Saw VI is a 2009 Canada / USA / UK / Australia horror mystery by Kevin Greutert. Starring Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor and Mark Rolston.
The Theatrical version was cut for a US R rating. The uncut version was
released on UK DVD and is Unrated in the US. The film was banned in Spain, Malaysia, Thailand and Ukraine.
Spain: Banned
The film was originally X rated which is a restricted rating more typically given to porn films. Such
films are banned from mainstream cinemas. The film was later cut for DVD release.
The film was also banned in Malaysia, Thailand and Ukraine.
Malaysia: Banned
Thailand: Banned
Ukraine: Banned
Summary
Notes
Special Agent Strahm is dead, and Detective Hoffman has emerged as the unchallenged successor to Jigsaw's legacy. However, when the FBI draws closer to Hoffman, he is forced to set a game into motion, and
Jigsaw's grand scheme is finally understood.
Availability
UK: Director's Cut/Extreme Edition/Unrated Version was passed 18 uncut for strong bloody violence for:
A Serbian Film is a 2010 Serbia adult horror by Srdjan Spasojevic. With Srdjan Todorovic and Sergej Trifunovic.
The BBFC cut 4:12s from the UK release. Uncut in the US but there is also a US version with a minute missing. An MPAA Unrated Director's Cut was released in the US in 2021. Banned in Australia, New Zealand, Germany and Norway. The
film was also banned from a festival screening in Spain,
And for comparison, Denmark and Sweden classified the movie as a 15; in France the uncut version was awarded an 18 certificate. The film was temporarily banned in Brazil but was later passed 18
uncut.
December 2010 - April 2010: Rejected by the Classification Board, cut, rejected, cut some more and then passed R18 after similar cuts to the UK release
September 2010 - The R18 certificate was challenged by the government and the film was
banned by the Review Board
Current Status: Banned in Australia B
Germany: Banned but later unbanned after 13 minutes of cuts
Upon initial release, the film censors of FSK ordered that the film be refused classification due to concerns that the content may violate German federal law.
On 30 June
2011, a version was allowed with 13 minutes cut, and was rated 18, "No release to youths".
There is a high likelihood that viewers would be greatly shocked and disturbed by the extreme sexual violence and violence in association
with sexual conduct, along with sexual conduct with children and young persons, regardless of age. The publication's sexual violence and violence in association with sexual conduct is concerning in a different way. Research has repeatedly shown that such
depictions are likely to reinforce negative attitudes towards women in a number of ways. They have been shown to desensitise viewers to real-life violence, to reduce empathy with victims of sexual violence amongst both men and women, to increase rape
myth acceptance, and to increase women's fear of sexual assault. In the current publication this material is so extensive and extreme that these injuries to the public good are likely to occur regardless of the age of the viewer.
Norwegian Media Authority (Mediatilsynet) banned A Serbian Film because it contains violence with the sexualisation of children. Ove Wathne of Mediatilsynet told daily Dagens Naeringsliv that it is usually an ingredient that provides a basis for an assessment of the Authority.
In Norway films are self rated by the distributors. The Norwegian media censors step in on demand, presumably in response to complaints or controversy.
Singapore: Banned
Banned in August 2012 due to its content being
likely to cause controversy in Singapore.
South Korea: Banned
The film was given a Restricted rating twice by the KMRB. The first edit was submitted on 9 August 2011 with a duration of 94 minutes but was rejected for
having extreme violence. The second edit was trimmed to 88 minutes and labelled as the director's edition, was submitted on 6 October 2011, but was also given the same restricted rating, this time for extreme themes.
A restricted rating limits means
that it can only be shown in adults-only (19+) theatres, of which there are none in Korea (although there were some when the law was written).
Sex and the City 2 is a 2010 USA comedy romance by Michael Patrick King. Starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall and Kristin Davis. UAE: Banned
Abu Dhabi were unimpressed by
being depicted in the movie. The government banned the producers from filming in the country, and also banned the film from cinemas.
Censors were unhappy at scenes referencing homosexuality and highly displeased by a sequence in which one of the main
characters is shown kissing in public. The most galling scene, however, appears to have been one in which the four ladies are rescued by Muslim women -- who take off their burqas to reveal stylish western clothes underneath.
Singapore:
The film was cut for a local rating
Vietnam : Banned
Banned as a conflict of cultural values.
Summary Notes
Two years have passed since Carrie Bradshaw finally bagged John
"Mr. Big" Preston, the man she was always meant to be with. Just as her friend Charlotte must deal with her young daughter's "terrible two's", Carrie must deal with her relationship taking a turn for the worse - Big likes to watch old
black-and-white movies on TV and eat take-out food, which prevents Carrie from feeling like the free-wheeling party girl she used to be. Meanwhile, Miranda copes with a new boss that can't handle an intelligent, powerful woman, and Samantha works a
public relations angle that gets the fashionable foursome an all-expense-paid trip to Abu Dhabi.
Sex Tape is a 2014 USA comedy by Jake Kasdan. Starring
Jason Segel, Cameron Diaz and Rob Corddry.
India: Banned by the CBFC in July 2014
A source from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) says, Owing to excess vulgarity in the film, we have decided to not certify the film
India: Unbanned by the CBFC after 10 minutes of cuts in August 2014
The revising committee of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) later cleared Sex Tape, giving it an A certificate. The committee asked the
film's distributors to cut around 10 minutes' footage from the film.
Explaining the edits, senior member of the Revising Committee, Nandini Sardesai said:
The two sex scenes-one before the titles roll and the other
before the end credits-were uncalled for. Moreover, they were over the top. Frankly even I was embarrassed when I was watching it. Despite the cuts, the film is still very explicit.
Malaysia: Banned in 2014
Wikipedia lists Sex Tape as banned by Malaysia's film censors. It was banned due to strong sexual content
Summary Notes
A married couple wake up to discover that the sex tape they made
the evening before has gone missing, leading to a frantic search for its whereabouts.
UK: rated 15 uncut for strong sex references, sex, very strong language, drug use
US: Rated R for strong sexual content,
nudity, language and some drug use.
Availability
UK: Passed 15 uncut for strong sex references, sex, very strong language, drug use for:
2014 Sony Pictures Home Entertainment RB Blu-ray at UK Amazon
2014 Sony Pictures Home Entertainment R2 DVD at UK Amazon
Sex.Violence.FamilyValues is a 2012 Singapore short comedy drama family by Ken Kwek.
With Adrian Pang, Vadi Pvss and Pamela Oei.
Malaysia
Banned with the comment:
"Contains strong and obscene language as well as scenes that show obscene actions that is insulting to local cultures".
Singapore:
Banned in 2012
Passed R21 after cuts in 2013
The censors deemed one segment in which a Chinese porn director played by Adrian Pang rants against an Indian actor racially offensive. After the scenes in question were deleted the film was allowed to open.
Summary Review:
Un.PC
A kindergarten principal finds a series of morbid cartoons drawn by a child. A porn actor struggles to rise to the occasion while filming a romantic cumedy . A middle-aged nightclub bouncer faces off with a rebellious
teenage stripper.
A short film that throws political correctness out the window of Singapore mainstream cinema.
Shadows of
Fiendish Ancestress and Occasionally Parajanov on Durian Cialis is a 2017 Singapore / Japan / Philippines romance by Tze Chuan Chew. Starring Raissa Ai, Karla MC Bautista and Paolo Dumlao.
Singapore: Banned in 2017
The picture had been scheduled to have its world premiere at the Singapore International Film Festival, part of the Singapore Media Festival , this week. But it
was this week denied a public release certificate by Films Appeal Committee, on the grounds that it could hurt Muslim religious feelings.
UK: Banned by Thurrock Council in September 2018
Banned fromThe Thurrock
International Celebration of Film because an initial assessment claimed that the film would be rated R18 (denoting hardcore pornography) and therefore can only be shown in licensed sex premises.
Summary Notes
With reference to native historical texts and the mythological and religious depiction of the Holy Whore, Chew constructs a mythology of a hermaphrodite who comes to town to impart a wisdom that proves to be too carnal and untimely.
Years in the making and strung together with documentary-like footage of orgiastic happenings, punctuated with moments of refrain into randomness, the film soon escalates into a schizophrenic psychedelia of multicultural and polymorphous sexuality.
Shakespeare Must Die
is a 2012 Thailand horror drama by Ing Kanjanavanit. Starring Pirun Anusuriya, Sudhisak Bamrungtrakun and Minta Bhanaparin.
Thailand: Banned in 2012
A new Thai film
based on William Shakespeare's, Macbeth , has been banned by censors on the grounds that its content may cause disunity among the people.
The film is the first Thai rendition of Macbeth, a bloodstained tragedy in which a Scottish general, with
the help of his insidious wife, assassinates a king to pave his way to the throne.
One of the film's main characters is a dictator named Dear Leader, who resembles former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose ouster in a 2006 coup
sparked years of political turmoil between his supporters and critics.
Ing K., the film's director, said the censorship committee objected to anti-monarchy overtones in the film as well as politically charged content, including a scene based on an
iconic photo from Bangkok's 1976 student uprising showing a demonstrator being lynched.
A legal challenge to the ban was turned down by Thailand's Administrative Court in 2017.
Shame is a 2011 UK drama by Steve McQueen. With Michael Fassbender,
Carey Mulligan and James Badge Dale.
Singapore: Banned
Steve McQueen withdrew his film after the film censors of the Media Development Authority demanded cuts to a sex scene involving a threesome, and even after the cuts, the MDA imposed a 21
rating.
Controversial in the US:
The film hit the censorship headlines, not because it was cut or banned, but because it was released in the US with an adults only NC-17 rating. This is rare in the US as many cinemas and advertisers refuse adults
only films lest they lose their 'family friendly' status.
Shonibar Bikel is a 2019 Bangladesh / India / Germany thriller by Mostofa Sarwar Farooki. Starring Parambrata Chatterjee, Ellie Poussot and Selina Black.
Bangladesh: Banned by the film censor in January 2019
The film censor banned the film claiming that it would damage the country's reputation, adding that it could also incite religious fervour. The movie
has also been banned from being marketed abroad.
Members of the censor board watched the film twice. Even though they praised the film upon the first viewing, certain concerns were brought to light when they watched it for the second time. Censor
board member Nassiruddin Dilu said:
We think that the running time of the film, which is an hour and twenty minutes, is more suitable for film festivals than a theatrical release
He added that the film
will damage the country's reputation. Iftekhar Uddin Naushad, another member of the censor board, claimed that this decision was made because the film will be unfavourable to the global image of Bangladesh.
Director Mostofa Sarwar Farooki criticised
the decision to ban his film saying:
Filmmakers should feel free to take inspiration from any incident that happens around them. They don't tarnish an image. They only interpret events. It's real world actions that can
damage an image.
He said they would appeal against the decision in the hope of gaining a theatrical release.
Summary Notes
A thriller based on a terrorist attack in 2016 claimed
by Islamic State in which 22 people were murdered in at the Holey Artisan Cafe.
Shooter is a 2020 India action film by Starring Jayy Randhawa.
India: Banned in Punjab and Haryana in February 2020
Following in the steps of the Indian state of Punjab, the Haryana state government has imposed a ban on the screening of the Punjabi movie
Shooter- based on the life and crimes of notorious gangster Sukha Kahlwan. As per the order issued by Vijai Vardhan, additional chief secretary (home), the suspension of screening/exhibition of the movie in the state shall remain in force for two months.
Filmmaker Kewal Singh has filed a petition within the High Court stating that the Punjab authorities has banned its launch on February 10 with out seeing the movie. The movie has not but been issued a certificates by the censor board and neither has
the movie been seen. T
Earlier the Punjab authorities banned this movie claiming that the movie is selling violence, crime and gang tradition, which may promote crime in Punjab.
Summary Notes
A Punjabi movie based on the life and crimes of notorious gangster Sukha Kahlwan.
Availability
In the UK the film was passed 15 uncut for strong bloody violence, brief drug misuse.
v Shrek 2
- 2004 USA children's animation comedy by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury...
Shrek 2 is a 2004 USA children's animation comedy by Andrew Adamson, Kelly
Asbury... Starring Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz.
BBFC category cuts were required for a U rated release for cinema and home video. Uncut in the US with an MPAA PG rating.
Israel: Briefly banned in
2004
The film was banned briefly in 2004. The Hebrew dub featured a joke about Israeli singer David D'Or's high voice. in which one character threatens to castrate another by saying Let's do a David D'or on him. This remark prompted the
artist to take legal action, saying: This film intends to present me, in perpetuity, as a eunuch, a man with no testicles. It turns me into a laughing stock. The Tel Aviv District Court ordered Shrek 2 to be withdrawn until the remark could be edited
out.
Summary Notes
Shrek has rescued Princess Fiona, got married, and now is time to meet the parents. Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey set off to Far, Far Away to meet Fiona's mother and father. But not
everyone is happy. Shrek and the King find it hard to get along, and there's tension in the marriage. It's not just the family who are unhappy. Prince Charming returns from a failed attempt at rescuing Fiona, and works alongside his mother, the Fairy
Godmother, to try and find a way to get Shrek away from Fiona.
Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan is a 2020 India gay comedy by Hitesh Kewalya. Starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Jitendra Kumar and Gajraj Rao.
Banned in UAE in February 2020.
Summary Notes
Presenting the life of two gay men who are in love, Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan depicts their struggle to convince their families to accept the relationship. But things are never as easy as they seem and
one of the boy`s family decides to get him married to a girl. Will their `unconventional` love prevail?
UAE : The film was banned by
the UAE film censor in February 2020. No explanation has been given but the UAE is not a gay friendly place
Kenya: Banned in February 2020
The Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) CEO Ezekiel Mutua has also banned the
screening of Shubh Mangal Zyada Savdhan'. In a statement he maintained that the 'gay-themed is not in line with Kenyan constitution and the institution of family, hence the decision to ban its screening. He added:
The film
is worse than the ones we have banned in the past as it has scenes involving children in homosexual practices and openly attempts to legitimize same-sex marriage.
Homosexuality is illegal in Kenya. Further, Kenya is a God-fearing
nation which places a great premium on family, an institution derived from a union between two people of the opposite gender.
Kenya will not be the dumping ground for all manner of filth that seeks to destroy the institution of
family and our cultural identity.
The film was banned in Burma, not for the infamous scene of nudity, but for excessive use of the colours yellow and red,
which is prohibited in the country. The colours are symbolic of rebels groups.
Japan: Cut
From IMDb. Bart's full frontal shot had to be pixellated.
Singapore: Cut
From IMDb. The film
was edited for a PG rating for release in Singapore (uncut version is rated NC-16). Bart's full-frontal shot is censored.
Summary Notes
After Homer accidentally pollutes the town's water supply,
Springfield is encased in a gigantic dome by the EPA and the Simpson family are declared fugitives.
Availability
UK: Passed PG uncut for mild language, innuendo and comic violence for:
Slackistan, a British-made movie about young people
living in Islamabad, has been banned in Pakistan because of scenes showing swearing and drinking. The CBFC also called for religious references to be taken out.
The Guardian notes the contentious issues as: the words 'Taliban' and 'lesbian', swear
words in English and Urdu, scenes showing characters drinking (filmed with fake alcohol, incidentally) and a joke about beards (as in "my beard is longer than your beard") made between characters talking hypothetically about a fancy dress
party. These are not the CBFC's only objections, but the main ones it highlighted.
Its director, London-based Hammad Khan, has told the BBC he is refusing to make changes demanded by Pakistan's Central Board of Film Censors (CBFC).
Note
that an IMDb reviewer notes that he watched the film in a Lahore cinema so presumably the film was unbanned at some stage.
Summary Notes
Islamabad, Pakistan. A group of privileged and
westernised twenty-something friends while away their days and nights driving around town, partying, surfing the internet and smoking shisha pipes. As the country outside their world starts to crack, Hasan and his friends must face up to their
relationships, angst and life choices before it is too late.
v The Snowman - 2017 UK /
Sweden / USA crime horror mystery by Tomas Alfredson.
The Snowman is a 2017 UK / Sweden / USA crime horror mystery by
Tomas Alfredson. Starring Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson and Chloë Sevigny.
Malaysia: Banned in 2017
The film was
banned by the country's film censor for excessive violence.
Summary Notes
When an elite crime squad's lead detective investigates the disappearance of a victim on the first snow of winter, he fears
an elusive serial killer may be active again. With the help of a brilliant recruit, the cop must connect decades-old cold cases to the brutal new one if he hopes to outwit this unthinkable evil before the next snowfall.
Stories of Our Lives
is a 2014 Kenya by Jim Chuchu. Starring Louis Brooke, Allan Bryan Weku and Judy Gichohi.
Kenya: Banned in 2014
The Kenya Film
Classification banned the film with the comment:
The decision to decline approval to the said film was because the film has obscenity, explicit scenes of sexual activities and it promotes homosexuality which, is contrary
to our national norms and values.
Summary Notes
A collection of five vignettes about Kenya's LGBT community.
Stranger by the Lake is a 2013 France gay drama by Alain Guiraudie. With Pierre Deladonchamps, Christophe Paou and Patrick d'Assumçao. Lebanon : Banned for:
2013 film festival showing
It was banned by the film censor when submitted for the Beirut International Film Festival
Summary Notes
Summertime. A cruising spot for men, tucked away on the shores of a lake. Franck
falls in love with Michel. An attractive, potent and lethally dangerous man. Franck knows this, but wants to live out his passion anyway.
A very explicit French gay-themed film. Sometimes it felt a bit overly so - including
graphic unsimulated scenes of oral sex and even a shot of a man, erm, climaxing. But I kind of admire the movie at the same time for not shying away from showing anything.
The film stirred controversy in France, two Paris suburbs
removed posters for the film that displayed an illustration of two men kissing. Residents complained the image was inappropriate.
Director Alain Guiraudie won the Best Director prize in the Un Certain Regard category at Cannes.
Availability
UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong real sex for:
2013 cinema release
v Talk To Me
- 2022 Australia horror thriller by Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou
Talk To Me is a 2022 Australia horror thriller by Danny
Philippou, Michael Philippou Starring Sophie Wilde, Joe Bird and Alexandra Jensen
There are no censorship issues with this release in the western world but the film was banned in Kuwait
Summary Notes
When a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill, until one of them goes too far and unleashes terrifying supernatural forces.
Kuwait: Banned
in August 2023
The hit Australian horror film Talk To Me has been banned from screening by the Kuwait film censor. Reportedly solely over the casting of non-binary trans actor Zoe Terakes, who plays a character whose
gender identity is never mentioned in the film.
v Ten Years
- 2015 Hong Kong drama by Jevons Au, Chow Kwun-Wai...
Ten Years is a 2015 Hong Kong drama by Jevons Au, Chow Kwun-Wai... Starring Peter Chan, Lau Ho-Chi and Kin-Ping Leung. Hong Kong: Banned apparently by Beijing
The film, an anthology of five short stories, each by a different director, has
provoked widespread discussion and raised the ire of Beijing, with China's Communist Party newspaper Global Times denouncing the film as absurd.
It was a hit at the box office, earning more than 6 million Hong Kong dollars ($770,000), or more
than 10 times its budget. But it abruptly disappeared from cinemas in January after an eight-week run, leading many to wonder whether pressure from Beijing was responsible. Now the only way to see it is at private screenings at universities and community
centers, where it's often followed by a panel discussion with the filmmakers.
Summary Notes
Five thought-provoking shorts imagine what Hong Kong will be like ten years from now. In Extras, two genial
low-level gangsters are hired to stage an attack, but they're mere sacrificial lambs in a political conspiracy. Rebels strive to preserve destroyed homes and objects as specimens in the mesmerizing Season of the End. In Dialect, a taxi driver struggles
to adjust after Putonghua displaces Cantonese as Hong Kong's only official language. Following the death of a leading independence activist, an act of self-immolation outside the British consulate triggers questions and protests in the searing yet moving
Self-Immolator. In Local Egg, a grocery shop owner worries about his son's youth guard activities and where to buy eggs after Hong Kong's last chicken farm closes down.
Thank God is a 2022 India comedy by Indra Kumar Starring Rakul Preet Singh, Ajay Devgn and Sidharth Malhotra
Reportedly banned in Kuwait.
Kuwait: Banned in September 2022
The film caused a little controversy in India as religious campaigners felt that it mocked the hindu religion and so filed a legal case
claiming that the film hurt religious sentiments. It is reported that this religious mockery did not go down well with the Kuwait film censor who banned the film from a cinema release in Kuwait.
Summary Notes
An egoistic real estate broker in huge debts, meets with an accident. As he gains consciousness, he realizes that he is in heaven. God appears in front of him and informs him that he will have to play a GAME OF LIFE. If he
manages to win, he will be sent back to earth and if he loses, he will be sent to hell.
Thibaan x BNK48 is a 2020 Thailand music film by Surasak Pongsorn Starring Natruja Chutiwansopon,Warattaya Deesomlert,Jiradapa Intajak Thailand: Series 2 Episode 2 was banned in November 2018
A monk grieving at his ex-girlfriend's funeral is the alleged scene that caused a Thai film to be censored just days before its Thursday release.
A group of Thai directors revealed that what the film censors called a sensitive scene in Thi Baan The
Series 2.2 depicted a monk character bursting into tears in front of his ex-girlfriend's coffin.
Thailand's film censor board has demanded that the pivotal scene be cut and the film resubmitted to the board before it can be screened at cinemas.
In
the meantime the release of Thi Baan The Series 2.2 has been indefinitely postponed.
Thor: Love and
Thunder is a 2022 Australia/US film by Taika Waititi Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman and Christian Bale
Banned in Malaysia.
Summary Notes
Thor enlists the help of Valkyrie, Korg and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster to fight Gorr the God Butcher, who intends to make the gods extinct.
Malaysia: Banned by the film censor in August 2022
Disney likes to add a little preachy moralising about gay positivity and this film is not an exception with a couple of minor script references. Korg (Taika Waititi) mentioned his two dads and briefly ending up with another male Krogan.
The other reference was the female character, Valkyrie, taking an interest in a concubine of Zeus.
Malaysia's Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister Zahidi Zainul Abidin spotted the gay references and said that he would continue to look out
for LGBT content that would continue to censored in future.
The film censor did propose that cuts could be made to secure a release but Disney declined and the film was formally banned.
Those Long-Haired Nights is a 2017 Philippines drama by Gerardo Calagui. Starring Rocky Salumbides, Anthony Falcon and Matt Daclan. Malaysia: Banned in January 2018
Summary Notes
A journey to the end of the night, through a gloomy and chaotic district of the Philippino capital, where the only things glowing in the dark are some red lights and the dreams of three ladyboys. The three of them
are the best of friends and are working as masseuses offering sexual services for their clientele. The youngest keeps falling in love with the wrong people; the wise one returns home to her province to attend the christening of her ex-girlfriend's son;
the bravest looks to make more money through drug deals for a Korean client. Where will their survival instinct lead them on the streets of Manila?
To Singapore,
with Love is a 2013 Singapore documentary by Pin Pin Tan. Starring Swee Chai Ang
Singapore: Banned in September 2014
Announcing its
decision to ban the 70-minute film To Singapore, With Love , Singapore's films censors of the Media Development Authority (MDA) claim that its contents:
Undermine national security because legitimate actions of
security agencies to protect national security and stability of Singapore are presented in a distorted way as acts that victimised innocent individuals.
The individuals in the film have given distorted and untruthful accounts of
how they came to leave Singapore and remain outside Singapore
Summary Notes
In the 1960s and 1970s, Singaporeans, who were activists, student leaders or Communists were exiled
from their country. Fifty years later, despite resettling in countries such as the United Kingdom, Malaysia and Thailand, it is clear that the diaspora still holds Singapore and the idea of returning home in their hearts and minds. TO SINGAPORE, WITH
LOVE follows the exiled protagonists in the film, as they undertake a trip to Singapore's closest neighbor, Malaysia, where they attend reunions, memorials and stay in a hotel that overlooks their homeland.
v Toofan Singh
- 2017 India action film by Baghal Singh and Gurcharan Virk.
Toofan Singh is a 2017 India action film by Baghal Singh and
Gurcharan Virk. Starring Ranjit Bawa, Avtar Gill and Raza Murad.
India: Banned in August 2017
Notable as
this was the first film banned by the recently installed new chief film censor, Prasoon Joshi.
A source from the CBFC reportedly said:
The film is brutal and anarchic. We couldn't empathise with its message of brute
power, let alone grant it a censor certificate
Summary Notes
The journey of a Punjabi Sikh boy who grew up during the chaotic, violent 1980s revolving around his chase for survival,
equality and justice in order to protect and shield society and fight against brutality, crime and corruption.
In May 2013 it was announced that the film had been cleared for release in mainland China, a surprise to observers within and outside the country who feared such subject matter was taboo. By December 2013 the film still had not
been cleared by censors, and a leaked directive from the Central Propaganda Department instructed media not to conduct interviews, report or comment on the film.
Promotional Material
A
brilliant exploration of violence and corruption in contemporary China; (Jon Frosch, The Atlantic), A TOUCH OF SIN was inspired by four shocking (and true) events that forced the world's fastest growing economy into a period of self-examination.
Written and directed by master filmmaker Jia Zhangke (The World, Still Life);one of the best and most important directors in the world; (Richard Brody, The New Yorker), this daring, poetic and grand-scale film focuses on four characters, each living in different provinces, who are driven to violent ends.
An angry miner, enraged by widespread corruption in his village, decides to take justice into his own hands. A rootless migrant discovers the infinite possibilities of owning a firearm. A young receptionist, who dates a married man and works at a
local sauna, is pushed beyond her limits by an abusive client. And a young factory worker goes from one discouraging job to the next, only to face increasingly degrading circumstances.
Twilight Over Burma is
a 2015 Austria TV drama by Sabine Derflinger. Starring Zoe Addams, Sahajak Boonthanakit and Daweerit Chullasapya.
Burma: Banned from June 2016 film festival
An Austrian TV movie,
Twilight Over Burma, has been banned from a Burmese human rights film festival by the local film censor.
Burma's Film Classification Board's deputy director general Daw Thida Tin told the BBC that the film had been banned for the sake of national unity and also the stability of the country and of our people
.
the film festival organisers say they were also told that the censors saw the film as damaging to the image of the army.
Thailand: Banned from July 2016 film festival
The film was banned by the Thai film censor
from a film festival of films made in Thailand. The reason was attributed to solidarity amongst dictatorships, or in more PC terms it was related to bilateral ties between Thailand and Burma.
Summary Notes
The U.S. scholarships Austrian student Inge and young mining student from Burma Sao Kya Seng fall in love. But it's only at the lavish wedding ceremony that Inge discovers her husband is the ruling prince of the Shan state of Burma.
After a coup staged by the Burmese military, Sao is imprisoned. Inge does everything she can to free him. Base on the true story of Inge Sargent.
v Unfreedom
- 2015 USA / India crime romance by Raj Amit Kumar.
Almost three years after Unfreedom
was banned in India by the Pahlaj Nihalani-led Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), on the grounds that it would ignite unnatural passions, the film has been acquired by Netflix and can be watched by the streaming service's subscribers.
Talking
about the film's release by Netflix, director Raj Amit Kumar said in a press statement:
I am glad that Unfreedom finds such a popular platform like Netflix after the ban in India and the efforts of censorship guardians in
India to stop the film. It also exposes the hypocrisy and divide between reality and fantasy of censorship system in India. There is no way they can control and censor content in digital age, yet, they try their best to choke filmmakers like me who have
something relevant to say that makes them feel threatened.
It is illegal that they banned my film. I plan to fight a legal battle, even after the Netflix release. I will fight against the ban. Neither the Central Board of Film
Certification (CBFC) nor FCAT have the right to ban a film. My fight will be in terms of how the censorship works.
The film was banned by the CBFC on the grounds that it would ignite unnatural passions,
The film is the story of a young girl who resists a forced
arranged marriage to unite with her lesbian partner. The nudity and lovemaking scenes of the female protagonists, 'outraged' the Indian Board of film censors.
Add to it a parallel story line which revolves around a liberal Muslim kidnapped by a
terrorist and the CBFC was up in arms.
Speaking from the US, the director told Mirror, The two stories are juxtaposed and the film challenges the idea of religious fundamentalism and questions its connection with homosexuality which is a biting
reality of India.
He added that the film was refused by both the Examining Committee and the Revising Committee. They plainly told me that after watching the film, Hindu and Muslims will start fighting and will ignite unnatural passions. I was
aghast as my film is not provocative.
The filmmaker then appealed to the Film Certification Apellate Tribunal (FCAT) but this time too, he was denied a certificate. I'm making an appeal in the High Court now as the Censor Board cannot tell a
filmmaker what to make and what not to, said the filmmaker
Summary Notes
In New York arrives a violent and angry man imprisoned by his brutal past, Mohammed Husain. His mission - to kidnap and
kill a peaceful Muslim scholar, Fareed Rahmani. On the other side of the world, Leela Singh, a homosexual girl in New Delhi, kidnaps her bisexual lover, Sakhi Taylor. Her mission - to marry her lover and live happily ever after. In a brutal struggle of
identities against unfreedom, four characters, in two of the world's largest cities, come face to face with most gruesome acts of torture and violence. The choices they make when they are most cornered in life, expose the blemished reality of
contemporary world.
Van Wilder:
Freshman Year is a 2009 USA comedy romance by Harvey Glazer (as Harv Glazer). Starring Jonathan Bennett, Kristin Cavallari and Kurt Fuller.
2009 Paramount Home Entertainment R2 DVD at UK Amazon
2009 Paramount Home Entertainment Amazon Prime VoD [UK only] at UK Amazon
Promotional Material
In this prequel to the original, Van Wilder embarks on an epic crusade to land the campus hottie and liberate his school from sexual oppression and party dysfunction.
Veere Di Wedding is a 2018 India comedy by Shashanka Ghosh.
Starring Kareena Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor and Swara Bhaskar.
Pakistan: Banned in June 2018
A Bollywood chick flick titled Veere Di Wedding has been banned from airing in Pakistan, according
to sources at the Central Board of Film Censors (CBFC).
Images reports that CBFC Chairman Danyal Gilani said: Members of the board have unanimously decided to not allow the film for public exhibition in the cinemas as per Censorship of Film Code 1980.
According to the Economic Times , the film has been banned due to its vulgar language. An official of the Censor Board added that the film also contained objectionable sexual dialogue.
Summary Notes
Four girls on their way to find true love. However friendship this strong does have its consequences.
Availability
UK: The cinema release was passed 15 uncut for strong language, sex
references, sex.
Vishwaroopam is a 2013 India crime action thriller by Kamal
Hassan. With Kamal Hassan, Pooja Kumar and Andrea Jeremiah.
Malaysia:
Banned.
Later unbanned after the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) and the National Censorship Board reviewed the movie. 16 dialogue cuts were required for approval.
India:
Temporary court ban in the state of Tamil Nadu.
The film was unbanned after cuts were made to appease muslim protests
Sri Lanka:
Temporary court ban pending censor review
In the UK the film has been passed 12A for cinema release after 11s of category cuts. The BBFC commented:
Company chose to remove two moments of bloody violence in order to obtain a 12A rating. An uncut 15 rating was
available.
VISHWAROOPAM is a thriller in the Hindi and Tamil languages about a woman unsuspectingly married to one of India's top secret agents. It is rated 12A for moderate violence.
There are a
number of fast-paced fights and shoot-outs. Although there are some heavy blows and bullet impacts, little is shown in terms of injury detail, with the focus instead placed on the spectacular and generally unrealistic fight choreography. For example, in
one scene the hero uses a Japanese sword to defeat his attackers, cutting off one of their hands. There is no detail of this but the hand is briefly seen flying through the air.
VISHWAROOPAM also contains infrequent mild bad
language and mild sex references. There is also some sight of hard drugs, but this occurs within a clear anti drug context.
Presumably the baddies are muslim terrorists and hence the complaints about negative depictions from the
muslim community.
v WASP
- 2015 UK / France / Switzerland / Lebanon drama by Philippe Audi-Dor.
WASP is a 2015 UK / France / Switzerland / Lebanon drama by Philippe Audi-Dor. Starring Hugo Bolton, Elly Condron and Simon Haycock.
Lebanon: Banned from film festival in October 2015
Director Philippe Audi-Dor commented:
I am very disappointed that Wasp won't be screening at the renowned Beirut
International Film Festival because of its LGBT content. That said, I do understand that the film touches upon a delicate subject, and do respect the censorship bureau's decision.
BBFC Insight about the sex content
A couple are seen having rear entry sex, with close up shots of flesh and facial expressions. There are also strong sex references, with dialogue relating to role-play sex and several frank conversations about
sexuality and infidelity.
There is brief natural breast nudity as a woman changes her clothes in the company of another character.
Promotional Material
Having left
England for a romantic escapade in the south of France, Olivier and James invite Caroline along at the very last minute. She was just left by her long-time boyfriend and is in need of a change of scenery. The trio arrives in a little Provencal
village, somewhat cut off from the world. Though everything seems calm between the pool, sunshine and a village visit, Olivier finds himself more and more intrigued by Caroline. A tension of sexual jealousy and possessiveness will escalade between the
three.
Availability
UK: Passed 15 uncut for strong language, sex, sex references for:
Weekend is a 2011 UK gay romance by Andrew Haigh. Starring Tom
Cullen, Chris New and Jonathan Race.
Italy: Banned across much of Italy in cinemas owned by the church. March 2016.
The Catholic Church in Italy has effectively banned Weekend
, a movie by British filmmaker Andrew Haigh, by declaring it unfit to be shown in any of the theaters owned by the church.
In an unusual move that prompted accusations of homophobic censorship, the Italian Conference of Bishops' Film Evaluation
Commission classified the film as not advised, unusable and scabrous (indecent or salacious). The Commission listed the film's principal themes as drugs and homosexuality.
The result, according to its distributor Teodora Film, was that the film
was shunned by the more than 1,100 cinemas which are owned by the Church and make up the bulk of Italy's network of independent/arthouse theatres.
The large number of Italian cinemas owned by the Church are a legacy of the days when every parish had
its own cinema and local priests controlled projections, regularly cutting sections of films they deemed unsuitable for parishioners. Most of these cinemas are now rented out to operators who do not have to be religious but do have to sign a contract
which includes a clause agreeing to go along with the guidance issued by the bishops.
Summary Notes
On a Friday night after a drunken house party with his straight mates, Russell heads out to a gay
club, alone and on the pull. Just before closing time he picks up Glen but what's expected to be just a one-night stand becomes something else, something special. That weekend, in bars and in bedrooms, getting drunk and taking drugs, telling stories and
having sex, the two men get to know each other. It is a brief encounter that will resonate throughout their lives. Weekend is both an honest and unapologetic love story between two guys and a film about the universal struggle for an authentic life in all
its forms. It is about the search for identity and the importance of making a passionate commitment to your life.
Availability
UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong sex, sex references and hard drug use for:
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey is a 2023 UK horror by Rhys Frake-Waterfield Starring Nikolai Leon, Maria Taylor and Natasha Rose Mills
There are no censorship issues with this release in the West but it was banned in Hong Kong presumably as President Xi Jinping is very sensitive to memes likening his gait and girth to that of Winnie the Pooh.
China: Banned in Hong Kong in March 2023
The screening of Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, a British slasher film due to be released in Hong Kong this week, has been cancelled supposedly for technical reasons.
Chinese censors have in the frequently targeted the Winnie the
Pooh character due to memes that compare the gait and girth of the bumbling bear to President Xi Jinping. The comparisons began in 2013 when Xi visited the US and met his then counterpart, Barack Obama, and some online commentators seized on their
likeness to Pooh and Tigger.
Summary Notes
After Christopher Robin abandons them for college, Pooh and Piglet embark on a bloody rampage as they search for a new source of food.
UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong violence, gory images, threat:
2023 Altitude Film Distribution (RB) Blu-ray at UK Amazon #ad released
on 17th April 2023
2023 Altitude Film Distribution R2 DVD at UK Amazon released on 17th April 2023
The Wolf of Wall
Street is a 2013 USA crime comedy biography by Martin Scorsese. With Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill and Margot Robbie.
Cambodia: Banned
Banned by the Cambodian government citing the film's liberal use of expletives
India : Cut by 6 Minutes
India's films censors have cut 6 minutes from Martin Scorsese's
The Wolf of Wall Street. A source from one of the multiplex chains showing the movie said Indian audiences will be denied visuals of frontal female nudity, intercourse and masturbation as well as the dialogue, All nuns are lesbian . These cuts,
amounting to a little over 6 minutes, bring down the movie's running time from 180 minutes to 174 minutes.
Three scenes were cut: a gay orgy, co-star Jonah Hill's public masturbation sequence and the opening scene of the film that features DiCaprio
blowing cocaine into a woman's derriere using a straw.
Also, the expression "all nuns are lesbians" was blacked out because of a guideline stating that all religions should be respected.
The Indian release will also include an
anti-smoking disclaimer, which is now mandatory for any film that features cigarettes.
Kenya : Banned
The Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) has banned the sale, exhibition and distribution of a Hollywood film The
Wolf of Wall Street for extreme scenes of nudity.
When contacted, the board's communications office said the film has been restricted due to elements that include nudity, sex, alcohol, drugs and profanity.
Lebanon : One cut
Lebanon was set to take the cut Indian Version. However, the Lebanese distributor relented because of pressure from moviegoers and is only cutting the gay orgy scene.
Malaysia: Self censored:
Cinemas give up
without even submitting it to the censor. Exhibitors saw the film, they realised there was no way they could get away with screening it in the country, due to the drugs, nudity, profanity.
Nepal: Banned
The Nepal Censor Board has decided to ban the film completely, forcing local distributors to apologize to their customers who had been waiting to see the movie. The censor chairman Umakanta Parajuli said that the film was banned:
Due to Vulgarity. Nepal is orthodox regarding vulgarity.
Singapore: Cut by 4 minutes and still R21 rated.
Singapore authorities had
said they were cutting several scenes, including one featuring DiCaprio having sex with a flight attendant.
Fans are calling for a total boycott of the version of the film cut by 4 minutes by the local censors. Movie goers want to be able to watch the
original uncensored version.
The R21 rating restrictions the film to down town cinemas and bans showing it at suburban complexes
UAE: Cut by 45 minutes
Newspapers have reported that movie goers have been walking out
of UAE showings after 45 minutes of cuts rendered the movie incomprehensible. UAE film censors say a massively pre-cut version prepared for the whole region may have been slightly less cut if edited for UAE alone.
US: Cut to avoid
an NC-17 rating
According to what could just be press hype, it is reported that Scorsese had to trim sex and nudity to prevent the film being slapped with an NC-17.
The film ended up rated R for sequences of strong sexual content,
graphic nudity, drug use and language throughout, and for some violence.
It has been reported that the Theatrical version will become the definitive and that the cuts are unlikely ever to be restored to an Unrated Version or Director's Cut.
Zimbabwe: Banned
IMDb reports that the film has been banned in Zimbabwe.
Summary Notes
Based on the true story of Jordan
Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stockbroker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government. DiCaprio plays Belfort, a Long Island penny stockbroker who served 36 months in prison for defrauding investors in a
massive 1990s securities scam that involved widespread corruption on Wall Street and in the corporate banking world, including shoe designer Steve Madden.
Availability
UK: Passed 18 uncut for very strong
language, strong sex, hard drug use for:
2014 Universal Pictures UK Steelbook R0 Blu-ray at UK Amazon
Wonder Woman is a 2017 USA action Sci-Fi fantasy by Patty
Jenkins. Starring Gal Gadot, Chris Pine and Robin Wright.
Banned in Lebanon and Malaysia because of the Israeli lead actress.
Lebanon: Banned in May 2017
Lebanon, which is officially still at
war with Israel, has banned Wonder Woman from showing in the country's cinemas because the film's lead actress, Gal Gadot, is Israeli.
Lebanon's Ministry of Economy issued the ban just before the film was scheduled to premiere in Lebanon. The film had
been promoted around Lebanon and had been awarded a film certificate from the country's film censor. But a protest movement called Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel-Lebanon pressured the government into banning the film, describing it as
the Israeli Soldier film.
Malaysia: Banned in 2017
Banned by Warner Malaysia prior to its premiere and the official release on the account of the film's leading star Gal Gadot's service in the Israeli Army. Passed uncut
for home video.
Qatar: Banned
IMDb notes the film was banned in Qatar citing similar concern to that of Lebanon.
Tunisia: Temporarily banned
IMDb notes the film was temporarily banned
in Tunisia citing similar concern to that of Lebanon/
Summary Notes
Before she was Wonder Woman, she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered
island paradise, when an American pilot crashes on their shores and tells of a massive conflict raging in the outside world, Diana leaves her home, convinced she can stop the threat. Fighting alongside man in a war to end all wars, Diana will discover
her full powers and her true destiny.
Yes and Yes is a 2014 Russia drama by Valeriya Gay Germanika. Starring Vladimir Dubosarsky, Aleksandr Gorchilin and Agniya Kuznetsova. Russia : Banned in July 2014
Russia's new
anti-obscenity law, that came into force on 1st July, has forced Vologda's VOICES Film Festival to pull its screening of Valeria Gai Germanika's Yes and Yes (Da i Da) .
However, the extensive use of strong language means that the film's
producers have not been able to obtain a distribution certificate to release the film in Russian cinemas. Under the new legislation, films containing foul language will be banned from general release.
Summary
Actress Agniya Kuznetsova plays an inquisitive girl from the outskirts of Moscow, embarking on a coming-of-age adventure in the city's bohemian art community.
Zack and Miri Make a Porno is a 2008 USA comedy romance by Kevin Smith. Starring Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks and Craig Robinson. Malaysia: Banned Thailand: Banned Trinidad and Tobago:
Banned
US: Cut
The film was submitted to the MPAA and received an NC-17 rating. The producers made cuts hoping for an R rating but again received an NC-17 rating. The film makers won an appeal and this second submission was
downrated to R.
The movie's original poster was deemed too explicit by the MPAA, and was banned in the U.S., because it suggested the characters on the posters are engaging in oral sex. It featured two separate images of Seth Rogen and Elizabeth
Banks, who are fully clothed, and the back of the actors' heads close to each other's crotch.
A few cinemas in Utah also took it on themselves to refuse to play the movie
Summary Notes
Zack and Miri are two lifelong platonic friends who make an adult film to pay the rent of their apartment. With their friend Delaney, the couple set out for auditionees for their porn film, but in the process of filming, they realize
they feel more for each other than they had before.
Availability
UK: Passed 18 uncut for very strong language and sex references and strong sex:
Zindagi Tamasha is a 2019 Pakistan drama by Sarmad Sultan Khoosat. Starring Arif Hassan, Ali Kureshi and Samiya Mumtaz.
Banned in Pakistan for supposed blasphemy.
Pakistan:
Banned in January 2020
The film was banned in January 2020 over fears of blasphemy but the ban was overruled in July 2020 by Pakistan's Senate Committee for Human Rights. The film was banned after workers of the hardline Islamist
political party Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) vowed to hold a countrywide protest against its screening.
The film gained further prominence in early 2021 after it was nominated for the Best International Feature Oscar.
Summary Notes
A devout Muslim who writes composes, and even records hymns praising the Prophet, Muhammad Rahat Khawaja is a respected elderly man who works in real estate and takes care of his bedridden wife. One day, he attends
the wedding of a friend's son, where he inadvertently shows off a dance in front of his friends and family. His dance gets recorded and then uploaded to all social media platforms, which then also gets broadcasted on television. And the chaos begins to
ensue in his quiet life.
Zoolander is a 2001 Germany / USA comedy by Ben Stiller. Starring Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson and Christine Taylor.
Originally R rated by the MPAA but the film was cut, and after an appeal
achieved a PG-13 rating. This version has been distributed worldwide since. There is an alternative version of the titles though. 12/12A rated by the BBFC for all UK releases. The film was banned in Malaysia, Iran, and also banned for a while in
Singapore.
Iran: Banned
The film censor banned the film claiming the colourful setting was a little but too camp and so banned the film for being gay.
Malaysia: Banned in 2001
The film
was banned by the film censors who took offense at a joke about killing the country's prime minister
A version was prepared for Asian release that replaced references to Malaysia were replaced with Micronesa. However this was not enough to placate the
Malaysian film censors who banned the film.
Singapore: Unbanned in 2006
Unbanned in 2006 but still given a high age restriction, NC-16
Singapore : Banned in 2001
The film was banned in
2001 in sympathy with its neighbour Malaysia being the butt of jokes. Singapore censors also cited the films emphasis on drugs when justifying the ban.
US: Cut for a PG-13 rating
Originally R rated by the MPAA, but the
film was subsequently cut, and after an appeal achieved a PG-13 rating. This version has been distributed worldwide since.
Summary Notes
Derek Zoolander is VH1's three time male model of the year,
but when Hansel wins the award instead, Zoolander's world becomes upside down. His friends disappear, his father is disappointed in him, and he feels that he's not good as a model anymore. But when evil fashion guru Mugatu hires Zoolander, he thinks his
life has turned back round again, that is until he finds out that Mugatu has actually brainwashed him to kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Can Zoolander and his new friends find out how to prevent the incident before it's too late?
Availability
UK: The cut US PG-13 version was passed 12A/12 for moderate bad language, drug and sex references without further BBFC cuts for:
