Censorship
 

Was just wondeing if anybody knew ( Angel, Vince ) how the censorship laws stand in Ireland.
As im from N.Ireland the BBFC cert is the legal requirement, but some DVD's feature both BBFC and the Irish Censorship Board certs.
What I really want to know is, do the Irish Censor usually just approve the BBFC version or do they review films and rate them themselves, reguardless of any UK version .

I ask as on IMDb , some films you get just the UK details and some give both UK and IRE. details with the Irish version sometimes running longer.

If I took a trip down to Dublin would I find much difference between whats on the Zavvi shelves in Dublin compared to Belfast .?
I ask as I was thinking of going down for a DVD and Game 'shop' and take advantage of the lack of Customs at the boarder.

This should answer most of your questions, Vipco.

http://www.ifco.ie/ifco/ifcoweb.nsf/...t&type=graphic

As far as I can see the IFCO do their own classifying, however Irish censorship is very similar to UK censorship. The BBFC, for whatever reason did start accepting IFCO ratings on UK discs in 2004 providing the ratings are the same, at least on the cover.

From what I've heard the IFCO no longer ban films. Bizarre info because they just banned Murder Set Pieces. In any case you can't suddenly decide to stop banning films because there would be obvious problems.

Apparently they passed the uncut Cannibal Holocaust over there. A film which was previously banned. A surprising decision indeed considering what their VRA 1989 states.

More and more UK discs feature the Irish censors certifcate, either on the sleeve or the disc itself. In the majority of cases these are the same, but there are occasional differences with the Irish censor generally being more lenient I'd say e.g. the Mission Impossible bonus disc is rated 12 for Ireland and 15 here, as was (I think) Charlies Angels. There are one or two quite surprising differences I've noted in discs I have put can't lay my hands on them just now. I'd be interested to see what was available in Ireland and whether there are films passed there that aren't available here? Does anyone know of notable differences in UK/Irish ratings?

p.s. looking at the IFCO site I was interested to see they have more certificates than the UK including a '16' and a '15A'. Children can therefore see any film rated up to and including '15A' if accompanied by an adult.

The VRA only covers the UK Angel, which includes Northern Ireland but not Southern Ireland .
The Republic of Ireland, or the South of Ireland , is a separate country and not part of the UK.
As a resident of Northern Ireland im a British citizen and have a UK passport but I also qualify for an Irish passport as well as we are entitled to dual nationality here.

As I live in Belfast, BBFC Certs are law for all films sold here, so im not to sure how the classifications stand in the South . I'll try and find any Irish based DVD websites and post a link., Gore .

Looks like a trip down to Dublin for me then, pick up a few DVD's and enjoy a few pints of Guiness.

This is a handy site for comparing Motion Picture Rating Systems

:confused:

Perhaps I've got it wrong but it clearly states on the IFOC's website that they have their own VRA (1989) which is different from the (1984) VRA that applies to the UK.

I would like to know which films have been banned here but passed in Ireland?

I can only think of one...MIKEY! Banned by the BBFC but passed 18 there. They rarely pass films though that have been banned by the BBFC, of course it appears that these films have strangely never been submitted there because they have not been banned there either, MSP apart. But would they pass Love Camp 7 or Women in Cellblock 9? Seems doubtful.

The film that I remember caused a big stir in Ireland was Bad Leautant . (Forgive spelling) I think it was banned, or held a while then cut for blasphemy in ROI
Films which feature blasphemy or are contraversal in a religious way, would quite possibly be banned. Driller Killer , I think, is still banned in Ireland though Cannibal Holocaust was banned until 2006 then re rated as 18.

I believe the ban on Bad Lieutenant was over turned a few years ago after the law there was changed.

By the way a remake is on it's way starring Nick Cage.

Terrifying thought isn't it? http://www.shameless-films.com/forum...ilies/ack2.gif

Sorry, I thought you ment that the UK VRA was applicable to Ireland.
You are right, there is a VRA for the South but it's not the same Act that applies to UK DVD. In what way it differs, I honestly dont know.

That was a really good link Vince for film ratings .

The way some country's have a special classification to allow for violent films, or have a ' not rated ' option, which when looked at is near enough a classification as you would know what to expect from a film marked 'NR', is a really good idea and would certainly satisfy UK film fans.
I take it that even if a special classification for violent films were to be implemented in the UK, a lot of films submitted for consideration would still not qualify under the OPA.?

Zombie Flesh Eaters , although eventually passed 'uncut' for ABUK's Box of the Banned , has yet to be released as a single film in uncut form. the Stonevision DVD and VIPCO VHS Extreme release's are still the only single release's of this film and there cut.
Does anyone know if the uncut status only applies for the box set , or is any rights holder free to release this classic fully uncut on its own.?
Im just very surprised a film of this status hasn't been given a uncut release on its own yet.

The uncut status wouldn't just apply for the box set.

Cheers Kevin.

Just with the only single UK disc's available for ZFE being trimmed and average at best , I thought there was some reason preventing someone releasing it fully uncut as a standalone disc.

Anchor Bay probably weren't interested in releasing it on it's own, there were other films in those sets that didn't get their own release. I don't know how long Anchor Bay's rights last but I'm sure someone will pick the title up for release if it becomes available.

As it's been released umpteen times,yeah,ABUK probably thought that a single release wouldn't warrant enough sales.....

Well that was a great shame as it was being released uncut for the first time.

That would be for extreme sexual violence as the BBFC no longer cut non sexual violence.

Yes they would still be cut. Even so the BBFC are quite lenient towards scenes of sexual violence these days compared to what they used to be.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooo!

Just in case you didn't get that..

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooo!


That was my response to Nic Cage doing yet another remake.

Yeah Cage in the Windy Miller Killer-that would be more appropriate,as he has all the facial attributes of the soldiers from Fort ****ing Pippin.......:D

There may have been a rights issue with this, as it was originally a Vipco title, which meant it could only released in the box set by Anchor Bay, I'm not too sure. If Vipco were still going I'm sure they would have issued it uncut on its own.

From what I've heard elsewhere,Vipco didn't bother acquiring the rights to many of their titles.....just went ahead and released them.....:eek:

VIPCO didn't release Zombie Flesh Eaters on DVD in the UK, Stonevision beat them to it.
VIPCO released the same 'Extreme' Version as Stonevision, but on VHS only in the UK .
They were mighty pissed off over the situation, stating 'Rights issues ' as the reason for the VHS only release , in an article in a UK horror mag.
Both companies versions are identical and although labelled 'Extreme' are slightly cut , but are stronger than VIPCO's previous 90's re released cinema version in their 'Cult Classics' collection .
They (vipco) did go on to release Zombie Flesh Eaters 2 and 3 on DVD and VHS with very similar artwork to the original and fully uncut , while ZFE got re released on the Dead of Night label. before appearing for the first time on DVD in a fully uncut form in ABUK's Box of the Banned.
The slightly cut 'Dead of Night' version is the only version still available in the UK at the moment .

I've got too many copies of Zombi, still it's be nice to see it uncut as a solo release under the Zombie Flesh Eaters title as it's a far better name for the movie IMO.

It would be nice to own this fully uncut in the UK as a single release instead of a white disc in a fold out boxset. That was the only reason I bought BOTB, as half the films in it were cut.
I also have several versions of this film, but like Noss, i'd love to own it with the original UK title and UK artwork , fully uncut as a standalone release.
I'd also love to see this one get a BluRay release as well.

Ironically the version of Last House On The Left in Box 1 is the cut version (31 secs). The cuts were fully waived in March.

Still no release date.

If Box of the Banned were released today, LHOTL would be uncut as well as ZFE

Nightmares in a Damaged Brain, ISOYG, LHOTL are all cut in BOTB.
Driller Killer, Evil Dead and ZFE are uncut, with only ZFE appearing for the first time legally in the UK in uncut form.

I thought with The Box of the Banned being a semi representation of the "video nasty" all films would have been allowed to be the pre cert versions .

It doesn't even give you individual RT for each film. Just the overall boxset RT, so its hard to tell how much is cut from each individual film of the 3 cut films included .

Does anyone know how much was cut out off Nightmares .? I heard it was the US 'R' version that got a UK release.
Does anyone know if that is correct.?

Last House On The Left = 31 secs (according to the BBFC AB made an additional 13 secs of edits to one of their releases to smooth over some of the cuts).
I Spit On Your Grave = 7 mins 2 secs (inc substituted cuts. The print is the same as the initial 2001 release, rather than the 2003 pan/scan version).
Nightmares In A Damaged Brain = Who knows? The print submitted runs 96 mins 2 secs and is the R-rated version. How much is missing is anyone's guess. The BBFC would pass the full version without any problems now.

Yes I think that was to the commentary version of LAST HOUSE where additional cuts had to be made.

Wasn't the only reason Nightmares in a Damaged Brain was cut was due to it being the only version available to distributors at that time as the original uncut print was beyond repair?

Thanks Angel. I remember Marc mentioning the additional edits on ABUK though I couldn't recall what they were to. I thought it was to smooth some of the scenes over though the commentary sounds more likely.

I think he also said the R-rated Nightmares was the only one available to AB at that time but I could be wrong. Amazing to think the film actually had a UK cinema release though it was pretty heavily cut by the BBFC. The R-rated UK DVD print is over 3 mins longer than the cinema version and some (though not all) of the cuts are certainly restored in it.

Then the Special Ed. of ISOYG I spent 20 quid on, with the words "Fuller Version" and "More Revenge" on the front cover is basically the same as the original release.?
How can they get away with claims like that.?
I checked and as far as I can tell, the revenge scenes are the same in both the original and the Special Ed release. Gangsters!

Yes the "Revenge" is the same. There was no reason for the BBFC to cut this section of the film.

It's a bit confusing re the UK ISOYG but this is roughly how it goes.

The first (2001) DVD release was cut by 7 mins 2 secs though the distributors 'fleshed' (for want of a better word) out the running time by an extra 2 mins by using substituted footage. It made the film longer, simply because the same shots were looped and shown over and over again. For example you end up with the same reaction shot from Eron Tabor 3 times during the rock rape.

This was the print AB used in the first Box Of The Banned.

The 2nd (2003) DVD release was pre-edited before submission. Rather than use loops the distributors reframed some shots (via closeups, pan/scan etc) which brought the film closer to its original (shorter) running time. You could hear more. You just couldn't see more. Ironically the BBFC then asked for 41 secs of re-edits again because too much nudity & thrusting was seen during the rock rape.

"More Revenge" is a nonsense claim by the distributors. The only cuts to the film were to the rape scenes (and some nudity during Camille Keaton's bath scene). The revenge/violence scenes are uncut in both prints.

I think that's right anyway. :)

I would of snapped up Box of the Banned (both parts) in a heartbeat if it were uncut :(

ISOYG would receive lesser cuts if resubmitted now though it'll be quite a while before the UK sees the film fully uncut.

Shots of Jennifer returning to the cabin after the 2nd rape was also cut.

The film probably has more chance of passing uncut than Death Wish 2.

Most of the films that were cut around the period of 2001-2003 would require less cuts today inc Ichi The Killer.

Yes I agree about Death Wish II. The uncut rape/assault of the maid is just plain OTT. http://www.shameless-films.com/forum...ilies/ack2.gif