Italy/Poland drama by Lars Von Trier. With Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Storm Acheche Sahlstrøm.
Uncut in the UK and US.
The BBFC explained their 18 rating:
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.
Versions
uncut
run:
108:17s
pal:
103:57s
UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong real sex,
bloody violence and self-mutilation for:
2023 Curzon Film Lars Von Trier A Curzon Collection (RB) Blu-ray at UK Amazon #ad
2014 Artificial Eye [The Lars von Trier Collection] RB Blu-ray at UK Amazon
2014 Artificial Eye [The Lars von Trier Collection] R2 DVD at UK
Amazon
Apostles is a 2022 Hong Kong gay drama by Scud Starring Amanwithahat, Simon Athena and Gavin Philip Che
The BBFC notes that the film contains strong real sex.
Summary Notes
A scholar claiming to be an apostle to Socrates and Plato, finds it hard to face his end. With the help of his wife and his ex-partner's family, he recruits 12 young men to come to his secluded manor to pursue the exploration of death.
Philosophical discussions aside, the practices encompass climbing the volcanic summit of Mt. Fuji, bondage, sexual activities, and even living sacrifice.
Versions
uncut
run:
81:48s
pal:
78:32s
UK: Uncut and BBFC 18 rated for strong real sex, nudity:
2023 Bounty Films Blu-ray (rated 30/10/2023) at UK Amazon on 22nd Janary 2024
At Any Price is a 2012 USA thriller by Ramin Bahrani. Starring Dennis Quaid, Zac Efron and Kim Dickens.
Always uncut.
Summary Notes
In the competitive world of modern agriculture, ambitious Henry Whipple wants his rebellious son Dean to help expand his family's farming empire. However, Dean has his sights set on becoming a professional race car
driver. When a high-stakes investigation into their business is exposed, father and son are pushed into an unexpected crisis that threatens the family's entire livelihood.
Versions
uncut
99:51s
UK: Passed 18 uncut for brief strong sexual image for:
At Any Price, a US drama about the relationship between a father and his rebellious son, has a scene in which a young woman looks through a pornographic magazine and reveals
a bare-breasted woman engaged in oral sex. The explicit sexual imagery is brief and isolated and in the context of a dramatic work where the intention is neither sexual arousal nor stimulation. Consequently, it was passed uncut at 18.
