BBFC Problem Films

[Halloween_22]

Originally Posted by vincenzo

The BBFC never saw I Spit On Your Grave until 2001. If it had been submitted beforehand (during the Ferman years) it would have been rejected without hesitation. Especially considering that he was rejecting far less violent films such as Curfew etc.

Do you reckon it'll ever make it through unscathed?

[vincenzo]

It would definitely receive less cuts today than before though it would still be cut. The nudity is as much a problem as the rape scenes themselves (though the 'rock rape' will always be the most difficult).

I think it'll get through eventually though maybe not just yet.

[The Reaper Man@Cult Labs]

It's testament to the outrageousness of this film,that thirty years later it still causes concerns with the censors....

[vipco]

When you submit a film to the BBFC and it requires cuts, do they give you a list with the time were the cut begins and ends, ( I take it classifacition discs are time coded or something ? ) and thats that, the company are trusted to adhere to all BBFC instructions, or do the company have to hand in the finished product with the required cuts made for final BBFC approval.?

Also, if any 'senic views or close up facial shots, (eg - ISOYG) that are put in to pad out the running time mean that the film must be submitted again because of the extra material being added.?

[vincenzo]

The cuts required are normally sent to the distributors by reel number or time of scene - as in the following extract from the Cannibal Holocaust cuts (LS = Long Shot).......

At 19 mins: Following LS sight of man holding naked woman's head as she lies on the ground, remove sight of woman dragged through the mud and having her legs forced apart.
At 20 mins: In same sequence, and following LS sight of man preparing to attack naked woman lying on the ground, remove all subsequent sight of woman struggling and being raped with wooden dildo.
At 20 mins: In same sequence, and following sight of man raising nail-studded mud ball, remove all subsequent sight of naked woman being genitally mutilated.

It's up to the distributors and their editing team how the cuts are made as long as the offensive footage is removed. If the cuts are heavy then substituted footage is used to make the scene more legible.

Back in the bad old days cuts were made extremely badly (as with Vipco's Eaten Alive or the Satanica video of Night Of The Bloody Apes) and whole scenes would suddenly end, music would jar badly, and even dialogue would simply appear unintelligible. These days, using an Avid Suite, cuts can be made much more smoother and better (as with New York Ripper), and occasionally it can be hard to spot that a cut has actually been made.

[vipco]

Thanks Vince.

[Halloween_22]

Originally Posted by vincenzo

Back in the bad old days cuts were made extremely badly (as with Vipco's Eaten Alive or the Satanica video of Night Of The Bloody Apes)

Weren't they just. That Satanica vhs of Bloody Apes is absolutley atrocious. The cuts are soooo badly done it's ridiculous. Lets face it, it's not the greatest film in the world to start with but after getting butchered like that it's practically unwatchable

[vincenzo]

Yes it was absolutely unwatchable. I destroyed my tape in an ape-like rage after watching it (though I did remove its scalp and transplant its heart first).

What made it even more ridiculous is that the video had been pre-cut by Satanica before the BBFC had chance to see the uncut print. Even in the early post-Ferman 1999 it wouldn't have received that many cuts anyway (possibly only the bedroom assault). They literally removed every shot of gore and nudity in the film.

The Vipco Eaten Alive video/DVD is exactly the same. The cuts look as if they've been done by a cannibal.

[Angel]

Yes It's going to be some time before the BBFC pass I SPIT uncut.

[vincenzo]

They're definitely moving forward quicker than ever these days. Who would have believed that, by the end of the year, we would see films such as Caligula, Castle Freak and Dard Divorce passed completely uncut in the UK.

A big commendation to them for rapidly moving with the times.