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VIDEO NASTIES
THE HISTORY: part 3
The VRA Is Passed, 1984-1985
AUG 6TH 1984: 62 movies are
put on the very first official DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) 'Nasties'
list.
It is made up films successfully prosecuted as 'obscene' BUT also titles
that still have cases pending, and as such have had NO such judgement against
them. So in goes the much bullied "THE EVIL DEAD", still the subject
of various Court battles.
Click to see the list:
THE
FIRST OFFICIAL DPP 'NASTIES' LIST - 1984
It is announced that the list will be updated every month.
On the day after the list is released "SS EXPERIMENT CAMP"/"CANNIBAL FEROX"/"CANNIBAL APOCALPYSE" and "NIGHT OF THE DEMON" are judged NOT obscene by a Yorkshire Court.
SEPT: "FROZEN SCREAM" and "VISITING HOURS" (despite being a censored print) are added to the list.
"POSSESSION", recent winner in 'Cannes'
and at the London Film Festival, is found to be NOT obscene and its Distributor
'VTC' is cleared of all charges.
Dealers now demand that BBFC (British Board
of Film Censors) approved films (like "POSSESSION") should be removed
from the 'Nasties' list.
Regional Police forces continue to run amok.
Raids on Retailers and Distributors by Ill-qualified Police Officers result in
gut reaction seizures and arrests. Scotland Yard Superintendent Kruger denies
a 'Police witch hunt'.
SEPT 23RD: "The Sunday Times", one of the first papers to start the 'Nasties' scare, condemns the waste of time and money prosecuting "THE EVIL DEAD" yet again as it has already been found NOT obscene twice already.
OCT 15TH: The DPP 'Nasties'
list is split into 2 parts: 'Successfully Prosecuted' and 'Prosecutions Pending'.
The 43 titles in the 'Successfully Prosecuted' are:
'SUCCESSFULLY PROSECUTED' TITLES
In the 'Pending' list are:
"FROZEN SCREAM", "I MISS YOU, HUGS AND KISSES" and "WOMEN BEHIND BARS" are removed from these lists completely.
NOV: "THE FUNHOUSE" is removed.
The list is now at 62 titles again.
2 years after Police raided his shop in
1982, a retailer is found NOT guilty of obscenity in supplying "I SPIT ON
YOUR GRAVE".
A retailer in Hull is also found NOT guilty for supplying "CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST"/"LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT"/"BEAST IN HEAT" and "CONTAMINATION".
Despite many similar Court failures in prosecution the Police continue to raid Video shops and make arrests.
"THE EVIL DEAD" is found NOT obscene for a third time!!
In fact very few prosecutions are successful and most Retailers are found not guilty and the films seized not obscene. Tens of thousands of pounds are awarded to many cleared dealers.
------------------------------
1985
JAN 14TH: A retailer
is found guilty for supplying "SS EXPERIMENT CAMP" and the BBFC approved
version of "THE BURNING" and fined £500 for each.
This is
despite this BBFC censored version of "THE BURNING" being removed from
the 'Nasties' list by the DPP (the original uncut release remains).
The DPP
refused to comment.
The unqualified, random, sweeps by regional Police continue.
In the regional Courts it is just as chaotic, with some Retailers being found
not guilty in one part of the Country, while others are found guilty in another
part.
Justice becomes a lottery……
FEB:
Despite being a BBFC approved, censored for cinema version, "VIDEODROME"
is threatened by the Police for possible prosecution. Leaving its distributor
CIC and retailers who thought it was okay, in confusion.
APRIL:
"THE SLAYER"/"THE LIVING DEAD AT THE
MANCHESTER MORGUE" AND "THE BEYOND" are removed completely
from the DPP list.
Delays in legally implementing the VRA (Video Recordings Act) are causing chaos in release schedules and confusion for Distributors. RCA's announced release of "BODY DOUBLE" is cancelled due to the BBFC refusing it a Video certificate.
MAY: The BBFC still has 12,000
Video titles to certify. As well as extra new releases everyday.
The legal
Schedule for getting all this classifying done is:
1ST PHASE: By Sept
1986 all English language films released before 1940 must be certified.
2nd
PHASE: By March 1987 all English language films released since 1980 must be
certified.
3rd PHASE: By Sept 1986 all English language films released
between Jan '75 and Dec '79 must be certified.
4th PHASE; By March
1988 all English language films released between Jan '70 and Dec '74 must be certified.
5th PHASE: By Sept 1987 all foreign language films must be certified.
The
Video Industry wants this 3 year period (where thousands of titles and millions
of tapes will have to be removed from shops) to be a good grace period with no
prosecutions.
But they are told that any Retailers could face £20,000
($34,000) fines if still supplying uncertified films during this long period.
Many will go out of business.
The VRA is even hitting children's cartoons.
As the £2 charge by the BBFC, for every minute of film watched to certify
a title, even for titles obviously going to get a 'U' anyway, will be too expensive
for many Distributors.
Due to this it even becomes an offence to stock
an uncertified Disney film.
"DELIRIUM"/"THE TOOLBOX MURDERS" and "PRISONER OF THE CANNIBAL GOD" are removed completely from the DPP list.
JUNE: The BBFC change the 'C'
in their name to mean 'Classification' not 'Censor'.
Yet they continue to
CENSOR film upon film with great gusto.
Their charges are also increased.
New films cost £4.60 ($8) a minute, and old films, including something
like "Mary Poppins" will cost the Distributors £2.30 ($4)
a minute if it wants it's obvious 'U' certificate.
JULY:
"DEAD & BURIED"/"TERROR EYES"
and "THE WITCH WHO CAME FROM THE SEA" are removed completely from the
DPP list.
It is now at 53.
Despite this, almost all of the removed titles
are deleted by their Distributors.
JULY 25TH: For the 4th time, "THE EVIL DEAD" is found to be NOT obscene.
AUG:
The Police rampage continues with many titles sporting BBFC approved cinema certificates
being seized along with the regular 'Nasties'.
After one Trial a Judge in
Hampshire even orders a copy of John Carpenters' "THE THING"…Destroyed!!
SEPT 1ST: The aforementioned 'VRA Schedule' comes into effect.
Continuing, crazy, regional Police policies on what titles to seize cause many Video shops to go bust as retailers are tied up in Court. The confusion over just what titles a Retailer is allowed to have on his shelves, and the random raids, means some shops lose customers and, again, end up closing down.
"BLOODBATH"/"CANNIBAL TERROR"/"DEEP RIVER SAVAGES"/"INFERNO"/"PRANKS" and…at last…"THE EVIL DEAD" are removed completely from the list.
NOV: "BLOODBATH" goes back on the list,
"EVILSPEAK" is removed.
"THE EVIL DEAD" is still being seized in raids.
DEC: "DEATH TRAP"/"DON'T
LOOK IN THE BASEMENT"/"NIGHTMARE MAKER" and "UNHINGED"
are removed from the DPP list completely.
The 'DPP list now stands at 39 titles. These 39 become the 'final version' of the 'Nasties' list.
This list stays the same for many years, eventually getting shorter as well as becoming pretty much forgotten.
The VRA (Video Recordings Act) goes on though.
SUMMING UP:
We still live in the VRA's s shadow. Films are still refused Video certificates (even cinema certificates in some cases) and still subject to the 'the children may see it' guidelines on censorship.
Under
recent new BBFC guidelines censorship of 'adult' aimed films has become much lighter.
This has resulted in 3 of the most infamous 'Nasties', "DRILLER
KILLER"/"SNUFF" and good old "THE
EVIL DEAD", being granted fully uncut Video releases. Many more 'troublesome'
titles have joined them.
In some cases (as with "HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY", "ZOMBIE FLESH EATERS" and "AXE") the BBFC have no choice but to cut films because of the fact that in some random, regional Courtroom they were found 'obscene', and remain so 10 years after their last conviction.
And yet the recent cutting of titles like "LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT", "BLOOD FEAST, "CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST", "CANNIBAL FEROX", "I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE", "HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK", "ISLAND OF DEATH" as well as new films like "ICHI THE KILLER" shows that the BBFC still refuse adults to see what they want. So we all still suffer under this 19 year old Act brought about by those dreaded….."NASTIES"!!!
(Thanks to John Martin and his excellent "The Seduction of the Gullible" book for invaluable info)