Bamboo House Dolls is a Hong Kong prison drama by Chin Hung Kuei. With Birte Tove, Lieh Lo and Hsieh Wang.
Banned by the BBFC for 1975 cinema
release. Not released in the UK since.
Summary Review: Done Very Well
A nurse in a Japanese women's POW camp during World War II masterminds an escape.
I bought this film on
DVD and expected an over-the-top, Women In Prison exploitation ride that would have me guffawing and slapping my knee as I had a good old time watching the girls get taken advantage of. It's a guy thing. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that
BHOD kept me glued to the screen from beginning to end. It's an exploitation film no doubt, but it's done very well!
The female prisoners are very attractive, and the actors portraying the villains are really digging into their
roles. The sex scenes, while violent, are choreographed very well, and are done tastefully. Many of the erotic scenes have a comedic nature, and are welcome pauses in an otherwise non-stop action fest.
Barbed Wire Dolls is a 1976 Switzerland crime horror thriller by Jesús Franco. With Lina Romay, Paul Muller and Monica Swinn.
Originally banned by the BBFC for
cinema release in 1976, but unbanned a year later after significant cuts. Less cut for 2004 DVD. Uncut in Switzerland. Uncut and MPAA Unrated in the US.
Summary Review: Comical, disorienting and depressing
Women in Prison movies come in several styles, ranging from tongue-in-cheek camp to disturbingly sadistic shockfests. Barbed Wire Dolls is a Jess Franco flick, so, as expected, it doesn't really fit into any pigeonhole.
Watching Frauengefangnis is like performing an experiment on yourself. The painfully slow pace, downbeat soundtrack, eternal scenes of pointless verbal abuse, mock torture, and idiotic dialog gradually turn your brain into
glue. The movie is so sleazy, depressing, and confusing, that it's almost unwatchable in one sitting.
Cuts required to remove explicit sight of sexual activity (digital penetration) in order to achieve an 18 classification. An R18 uncut was not available for this non-sex work.
The explicit
imagery was not deemed to have a sufficient narrative justification in the Jess Franco work Barbed Wire Dolls, which blurred the line between erotic drama and sex work.
The BBFC kindly provided a further clarification:
According to our Guidelines, you cannot show unsimulated sex at '18' if it is a 'sex work' (ie a work whose main purpose is to sexually arouse). Real sex in a 'sex
work' makes it 'R18'. However, this Jess Franco film is not a 'sex work'.
According to our Guidelines, explicit real sex may only be shown at '18' if (i) it is not a sex work (see above) and (ii) the sex is exceptionally justified by context.
In this case the Board did not feel that the explicit sex was exceptionally justified by context so it was not judged acceptable at '18'. Of course, the explicit sex could have been permitted at 'R18' on its own. However, an 'R18' without cuts was
not a realistic option in this case, not so much because it wasn't a sex work but because the violence and sexual violence that we permitted at '18' would not be permissible at 'R18'. So, if we had permitted the explicit sex at 'R18' (which we
could have) we would have had to make additional cuts for 'R18' (to violence and sexual violence) that would not have been required at '18'.
A Bay of Blood is a 1971 Italian horror by Mario Bava. With Claudine Auger, Luigi Pistilli and Claudio Camaso.
Banned by the BBFC for 1972 cinema
release, then banned on VHS as a Video nasty in 1983. Unbanned but cut by the BBFC from 1994 until 2000. Uncut by the BBFC since 2010. The US R rated version is uncut.
Summary Review : Granddaddy of all slasher movies
Bay of Blood is often called the "Granddaddy of all slasher movies". After watching Bay of Blood you can definitely see where Friday the 13th (made in 1980) got a lot of it's ideas. Saying that, Bay of
Blood does not possess the single element that defined the slasher film, the indestructible, omnipresent killer.
The movie succeeds almost entirely thanks to Mario Bavo, who serves as both director and cinematographer, with his typical
stylish flare which heavily influenced the great Dario Argento, his eye appealing use of color and interesting editing techniques, which include a lot of blurry dissolves give Bay of Blood an almost dream-like, surrealistic feel.
Versions
uncut
run:
83:54s
pal:
80:33s
UK: Passed 18 with BBFC cuts waived for:
2019 Arrow Macabre Visions Limited Edition (RB) Blu-ray at UK Amazon
2011
Arrow/ArrowDrome [English + Italian Version] R2 DVD at UK Amazon
2010 Arrow [English + Italian Version] R0 Blu-ray at UK Amazon
2010 Arrow [English + Italian Version] R2 DVD at UK
Amazon
US: Uncut and MPAA R Rated for:
2013 Kino [English + Italian] RA Blu-ray at US Amazon
There is an English language version and an Italian language version. Dialogue scenes were shot twice but there is no real difference between the two beyond the language.
The first murder of a teenage girl loses 2s in 2 cuts, the first of her throat being cut from behind and the other of a graphic hatchet blow to the head.
21s (nearly the entire scene) is cut from a boy dying with a machete embedded in his
face.
3 cuts totally 9s diminish the death of couple impaled with a spear whilst making love. We love the blood welling from the wounds and their writhing whilst impaled.
2s When Federica gets beheaded, the tracking shot of her neck
spilling blood is missing.
11s has been cut from the death of Simon being forced up a wall by a spear impaled in his stomach.
uncut
run:
84:16s
pal:
80:54s
UK: Released uncut on pre-cert video for:
1983 Hokushin VHS
The uncut version titled Blood Bath was released on the Hokushin label in February 1983 and was listed as a video nasty in March 1984. It stayed on the list throughout, so became one of the
collectable DPP39s
Bedtime is a 1967 UK drama short by John Irvin.
With Imogen Hassall and Michael Latimer.
Banned by the BBFC for 1967 cinema release
Summary Notes: Inbetweeners
Film
begins at the end of one act of love-making and ends at the beginning of the next. It is a dialogue between two people who are neither in love nor married to each other.
The Best of the New York Erotic Film Festival is a 1974 US erotic short film compilation.
Cinema certificate rejected in April 1975 Resubmitted and cut for cinema in August 1975 The Moira Maher video was cut when submitted
in 1987
Summary Notes
An explicit compilation of short films with just as strong scenes of sexual activity filmed during festival parties.
Compilation of 5 short
prize winners from previous festivals:
Introduction
Eyetoon
Baby
The stripper
4. Norien ten (uncredited direction)
Life with video
Thanks to Rustin Mann on The Melon Farmers' Forum:
One of the shorts is directed by Penelope Spheeris. The story line is of a meek pharmacist hatching a plot to snag his loud sex-loving "hot"
neighbour by making a simulated sex tape.
The Big Doll House is a 1971 USA/Philippines action drama by Jack Hill. Starring Roberta Collins, Pam Grier and Judith Brown.
Banned by the BBFC for 1971 cinema
release. Cut by the BBFC for 1987 VHS. Uncut for 2003 DVD. Uncut in the US
Summary Review: Naive Silly Fun
Beautiful women prisoners are abused in a Philippine prison, until 5 of them plot an escape
by taking the evil female warden hostage with the reluctant help of 2 male fruit vendors.
The whole film has a tone of naivety despite of its run of sex and violence. The plot couldn't be more simple: a group of women in
prison, led by the resourceful Collier (top-billed Judy Brown), plan an escape. Guards torment and molest prisoners. Prisoners get naked (though not as much as you'd expect for this genre). One evil head guard, Lucian tortures bad girls by tying them to
tables and hanging snakes over them.
The fast paced film is surprisingly well acted, and delivers all the usual thrills you would expect, with a few witty lines and some hysterical monologues.
Availability
Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut
UK: An extended version was passed 18 uncut with previous BBFC cuts waived for:
The Big Racket is a 1976 Italian crime film by Enzo G Castellari. With Fabio Testi, Vincent Gardenia and Renzo Palmer.
Banned by the BBFC for 1977 cinema
release. Cut by the BBFC for 2003 VHS. Uncut in the US
Summary Review: Good Script
Nico Palmieri is a police inspector who battles against hoodlums terrorising a sleepy Italian village, extorting
cash from the locals.
The Big Racket benefits immensely from a strong leading performance courtesy of Fabio Testi. Testi's portrayal of the angry police officer is perfectly judged to fit the movie, and I don't think there is an
actor who could be better suited to playing the lead in this movie.
The script is really good, and finds time to flesh out its characters as well as deliver witty dialogue that is always a part of this movie's bigger budget
American cousins. It all boils down to a fabulous conclusion which serves in ensuring the movie gets the bloody end it deserves, as well as rounding off the story perfectly.
Availability
Current UK Status: Passed 18 after 14s cuts
US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
US 2012 Blue Underground [Midnight Movies Triple Action Feature] R0 DVD at US Amazon
Bijoux de famille is a 1975 France adult film by Jean-Claude Laureux. With Françoise Brion, Corinne O'Brien and Michel Fortin.
Initially banned by the BBFC for 1975
cinema release. Later cut for cinema releases in 1976, 1985 and 1992. Also cut for 1987 VHS.
Summary Review: What might have been
Between Just Jaeckin's Emmanuelle packing Champs Elyse'es
theaters to the rafters and the dirty movie deluge that was just around the corner, Continental carnal cinema got a taste of what might have been had the budding genre been allowed to progress logically without stringent government interference ruining
its potential. French fornication filmmakers believed that their explicit sexual content would eventually be assimilated by mainstream entertainment. Alas, this was not to be, the country's draconian X Law - slapping humongous taxes on all aspects
of adult film production and distribution - to blame only in part for this evolution or rather lack thereof.
The sole directorial effort of Jean-Claude Laureux, erstwhile cherished collaborator of the late great Louis
Malle, remains an ambitious attempt to blend traditional cinema with the plentiful pulchritude and still simulated yet surprisingly graphic sexual activity allowed by recently relaxed censorship laws. By way of knee jerk reaction, the movie was briefly
banned altogether by the commission for film classification until progressive Cultural Secretary of State Michel Guy overrode their decision, liberating the title for release with an 18 certificate.
This mild-mannered
social satire of the country's privileged upper middle classes, themselves close to extinction post May 1968, plays out like a mixture of neutered Claude Chabrol and French boulevard theater.
Availability
Current UK Status: Passed 18 after 22s of BBFC cuts
Birds Mean Business is a 1967 France/Luxembourg comedy by Jean-Pierre Bastid Starring Ghislaine Paulou, Valentine Pratz and Pascale Cori-Deville
The film was banned by the BBFC for
its cinema release in 1968. The film was also banned in France. The MPAA Unrated US version was significantly shortened.
US Version/Little Girls
shortened
cut:
run:
67m
pal:
64m
US: The US version is Shortened and MPAA Unrated for:
UK: It was likely the original version that was banned
by BBFC:
1968 Kingly Studios cinema release (rated 10/12/1968) titled Birds Mean Business
France: The film was also banned in France titled Salut les copines
Thanks to Mike:
This was a French film which was released elsewhere in mainland Europe but was banned by the French censors. The
plot: four rich teenage girls are groomed by a man and then sold to a female nightclub owner who beats and abuses them and sells them into prostitution. Her aim is to take sexual photographs of them which she will use to blackmail their parents. It's
sleazy enough already but it is very strongly implied that the girls are underage (despite being played by actresses who are clearly in their 20s). Given the original title and the theme, it's easy to see why a title change was necessary.
The original seems to be a lost film, but luckily the US distribution rights were acquired by Bob Cresse's Olympic Films International and released there. The company's
business model at the time was to import foreign films (so that if Customs intervened they could claim that they were art films) and then dub them in to English and edit them to make them even sleazier. That's what they did here. This US version, which
was also released as Little Girls , was itself a lost film for 40 years but turned up again in the early 2000s.
Cresse removed 20 minutes of plot
from the French version, redubbed it inconsistently into English (so some scenes are still in French, some are in English, and some have the performers speaking English with a French accent), anglicised the director's name and added a jaw-dropping scene
in which he himself plays a shirtless sadist who ties a practically naked woman to a metal frame against her will then whips, slaps, strangles and punches her. But by far the most perverse change is that the US version has a narrator who pops up
occasionally to make the whole thing even sleazier (he frequently reminds the audience that these girls are not adults).
It seems likely that it was
the original French version which was submitted to the BBFC, and even though that version seems no longer to exist we can discern the problems it would have had by watching the US version.
The general theme of selling girls into prostitution. The French version leaves us in no doubt about their ages. They are shown sucking their thumbs or lollipops, blowing bubblegum or wearing pigtails.
The opening scene in which one of the girls has sex with a man on a roofto
One of the girls exits a coffin in a graveyard, closely followed by a client. It's implied they've had sex inside the
coffin.
One of the girls ties another naked girl to a tree and slaps her around and pretends to strangle her. This is done for the benefit of another client.
Sexualised
photographs are taken of the girls at regular intervals. Eventually the girls are taken to the blackmailers' hideout to find that the pictures of them are stuck all over the walls.
One of the girls is made to act in
an immature manner (sucking a lollipop and her thumb) while seducing an old man who we are told is important in politics. (The US version goes further than this and the voiceover tells us her exact age and that he first explored his sexual interests by
spying on his own daughter).
The girls notice a man spying on them. They tie him upside down to a cross and whip his genital area.
The two blackmailers, a man and a woman, fall
out. He brutally beats her, kicks her repeatedly in the face and then throws her down the stairs
Things take an even sleazier turn when the blackmailers keep their promise and send the compromising photographs to one
of the girls' fathers. He is a retired rear admiral. The photographs inspire him to sneak up on his daughter while she is sleeping, strip her and then force himself on her. She resists at first but then starts to enjoy it. He wears his naval uniform
throughout
The girls don't even get their revenge at the end of the film. One of them is shot by the blackmailers (although it's passed off as suicide) and it's strongly implied that the others will be damaged
forever. (In the US version the narrator even tells us that it was their own fault for getting involved in the first place).
The Black Alley Cats is a 1973 US action film by Henning Schellerup. With Sunshine Woods, Sandy Dempsey and Charlene Miles.
Banned by the BBFC for 1984 cinema
release.
Summary Review: Crude and Tasteless
Wanting revenge on a street gang for a rape attack, four young girls get together, take kung-fu lessons, learn how to shoot, form a gang called the Black
Alley Cats and search out the gang that attacked them.
It's all very cheap, crude and tasteless but the background music during the lengthy sex scenes should be of interest to fans of lounge/psych music.
Black Market of Love is a 1966 West Germany crime film by Ernst Hofbauer Starring Uta Levka, Astrid Frank and Claus Tinney
Banned by the BBFC for 1967 cinema
release.
Summary Notes
Harald and Rolf lure young women with newspaper adds promising a lucrative future as dancers. Once the girls get hooked they are drugged to submission.
After an exhaustive search of all the films in circulation in the period 1972-76, by far the most plausible candidate is Shocking! (Claude Mulot, as Frederic Lansac, 1976). AKA The Last Lustful Night
This is a French hardcore porn film about the end of the world. There is
unprecedented tension between the USA and the USSR and nuclear war is edging closer. Planes can be heard overhead and there are news reports about bomb damage. How will the French middle class spend what may be their last evening on earth? Naturally,
they'll have as much sex as possible...
It's like the porn version of Dr Strangelove, but it's also reminiscent of Abel Gance's The End of the World (1931), in which a comet is about to strike the earth and the
French people respond by having an orgy.
The title Shocking! is a play on words. It contains shocking adult content and geophysical shocks caused by the dropping of bombs, etc.
Blew! as a retitling is a
triple play on words. It's a blue film, it contains many blowjobs, and lots of things being blown up as the bombs fall.
These three meanings coincide in the pivotal scene in the film in which the US president gets overexcited
while being serviced by a prostitute and accidentally presses the nuclear button.
If Shocking! is indeed the film we're looking for, it's no great surprise the BBFC rejected it. Even after removing the hardcore, there is a fair
amount of unconventional sex. This includes Karine Gambier masturbating with a lit candle in the pre-credits sequence, and some interesting symbolism to convey the breakdown of a marriage and the inability of a wife to communicate with her husband - he
watches while she pleasures herself with a telephone receiver. There is also a scene in which the son of the family is seduced by his tutor. The one-time actor who plays the son looks rather young and that may have been a problem too.
v Blindman
- 1971 Italy/1971 western by Ferdinando Baldi.
Blindman is a 1971 Italy/1971 western by Ferdinando Baldi. With Tony Anthony, Ringo Starr and Lloyd Battista.
Initially banned, but soon resubmitted
and cut for an X rated 1972 cinema release.
Summary Review: A Great Movie
A blind, but deadly, gunman, is hired to escort fifty mail order brides to their miner husbands. His business partners double
cross him, selling the women to bandit Domingo. Blindman heads into Mexico in pursuit.
This is currently a comic book western. But that doesn't mean that it's bad! It's a great movie and it's violent for a movie made in 1971, one
scene at the end is really disgusting.
A great music score by Stelvio Cipriati, good action scenes and an amazing Tony Anthony makes it to one of the better spaghetti westerns. Don't miss!
The Bloody Fists is a 1972 Hong Kong martial arts film by See-Yeun Ng With Sing Chen, Kuan Tai Chen and Ta Chuan Liu.
Banned by the BBFC for UK 1973 cinema
release Passed X after BBFC cuts for UK 1976 cinema release A short version was passed 18 after 57s of cuts for UK 1986 Sheptonhurst VHS titled The Bloody Fist A Re-edited Version was passed 18 uncut with previous BBFC cuts waived for UK 2004 Firefly R2
DVD titled Dragon Showdown.
Summary Review: A Classic!
Basically it's about a bunch of Japanese martial arts experts harassing a Chinese village on the lookout for
the secret dragon herb . The Japanese face hard resistance from the Chinese fighters who run a martial arts academy up in the mountains. Unanticipated assistance in terms of fighting expertise, however, comes from a refugee on the run.
The fighting scenes are not very realistic but cool anyway. A classic!
Availability
Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut
A Re-edited Version was passed 18 uncut
with previous BBFC cuts waived for:
UK 2007 Dragon R2 DVD titled Bloody Fist at UK Amazon
UK 2006 Firefly R2
DVD titled Dragon Showdown at UK Amazon
Bloody Friday is a 1972 West Germany/Italy bank heist film by Rolf Olsen and Lee Payant. With Raimund Harmstorf, Amadeus August and Gianni Mttacchia.
Banned by the BBFC for 1973 cinema
release. The film has not been resubmitted to the BBFC since the ban. Uncut and MPAA R rated in the US
Summary Review: Gratuitous Violence
Based on an actual Munich bank robbery.. Things don't go
exactly as planned (wouldn't you know it); and, the heist turns into a hostage situation. Bloody Friday offers plenty of gratuitous violence, which must have been considerably more shocking in its day.
Bloody Mama is a 1970 US film by Roger Corman. With Shelley Winters, Don Stroud and Pat Hingle.
Banned by the BBFC for the 1970 cinema
release but passed X (18) after BBFC cuts for the 1971 cinema release Passed 18 after 11s of BBFC cuts for the 1986 Rank VHS Passed 18 uncut for strong violence, sexual violence and incest references with previous BBFC cuts waived for the 2009
Optimum R2 DVD
Summary Review: Humour and repugnancy
Machine gun totin' Ma Barker lead her family gang (her sons) on a crime spree in the Depression era. Her loyal brood have every perversion
imaginable. The sadistic Herman sleeps with his Ma and Lloyd Barker is a spaced-out drug addict who sniffs glue.
It's a morbidly colourful mixture of negative southern poor white trash stereotypes, encapsulated in a family of
sociopaths, with a vintage Shelly Winters bringing her trademark intensity to the role of Ma Barker and a great cast as her sons.
A mishmash of humour and repugnancy, it's definitely not for the squeamish.
Availability
Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut
UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong violence, sexual violence and incest references with previous BBFC cuts waived for:
Bloody Pit of Horror is a 1965 Italy/US horror by Massimo Pupillo. With Mickey Hargitay, Walter Brandi and Luisa Baratt.
Banned by the BBFC for 1967 cinema
release.
Summary Review: Pyschovision
A photographer and his models go to an old, abandoned castle to shoot some sexy covers for horror novels. Tragically for them, the castle is inhabited by a
lunatic and closet torturer.
Bloody Pit of Horror is one weird Gothic horror film with a creepy castle, a legend of a ruthless torturer promising vengeance from the grave, and really cool instruments of death lying round in
abundance. It was even filmed in Psychovision .
On the negative side reviewers have found the plot silly and/or just weird. But on the whole the positives have outweighed the negatives and the general result is very much
thumbs up.
Availability
Current UK Status: Never released after ban
US: The Original Italian Version is uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
Blue Story is a 2019 UK crime drama by Andrew Onwubolu. Starring Stephen Odubola, Micheal Ward and Khali Best.
Passed 15 uncut by the BBFC for 2019
cinema release. Cinema bosses temporarily banned the film after violence broke out a Birmingham screening in November 2019.
Summary Notes
Blue Story is a tragic tale of a friendship
between Timmy and Marco, two young boys from opposing postcodes. Timmy, a shy, smart, naive and timid young boy from Deptford, goes to school in Peckham where he strikes up a friendship with Marco, a charismatic, streetwise kid from the local area.
Although from warring postcodes, the two quickly form a firm friendship until it is tested and they wind up on rival sides of a street war. Blue Story depicts elements of Rapman's own personal experiences and aspects of his childhood.
Versions
uncut
run:
91:16s
pal:
87:37s
UK: Passed 15 uncut for very strong language, strong
violence, threat, sex, drug misuse:
2020 Paramount Home Entertainment R2 DVD at UK Amazon
2019 cinema release
banned
UK: Banned from the Vue cinema chain after gang violence with machetes at a screening in inner city Birmingham.
The Born Losers is a 1967 USA action thriller by Tom Laughlin (as TC Frank). Starring Tom Laughlin, Elizabeth James and Jeremy Slate.
Banned by the BBFC for 1969 cinema
release. A shortened re-release was passed X without BBFC cuts for 1975 cinema release. The BBFC required cuts for the 18 rated full length 1987 VHS. Uncut and MPAA PG rated in the US. Cinema releases were also banned in New Zealand and Sweden.
Summary Notes
A malicious motorcycle gang harasses the residents of a small California town, intimidating most residents to not report them to the police. Among the gang's crimes is the rape of four
young women. As the gang attempts to threaten the women into not testifying at the indictment hearing, one of the women, Vicki, comes under the protection of Billy Jack, who has also had several altercations with the gang. The gang escalates their
pressure on both Vicki and Billy Jack to keep her out of the courtroom.
Availability
Current UK Status: Last release cut for 18 rated VHS in 1975
Brute Corps is a 1971 USA action drama by Jerry Jameson. Starring Paul Carr, Joseph Kaufmann and Jennifer Billingsley.
Banned by the BBFC for 1972 cinema
release
Summary Notes
A couple runs into a strange Marine camp where soldiers perform training exercises. The girl gets tormented, and the guy goes after them.
A beautiful hitchhiker and a draft dodger travel to Mexico and encounter a pack of mercenaries awaiting their next mission in Central America. A terribly psychotic merc takes a liking to the girl which sets the couple on a brutal
and violent course of torture and rape. Gritty and exciting, this one is not for the faint of heart.
The Candy Snatchers is a 1973 US crime film by Guerdon Trueblood. With Tiffany Bolling, Ben Piazza and Susan Sennett.
Banned by the BBFC for 1973 cinema
release.
Summary Review: Classic exploitation
The Candy Snatchers is a very good example of the exploitation genre. It boasts a good plot with fine one liner dialogue and a wicked black
sense of humour. The actor is also good. And to add to the mix, the plot featuring incest, drugs, murder, rape, and kidnapping is described as sleazy but light on violence.
There are several scenes that seem to have
inspired Quentin Tarantino's homages to the genre.
Availability
Current UK Status: Banned in the UK
US: Uncut and MPAA R Rated for:
2020 Vinegar Syndrome R0 Blu-ray/R0 DVD Combo at US Amazon
The Case of the Smiling Stiffs is a 1973 USA comedy horror by Sean S Cunningham and Brud Talbot. Starring Sheila Stuart, Jed Ziegler and Cathy Walker.
Banned by the BBFC for 1974 but was passed later that same year after cuts. Uncut in the US but there is an unconfirmed report of a
harder version
Summary Notes
Is Emma a voyeur vampire who can turn into a bat? Apparently, and she leaves many smiling faces on her victims after going down on them during a full moon. When they're
not having sex with their suspects, two cops investigate the murders.
Long before Friday The 13th Sean Cunningham made this little beauty. It's actually the best movie he's ever made!
Chelsea Girls is a 1966 USA drama by Paul Morrissey and Andy Warhol. With Brigid Berlin, Randy Borscheidt and Ari Boulogne.
Banned by the BBFC for 1967 cinema release and not released since. It was broadcast by Channel 4, presumably uncut, in December 1993.
Summary Notes
Lacking a formal narrative, Warhol's art house classic follows various residents of the Chelsea Hotel in 1966 New York City, presented in a split screen with a single audio track in
conjunction with one side of screen.
For four odd hours Warhol, using the double-screen technique, declares war against every sensory logic we have grown used to in the movies. Sometimes, the movie just doesn't move. Sometime it
does, but at an odd speed. But if you endure, your perception of the art of motion pictures is in for a ride! Depicting the lives of underground characters known from Lou Reed and Velvet Underground songs, this movie is not only cinematic beauty at
its extreme, but also a fascinating documentation of an era in which modernist art reached its climax.
Close Encounters of a Handyman is a 1976 West Germany adult comedy by Johnny Wyder. With Jan Boven, Rainer Peets and Tina Traven.
The film was banned by the BBFC for 1978 cinema release. A softcore version was then cut for an X rated cinema release also in 1978.
There is also an uncut hardcore version.
Summary Notes
Buddies Frank and Fred have their own company, "Frank & Fred's All-Around Service", a maintenance company that services a large
apartment complex. However, the main "services" they provide are to the lonely and horny housewives who live in the complex.
Versions
uncut
run:
86:15s
pal:
82:48s
Germany
worldwide
Germany: The hardcore version is uncut
Worldwide: The hardcore version is available on XHamster titled Ein guter Hahn wird selten fett
cut
cut:
run:
76:08s
pal:
73:05s
UK: A softcore version was passed X (18) after BBFC cuts:
1978 cinema release
banned
UK: Banned by the BBFC for:
1978 cinema release
v Coffy
- 1973 USA action crime thriller by Jack Hill.
Coffy is a 1973 USA action crime thriller by Jack Hill. With Pam Grier, Booker Bradshaw and Robert DoQui.
Initially banned by the BBFC for 1973
cinema release. Resubmitted with cuts and then further cut by the BBFC for 1974 cinema release. Passed 18 uncut in 1988. Uncut in the US
Summary Review : Blaxploitation classic!
Coffy is a nurse
whose younger sister gets involved in drugs and is severely injured by contaminated heroin. Coffy sets out on a mission of vengeance and vigilante justice, killing drug dealers, pimps, and mobsters who cross her path.
Maxim
magazine lists Coffy as number 7 on its list of the 50 best B-movies of all time, and there can clearly be no mistake about its status as a B-movie. Pam Grier shines in this hilarious action-packed blaxploitation flick where she first got her name
as a 'black pin-up queen' during the early 70's.
This brilliant film mixes comedy right in there with the action. From the campy catfight scenes when Coffy dumps a salad bowl onto a blonde girl's head, to when King George makes his
first appearance and steps out of his car in his pimp outfit, complete right down to the feather in his hat! The action is fairly consistent. There are a lot of guns firing off and endless catfights.
UK: A short version was passed X (18) after
BBFC cuts for:
1974 cinema release
From IMDb. The BBFC cuts were
Cut to the stabbing of Omar
Thanks to Craig who wrote to the BBFC who responded:
Coffey was initially rejected because the BBFC felt too many cuts would be required to make it acceptable at X and that these cuts would damage the film. However, the
following year the distributor submitted a heavily re-edited version (renamed Coffy), which was finally passed X, I believe after further cuts.
The softcore film was originally made as The Coming of Seymour but was released in the US as The
Fabulous Fanny to relate it to a cartoon strip in Playboy. It was not a success and was reworked with extra scenes and re-released in 1977 as The Boob Tube Strikes Again!
The film is about a couple interacting
with an X rated film on hotel TV. The film within a film is about the voluptuous cartoon character of Fanny, who dominates the daydreams of young Seymour. This sexual obsession stands in the way of his siring a child that will enable him to inherit the
family fortune. Seymour thoroughly enjoys his attempts to impregnate as many beautiful women as possible, but each time he is unable to reach that million dollar climax.
Confessions of a Blue Movie Star is a 1978 West Germany documentary by Wes Craven & Andrzej Kostenko. With Carl Amery, Josephine Bayerl and Sonja Embriz.
Initially banned by the BBFC for 1978 cinema release but it was quickly passed X after cuts. Pre-cut for 1986 18 rated VHS.
Summary review: Mockumentary
A mockumentary showing the process of casting a porn movie, the legalities of underage wanna-be participants and the effects of becoming a porn star.
Trying to play it as an actual documentary, it doesn't really work but it is interesting nonetheless. A so-called snuff element comes into it at the very end but is rather disappointing. The only redeeming feature is actual deleted
scenes from Wes Craven's Last House On The Left, which they play up as actual snuff footage.
Versions
pre-cut
cut:
run:
74:25s
pal:
71:26s
UK: A cut version was passed 18 without further BBFC cuts for:
1986 Sheptonhurst VHS
cut
cut:
run:
78:01s
pal:
74:54s
UK: Passed X (18) after BBFC cuts for:
1978 cinema release
banned
UK: Banned by the BBFC for:
1978 cinema release
v Crash
- 1996 Canada/UK drama by David Cronenberg.
Crash
is a 1996 Canada/UK drama by David Cronenberg. Starring James Spader, Holly Hunter and Elias Koteas.
British newspapers whipped up a moral
panic and the film was banned in Westminster. No problems for the BBFC though and it was passed 18 uncut for cinema and home video. In the US the NC-17 version is uncut whilst the R rated version is significantly cut.
Summary Notes
Since a road accident left him with serious facial and bodily scarring, a former TV scientist has become obsessed by the marriage of motor-car technology with what he sees as the raw sexuality of car-crash victims. The
scientist, along with a crash victim he has recently befriended, sets about performing a series of sexual acts in a variety of motor vehicles, either with other crash victims or with prostitutes whom they contort into the shape of trapped corpses.
Ultimately, the scientist craves a suicidal union of blood, semen, and engine coolant, a union with which he becomes dangerously obsessed.
The film adaptation, directed by David Cronenberg, becomes a futuristic love story set in the present . James (James Spader) and Catherine (Deborah Kara-Ungar) are a married
couple so filled with inertia that they are desperate for some emotional connection by any means necessary. After a series of extra martial encounters they find themselves attracted to a group of disturbed members of a bizarre car-crash sect who enact
famous car crashes for kicks. The pair soon find themselves willing accomplices in a tableaux of violence and desire until finally they attain some provisional approximation of actual love. Kara-Ungar's portrayal of Catherine exemplifies perfectly the
icy detachment of a woman who appears to be observing herself from another galaxy.
Crash is, above all, a brave attempt to explore an almost un-bearable subject - the death of affect and our unconscious desire for
violence.
Perhaps in the light of the continuing media onslaught against the film, Westminster Council - who had previously given permission for the film to be premiered in their area as part of the 1996 London Film Festival - parted company with the BBFC at this point, insisting that cuts should now be made to the film before it was shown in the West End. The distributors declined to make cuts solely for screenings in Westminster and the film was therefore effectively banned from screens in the West End, including Leicester Square. However, cinema goers could easily see the film in neighbouring Camden where the council allowed the film to play uncut with its BBFC certificate
Cry Uncle is a 1971 USA sex comedy by John G Avildsen. With Jackson Beck, Pamela Gruen and Allen Garfield.
Initially banned by the BBFC for 1972
cinema release but it was later passed X after heavy cuts. The film was further cut for 18 rated VHS in 1987. Uncut and MPAA R rated in the US.
Summary Notes
Private detective takes on a case and
gets mixed up in murder, sex and blackmail.
Cry Uncle! is a real curiosity piece...a raunchy, sex- and naked body-filled detective yarn with decent acting, some genuine laughs, some amazingly tasteless scenes, and one brief
bit of hardcore porn involving a 65-year-old man. Oh, yeah, and it was directed by the guy who would eventually bring you Rocky and The Karate Kid.
It is highly unusual for an MPAA R rated movie to include visible sexual genital contact, although the impact of this scene is greatly reduced by it being shown in the negative.
cut
US: The Prism VHS release was cut
total
cut:
~10m
run:
77:08s
pal:
74:03s
1:10s
pre-cut
UK: A pre-cut version was passed 18 after 1:10s of further BBFC cuts for:
Daddy, Darling is a 1970 Denmark/USA drama by Joseph W Sarno. With Helli Louise, Gio Petré and Ole Wisborg.
Banned by the BBFC for UK 1970 cinema
release But then passed X (18) uncut for UK 1973 cinema release
Summary Review: Intelligent erotica
A young Danish girl (Helli Louise) seduces everything in sight after daddy refuses her naughty
come-ons. She'll have a lesbian affair with her teacher, pretend that her teenage boyfriend is dear old dad and finally get to her stepmother
The taboo of incest is explored/exploited by Joe Sarno in this flick, but it's the
daughter lusting after Dad and not the other way around.
For a film made in 1969, it's notoriety lies in its stretching the limits and possibilities of soft-core erotica, just before the advent of hardcore movies. It helps that
the actresses are attractive, the nudity abundant, and the exploitation envelope pushed. All in all, a good example of reasonably intelligent erotica from a lost era, well-handled and well-executed.
Availability
Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut for cinema but never released on video.
Damned By Desire is a 1967 UK erotic film by Malcolm Heigh
Banned by the BBFC for 1969 cinema release although it did play on the Compton and Tatler cinema club circuits from 1967 until
1972 The film is so obscure that it doesn't have an IMDb entry.
Dancing Girl is likely a 1973 France crime thriller by Pierre Chevalier Starring Béatrice Costantini, Evelyne Scott and Jean-Michel Dhermay
The film was banned by the BBFC for
1974 cinema release.
Summary Notes
A gang uses Marina, a naive striptease artist, on a tour of Asia, to make a microfilm out of the country. As soon as the girl arrives at Orly
airport, she is followed by smugglers.
Versions
uncut
run:
80m
pal:
77m
US: Available via Cultpix streaming service
banned
UK: Banned by BBFC
1974 Chilton Films VHS (rated 02/01/1974)
Thanks to Mike:
The prospective UK distributors, Chilton Films, likely wanted an english language title, and Pigalle (the sex shop and adult cinema district of Paris) would have meant nothing to UK audiences.
This was the Stephen Murphy era, and although he was a somewhat inconsistent censor who had a torrid time with the press, on the occasions when he was permissive it was usually with films of some artistic merit. He won't
have found any of that here.....
The plot - young woman takes a job as a striptease artist (after a rather sleazy job interview) and is taken on a tour of sex clubs to perform her act. Unknown to her, she's being used to
smuggle a microfilm out of the country and is pursued by organised criminals. Since this is a Eurocine film, about 80% of the film is women stripping and no-one involved in it seemed to care about the crime aspect.
Among
the BBFC areas of concern would have been the following:
The general tone and atmosphere - barely 2 minutes goes by without someone stripping, and it turns out that the dancing girl even spends her leisure time servicing clients for extra money.
A
long striptease scene in a club in which the stripper has a gun in her garter belt which she uses to fire blanks at the audience.
A sex scene between a stripper and a white-haired old man which borders on being
nonconsensual. She certainly doesn't seem very happy.
A woman is abducted and forced into a car, and later is stripped against her will and raped.
We see a live sex show in which
a dominatrix whips another woman. The dancing girl of the title takes a female friend along to the show to get her in the mood.
A long scene in which a woman strips, takes a bath, rubs her breasts suggestively and is
then shot in the head by an intruder.
Dashcam is a 2021 UK/US horror by Rob Savage
Starring Annie Hardy, Amar Chadha-Patel and Angela Enahoro
Passed 18 uncut by the BBFC for very strong language, strong bloody violence. In the US: Rated R for bloody violence, pervasive
language, and crude sexual references throughout
Banned by Vue Cinemas, May 2022
A new horror film is apparently considered so offensive that Vue cinemas have cancelled all scheduled screenings.
Those who
had purchased tickets to see Dashcam, the new found-footage horror from director Rob Savage, were surprised when they realised screenings would no longer take place. This was brought to the attention of Savage himself, who shared an email from a Vue
employee received by one customer.
Apparently @vuecinemas have canceled our screenings of DASHCAM because the movie is too offensive! If that doesn't make you want to watch this film, what will?
In the
email, Vue told the customer:
Thank you for your question regarding Dashcam . I have received feedack from our staffing screen and they have decided we won't be showing Dashcam at any of our venues due to the contents of
the movie, which may offend our audiences.
We at Vue believe in diversity and any movie which may offend audiences, we may decide to no longer show at the last second without notice. I'm sorry this is not the outcome you were
looking for.
Vue later made an unconvincing attempt to row back on offensiveness being the reason for the ban and cited commercial reasons instead.
The BBFC rating information reveals more about offensive aspects of the film.
The BBFC explains:
The protagonist expresses homophobic attitudes, including the use of discriminatory terms ('fag' and faggot'). Other discriminatory language includes 'retard, libtards and mongoloid.
A scene involves focus on human excrement after a woman soils herself in the backseat of a car.
The Demons is a 1972 France/Portugal horror by Jess Franco. With Anne Libert, Britt Nichols and Doris Thomas.
Banned by the BBFC for 1972 but the
GLC awarded a local X rating for screenings in London. The video was seized by the police during the video nasties moral panic in the early 80s. The Director's Cut was passed 18 uncut by the BBFC for 2008 DVD. The Original Version was passed 18 uncut for
2017 Blu-ray.
Summary Review : A decent effort
The UK DVD of the Demons by Redemption is 103 minute directors cut restored by Franco in 2003 and is longer than the previous UK VHS release (which
ran for less than 80 minutes). It is a decent effort not as good as some of Franco's earlier work but definitely better than the stuff he directed in the early 80's for Eurocine. Some scenes are in French without English subtitles!
Availability
Current UK Status: Passed 18 uncut
UK: The Original Version was passed 18 uncut for strong sex, nudity, violence for:
Deported Women is a 1976 Italian women in prison film by Rino Di Silvestro. With John Steiner, Lina Polito and Stefania D'Amario.
Banned by the BBFC for 1977 cinema
release. Available in the US
Summary Review: Sombre
A classic of Nazi filth & degradation according to one enthusiastic website. Deported Women of the SS Special Section offers not just
women in prison, but women in a Nazi concentration camp.
This 1976 film is written and directed by Rino Di Silvestro ( Werewolf Woman ), who mixes and matches characters and plots to keep our attention beyond the nudity.
We start with a train car full of women, who are brought to the concentration camp and inspected by the medical staff. This means they get to be naked, which is obviously a main goal of this film.
As a
sexploitation film this one is rather depressing, with appropriately somber music, and a tacit acknowledgment that there is some history behind some of what we are seeing. Still, there are several interesting vignettes as Silvestro comes up with
plausible vignettes for the sex in this one, although provoking thought would not seem to be an obvious goal for a sexploitation film.
Depraved is a 1975 France comedy thriller by Paul Vecchiali Starring Myriam Mézières, Françoise Giret and Hélène Surgère
Banned by the BBFC in 1976 but was
then heavily cut for a BBFC X rating. The film was also banned in Australia.
Summary Notes
A well-known politician woman receives a tape showing her son in a porno movie. She decides
to hire a female detective to figure out who is trying to black-mail her.
An experimental and explicit cinematic journey helmed by the enigmatic Paul Vecchiali. This film is a rare breed-a mainstream-meets-adult fusion that dares
to challenge conventions.
Versions
uncut
run:
90:03s
pal:
86:27s
France
France: Uncut and also available on porn tubes
cut:
run:
66:37s
pal:
63:57s
UK: BBFC X (18) rated after BBFC cuts:
1976 Oppidan cinema release (rated 19/07/1976)
uncut
UK: Banned by BBFC
1976 Oppidan Film Productions cinema release (rated 30/12/1899)
Australia: The film was also banned by the Australian film censor
Derek and Clive Get the Horn is a 1979 UK comedy by Russell Mulcahy. Starring Dudley Moore, Peter Cook and Richard Branson.
Banned by the BBFC for 1980 cinema release. Unbanned and uncut for home video The film was banned on the grounds of the supposedly
abusive overuse of the swear words: Fuck & Cunt.
Summary Notes
Look... this isn't for everyone. It's Peter Cook and Dudley Moore going back for one last excursion into the world of Derek and
Clive. For the uninitiated, Pete and Dud hit on an unsurpassed comic concept of wallowing in vulgarity and absurdity which knew no bounds. Fortunately, Cook was a brilliant comic who was at his best at improvisation. Moore could not have been a
better foil and was able to keep up with Cook's ideas and helped taking them all the way to their - sometimes very clever or dreadful - end.
This is great fun and highly recommended to anyone who appreciates
extremely ribald, imaginative comedy.
Desires of a Naughty Nympho is a 1984 USA adult film by Chuck Vincent. Starring Samantha Fox, Jack Wrangler and Carol Cross.
Banned by the BBFC for UK 1985 cinema
release
Promotional Review: Classic porn!
VCA Gold Classics brings you a tale of orgies gone wild! Jill wants Jack to stop engaging in his carnal desires of group sex and tasting forbidden fruit.
Tired of his exploits, she has some of her own. Filled with drama, laughs and some good old fashioned group trysts, Jack n Jill 2 will take you back! Classic porn!
The Devils is a 1971 UK drama by Ken Russell With Vanessa Redgrave and Oliver Reed.
Cut by Warner Brothers and the BBFC
for X rated cinema release in 1971. The BBFC X rating was overruled and banned by 17 local councils. In the US the film was further cut for an R rating. The UK cinema version was later released in the US with an X rating and misleadingly labelled as a
Director's Cut. The best available version, with some cuts restored, is held by Warner Brothers, but has never been released except for a screening at the 100 years of the BBFC cinema event.
Versions
Director's Cut
banned
Much to the irritation of genre fans Warner's are sitting on the Director's Cut and refuse to release it. The Director's Cut was shown at an event celebrating 100 years of the BBFC.
Thanks to Gary. The Director's Cut consists of the
BBFC X rated version with 2 extra scenes that were previously cut, including the pre-cut scene known as the Rape of Christ. There is other cut footage which is now lost.
best available
cut:
run:
111:08s
pal:
106:41s
cinema cuts
cuts
UK: The cut UK
Cinema version/X Rated US Version was passed 18 without further cuts for:
This version restores the US cuts made for an R Rating and so is the cut/pre-cut UK Cinema Version. Note that this is misleadingly noted in the US as a Special Uncut Restored Version.
UK: A pre-cut version was passed X (18) after BBFC cuts
for:
The film was first seen by the BBFC in an unfinished rough cut on 27 January 1971. At around the same time, this rough cut was also shown to senior executives from
Warner Brothers, the film's distributor. Both the BBFC and Warners expressed strong reservations about the strong religious and sexual context of the film, which seemed likely to provoke significant controversy. Warners and the BBFC therefore drew up
separate lists of the cuts they would require before the film could be distributed in the UK. Warners were content with their own plus the additional cuts requested by the BBFC and a full list of required changes was forwarded to the director.
The cuts were intended to reduce:
(i) the explicitness and duration of certain sexual elements, including an orgy of nuns
(ii) elements of violence and gore during an interrogation scene and the final burning of the
character played by Oliver Reed
(iii) scenes that mixed sexual activity and religion in a potentially inflammatory fashion.
A modified - but still technically unfinished - version of the film was seen again by the BBFC on 8 April 1971, incorporating many (but not all) of the cuts requested by both the BBFC and by Warners. Ken Russell had toned down or
removed what had been regarded as the most difficult scenes, including the entire Rape of Christ sequence in which a group of nuns cavort on a crucifix, whilst hoping that the significant reductions he had already made would perhaps allow certain
other shots to remain. The BBFC requested further reductions in four sequences. Russell responded by complying fully with three of the cuts but insisted that the fourth additional cut could not be made properly because it would create continuity
problems.
On 18 May 1971 the BBFC awarded an X certificate to the cut version of the film. Because of the scale of the changes made to the film (including the deletion of one entire scene) it is difficult to
calculate accurately how much was removed from the film between January and May 1971. However, it is safe to say that several minutes were removed.
The resultant version suffered cuts as follows:
A scene showing nuns assaulting an effigy of the cross was deleted (approximately 30s)
An enema scene loses some details
The crushing of Grandier's legs
loses details.
Grandier's tongue torture loses details
Shots of a priest being assaulted by nuns after the King's visit are missing
UK: The extensively cut US R Rated
Version was passed 18 without further BBFC cuts for:
1988 Warner VHS
US: The cut UK Cinema Version was passed X for its US release but was further cut for an R Rating. This R Rated version was cut as follows:
Grandier (Oliver Reed) drives doctors away from dying woman loses some of hers screams and a little nudity.
Sister Jeanne (Vanessa Redgrave) dream of Grandier as Christ does not show her
licking Christ's wounds, clasped hands by a crown of thorns and some of the lovemaking scene.
Shots of Jeanne masturbating and two shots of her whipping herself have been removed.
A nude Phillipe (Georgina Hale) brought before Laubardemont (Dudley Sutton) has lost the pubic hair.
An enema of Jeanna on the altar does not show the insertion of a syringe between her legs.
Shots of nuns stripping and one vomiting have vanished
the King's visit to Loudon has lost vomit and pubic hair along with a nun masturbating with a candle and an enema.
A needle is Grandier's tongue has been cut.
Whilst Laubardem collects statements against Grandier, we miss naked nuns kissing and caressing.
The
shot of a nun's hanging body been taken down has been cut to remove nudity.
The torture of Grandier has lost 4 hammer blows and a shot of his bloody legs.
As Grandier crawls to
the stake, kicks by Barre (Michael Gothard) have been deleted
The burning of Grandier has been reduced
Jeanne inserting a purging device between her legs is no more.
UK: banned on by
17 local authorities who overruled the BBFC X rating, including Surrey, Blackpool, Sevenoaks, Plymouth and Nottingham.
In Tunbridge Wells, the film was in the middle of its run when it was subject to pickets from local church bodies and, despite a
petition signed by 2,500 people in support of the film, the decision was made to cease screenings.
Glasgow magistrates banned the film in 1971 on grounds it offended good taste and public decency.
World: The film was banned at the
time of release in Finland, Italy, Ireland, Chile and New Zealand.
Django is a 1966 Italy/Spain western by Sergio Corbucci. With Franco Nero, José Bódalo and Loredana Nusciak.
The BBFC banned the 1969 cinema
release. The film was passed 18 without BBFC cuts for 1993 VHS and then passed 15 without BBFC cuts for 2004 Argent DVD. A restored and extended version as been released in the US.
Summary Review: Best non-Leone spaghetti Western
Don't listen to any claims made made for Bullet For A General, Django is without a doubt the best non-Leone spaghetti Western of all time. Corbucci's direction is more controlled here than anywhere else--less zooms, less
jarring close-ups, and neater editing. And Django has to be one of the first action heroes to fire a heavy machine gun from the hip (without even pulling the trigger, no less!).
But make no mistake. This is Italian
exploitation--love it or hate it. An ear is cut off, prostitutes fight in the mud, and our hero's hands are crushed in gory detail that would make One-Eyed Jacks mumble in disgust.
Versions
Restored Version
run:
90m
pal:
86m
US: A restored version with a little extra material is MPAA Unrated for:
2020 Arrow Steelbook Limited Edition [Django + Texas Adios] RA Blu-ray at US Amazon
2013 Blue Underground [Spaghetti Westerns Unchained] R0 DVD at US Amazon
It is not clear which version of the film is released but in the absence of a BBFC submission ten presumably it is the same as the previous 15 rated release.
UK: Effectively banned after the BBFC who nominally offered very heavy cuts. Then withdrawn by the distributor so the rejection was not formally recorded for:
1974 cinema release
UK: Stephen Murphy of the BBFC advised prospective distributors that the ban would be continued for:
1972 cinema release
UK: Banned by the BBFC for:
1967 cinema release
The BBFC commented on Twitter in 2014:
When the BBFC saw Django they were concerned by the excessive violence in the film & the moral tone
Django was refused a certificate unless heavy cuts were
made to violence in the film
The distributor decided the film would be of little value to him if heavily cut & so withdrew it
Escape from Hell is 1980 Spain/Italy prison drama by Edoardo Mulargia. With Anthony Steffen, Ajita Wilson and Cristina Lay.
Banned by the BBFC for UK 1980 cinema
release titled Escape from Hell A version of Hell Prison substantially reworked for the US market with additional material featuring Linda Blair and re-titled Savage Island . This was passed 18 after 22s of BBFC cuts for UK 1986 EIV VHS Original version
was passed 18 after 3:46s of BBFC cuts for UK 1988 Sheptonhurst VHS titled Hell Prison
Summary Review: Eurotrash
All the girls look sweaty, stinky & dirty as they work, fight and make out with each
other. That's about it for plot until they do escape and most of them get killed. Europeans love those downbeat endings.
It's always nice to see Peter Lorre lookalike Luciano Pigozzi in another piece of low-rent Eurotrash
like this. It's OK.
Availability
Current UK Status: Passed 18 after 3:46s of BBFC cuts
US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
US 2009 Shock-O-Rama Women in Prison Triple Feature R1 DVD via UK Amazon and
at US Amazon titled Escape from Hell
A version of Hell Prison substantially reworked for the US market with additional material featuring Linda Blair and re-titled
Savage Island
Exhibition is a 1975 France adult documentary by Jean-François Davy. Starring Claudine Beccarie, Benoît Archenoul and Noëlle Louvet.
Banned by the BBFC for a UK 1976
cinema release A softcore version played in London cinemas with a GLC X certificate A softcore version was released on pre-cert video for UK 1979 World of Video 2000 VHS. The Director's Cut is complete and MPAA Unrated for US DVD release coupled with
Transgression.
Summary Review: French Success
This is a documentary about French porno star Claudine Beccarie, the original containing several staged hardcore scenes.
Jean-Francois Davy's motivation was noble he really tried to present his subject as a fully rounded human being who just happened to be working in the sex industry. The result was a huge commercial hit in France where it played regular cinemas packed to capacity, before the 1976
X -law relegated it to more specialized venues until 1983 when Minister of Culture Jack Lang removed the X-rating which enabled Davy to re-release the film with added footage, again with great success.
Availability
Current UK Status: Not submitted to the BBFC since the ban
US: The Director's Cut is complete and MPAA Unrated for:
2015 Artsploitation Films [Transgression + Exhibition] R1 DVD at US Amazon released on 28th
July 2015
Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure is a 1964 USA/West Germany comedy by Russ Meyer and Albert Zugsmith. With Letícia Román, Miriam Hopkins and Ulli Lommel.
Banned by the BBFC for 1965 cinema
release. A number of local authorities overruled the BBFC ban and allowed the film to be shown.
Summary Notes
Young, pretty and innocent Fanny Hill has lost her parents and must find her way in life
amidst the perils of turbulent 18th century London. She is fortunate enough to find rapidly a place as chambermaid of the effusive Mrs. Brown. Mrs. Brown lives in a large house teeming with female "relatives" in négligée and with very relaxed
manners. She also insists that Fanny meets alone various gentlemen who show an ardent interest in Fanny.
Inane dialogue in this Russ Meyer burlesque farce/love story....but the naughty subject matter and low cut dresses were
probably enough to keep the viewing public interested.
Availability
Current UK Status: Banned by the BBFC
US: Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:
2013 Vinegar Syndrome (RA) Blu-ray/(R1) DVD Combo at US Amazon
v Fantasm
- 1976 Australia comedy by Richard Franklin .
Fantasm is a 1976 Australia comedy by Richard Franklin (as Richard Bruce). Starring John Holmes, Uschi Digard and Candy Samples.
Banned by the BBFC for 1977 cinema
release but passed X the next year after very heavy cuts. Still heavily cut by the BBFC for 2010 DVD. Uncut in the US.
Summary Notes
Professor Jurgen Notafreud explores the 10 most common female
sexual fantasies.
Thanks to Gary:
The film is softcore bit you can glimpse John Holmes's erection very briefly in an underwater sex scene (which was mostly cut by the OFLC on original release) but
it really is blink and miss it. There is also brief penis kissing in the pool scene. Does that count as fellatio?
Reviews
This is an erotic film, quite
advanced for its time. A must see for those wishing to see softcore stars Rene Bond, Uschi Digart in the nude with their hairy bushes.
All the outrageous nudity is innocently explained away in scientific jargon by a Professor
to get under the oppressive censorship of those times.
Fiebre is a 1971 Argentina drama by Amando Bo. With Isabel Sarli, Armando Bo and Horacio Priani.
Banned by the BBFC for 1975 cinema
release
Summary review from IMDB: Atmosphere of strangeness
In 1968 and 1969, Amando Bo and Isabel Sarli produced their three masterpieces: Carne , Fuego y Fiebre , three films
that are unique in the world, three films that influenced John Waters big time and were a clear precedent to his revolutionary work.
Fiebre is an amazing piece of experimental film-making. The idea is Isabel falls in
love with a horse . An so we see shots of her touching her breast over imposed with shots of the horse's organ for an hour nd a half. It sounds boring. It's not.
Bo's movies have an atmosphere of strangeness. They deserve a
place in film history.
Fight for your Life is a 1977 Canadian crime drama by Robert A Endelson. With Robert Judd, Catherine Peppers and Lela Small.
Banned by the BBFC for 1981 cinema
release. The 1982 uncut video release from Vision On was banned as a video nasty in September 1984 a nd remained on the DPP list throughout the panic and so became one of the collectable DPP39's Not seen since in the UK.
Summary Review :
Disturbing Scenes
Strange entry in the list in that most of the video is taken up by talking about vengeance rather than getting on with the job.
Three escaped convicts seek refuge at the
home of a black minister and his family, there the family is humiliated and beaten. When his daughter is violated the family begin to embark on some vengeance.
A film which has very little to offer other than racial hatred and some rather
disturbing scenes of violence. But so became a grindhouse classic.
Yoko Ono's experimental film from 1966 consists entire
of close-up shots of male and female buttocks, as the people involved walk backwards to the camera and the soundtrack plays the thoughts of the participants. Part of the problem was that the film occasionally afforded glimpses of male or female
genitalia, seen from behind. These glimpses were hardly explicit.
The film was intended to be shown at the Albert Hall as part of a collection of avant-garde filmmaking. Any exposure would have been projected at a vast size, and
the event was likely to attract the press, looking for films to both scoff at and be outraged by. Film censor John Trevelyan reverted to type, and so the film was rejected with the suggestion that it be submitted to the GLC instead, who approved it
without concerns, though still with an X rating
So Number Four and the other films eventually played in a Charing Cross Road cinema club to a small but appreciative audience. The film was never resubmitted to the BBFC. Perhaps the
most sensible decision on the film came from Birmingham council, who passed this innocuous and harmless film with a U certificate.
Summary Notes
This film consists entirely of
close ups of famous persons' bottoms. Ono meant it to encourage a dialogue for world peace.
Versions
uncut
run:
6m
pal:
6m
X
Birmingham U
GLC: Passed X uncut:
1967 cinema release
Birmingham: Passed U uncut:
1967 cinema release
banned
run:
6m
pal:
6m
UK: Passed X (18) after BBFC cuts for:
1972 cinema release
Said to be Britain's very first 3D feature film.
v Flossie
- 1974 Sweden erotic romance by Mac Ahlberg
Flossie is a 1974 Sweden erotic romance by Mac Ahlberg Starring Marie Forså, Jack Frank and Anita Ericsson
Banned by the BBFC from a 1976 cinema
release. A significantly cut version was later passed X for 1977 cinema release and 18 rated VHS in 1987. The film was released uncut in the US in 2022.
Summary Notes
A young embassy
officer in Stockholm has an unexpected and mysterious encounter with a strange woman who introduces the fascinating, yet inexperienced teenager Flossie to him with the intention to gently and softly seduce her.
Versions
uncut
run:
92:01s
pal:
88:20s
US: Uncut and presumably MPAA Unrated for:
2022 Dark Force [Flossie + Keep It Up Jack] (RA) Blu-ray at US Amazon #ad
pre-cut
run:
66m
pal:
63m
UK: A pre-cut version missing about 25m was passed 18 without further BBFC cuts:
1987 Sheptonhurst VHS titled Swedish Sex Kitten
The original version contains erections but no penetration. Presumably it was scenes with these hardcore elements that were cut.
pre-cut
run:
67m
pal:
64m
UK: A pre-cut version missing about 25m was passed X (18) without further BBFC cuts:
Forced Entry is a 1975 US thriller by Jim Sotos. With Tanya Roberts, Ron Max and Nancy Allen.
There was a 1973 hardcore film, Forced
Entry , by Shaun Costello that featured a maniac war vet killer. It obviously impressed and was remade by Jim Sotos without the hardcore. It was titled The Last Victim , originally with an MPAA PG rating. It didn't do well and was beefed up with stronger
material. It was then MPAA R rated and reissued theatrically as Forced Entry . This was a little too strong for the UK market and was toned down. However it was still banned by the BBFC from 1982 cinema release, but it did make it on to pre-cert VHS.
More recently the Director reworked the Forced Entry version into his Director's Cut which drops most of the stronger footage.
Summary Review: Rapist in the 1st Person
Likened to Joe Spinell's Maniac
except the focus is more on the sexual perversion and assault rather than gory killing scenes.
It is filmed from the point of view of a serial rapist as he cruises round town looking for victims. Nancy Allen and Tanya Roberts
fit the bill.
The first person narrative adds to the scariness and makes it more effective than most in the genre.
Availability
Current UK Status: Still banned
US:
Stronger footage was added and the film was theatrically reissued with an MPAA R rating now titled Forced Entry:
2020 Dark Force [The Last Victim + R rated Forced Entry] (RA) Blu-ray at US Amazon
Four Days Of Love is a 1975 France adult film by Alain Nauroy Starring Valérie Boisgel, Yan Brian and Martine Grimaud
Banned by the BBFC for 1977 cinema
release. The film was also banned in Australia for 1977 cinema realease but was passed R18+ 7 months later after heavy cuts.
Summary Notes
Helena goes to the French coastline to meet
up with old flame Roy. At Roy's swanky house Helena is told by a man at the door named Frank that Roy is preoccupied with another woman. Helena immediately hits it off with Frank only for things to turn sour after a home invasion of a gang of vicious
thugs.
UK: The film was shown on the cinema club circuit for about 18 months after the BBFC ban.
banned
Berkshire Council banned
UK: The film was also banned from a cinema release in Berkshire where it was
submitted for a local certificate.
banned
UK: Banned by BBFC
1977 Atlantic Film (rated 01/02/1977)
Thanks to Mike:
This is a French soft-porn film (to which an enterprising producer added hardcore inserts featuring different actors at some point before its release).
It was released in
France in 1975 and Japan in early 1976, although judging from the lack of publicity materials from those releases they must have been relatively small.
It was released in September 1976 in the US. This release was retitled Helena
and was dubbed into English by American voice artists. It was this US version which Atlantic Films picked up for UK release and retitled again to Four Days of Love , without indicating in the publicity campaign that it was a retitling of
another film. The dubbing by Americans is probably the reason why the BFI noted it as a US film.
Atlantic Films at the time envisaged it as being a fairly major release. They took out full page ads in the September-November 1976 issues of the Continental Film Review . Two images in the September issue are (1) a picture of a man apparently
about to strike a woman and (2) a woman wearing knee-length boots and not much else drinking from an alcohol bottle in some woodland. These images make it appear to be an adult drama. In the November issue we see an image of a clothed man embracing a
naked woman, and they've changed the O in Love to a heart. So they were clearly trying to market it as a love story.
The plot -- Helena drives to the Cote d'Azur to see her ex-boyfriend, Roy, with whom she plans to spend a 2-week
holiday. On arriving at the house she is told by another man, Frank, that Roy is busy sleeping with another woman upstairs. While she's waiting Helena has sex several times with Frank to make Roy jealous. It turns out eventually that she's come to the
wrong house and Frank lied to her to induce her to have sex with him. He offers her the chance of staying at the house for 4 days to engage in his games of sexual domination. She agrees, but before 2 days are up, there's a home invasion at the villa by a
biker gang who sexually assault and otherwise humiliate Helena.
No-one would call this film Four Days of Love unless they were trying to misrepresent it as something classier/more artistic than it was.
It's
extremely surprising that Atlantic Films ever thought they could get this film past the BBFC, unless they were hoping that the ad campaign they used would mislead James Ferman into thinking it was genuinely a romantic drama rather than a BDSM-tinged porn
film.
The BBFC would have had serious problems with it:
There are various hardcore sequences which the distributor would presumably have removed prior to submission. These include a flashback to a past sexual experience between Helena and Roy, explicit penetration in a sex scene
between Helena and Frank, and the maid pleasuring herself with an improbably large dildo. With these hardcore sequences removed, the running time would have been around 69 minutes.
There is considerable doubt about whether
the sex scenes between Helena and Frank are consensual. She accuses him of raping her once and repeatedly tries to leave the villa to get away from him. He also lied to her to get her to sleep with him in the first place.
When Helena and Frank start their 4 days of domination he buys her roses. This is less romantic than it sounds as he immediately sticks one of the thorns into her skin just above her breast causing bleeding.
The main issue for the BBFC would have been the home invasion sequence which takes up the last 35 minutes of the film. Helena has her head forced underwater, is made to fellate one of the bikers (ironically this actor is a
lookalike for David Hess), and is then tied up naked by the group and threatened with knives and scissors. They further humiliate her by shaving off all of her body hair, including that on her head. Frank is seen to be sexually stimulated by this and
takes many photographs.
The maid, possibly experiencing Stockholm Syndrome, decides to have lesbian sex with the female member of the biker gang. Given that 5 minutes of screen time earlier she was forced to masturbate while
having a shotgun aimed into her vagina, questions arise as to how consensual this really is. She then decides to service the male members of the biker gang.
The female biker shows off her dexterity by removing the top from a
bottle of alcohol with her vagina. I doubt this met with the BBFC's approval. 7/ Despite having his home invaded by bikers, Frank takes the opportunity to rape Helena and forces her to admit that she enjoyed it. 8/ To make matters even worse, we see
Helena (now wearing an unconvincing blonde wig to hide her baldness) driving away from the villa thinking about how much she still loves Frank and she is delighted to see that he is following her. The BBFC will just have seen this as endorsement of rape
myth attitudes and the view that women will still love men even if they treat them brutally.
So Four Days of Love, a completely forgotten film, laughably misrepresented in its advertising, and submitted without any hope of receiving a BBFC certificate.You can see it today on a US DVD release under the Helena title, although
it's out of print and hard to obtain. Whether the original French version survives is not clear.
Had we known about this film being rejected by the BBFC, and the kind of material it contained, it would have been much more
discussed in studies of film censorship. If we compare it to the usual list of films censored for sexual violence in the 1970s about which books have been written, such as Straw Dogs, Last House on the Left, Late Night Trains, Story of O, etc, La
Villa/Four Days of Love is much much stronger in terms of sexual humiliation, rape, terrorisation and general sleaziness. Some of those other films could try to play the artistic merit card, but there's no chance of this film doing so. The shaving scene
is the strongest scene I've seen in any 70s film intended for mainstream release.
I'm not entirely sure the BBFC would pass the softcore version of this film even now. I can easily imagine them saying that it's composed of one
scene of sexual/sexualised violence after another and the unbroken sequence of such material makes it unsuitable for classification, etc.
One final trivia point, Yan Brian, who played Frank in this film, wasn't involved in any of
the hardcore sequences. But he was 37 years later when he played the grandfather who has sex with a prostitute in Sexual Chronicles of a French Family (2012).
cut
cut:
~20:47s
run:
56:12s
pal:
53:57s
Australia
Australia: A significantly cut version of the film was rated R18+ for:
1977 cinema release titled The Four Day Affair (rated 01/11/77)
banned
run:
76:59s
pal:
73:54s
Australia
Australia: A 77m version of the film was banned for:
1977 cinema release titled The Four Day Affair (rated 01/04/77)
491
is a 1964 Sweden drama by Vilgot Sjöman. With Lars Lind, Leif Nymark and Stig Törnblom.
Banned by the BBFC for 1968 cinema
release
Summary Review: Shocking
It is written that 490 times you can sin and be forgiven. This motion picture is about the 491st.
This movie was an absolute bombshell when it
opened in 1964. Proved shocking at the time with scenes including tacit allusions to sodomy and a scene depicting (out of shot) a dog rape!
Apart from that there was the naked portrait of a society in change where young people
behave in a way unknown to their parents. This was unnerving, unsettling.
But the Problem with the movie is that despite its good intentions it doesn't work.
Four Riders is a 1972 Hong Kong action drama by Cheh Chang Starring David Da-Wei Chiang, Lung Ti and Kuan Tai Chen
Banned by the BBFC for 1974 cinema
release but later cut for an X rated cinema release in the same year. Uncut abd BBFC 15 rated for 2024 Blu-ray.
Summary Notes
This prime example of director/co-writer Chang Cheh's mastery
takes place right after the Korean War, as a kung-fu master, combat instructor, explosives expert, and missle specialist heroically represent the Book of Revelation's four riders against murder, corruption, jealous and...
Versions
uncut
run:
108:43s
pal:
104:22s
UK: Uncut and BBFC 15 rated for strong bloody violence, nudity:
2024 Eureka Entertainment Blu-ray (rated 09/12/2024)
cut
cut:
run:
113:00s
pal:
108:29s
UK: BBFC X (18) rated for strong bloody violence, nudity for strong bloody violence, nudity after BBFC cuts:
1974 Target International Films cinema release (rated 15/02/1974) titled Hell Fighters Of The East
banned
UK: Banned by BBFC
1974 Target International Films cinema release titled Four Riders
The BBFC and PETA clashed in 2002 when the ad entitled Fur is Dead
was submitted for approval. The ad was supposed to run in cinemas but PETA actually requested a video certificate. The ad had already been pulled from circulation in the USA in the wake of 9/11.
You can probably see why this
was a bit problematic. It's not just that the violence is quite brutal -- in itself, that wouldn't be a problem. But it appears without any context or condemnation -- in fact, you might think that the ad celebrates the act of violence, given who it is
promoting.
UK: Released uncut on pre-cert video for:
