Films that tend to eroticise violence.

[philipdalton]

The 70's horror film "I Spit on Your Grave" was put on the Directors of Public Prosecutions' "video nasty" list when it was released on VHS/Betamax in the eighties and was successfully prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act. The BBFC have since passed it, but never in its uncut form, due to its eroticisation of violence. In fact most of these so-called "video nasties" have been passed uncut now, including a particularly horrid example called "Don't Go in the House", which seems to have been partly inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" because it features a man talking to corpses, that of his mother and also the dead bodies of women unfortunate to have been burnt to death by him. I watched what I mistakenly thought to be the unedited version of this film on YouTube, and then I found the version which I think is the real unedited one. This version shows a naked woman, hanging helplessly from a wall as her hands are tired, having her entire body doused in petrol. She is then set fire to, and screams in agony as she burns to a crisp, and her breasts and pubic hair are all visible as this is taking place. If this doesn't eroticise violence I don't know what does. I'm amazed this film is available in its uncut form nowadays, if it really is.

[Richard1978]

I remember working with someone who was a film buff who was surprised when some previously banned films were cleared by the BBFC, considering them too disturbing for general release. The Exorcist, A Clockwork Orange & Driller Killer come to mind.

Some films seemed to get a reputation which meant they were a let-down for people when they we actually made available & didn't live up to the hype!

[philipdalton]

I remember working with someone who was a film buff who was surprised when some previously banned films were cleared by the BBFC, considering them too disturbing for general release. The Exorcist, A Clockwork Orange & Driller Killer come to mind.

The reason for the ban being lifted on The Exorcist was the retirement of James Ferman from the BBFC. He had always felt that the age of the demon-possessed girl in it would give many the impression it was meant to be a kids' film, so had kept it off the shelves for this reason.

As for Clockwork Orange, the reason for the ban being lifted on that was the death of its director Stanley Kubrick, who had forbidden it to be publicly shown due to death threats to his family linked to media reports that it incited copycat violence.

Driller Killer was successfully prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act in the eighties due to its scenes of extreme graphic violence. When it was submitted to the BBFC many years later, the violence in it had been toned down, so they agreed to pass it. It has now been passed in its uncut form due to the liberalisation of standards. There are a few cases of old "video nasties" still being banned from certification but it's rare. In fact, some are actually available with a "15" certificate which shows that by today's standards they're considered quite tame.

It's quite common for the X films of the fifties (which were banned from public exhibition to those under 16) to be rated P.G. nowadays. A typical example is "And God Created Woman", which features brief nudity on the part of Bridgette Bardot.

[George 1978]

I am certain that Mary Whitehouse would have disapproved a lot of them. I often rack my brains at what the pre-1982 BBFC equivalent of what an 18 certificate was - that was an X wasn't it? Then again one gets councils of the Ken Livingstone left-wing sort banning certain films because of its content, making me assume that cinemas were council-owned. Nanny state or just safeguarding so that the wrong sort of person doesn't get to see it? You decide.

I probably wouldn't touch anything stronger than a 15 these days - pity we don't have a Nick Ross-alike saying "don't have nightmares" at the end of each film.

[Richard1978]

Individual councils could set the ratings for films & ban them outright. My Dad remembered that this was inconsistent as during the controversial early 1970s films, Manchester City Council banned some but not others. My parents found an easy way to get around this was to go to a cinema in a neighbouring local authority!

[philipdalton]

I am certain that Mary Whitehouse would have disapproved a lot of them.

To give you an idea of the sort of material Mrs. Whitehouse disapproved of (she hardly ever approved of anything much), there was a Doctor Who story in the mid seventies called "The Deadly Assassin", in which the Doctor, played by Tom Baker, is shown being the victim of an attempted strangulation underwater. Despite the image being shown very briefly on screen, she still deemed it too violent for transmission.

[George 1978]

To give you an idea of the sort of material Mrs. Whitehouse disapproved of (she hardly ever approved of anything much), there was a Doctor Who story in the mid seventies called "The Deadly Assassin", in which the Doctor, played by Tom Baker, is shown being the victim of an attempted strangulation underwater. Despite the image being shown very briefly on screen, she still deemed it too violent for transmission.

Sometimes when I see some of the trash there is on TV nowadays, I have always wanted to know who the incumbent Mary Whitehouse is these days. I raise my hat to her, even though she probably complained about nothing in her day.