Sorry I had no idea a thread had already been started :(

No problem, I'm sure the Mods can merge them.

Cool :) it's been really interesting hearing everyone's opinions, though :)

Don't get it into your head that the Video Nasties are the most vicious evil films out there and that was why they were banned. That is not what this shamefull period in British Censorship is about at all.
These films were villified and banned for votes! Certain "bright" individuals used, abused and manipulated this whole mess for political gain.
Hysterical newspapers were encouraged to blame all of society's problems, not on governmental policies that had been proved to be inneffective and not fit for purpose, but on these "unbelieveably repellent snuff movies" flooding the nation and turning our youth into crazed psycho's!
It doesn't matter what the films were called. No research was done on what constituted a Video Nasty. They would walk into a video shop and confiscate anything with a title that caught their inexperienced eye.
Due to this, titles like Best Little Whorehouse in Texas with Burt Reynolds and Samuel Fuller's Big Red 1 were banned and appeared on various lists!
The Video Nasties are just unfortunately the films that were in circulation at that specific time. Nothing to do with them really, they were just a very handy scapegoat.
Cannibal Holocaust was termed a "Real Life Snuff Movie" time and time again but is now hailed as a masterpiece, go figure!
The Government, all the papers but especially the Daily Mail and the BBFC constucted the most Draconian and shamefull censorship ever seen in a Western nation and if you think that it is all so much better now than then, then you are mistaken. Sorry but you are.
Today they are just far more sneaky about it! They cannot cause the furore like last time so just do it quietly. There are far more films banned now in the UK than the 74, they just don't call them Video Nasties anymore.
Films are still being cut to shreads, over 25 just over the last 2 years! I listed them all on another thread on here somewhere if you wanna see them.
It's as bad as ever but not front page news, we got video games for that now!
So really the Video Nasties should be looked upon as victims! It's not their fault they are called that!

**Sigh**

It's historical

You had to *be* there to understand what it was all about

Sadly, I was!

I wasn't born until near the end of it, but I've heard a lot of waht that time was like (especially in the documentary I spoke about earlier).

Yes, I realise these films aren't really all that violent nor repellant. My point was that people are surprised at some films on the list because they're 'good' films, which kind of indicates that most people equate video nasties with video trash. I beg to differ on that.

And yes, I was there, I lived through it - I even remember it being debated with us by the teachers at school. It really was on everyone's radar and Whitehouse must have thought she'd gone to heaven suddenly being given the power to randomly call things obscene and have them banned.

Of course it was all political, it nearly always is when it comes to censorship. They're certainly not censoring for own good, but purely to keep a form of control on visual media and over the masses. Well, if they're that concerned abouit media, why has Murdoch escaped justice for so long then?

two great reviews on the banned video nasty listy!
great reading on two different views on this era!
anybody fancy doing the same thing on recent/2000 onward films?
may have a go myself,but my collection,aint that big.

lets face it a handfull.of these films would dissapear and be forgotten about if it wasnt for the nastie tag it got. its mearly only that status why some people bother with them.
some films and not reffering to them could be any film., if it wasnt for the gore or controvesy then they wouldnt have anything to.offer at all.
ps i was around at the time and it was a load of rubbish and a pointless debate over nothing.. only the odd film you could slightly understand why. agree or disagree some films it wasnt the film italef it was the era it was made like i spit on.your grave in the late 70s.

But that's the whole point, A Serbian Movie, August Underground Trilogy, MSP etc would of disappeared without the controversy surrounding them.

But what you also have to remember is that a hell of a lot of people only had a title to go on. No internet search with 100's of reviews to fall back on. Certainly no left click and the film is yours in a week or so. No it was write off for for a list/search car boots(pay £45+ for a tape)/film fairs etc.

But that was half the fun people who weren't around at the time will never understand;)