Why are some Shameless titles cut?
 

Q. Why are some Shameless titles cut?

A. Shameless is a UK based company and, as such, has to abide by UK law. This means that every film released in the UK has to be submitted to the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) to receive a certificate. Some film content does not comply with BBFC guidelines (which are readily available on their website) and so has to be cut from the film in order for it to receive a certificate.

Shameless will always strive to deliver the most complete version of a film possible but, in order to release films legally, they must always comply with the BBFC's decision.

But is there only 2 that are cut ?
Cant complain at that....And it not like they are heavily cut just minor,
So as far as im concernd well done :clap:
Keep up the very good work


And arrow as well :clap:

Thank you for all the hard work every 1 involved no matter how big or small the contribution off work they put in.

Yes, just two that are cut as it stands:

• SHAM001 - New York Ripper
• SHAM005 - Venus in Furs

And thank you muchly for the appreciation, gag!

Cut films - Are they worth it.
 

I read that shameless are releasing House on the Edge of the Park, with cuts. I understand alot of work must go into releasing a film and when the film is cut, that can loose alot of sales. Does Shameless ever decide certain films are just not worth releasing due to this point. And are there fans that won't buy films because of minor cuts.
I remember back in the day seeing the Vipco release of HOTEOTP, and I couldn't at times understand what the hell was happening in the certain scene, then I saw Cannibal Ferox, which I'd already seen uncut and thought it was ridiculous. They even cut the scene where John Morgans hand is cut off.

I suppose it's what the problem area is, CANNIBAL FEROX would certainly interest Shameless, but if the issues involve strong sexual violence(some Japanese horrors that involve attacks on children for instance) may make a company baulk at trying to push the boundries in the UK, and it seems the nasty-nazi genre is still off the table here in the UK. But times and taste change in a heartbeat, so you never know.

Cut films - Are they worth it.
 

Each to their own
As said before, If your harcore horror for example, you buy uncut imo
I know a lot of members on another website agree me with on this
but sometimes there are fans who buy cut versions to support the company releasing the dvd, as in Arrow's BARE BEHIND BARS, Shameless' HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK for e.g.

The thing is though a company aren't going to know what, if anything is going to be cut until they buy the title and get it ready for release. Sure they could think "Nah, this will have too many cuts by the BBFC, no point releasing it" but this line of thinking would have likely lead to never putting out Cannibal Holocaust (who here thought they'd only require 14 seconds of cuts to this?). I do agree that if the cuts are so heavy and ruin the narrative flow of the film then it's a waste of time but in the instances of cutting I've seen from Shameless so far it's not really noticeable.

Plus, you have to bear in mind that while everyone here is aware of how to get uncut copies via importing R1 discs, people with a general and casual interest in cult films who do the bulk of their shopping on the high street might not and might not be bothered about the cuts. Obviously there are people on here who won't entertain the notion of a cut film when a complete alternative is available but there are those who don't see it as that much of an issue


Me personally, I don't mind so much. It's not as if these releases are cut by Shameless and it's not like Shameless don't do everything they can to get them through as complete as possible. The way I see it is every release like CH or HOTEOTP is a further step at challenging the outdate Draconian censorship rules at the BBFC.

I agree fully with what you are saying PaulD. I've been watching and buying horror films ever since the ealry 80's. I was angry at the version Vipco put out of HOTEOTP as it ruined the film for me with jumps in music and careless hacking at scenes.
Overall though I'm not fussed about films being cut within reason. But if I look on the back of a sleeve and it reads cut by 11minutes, then I'm left wondering.
I buy most of my films in shops as I just prefer shopping and am pleased Shameless and Arrow have made hard to find films more commerical again.
They have released some gems over the past years and look forward to future releases. I stand by my opinion that the cuts to the Animal slaughter in CH are a good idea. I have seen Cannibal Ferox, and although its pointless cut, I think its a bad movie uncut.

Just to be clear, when I say this I don't mean I don't mind cuts as such. Just I understand the necessity in terms of the BBFC's role when releasing films in the UK. Naturally, I think it's an outdated ridiculous notion and that adults should be free to choose what they want to watch themselves without the intervention of a seperate body. Basically, when cuts happen I'm only annoyed and angry at the BBFC and not whoever is releasing the dvd

i can understand after watching vipco's HOTEOTP that yould be scratching your head ahem. taking 11 minutes out of any film would knacker the continuity IMO. thats why i avoided that one for years. i have a R1 one now (uncut) and this will suffice me, its a bonny looking print (considering the content haha) and basically im easily pleased....;);)

I'd rather go out of my way to find an uncut version of a film rather than buying a BBFC censored version, even if it does mean not buying an Arrow or Shameless release because it's been cut.The only film I can think of that I have in my collection which suffers from BBFC inflicted cuts (2 seconds for animal cruelty) is Cannibal Apocalypse, and I only bought that because the uncut Image R1 disc was going for silly money at the time.Luckily, it has better picture quality than the R1 and includes all the same extras.

I have Venus in Furs from Shameless which is cut, and as i mentioned on other threads Cannibal Apocalypse and the Death Wish sequels. Won't be replacing any of the sequels as they aren't worht the extra expense.

I heard the worst cuts ever were in 'Debbie Does Dallas.' Every scene was cut and only showed reaction shots. I say this because Cannibal Ferox was just as bad. Pointless.

Almost every XXX 90min film ended up 40-45mins in the UK in the 90s, so I hear anyway, ahem.

I think the deal is with Shameless, we have a company that tries to do the best it can in regards to censorship, offer extras, and have a 'gotta catch em all' theme with there funky yellow boxes and numbers.

As an avid collector of horror and somebody who got into the genre during the worst censorship period in the late 80's, I have a keen interest in cut versions of notorious genre films and be it only as a curious companion piece for comparisons. :nod:
I own various of my favourite films in differently edited cuts- be it BBFC imposed trims or the hacksaw-variety of cuts usually inflicted on German releases of controverisal films, my latest addition to the latter category being the "cut-by-13-mins" German release of "A Serbian Film" which still features snippets which had to go for the UK DVD/BD.:lol:

Speaking of "ASF", I gladly rather bought the edited UK DVD with subs which suit my needs than not watching it at all in legitimate form, so in that sense a cut film is sometimes more than worth shelling out for- at least for me. :popcorn:

Occasionaly the odd film might be edited but time to time nothing realy taken out apart from boring drawn out scenes just being trimmed down...but if a film that total censored here and i cant afford or get hold of a uncut version then if some one on here selling a film thats in my price range or cheap and only in a briefly cut version says ten 10 seconds and longer than the uk release then im more than happy to buy that version......

Hmm, an interesting topic this one. :) For me, personally, I would buy a cut edition if it offered drastically better picture quality and/or extras, in which case I would quite happily double dip for both the cut and uncut editions. For example, I have the excellent uncut AWE release of New York Ripper, but will definitely be picking up the Shameless Blu-ray so that I can have the film in HD - and a lovely yellow case, too. :cool:

The irony is, that any film that is still cut by the BBFC, you can just go straight to amazon.co.uk and buy the uncut version anyway, effectively rendering the BBFC completely impotent. IMHO, it is high time that the BBFC did exactly what it says on it's tin - British Board Of Film Classification. Let's not forget that it has not been known as the British Board Of Film Censors since 1984! Although it's ironic that this change in name just happened to coincide with what must be the biggest incidence of film censorship in Britain in recent memory i.e. the 'Video Nasties' debacle.

Cut films - Are they worth it.
 

Of course there are many films which aren't available anywhere uncut
JASON X and TOOLBOX MURDERS remake spring to mind, and I haven't seen these on dvd-r
Never buy cut films, to me becoming very much a horror fan in the 80's when videos were cut/banned, I always now buy uncut dvd/blu ray

I've merged these threads since they deal with a v. similar topic.

Just to address this question, the way it works is that Shameless buy the rights to a film and the materials and then get it ready for release. They then send it to the BBFC and pay them to classify the film. By this point if the film requires cuts, Shameless have already paid out a lot of money in terms of acquiring the film, authoring it and paying the BBFC so they can't really take the decision to just not release it.

I imagine the only circumstances in which they would decide not to go ahead with a release would be if the cuts were so drastic that the film was incoherent.

I find it slightly annoying when people give UK companies flak for releasing cut films. What do they expect them to do? They've paid a fortune for the rights, had it remastered and then paid to have it classified by the BBFC (who charge up to £1000). It would be very silly and bad business sense (obv) not to release it and at least try and recoup some of the costs. As we've seen in the past the sales of cut films have allowed companies to take a chance and release more obscure titles.

I'm NOT having a go at folks who only buy uncut versions, there are loads of UK DVD releases I've avoided due to heavy cuts but there are some, like CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE and several westerns, that I've bought because the cuts are less than 10 seconds in length and don't affect the film in any way.

the germans cut 13 minutes out of Srpski!!??!! it must resemble a nasty looking family drama now haha a-hem.

when it is in fact a VERY nasty family drama. :laugh:

id like to censor Seth Rogan's mush every time he pops up on screen, but hey i understand that not everyone feels the same way...;), i think that a main bugbear that horror fans have with the BBFC is that their own personal feelings came into play where we had to deal with our very own matthew hopkins in the shape of (you know it...) The Ferman (now there's a title:lol:) who to all intense purposes headed a witchhunt with the help of the gutter press. this has left many of us with a sour taste in the mouth when the spectre of censorship is raised.....to finish, yes shameless have managed to get HOTEOTP through onto the shelves in a far more intact state than in recent history, and the option is there for people who (like myself...) still feel as an adult i should be able to watch what the hell i want to. rant over.