Censorship

[vincenzo]

Yes a lot of careful thought went into that one.

[Peter Neal]

BTW: Believe it or not, but "Chaos"- yes, THAT "Chaos"- is about to get a release in Germany in January. The only question which remains is HOW MUCH it'll be censored, but cuts to some extent will be inevitable in the current climate....

http://www.ofdb.de/view.php?page=fas...2340&vid=14991

[Angel]

Expect heavy cuts, Peter.

I saw the uncut version just recently. The sexualised murders of Emily & Angelica will never get through, certainly 2 of the most disturbingly violent scenes I've ever seen. They would certainly have to be cut here in the UK as well. Also the film has a very short running time (just over 70m) so with heavy cuts the run time will be ridiculously short (probably under an hour).

[Halloween_22]

Does anyone know about the laws regarding unrated DVD releases in America? I've been wondering about it and how its possible when they have a ratings/ censorship board like us. Just wondered how it's possible for these releases to bypass the MPAA and, is there any chance of us getting that as an option in the UK (or is that just wishful thinking )

[Angel]

Just wishful thinking.

It will never happen over here. The system in the US is different, the law doesn't require video/DVD to be submitted to the MPAA which is how it works over here. If films were to be released unrated here that would mean that they are also likely to contain scenes that are in breach of our strict obsenity laws. Can't see it happening.

[vipco]

Yeah, the BBFC have to consider the OPA and animal welfare laws as well as a few other laws like the VRA etc when certifying a film , plus come January 09 they'll have The Dangerous Pictures Act as well.
When they rate a film they really do have alot of laws to consider as well as their own bbfc film guideline's.

I agree with Angel 100% , imo we'll never see an UNRATED classification for DVD's , BluRay etc. Too many laws to adhere to.

[Halloween_22]

Thanks for the info Angel. I figured as much, I just wasn't clear how it worked in the US. I didnt realise DVD releases didnt have to go through the MPAA, if only that was the case here

Good points vips. When you take all that into account I guess it really will never be a reality over here. I've got to give a lot of props to the BBFC for taking a very adult and fair stance on films over the last few years, weve seen things come out that never even dreamed would be passed uncut in the UK, the amount of laws imposed on them in their decision making and film censorship in general over here is ridiculous though. Maybe one day the government will actually treat us like adults and let us choose to watch whatever we want (yeah right, and maybe flying pigs'll ice skate in hell )

[The Reaper Man@Cult Labs]

Never never never unless some headbanger party gets elected like the SNP....

[vincenzo]

The BBFC have come on in leaps and bounds since the bad old days of Ferman. Both Duval & Cooke have moved with the times in immense & commendable ways.

Despite the recent pro-censorship waffle by odious little grotesques like Vaz & Beyer (supported by the cat's tray Daily Mail) it would be impractical to go back to the Ferman days. Further UK film censorship would simply mean people would increasingly & regularly buy the uncut versions from abroad, thus badly damaging revenue from UK-based companies. It's so much easier now to pick up uncensored versions of films via the internet than it was in the dodgy VHS days of Ferman.

I agree with Angel too. Too many laws would be broken or severely infringed with the introduction of the U.S unrated system. I can possibly see tougher TV censorship appearing (courtesy of the idiotic Brand & Ross) but film-wise (or ernie-wise) things can only keep going forward. Anything other would be absolutely senseless.

[Peter Neal]

Originally Posted by Angel

Expect heavy cuts, Peter.

I saw the uncut version just recently. The sexualised murders of Emily & Angelica will never get through, certainly 2 of the most disturbingly violent scenes I've ever seen. They would certainly have to be cut here in the UK as well. Also the film has a very short running time (just over 70m) so with heavy cuts the run time will be ridiculously short (probably under an hour).

Well, it's official: The FSK approved sellthrough version of "Chaos" will only run 61 (!!!) mins and the amount of cuts to the (slightly?) longer rental version (with the "SPIO/JK" seal....complicated system, but Germany's youth has to be protected) hasn't been announced yet, apart from the fact that it IS ALSO CUT.