Censorship

[Daemonia]

Originally Posted by vincenzo

He rejected it for cinema but felt it was too important a film to discard or cut, and instead suggested it was shown at licensed film clubs (as Trevelyan did with Flesh).

Didn't Trevelyan have a vested interest in a chain of 'clubs' and regularly passed on films for this circuit..?

Wasn't it also Trevelyan who said that if something turned him on, it'd be cut?

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by vincenzo

I first saw The Exorcist on pre-cert video in 1981, though I did catch it on the cinema about a year later at a Sunday late night showing.

No other viewing of the film ever made such an impact as the cinema one.

That midnight viewing of The Exorcist is the whole reason that I am now a film addict, with a particular passion for horror. It's an immensely powerful movie and you just can't beat the cinema experience.

[Stephen@Cult Labs]

And you can't beat the feeling of having to walk home in the dark after seeing it in a cinema.

[vincenzo]

The 70's and 80's were truly great times for cinema double bills. I remember them with affection.

Originally Posted by Daemonia

Wasn't it also Trevelyan who said that if something turned him on, it'd be cut?

Basically yes. His memoirs (What The Censor Saw), though limited in cuts details, are quite interesting. He cut Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls to ribbons yet took a strong stance in favour of Flesh, which he passed completely uncut after memorably defending it against a police prosecution.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by stevoj

And you can't beat the feeling of having to walk home in the dark after seeing it in a cinema.

I think part of the power was coming out of the cinema at just after 2 AM to look up and see a cloudless sky above a completely empty car park was only mine, and a couple of other vehicles in sight. It was a great evening/morning and I'd love to do it all over again.

Wouldn't it be great if The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Evil Dead or Suspiria, for example, were all been released theatrically?

[nekromantik]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu

I think part of the power was coming out of the cinema at just after 2 AM to look up and see a cloudless sky above a completely empty car park was only mine, and a couple of other vehicles in sight. It was a great evening/morning and I'd love to do it all over again.

Wouldn't it be great if The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Evil Dead or Suspiria, for example, were all been released theatrically?

I would love to see Evil Dead and Suspiria in the cinema.
Only indie cinemas would show them of course but still it would be a good experience.

[vincenzo]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu

Wouldn't it be great if The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Evil Dead or Suspiria, for example, were all been released theatrically?

I saw Suspiria (doubled with Ryan O'Neal's The Driver) on a reissue in late 1981. Brilliant double bill. Also caught The Evil Dead (cut alas, though not yet massacred) on the flicks the following year.

I only saw TCM on pre-cert around the same time.

[Peter Neal]

Just before the closure of the year (and a good couple of "Index"-movies like "Commando", "Predator" and Carpenter's "The Thing" being FINALLY removed from that dreaded list), the German censors reminded us that they haven't gone "soft", neither have they started smelling the 21st century...
"Midnight Meat Train" was added to the "B-List" section of the "Index", meaning that the BPJM deem it's worthy of a prosecution as a "banned movie".
And for whatever reason "FROZEN SCREAM" JUST managed to get itself BANNED in Germany...and yes, that's the year 2010 even over there!
(Apparently that ban is the result of a flipper disc release with Paul Naschy's "Vengeance of the Zombies", so "Frozen Scream" would rather be an "accidental victim" of the BPJM....If that makes any more sense in this day and age I'll leave up to you).
The "Last House" remake finally made the "index" too, but surprisingly "only" on the "A" list, meaning that it's now prohibted from being openly(outside "18 only" video stores) advertised, rented and sold in Germany and can only be shown in cut form on tv....

[SimonT]

Originally Posted by Peter Neal

Just before the closure of the year (and a good couple of "Index"-movies like "Commando", "Predator" and Carpenter's "The Thing" being FINALLY removed from that dreaded list), the German censors reminded us that they haven't gone "soft", neither have they started smelling the 21st century...
"Midnight Meat Train" was added to the "B-List" section of the "Index", meaning that the BPJM deem it's worthy of a prosecution as a "banned movie".

What is it with the German censors STILL clinging to these antiquated censorship laws?

Even the UK is liberal by comparison, what exactly are they hoping to acheive by banning these films?

[Peter Neal]

Originally Posted by SimonT

Even the UK is liberal by comparison, what exactly are they hoping to acheive by banning these films?

They're determined to protect Germany's youth (and in the process often also Germany's adults) from movies and other media THEY deem to be in conflict with "human dignity"/"glorifying violence" etc...

I forgot a few more goodies:
The BPJM announced the banning of 12 (!) movies on their December list, though in most of the instances these were films already banned over there as a different release. (Releases have to be banned over there seperately, though technically it doesn't really make any legal difference as any version which is identical in content is essentially also in breach with German law and can be treated as such). Included are such acclaimed classics as Hooper's 1974 "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and Romero's 1978 "Dawn of the Dead".
Even the original "Halloween 2" made the list yet again- in a CUT version!
A new "banned" title is Brian Yuzna's "The Dentist", which made it onto the list 14 years (!) after its original release.
"The Dentist" got probably banned, because the "Laser Paradise" DVD features trailers for "Cannibal Ferox" and Peter Jackson's "Braindead", which are prominent banned titles in Germany. I doubt it though that they'd be splitting any hairs if the BPJM came across a new "Dentist" release without those "scandalous" trailers...
Quite bizarre is also the inclusion of the Thai torture-porn flick "The Butcher" on the "B"-list of the "Index", as it's one of these examples where the BPJM have the time and resources to go after a film with a less than widespread availability in Germany, which is even "R1"-coded and subtitled and would therefore hardly ever find its way into your average German video store.