9 Songs is a 2004 UK drama by Michael Winterbottom. With Kieran O'Brien, Margo Stilley and Huw Bunford.
More real sex than most 18's on this list. Uncut in the UK and US.
Summary Review: Tenderness
In London, England, love blooms between an American college student, named Lisa, and a British glaciologist, named Matt, where over the next few months in between attending
rock concerts, the two lovers have intense sexual encounters.
First and foremost, yes, there is a lot of explicit sex and it is as explicit, but fortunately not nearly as unrelenting, as many pornographic films. The pair fondle
each other's genitals, masturbate, there is a footjob in the tub, there is vibrator action, penetrative vaginal sex as well as fellatio and cunnilingus. Matt wears a condom in the vagina penetration scene but he has the distinction of being the first man
in a mainstream British film to be shown ejaculating.
But hey, I expected the explicit sex. What I did not expect was the tenderness with which those scenes were directed and played out. They had a sincerity and depth of feeling that
is rarely if ever seen in pornos, and whilst I know the actors are only doing their job and were not a couple in real life at the time, both seem completely at ease with the raw intimacy involved and even display significant on-screen chemistry. Neither
O'Brien nor Stilley are typically attractive in the Hollywood, plastic, overly-made-up artificial sense of the word; rather they are real and human, and beautifully imperfect. And so the sex (despite it being so truly believable that at times I almost
thought I was watching myself!) is undeniably hot.
R18 Extras
When the distributors were putting together the first DVD release they planned to include unused footage for the DVD extras. They submitted an 18
minute segment of deleted scenes which contained 12 minutes of hardcore sex that did not make the final cut.
The extras were submitted to the BBFC and ended up with an R18 certificate. The additional material was no more explicit than that included in
the main feature, but the BBFC decided that when it was presented without the context of being part of a movie, then that material was deemed to be sexual material intended to arouse, and is therefore R18 rated, and only suitable for sale in sex shops.
Inevitably these R18 rated extras did not make it on to the final 18 rated DVD release.
Versions
uncut
run:
69:33s
pal:
66:46s
UK: Passed 18 uncut for frequent strong
real sex for:
1900 is a 1976 Italy/France/West Germany drama by Bernardo Bertolucci. With Robert De Niro, Gérard Depardieu and Dominique Sanda.
Exists in 3 versions, a shortened International Theatrical Version, the
full length Italian Version and the Italian Version without a real sex masturbation scene.
Summary Notes
Set in Italy, the film follows the lives and interactions of two boys/men, one born a bastard of
peasant stock (Depardieu), the other born to a land owner (de Niro). The drama spans from 1900 to about 1945, and focuses mainly on the rise of Fascism and the peasants' eventual reaction by supporting Communism, and how these events shape the destinies
of the two main characters.
Versions
uncut
Unrated
301:48s
UK: The Uncut Italian Version was passed 18 uncut for one scene of strong real sex
:
2016 Eureka Entertainment Ltd RB Blu-ray at UK Amazon
This version is uncut and includes the scenes with the
main characters as young boys examining each other's genitals (this scene is much less graphic than many believe), and the prostitute masturbating Robert De Niro and Gerard Depardieu.
Not a Love Story is a 1981 Canada documentary by Bonnie Sherr Klein. With Linda Lee Tracey, Bonnie Sherr Klein and Suze Randall.
Cut by the BBFC for cinema release. Not released on UK video
Summary Notes
Feminist anti-porn documentary that features many real sex examples of what the makers would like to see banned
Versions
uncut
69:28s
International:
Uncut
cut
68:13s
UK: Passed X after BBFC cuts for:
1982 cinema release
Thanks to Gary. Feminist anti-porn documentary that features many examples of what the makers would like to see banned. It was cut by the BBFC for a brief scene involving a child spectator, but several examples of hardcore scenes were left uncut
The BBFC cut was:
Reel 3 - Remove brief scene without sound in which a man holds his erect penis in front of a child.
Nymphomaniac: Volume 1 is a 2013 Denmark/Germany/France/Belgium/UK drama by Lars von Trier. With Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgård and Stacy Martin.
Uncut by UK and US film censors. Exists as a Theatrical Version and a
Director's Cut
The Hollywood Reporter says that the prestigious Berlin Film Festival will play host to the world premiere of to the director's cut
version of Nymphomaniac: Volume 1.
The initially reported plan was Nymphomaniac would be cut in two versions. One would be a (digitally faked) hardcore version The other would be a tamer version. However, Joe's odyssey of
sexual adventure ballooned into a running time of over four hours, and from there talk switched from two versions of one film to two volumes divided by chapters.
Von Trier's cut clocked in at over five and a half hours long. From
there, producers were looking to trim Nymphomaniac to four hours, and then split that running time in half for Volumes 1 & 2 . This trimmed producer's cut is what is expected to debut in Denmark on Christmas Day.
The Wall
Street Journal reports that In general, apart from scenes with oral sex, the onscreen activity is not as graphic as in adult fare (In addition, unlike in real porn, body doubles are used). Also, the film often portrays sex as a mechanical, unemotional
act. Von Trier seems to want to show that appetite for sex is human, but that it also sometimes makes humans act inhuman.
Versions
Director's Cut
run:
147:41s
pal:
141:47s
UK: The Director's Cut was passed 18 uncut
for strong real sex, very strong language for:
2023 Curzon Film Lars Von Trier A Curzon Collection (RB) Blu-ray at UK
Amazon #ad
2015 Artificial Eye [Part 1 + Part 2 Director's Cut] (RB) Blu-ray
at UK Amazon released on 11th May 2015
2015 Artificial Eye [Part 1
+ Part 2 Director's Cut] R2 DVD at UK Amazon released on 11th May 2015
Did we really need more? Did we really need to see a graphic self-abortion, male genitals in all manner of pre/post sexual release? Did we need more conversations between Joe and Seligman?
After viewing Lars Von Trier's director's cut of Nyphomaniac, packing in at least 40 more minutes of provocative button pushing, the answer is an enthusiastic Yes!
In the new cut, there is more of the
father figure, we can see how the rest of Joe's life becomes predatory and predestined. We also get more explicit looks at the character's early travails. The train tryst before offers up some hardcore results now. And then there is the abortion. It's
graphic. It's gross. It's gruesome. But it's also a necessary part of Joe's past.
Theatrical Version
run:
117:26s
pal:
112:44s
UK: The Theatrical Version was passed 18 uncut for strong real sex and very strong language for:
2014 Artificial Eye [The Lars von Trier Collection] RB Blu-ray at UK Amazon
2014
Artificial Eye [The Lars von Trier Collection] R2 DVD at UK Amazon
2014 Artificial
Eye [Vol I + Vol II] RB Blu-ray at UK Amazon
2014 Artificial Eye [Vol I + Vol II] R2
DVD at UK Amazon
2014 cinema release
The BBFC commented in the 2014 Annual Report:
Nymphomaniac Vol. 1 and Nymphomaniac Vol. 2 both include explicitly presented scenes of unsimulated sex, including oral sex and penetration of the vagina.
Nymphomaniac: Volume 2 is a 2013 Denmark/Belgium/France/Germany/UK mystery drama by Lars von Trier. With Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgård and Stacy Martin.
Uncut by UK and US film censors. Exists as a Theatrical Version and a
Director's Cut. The film was banned in Armenia, Romania, Turkey and Uzbekistan.
Summary Notes
The continuation of Joe's sexually dictated life delves into the darker aspects of her adult life and what
led to her being in Seligman's care.
Versions
Director's Cut
run:
177:48s
pal:
170:41s
UK: The Director's Cut was passed 18
uncut for strong real sex, strong violence, self-administered abortion for:
2023 Curzon Film Lars Von Trier A Curzon Collection (RB) Blu-ray at UK Amazon #ad
2015 Artificial Eye [Part 1 + Part 2 Director's Cut] (RB) Blu-ray at UK
Amazon released on 11th May 2015
2015 Artificial Eye [Part 1 + Part 2 Director's Cut] R2 DVD
at UK Amazon released on 11th May 2015
UK: The Theatrical Version was passed 18 uncut for strong violence, strong real sex and strong sex references for:
2014 Artificial Eye [The Lars von Trier Collection] RB Blu-ray at UK Amazon
2014
Artificial Eye [The Lars von Trier Collection] R2 DVD at UK Amazon
2014 Artificial
Eye [Vol I + Vol II] RB Blu-ray at UK Amazon
2014 Artificial Eye [Vol I + Vol II] R2
DVD at UK Amazon
2014 cinema release
The BBFC commented in the 2014 Annual Report:
Nymphomaniac Vol. 1 and Nymphomaniac Vol. 2 both include explicitly presented scenes of unsimulated sex, including oral sex and penetration of the vagina. In the second of
the two films there were also scenes of sadomasochistic activity, including heavy whipping to a woman's buttocks.
120 BPM is a 2017 France drama by Robin Campillo. Starring Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Arnaud Valois and Adèle Haenel.
Passed 15 uncut with a still photo of an erect penis.
Summary Notes
Early 1990s. With AIDS having already claimed countless lives for nearly ten years, Act up-Paris activists multiply actions to fight general indifference. Nathan, a newcomer to the
group, has his world shaken up by Sean, a radical militant, who throws his last bits of strength into the struggle.
Versions
uncut
run:
143:29s
pal:
137:45s
UK: Passed 15 uncut for strong sex, nudity, sex references, language:
2018 Artificial Eye Film Co. VoD titled 120 Beats Per Minute
2018 cinema release
The BBFC commented in its annual report covering 2018:
Nudity in a sexual context is permissible at 15 but usually without strong detail. 120 BPM, a French drama following AIDS activists in 1990s Paris, contains
scenes showing protestors marching with placards bearing photographic images of an erect penis between buttocks, and other graphic sexual stills. The social and historical context, together with an absence of clear sight of penetration, allowed these
moments of stronger sexual detail to pass at 15.
2008 Germany/Canada gay comedy horror by Bruce La Bruce
Passed 18 uncut for the 2010 Peccadillo DVD with the BBFC comment: Contains strong real sex and strong
violence.
The uncut region 2 DVD is available at UK Amazon for release on 12th
July 2010 The uncut region 1 DVD is available at US Amazon .
Review from
UK Amazon : Political gay zombie movie
I have long been a
devoted admirer of Bruce LaBruce's work, and for me, OTTO is unquestionably his finest piece yet. That said, this film is absolutely *not* going to appeal to everyone.
In a film-within-a-film, Medea Yarn is making
an indie political-gay-zombie movie, with the aid of her girlfriend, Hella Bent, and her brother Adolf. The setting: the not-too-distant future, where the undead are commonplace, and, in particular, the homophile undead.
Otto, a young zombie, is subliminally drawn to Berlin, and onto the set of Medea's movie, where he is quickly cast into a lead role... though the cast don't believe that he is a
real zombie, and think he's just living the role. Otto has flashbacks to his life before he joined the ranks of the undead, but can't remember how or why it happened ( I was a zombie with an identity crisis ). He is isolated, persecuted,
lonely, displaced, shunned even by conformist-gays... and has come to the anonymity of the city for refuge. He is housed by one of the other cast members, Fritz, who is evidently attracted to him. Will Otto find love, sanctuary... assimilation?
At the level of the image, the viewer may find enough (highly-explicit) male/male action, and gory entrails-eating (you'll need a strong stomach), to keep him/her watching... though ultimate satisfaction will perhaps be elusive,
since there will be no final resolution ; and the boy-meets-zombie, boy-and-zombie-fall-in-love, boy-loses-zombie, boy-finds-zombie, story arcs do not play out as expected.
Paradise Faith is a 2012 Austria/Germany/France drama by Ulrich Seidl. With Maria Hofstätter, Nabil Saleh and Natalya Baranova.
Real sex is left uncut by the BBFC for 18 rated DVD
Promotional Material
In this second instalment, Ulrich Seidl explores what it means to carry the cross. For Anna Maria, a single woman in her fifties (and sister of PARADISE: LOVE's Teresa), paradise lies with Jesus. She devotes her summer
vacation to doing missionary work, so that Austria may be brought back to the path of virtue. On her daily pilgrimage through Vienna, she goes from door to door, carrying a foot-high statue of the Virgin Mary. When her husband, an Egyptian Muslim
confined to a wheelchair, comes home after years of absence, her life is turned upside down. FAITH recounts the stations of the cross of a marriage and the longing for love.
Versions
uncut
115:00s
UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong real sex for:
2013 Soda Pictures R2 DVD at UK Amazon released on 30th September 2013
The BBFC commented in the Annual Report covering 2013:
Paradise Faith is a German drama, the second film in a trilogy, which follows a middle-aged Catholic woman who spends her holiday attempting to convert people.
There is a scene in which the woman encounters a group of people having sex in a park at night. Brief sight of erections, masturbation and fellatio are seen at a distance in the semi-darkness. These scenes require an 18 classification, but are
permissible at that level, in context.
The Perfect David is a 2021 Argentina/Uruguay gay drama by
Felipe Gomez Aparicio Starring Mauricio Di Yorio, Umbra Colombo and Diego Starosta
There are no censorship issues with this release. The BBFC notes that the film
contains strong real sex.
Summary Notes
David is a young bodybuilder who obsessively trains to become his artist mother's muse. As he dedicates himself to further developing his
physique, he goes through an identity crisis that will mark his destiny.
UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong real sex, sex references:
At sixteen, David is much like any teenager, but his boyish good looks rest upon a hulking, muscular body. His weightlifting obsession is driven by his mother Juana, a troubled artist
whose only goal is to have her son reach physical perfection by his seventeenth birthday. With countless hours spent at a grungy gym in the company of a motley clique of pumped-up gym rats, David desperately searches for what it means to be a man, whilst
also navigating his burgeoning sexuality. With his birthday approaching, Juana demands growth at any cost. Soon David's cohorts offer him dangerous chemical shortcuts, sending David in a dangerous spiral. 'The Perfect David' is at once a delicious ode to
the beauty of the male form, a warning of the dangers of seeking absolute perfection, and a striking character study of a teenager in trouble.
Peter De Rome is a 2014 UK documentary by Ethan Reid. Starring Robert Alvarez, Kristen Bjorn and Carlos Caballero.
18 uncut and contains real sex.
Summary Notes
Pioneer erotic film maker Peter de Rome talks about his life and work, which is celebrated at London's BFI Southbank.
Versions
uncut
96:14s
UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong nudity, real sex for:
2016 Saffron Hill R2 DVD at UK Amazon released on 14th March 2016
The BBFC commented in its annual report covering 2016:
The documentary Peter de Rome, explores the life and films of the pioneer of gay erotic cinema, and also features explicit images of real sex. Numerous clips from de
Rome's films are featured and include images of real masturbation, oral sex and ejaculation. The documentary is an explorations of their subject matter in which the explicit detail is illustrative of the subject rather than serving any primary intention
to arouse.
More remarkable still is a scene towards the beginning of the film in which Erika visits a pornographic film viewing booth. Early in the film, we see Erika aggressively enter the space of a porn
arcade. She goes into a video booth, whereupon there follows a seven-second shot of a split-screen monitor showing four separate image tracks: each a clip from a generic hardcore porn film. The film cuts back to Erika as she selects an image, then back
to the selected porn film on the monitor. The pornographic image track recurs on the cinematic screen twice more, as the film continues to intercut between the diegetic screen and Erika watching it. The camera then lingers on Erika as she reaches into a
waste-paper basket and pulls from it the tissues used by a previous occupant to wipe up his ejaculate. She inhales the tissue deeply while watching the film, her face impassive, her very reaction an inversion of the excesses of masturbation.
Versions
uncut
125:17s
UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong language, violence, sexual violence, sex and sado-masochism theme for:
Pink Flamingos is a 1972 USA crime comedy horror by John Waters. Starring Divine, David Lochary and Mary Vivian Pearce.
Cut by the BBFC for varying amounts for an 18 rating between 1990 and 1999.
Uncut and 18 rated for 2008 DVD but this was never released. Formally uncut and BBFC 18 rated for 2022 Blu-ray. Uncut and MPAA NC-17 rated in the US.
Summary Notes
Sleaze queen Divine lives in a caravan
with her mad hippie son Crackers and her 250-pound mother Mama Edie, trying to rest quietly on their laurels as 'the filthiest people alive'. But competition is brewing in the form of Connie and Raymond Marble, who sell heroin to schoolchildren and
kidnap and impregnate female hitchhikers, selling the babies to lesbian couples. Finally, they challenge Divine directly, and battle commences...
Versions
uncut
run:
94m
pal:
90m
with director's introduction
run:
107:02s
pal:
102:45s
UK: Passed 18 uncut for sexual violence,
strong real sex, nudity:
Note that the long 107m running includes a post credits piece by the director. The running time of the uncut film itself is 94m.
The BBFC agreed to an uncut 18 rated DVD release in 2008 but the release was cancelled.
The BBFC commented in 2008 about the 3 last cuts to be waived:
Probably the most difficult scene was the one featuring a man assaulting a woman with live chickens. However, a careful viewing of the scene suggested that the handling of the chickens, although rough, was no stronger
than other scenes of animals being manhandled that had been passed in other films. Furthermore, although the chickens were killed, the killing was quick and clean and therefore not in breach of BBFC policy on animal cruelty.
The scene showing a man masturbating and injecting semen into a woman's vagina was grotesque and repulsive, rather than erotic. Although the Board had previously expressed concerns about the non-consensual nature of the scene, the
datedness of the film and the lack of credibility of the scene, argued against intervention. With regard to the sexual violence in the scene, the Board's conclusion was that the scene was so over-the-top and so divorced from reality, that the likely
response was disgust, shock and horror, rather than arousal.
The brief explicit fellatio could be justified by the wider context of the film, in that the whole purpose of the film was to shock, disgust and amuse (in
a blackly comic fashion), rather than to arouse, and the explicitness of the image was important in creating the film's effect.
The BBFC's ratings info from 2022 reads:
nudity : There is focus on a man's dilating anus, in close-up detail. There is wider full nudity.
sex : There is a scene of unsimulated
fellatio between a fictional mother and son. There are other strong sex scenes, as well as references to ejaculation, masturbation and troilism. A man's semen is seen, in close-up detail.
sexual violence and sexual threat :
A man rapes a woman, while daubing her in chicken blood. After masturbating over her, a man artificially inseminates an unconscious female prisoner. A man exposes himself to schoolgirls.
other issues: In unsimulated
footage, a woman puts dog excrement in her mouth. There is infrequent very strong language ('c**t'), regular strong language ('f**k', 'motherf**ker') and discriminatory terms such as 'fag', 'dyke' and 'queen'. A chicken is killed on-screen. Threat, gore
and implied violence are strong. There is brief drug misuse.
US: The 25th Anniversary Version is uncut and MPAA NC-17 rated for:
UK: The 25th Anniversary Version was passed 18 after 2:08s of BBFC cuts for:
1999 EIV VHS
This version restored the excrement eating cuts but the others were retained
Cuts were made to remove sight of chickens being roughly handled and killed during a bizarre sexual assault on a woman. [The chicken is crushed between the copulating lovers].
Cuts were made to reduce a scene in which Channing the butler
masturbates over a captive woman and injects semen into her vagina with a syringe
Cuts were made to remove all sight of Babs fellating her son in explicit detail
cut
cut:
2:42s
run:
104:17s
pal:
100:07s
UK: The 25th Anniversary Version was passed 18 after 2:42s of BBFC cuts for:
1997 cinema release
The 25th Anniversary Version added 15 minutes of uncontentious deleted scenes and an introduction by John Waters
The elastic singing anus cuts were restored but the other cuts were maintained:
Cuts were made to remove sight of chickens being roughly handled and killed during a bizarre sexual assault on a woman. [The chicken is crushed between the copulating lovers].
Cuts were made to reduce a scene in which Channing the butler
masturbates over a captive woman and injects semen into her vagina with a syringe
Cuts were made to remove all sight of Babs fellating her son in explicit detail
Cuts were made to remove sight of Babs eating real dog excrement.
cut
cut:
3:04s
run:
89:18s
pal:
85:44s
UK: Passed 18 after 3:04s of BBFC cuts for:
1990 Castle VHS
From sbbfc.co.uk . The cuts justified on grounds of sexual violence, degradation, animal cruelty, and obscenity were:
Cuts were made to remove sight of chickens being roughly handled and killed during a bizarre sexual assault on a woman. [The chicken is crushed between the copulating lovers].
Cuts were made to reduce a scene in which Channing the butler
masturbates over a captive woman and injects semen into her vagina with a syringe
Cuts were made to reduce a scene in which a man flexes his anus in close up, making it look as if the anus is singing .
Cuts were made to remove
all sight of Babs fellating her son in explicit detail
Cuts were made to remove sight of Babs eating real dog excrement.
Pink Narcissus is a 1971 USA gay drama by James Bidgood (as
Anonymous). Starring Don Brooks, Bobby Kendall and Charles Ludlam.
Uncut by the BBFC for 18 rated VHs in 1992 and DVD in 2000. Contains real sex.
Promotional Material
Considered lost for many years, Pink Narcissus is an astounding discovery - an
unwavering celebration of the male body within a fantasy world of epic indulgence.
This is a breathtaking and outrageous erotic poem focussing on the daydreams of a beautiful boy prostitute who, from the seclusion of his
ultra-kitsch apartment, conceives a series of interlinked narcissistic fantasies populated by matadors, dancing boys, slaves and leather-clad bikers.
The film was shrouded in mystery following its 1971 release, its creator
credited only as Anonymous , before being rediscovered and revealed as the work of artist and photographer James Bidgood. Its cult status endures as does adoration for its star, the gorgeous and enigmatic Bobby Kendall.
With its highly charged hallucinogenic quality, its atmosphere of lush decadence, and its explicit erotic power, Pink Narcissus is a landmark of gay cinema.
The BBFC commented that Annabelle partagée is one of the small group of videos featuring unsimulated sex that has been classified by the BBFC at the 18 category
v Pola X
- 1999 France/Switzerland/Germany/Japan drama romance by Leos Carax.
Pola X is a 1999 France/Switzerland/Germany/Japan drama romance by Leos Carax. With
Guillaume Depardieu, Yekaterina Golubeva, Catherine Deneuve.
Summary Review:
Downward Spiral
A young writer becomes intrigued with a mysterious dark-haired woman who claims to be his long-lost sister and he begin an unusual relationship with
her prompting a downward spiral involving his domineering mother and lovely fiancee
Pola X gained infamy world wide for its unsimulated sex acts between Guillaume Depardieu (Pierre) and Yekaterina Golubeva (Isabelle). Although
body stand ins were used for the most explicit parts. The graphic sex is used to drive home the self destructive nature of the love affair between Isabelle and Pierre.
You may or may not like it depending on your tolerance for
arty French films.
Versions
uncut
128:49s
UK: Passed 18 uncut for:
2007 Artificial Eye Leos Carax Collection R2 DVD via UK Amazon
Now in his late-fifties/early-sixties Jean-Pierre Leaud is still a fine actor who hits all the right notes in his performance as an aging pornographer. Leaud plays Jacques, a pornographer that had a slew of hits in the seventies but has retired. He now has a wife and an adult son he rarely speaks too, but decides to return to making movies.
Problem is, porn has changed since Jacques was making it and he's not able to make it the way he wants it too. As his world falls apart around him, Jacques begins to re-examine himself and, in the process, begins to lose
his mind.
The movie is actually a really good character study, although it sometimes takes itself to seriously. The movie has probably got more attention for it's graphic sex scene than anything else. This scene (which
occurs about 30 minutes into the movie) is graphic...But it's not. You see more of the guy than you do of the girl, in fact you really don't see anything of the girl. It is, technically, graphic...But.
A lot of the
reviewers on here say the movie is dull. I didn't find it dull; I actually found it pretty interesting and thought provoking. It's no masterpiece, it's not in a league with masterpieces, it's not even the best look at the world of pornography, but it's
definitely an underrated film.
12s
105:56s
The BBFC cut 12s for an 18 rating for:
2002 Tartan R2 DVD
2002 cinema release
The BBFC commented: Sight of man ejaculating on woman's face removed. Contains explicit images of real sex.
Fernando Leon De Aranoa latest
offering Princesas is a slice-of-life film experience, strongly empowered by it's two charismatic leads, Candela Pena and Micaela Nevarez.
Caye ( Pena ) is a prostitute working on the streets of Madrid . Seemingly
unapologetic about the reasons that led her to this profession , she's a pessimistic creature , weary and doubtful about her chances of happiness . Best time of the day is with other fellow collegues hanging out at a beauty salon a friend owns . Worst
time of the day ( or week or month...) is at the family dinner with her mother and brother with whom she has no real communication to speak of . Zulema is a dominican statuesque beauty working too on the streets of the spanish capital , with no papers to
feel any security for herself . She has a little boy back in home to whom she sends most of the money that she earns .
Aranoa choses an earthy , unpolished aproach to his material . The girls' grim reality is something the
director doesn't shy away from . Still , there is a sweetness in the film - life is a bittersweet mystery afterall .
Candela Pena has been a key supporting figure in many great spanish films during the last decade . Here ,
in one of her few leading roles , she's exceptional , her traumatised gaze displaying all the vulnerability and compation of her struggling character . Along with graceful newcomer Nevarez ,they create one of most believable pair of friends ive ever seen
on screen . Finally , special credit must be given to Manu Chao's music colouring the film - his songs about all the poor lost souls of this earth meet a perfect match with this movie's social sensibilities.
A Private Collection is a 1973 France documentary short film by Walerian Borowczyk. Starring André Pieyre de Mandiargues.
The pre-cut Theatrical Version was banned by the BBFC for 1977 cinema
release although further cuts qualified it for an X rating later in the same year. The Theatrical Version censors real sex via masking by the narrator's carefully placed finger. The uncut Oberhausen Cut reveals what's behind the masking, but real
bestiality has proved too much for modern day censors and so has been cut from recent German and 2014 UK releases.
Summary Notes
A witty and eye-opening tour through Borowczyk's own collection of
vintage erotica. Originally intended as part of his 'Contes immoraux', it was released first as a separate short, and is therefore marks the turning-point between Borowczyk's career as a highly-regarded animator and surrealist filmmaker, and his
subsequent career in the sexploitation field.
Versions
The Oberhausen Cut pre-cut
best available
14:17s
UK: A pre-cut version of The Oberhausen Cut was passed 18
for strong sex, sexual violence, explicit sexual images without further BBFC cuts for:
The Theatrical cut and Oberhausen cut were both passed in 2014 as components of The Short Films directed by Walerian Borowczyk and included as extras on the Arrow dual-format release of Immoral Tales .
See further details about the version's in review from film.thedigitalfix.com
In the theatrical cut, when we see some
vintage erotic photographs, the film's narrator André Pieyre de Mandiargues' finger obscures some of the more explicit details, which include images of penetration, but these are uncovered in the Oberhausen Cut.
The main difference is towards the end
when a children's cartoon is intercut with footage from the turn of the twentieth century depicting genuine bestality between a woman and a dog. This was pixelated in the German Blu-ray edition of Immoral Tales and replaced by a black screen in Arrow's
edition, so as to comply with the laws concerning extreme pornography .
A dramatised documentary about prostitution in late 70s/early 80s Britain, was originally passed X on film in 1980, with cuts to explicit sight of a man being masturbated
while visiting a massage parlour. It is a bleak scene with no particular sexual charge. Under current Guidelines, this illustration of the unglamorous reality of the sex trade could now be passed uncut for DVD release at 18.
Promotional material:
Fully Uncut
Tony Garnett, one of British television's most critically acclaimed figures, has been responsible for producing some of the most radical and controversial UK drama, and is associated with ground-breaking
directors such as Ken Loach.
His directorial debut, Prostitute, is the tale of two women - Sandra (Eleanor Forsythe), an ambitious but nai ve Birmingham working girl who moves to London with the hopes of securing
wealthier patrons, and Louise (Kate Crutchley) her social worker friend who is fighting to change the antiquated and hypocritical prostitution laws. As both strive to achieve their goals, a cold dose of reality dashes their hopes, and the built-in biases
against women in society are unmasked. This frank and controversial expose' is finally presented here fully uncut and uncensored.
PUFFBALL is a drama that explores in a supernatural setting the determined desires of two different woman - one who wishes to have a child; and the other who considers abortion when she finds
herself pregnant - and how these desires come into conflict.
It was passed '18' uncut for images of strong real sex.
In this work, there are a number of clear images of real sex. They occur during scenes of consensual sexual activity
between adults. In each case of sexual activity, the couples remain clothed although a woman's breasts and a man's buttocks are exposed on one occasion. The images show in extreme close-up: sperm exploding inside the vaginal canal, a condom-covered penis
as it withdraws from inside the vaginal canal, sperm shooting up inside the vaginal canal and sperm dispersing inside the vaginal canal. The key point is that these images are filmed inside the vaginal canal and are similar to images seen in
documentaries or scientific features. These images can only be obtained by using a special microscopic camera inserted under medical supervision inside a woman's body, usually for medical investigative / documentary purpose. Although startling - because
unexpected - each image is brief. The exceptional contextual justification is that they serve to suggest either that the condom has been ineffective or that witchcraft has rendered the condom useless. In a broader context, the images support the
narrative which is concerned with a woman's fertility, the obsessive desire to have a child, conception and the superstition surrounding these matters. There are two further real sex images. They also occur during consensual sexual activity. These show
in extreme close-up, images of a penis penetrating the vagina, externally. Despite being washed in a green tinge to suggest night vision, the images are clear and are no different from explicit sex images found in 'R18' sex works. However, they are
brief; and are justified by the broader context of the narrative already mentioned earlier. Their purpose here is not to arouse but to add a graphic dimension to the scene while exploring the links between sex and relationships.
In all the scenes
of sexual activity, the couples remain clothed - apart from one scene when a woman's breasts and a man's buttocks are exposed. The sexual activity is conveyed by the mechanics of sexual positioning and thrusts, and ecstatic gasps, and enhanced by the
brief images of real sex already mentioned. There is also one brief scene of masturbation which is impressionistic.
In a social context deteriorated by a countrywide economic crisis, the life of several people will be turned upside down after they meet Cecile, a character who
symbolizes desire.
Beautiful scenery, quaint little French cafes, beautiful countryside. HOWEVER, the movie takes a twist and turn and the explicit sex scenes are what we would see in a pornographic movie. They don't really add
much to the context of the story but the main character will excite some.
This really does what it sets out to do, ie it is sexy and erotic, fun and moving. it all works so well because Deborah Revy is magically flirtatious and
manages to change the lives of all around her. Brilliant.
The BBFC cut Peccadillo Pictures DVD in 2004 with the following explanation:
Distributor chose to remove clear and explicit images of sexual activity which could not be exceptionally justified by their context (some explicit images allowed to remain). An uncut R18 was available.
The
uncut region 1 DVD is available at US Amazon The uncut region 1 DVD is available via
UK Amazon
I saw this film in Greece, and
I'm sure that the American version is probably a little softer than the European (original cut). But I'm not too sure. This film is fantastic! I cant stress that enough. the cinematography... and just the overall satirical and witty premise of the film
is worth watching. I think I'm going to make a t-shirt that says: "Masturbation is Counter-Revolutionary!" This movie is so smart...
v Rebel Dykes
- 2021 UK documentary by Harri Shanahan, Siân A. Williams
Rebel Dykes is a 2021 UK documentary by Harri Shanahan, Siân A. Williams
There are no censorship issues with this release. The BBFC notes that the film contains images of oral sex and penetration.
Summary Notes
REBEL DYKES is a
full-length documentary about the explosion that happened when punk met feminism, told through the lives of a gang of lesbians in the riotous London of the 1980s.
Versions
uncut
run:
89m
pal:
85m
UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong sex references:
2021 cinema release
The BBFC commented:
There are frequent references to sexual activity, including BDSM practices, as well as explicit images of oral sex and penetration and footage of unsimulated BDSM activity. There is nudity in a
sexual context.
v Renovation
- 2018 Brazil gay comedy drama short by Fábio Leal.
It's refreshing to see that the BBFC has allowed the clips that illustrate it to be passed through uncut. There's nothing too extreme (certainly when compared to films that have been released over the past few years), but
certainly more than we were used to seeing in the so-called hard core releases back in the day.
v Romance
- 1999 France drama by Catherine Breillat.
Romance is a 1999 France drama by Catherine Breillat. With Caroline Ducey, Sagamore
Stévenin and François Berléand.
Passed 18 uncut for 1999 cinema release complete with real sex. Cut for 2000 DVD but these BBFC cuts were waived for 2014 home video release. Uncut and Unrated in the
US.
Summary Review : Such a Good Film
Although deeply in love with her boyfriend - and indeed sleeping in the same bed with him - a schoolteacher cannot handle the almost complete
lack of intimacy he will allow.
Excellent cinematography and a bleak script; by far the best film I saw last year, and probably the best I'll see again this year.
With the exception of one or two scenes, the
sex in the film is not very explicit, even including the more racy fellatio scenes.
Versions
uncut
94:31s
UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong real sex, sexual violence, very strong language with previous video
cut waived:
Although the BBFC passed the film uncut for British cinemas, they required 1 second to be removed from the video version. The cut to the UK video and DVD versions removed a brief close-up of a man ejaculating onto a woman's stomach. This occurs at
the end of a fantasy brothel sequence, and is followed by a jump-cut to a similar shot of ultra-sound gel being squirted onto Caroline Trousselard's stomach. Without the first shot, however, the effect is lost in the UK version.
the Incredibly Strange Rise and Fall of the World's Wildest Cinema and How It Influenced a Mixed-up Generation of Weirdos and Misfits
Scala! is a 2023 Documentary Film by Janes Giles and Ali Catterall Starring Barry Adamson, John Akomfrah and Rick Baker
There are no censorship issues with this film. The BBFC commented that the film
contains strong real sex.
BBFC Notes
This documentary covers the rise and fall of London's legendary Scala cinema, between 1978 and 1993. It includes clips of many cult and art house
films which played there, with brief moments of strong sexual content.
Versions
uncut
run:
96:14s
pal:
92:23s
UK: Uncut and BBFC 18 rated for strong real sex:
2024 BFI Films cinema release (rated 23/08/2023)
The BBFC commented:
This documentary covers the rise and fall of London's legendary Scala cinema, between 1978 and 1993. It includes clips of many cult and art house films which played there, with brief moments of strong
sexual content.
v Scumbag
- 2017 USA comedy drama by Mars Roberge.
Scumbag is a 2017 USA comedy drama by Mars Roberge. Starring Princess Frank, Debra
Haden and Nick Zedd.
The BBFC notes brief explicit images.
Summary Notes
A young wannabe-superstar DJ, Phil, takes on a day job at a
telemarketing company, working with crazy people, ex-prisoners, drug addicts and murderers. The time on his life begins to tick as he battles addiction, fights the law and tries to maintain the only sane thing left in his life, his girlfriend, Christine.
Versions
uncut
114:20s
UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong sex, drug misuse, brief explicit images for:
2018 cinema release
v Sebastiane
- 1976 UK romance by Paul Humfress and Derek Jarman.
Sebastiane is a 1976 UK romance by Paul Humfress and Derek Jarman. Starring Leonardo Treviglio, Barney James and Neil Kennedy.
The film includes an erect penis in such away that it stays hidden for some
screen ratios, most notably that shown to the BBFC. The hidden material stayed hidden for VHS but reappeared for 2014 cinema release and 2018 Blu-ray.
Summary Notes
300 A.D. : the Roman Sebastianus is
exiled to a remote outpost populated exclusively by men. Weakened by their desires, these men turn to homosexual activities to satisfy their needs. However, Sebastianus becomes the target of lust for a homosexual centurion, but he rejects the man's
advances.
Versions
uncut
85:39s =82:13s
UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong sex and nudity for:
2018 Bfi Derek Jarman Volume One RB Blu-ray at UK Amazon
2014 cinema release
The BBFC noted:
There is a prolonged sex scene, which includes sight of an erect penis. There is also a scene showing a pagan ritual dance, in which men wearing giant fake phalluses appear to ejaculate white
fluid over a male dancer's face and body.
This release includes the hidden scene, see below.
Thanks to Peter:
Sebastiane in the upcoming Derek Jarman Blu-ray box set from the BFI
contains the infamous erection footage (BBFC advice states There is a prolonged sex scene, which includes sight of an erect penis. There is also a scene showing a pagan ritual dance, in which men wearing giant fake phalluses appear to ejaculate white
fluid over a male dancer's face and body.)
The erection was never officially censored by the BBFC for the film's original theatrical release. As Jarman later said: We hid it!......We shot the film in Academy [the 4x3 screen ratio
of older films], but showed it to the censors with a widescreen mask on the projector. Sebastiane's hard-on was hidden below the frame-line, and they passed the film uncut. When we projected it in 4x3, the hard-on was still there!
The shots were, however, matted out from subsequent video releases and TV showings.
uncut
81:46s
UK: Passed 18
without BBFC cuts for:
2001 Second Sight Films [Subtitled] video
1995 Tartan VHS
1991 Virgin VHS
1976 cinema release titled Sebastiane
Director Derek Jarman had included a hidden scene featuring an erect scene such that it was hidden for widescreen cinema releases (but included in 4:3 cinema releases). This extra material is missing from the above video releases.
uncut
61:51s
UK: A re-edited version was passed 18 uncut for Blu-ray extras:
2018 BFI video titled Sebastiane: A Work in Progress
The Irish comedy drama, Sensation, submitted for a DVD release, features two sequences containing explicit images of real sex. In both cases the origins of the images are pornographic, specifically photographs
in an adult magazine and a brief image from a pornographic video. But these images are only briefly seen and the video footage contains no clear explicit detail. While the nudity is sexualised in its original context, in this comedy drama the images
reflect the nature of the characters engaging with them and did not require cuts.
Lucía is a young waitress in a restaurant in the centre of Madrid. After the loss of her long-time boyfriend, a writer, she seeks refuge on a quiet, secluded Mediterranean island. There,
bathed in an atmosphere of fresh air and dazzling sun, Lucía begins to discover the dark corners of her past relationship, as if they were forbidden passages of a novel which the author now, from afar, allows her to read.
There's a couple of very explicit sex-scenes both with brief (blink and you'll miss them) pornographic moments. One shows Lucia reach down to stroke her lover's erect penis.
Frankreich Privat - Die sexuellen Geheimnisse einer Familie
Sexual Chronicles of a French Family is a 2012 France comedy drama by Pascal Arnold and Jean-Marc Barr. With Mathias Melloul, Valérie Maës and Stephan Hersoen.
Thanks to Simon. There are two versions. A German version features several scenes or real sex. Most releases are a cut version but still with an explicit shot of female masturbation at the beginning of the film
Summary
Notes
Three generations of a French family open up about their sexual experiences and desires after young Romain is caught masturbating in his biology class.
Versions
uncut
~82:00s
Germany: There is an 18 rated uncut hardcore version featuring erections, real sex, and ejaculation.
~79:00s
UK: The softcore version was passed 18 uncut for strong sex for:
The film opens with a scene set in a school science laboratory in which a boy and a girl masturbate themselves in front of their classmates while filming their actions on their mobile phones. The
scene contains a brief but explicit shot of the girl's pudenda as she strokes herself under her skirt. Although the detail is explicit, it is brief and justified by context in that the film goes on to examine the reasons behind this behaviour and the
attempts by the family's matriarch to get her children to open up about their sexual desires and experiences. The actress in question was over 18 at the time of filming so there is no issue under the terms of the Protection of Children Act 1978.
The film also contains a number of other strong sexual scenes, although none of them feature the kind of explicit detail seen in the opening sequence.
v Shining Sex
- 1977 Italy / France / Belgium / Switzerland adult Sci-Fi thriller by Jesús Franco (as Dan L Simon).
Shining Sex is a 1977 Italy / France / Belgium / Switzerland adult Sci-Fi thriller by Jesús Franco (as Dan L Simon). Starring Lina Romay, Evelyne Scott and Monica Swinn.
Uncut and MPAA Unrated for US DVD and Blu-ray in 2020. Previously only
released as a shortened French version. Uncut and 18 rated in the UK for 2021 home vide with the BBFC noting that it contains strong real sex.
Promotional Material
One of the most provocative
films of writer/director Jess Franco's career has been virtually impossible to experience in its complete and uncut form… until now. Lina Romay is at her most explicitly seductive as an exotic dancer whose body is inhabited by a being from another
dimension to explore desire, depravity and death, while Uncle Jess himself portrays a wheelchair-bound psychic obsessed with the paranormal. Shot on location in the seaside resort of La Grande Motte, Evelyne Scott (DEVIL'S KISS), Monica Swinn (BARBED
WIRE DOLLS) and Olivier Mathot (THE SADIST OF NOTRE DAME) co-star in this 1975 Eurociné production.
Versions
uncut
run:
105m
pal:
101m
UK: Passed 18 uncut for
strong real sex, nudity, sexualised violence:
Previously available only in a shortened French version or as a censor-fogged Japanese bootleg. Now scanned from the original negative for the first time ever anywhere.
shortened
France
France:
Exists as a shortened French version
v Shortbus
- 2006 US drama by John Cameron Mitchell.
Shortbus is a 2006 US drama by John Cameron Mitchell. With Sook-Yin Lee, Peter
Stickles and PJ DeBoy.
Uncut and BBFC 18 rated in the UK. It is one of the more hardcore entries of this list.
Summery review: Graphic
The film is extremely sexual graphic in places - and I expect will or already has ellicited a campaign by the Daily Mail to "BAN THIS FILTH!". It's far more extreme than Winterbottom's Nine Songs - previously the
most "sexually shocking" mainstream UK film - was, and the uncensored nature of these scenes is a tool that director John Cameron Mitchell uses to convey the intensity of the sexual relationships. So, this is definitely not a film you'd want to
in the presence of your parents. Whilst the orgies and ejaculations might be the reason the film has attained so much notoriety, it would be a shame if you were put off by the film's sexually explicit nature - I wouldn't have said the sex is gratuitous -
it serves to demonstrate the emotionally vapid nature of some of the main characters' lives, and the director also skilfully addresses the wider emotional context. This film rarely misses a beat throughout and finishes with a lavish crescendo that can't
help but make you feel that you've felt something as you leave the cinema. Don't accept any edited or censored versions.
Shortbus is a New York club where the focus is sexual liberation with a heady blend of punters.
Transgender people, ageing homosexuals, hot young boys, a straight female sex therapist all looking to get their rocks off
The artist's work includes several paintings and sketches depicting sexual activity. In one scene, the artist is flicking through a book of black and white photographic images seeking inspiration for
his own work. Some strong sexual images are briefly seen, including sight of an erect penis between a woman's breasts, a penis on a woman's chin, and apparent sexual penetration. However, the images are not focussed upon and the context is artistic
rather than sexual.
v Spetters
- 1980 Netherlands romance by Paul Verhoeven.
Spetters is a 1980 Netherlands romance by Paul Verhoeven. Starring Hans van Tongeren, Renée Soutendijk and Toon Agterberg.
Cut for an MPAA R rating and further cut in the UK for 18 rated cinema
release and VHS. The Director's Cut was passed 18 uncut for 2005 18 rated DVD. The Director's Cut is MPAA Unrated in the US.
Summary Review : Saucy Holland Days
Three young
Dutch amateur dirt bike motorcycle racers each fall in love with a young woman who, with her brother, works at a concession stand at the races. Everyone is looking for a better life. The young woman wants out of the business and away from her brother.
The motocross racers want to make their marks as professional racers, like their hero, played by Rutger Hauer.
The MGM DVD thankfully restores the 8 minutes of "graphic" sexuality (not really that
shocking to Europeans) that was excised in order to earn an "R" rating and make the film more palatable to our "puritan" American tastes.
The film was heavily criticized in Holland. Many critics accused
the film of being anti-women, anti-gay, anti-invalid, and anti-Chistian. They also called it devoid of morals and needlessly decadent. This criticism was one of the contributing factors in Paul Verhoeven's decision to begin making films in America rather
than his native land.
Director's Cut
Director's Cut
run:
122:14s
pal:
117:21s
UK: The Director's Cut was passed 18 uncut
for strong sexual violence and real sex with previous BBFC cuts waived for:
Starlet is a 2012 USA/UK drama by Sean Baker. With Dree Hemingway, Besedka Johnson
and Boonee.
Summary Notes
An unlikely friendship forms between 21 year-old Jane and the elderly Sadie after Jane discovers a hidden stash of money inside an object at Sadie's yard sale.
Versions
uncut
98:46s
UK: Passed 18 uncut for one scene of strong real sex for:
2014 Soda Pictures R2 DVD at UK Amazon released on 10th March 2014
Stranger by the Lake is a 2013 France gay drama by Alain Guiraudie. With Pierre Deladonchamps, Christophe Paou and Patrick d'Assumçao.
Uncut in the UK
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.
The BBFC commented in the Annual report covering 2013:
A French drama about a man who becomes romantically involved with a dangerous stranger. The film centres on events that occur at a 'cruising' spot. Two of these
scenes include brief sight of unsimulated masturbation, ejaculation, fellatio and rimming, illustrating what goes on at the spot in question.
UK: Cut on TV in August 2015
Two scenes were cut by Channel 4, notably
masturbation to climax and oral sex. Plenty of penises remained though.
Wide Open: 1974 Sweden sex comedy by Gustav Wiklund. With Kent-Arne
Dahlgren, Solveig Andersson and Gunilla Larsson.
Love Play: 1973 release Sweden adult film
More about the Language of Love: 1970 Sweden/Denmark sex education documentary by Torgny Wickman .
The BBFC noted in the 2009 Annual Report: Collection 2, Swedish Erotica, a compilation of three early 1970s films from Sweden (Wide Open, Love Play and More About the Language of Love) was passed 18 without
cuts. The work, which includes explicit images of sexual activity, is now very dated. By contemporary standards it is clearly not a sex work, but rather a genuine attempt to inform and educate, and the Board concluded that there was sufficient contextual
justification to allow these scenes at 18 .
2004 Film Four video version . For TV showing not released on DVD
The BBFC commented:
[The film] contains scenes of unsimulated sex between the lead character and his male partners, including a scene in which one man urinates into the mouth of another. In the context of this serious drama the
BBFC passed these scenes at 18, and did not consider that the urination was a likely breach of the Obscene Publications Act 1959.
Summary Review: Good Film
Frank Ripploh is gay and a bit of a rascal. He keeps his
personal life and teaching separate, but he sometimes corrects student papers in public toilets as he waits to score. One evening, he meets Bernd. They become lovers. How long can Frank keep his sexual orientation out of the classroom? Things come to a
head during Berlin's annual Queen's Ball and the morning after.
An excellent film, worth watching. Anybody wanting to learn about the secret lives many gay men have to live to have their sexuality kept secret
should watch this film.
TAXIDERMIA is a subtitled Hungarian black comedy which tells the story of three generations of men from the 1950s to the present. The film was classified '18' for scenes containing gory images, real sex and
very strong language.
TAXIDERMIA contains a number of gory images, most notably a sequence in which a character is shown to disembowel himself. Although the sequence is fantastical and unreal and occurs within a comically absurd context, it
contravenes the BBFC's Guidelines at '15'.
The film also contains brief sight of aroused male genitalia and close up shots of female genitalia. Additionally, two sequences include brief sight of real sexual activity (male
masturbation and vaginal penetration).
The BBFC's Guidelines at '18' state that such explicit images will only be permitted where the work is not a 'sex work' (i.e. a work whose primary purpose is sexual arousal) and where
the images can be exceptionally justified by context. In the case of TAXIDERMIA, the BBFC did not regard the images as having the primary intention of sexual arousal and considered that they formed an integral part of the work, each justified by context.
This decision was in line with other recent works such as NINE SONGS, DESTRICTED and SHORTBUS, all of which contain images of real sex. The film also contains 6 uses of very strong language, which were considered to lack the necessary contextual
justification to permit them below '18'.
TAXIDERMIA also includes five uses of strong language, some strong sex references and a scene showing a pig being killed and subsequently butchered. However, this scene was considered to show a humane kill
and was therefore not in breach of the Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937, which prohibits the exhibition of films where animals have been treated cruelly for the purpose of film making.
Review from
UK Amazon : Speed-Eating Cataclysm Time
Honestly,
with all the fuss surrounding this superlative film, you'd expect Sodom-And-Gommorah to shoot through your Cathode Ray Tube and vomit creosote into your wallet. Nope. It's all very survivable, apart from a few graphic instances (which the dear-old Auntie
BBFC could have excised within a heartbeat, but they didn't. There MUST be a God!). I suppose vegetarians may have a few Heart Palpitations, but there you go.
It also cocks a snoot at those naysayers who have a firm belief in the inferiority of
Eastern-European cinema - "Taxidermia" is crammed with more CGI than your average Jenna Bush photoshoot. Guy Ritchie be damned, he's scrawling graffiti on the side of the Venus De Milo and can't spell "OK" yet. Take note, British
cinema is LIGHT YEARS behind this. We've lost the war Comrades.
Text is a 2019 Russia thriller by Klim Shipenko. Starring Kristina Asmus, Dmitriy
Glukhovskiy and Pavel Golubev.
Passed 18 uncut for 2019 cinema release with the BBFC commenting that it contains a scene of strong real sex.
Summary Notes
Ilya Goryunov has spent seven years in prison on false charges of drug trafficking. When Ilya is free he realizes that the old life that he yearned for is no more. Although he did not intend to take revenge on the man who
sent him to prison, now there is no other way out.
131:30s
UK:
Passed 18 uncut for scene of strong real sex:
2019 cinema release
v Theo and Hugo
- 2016 France gay romance by Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau.
Theo and Hugo is a 2016 France gay romance by Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau. Starring Geoffrey Couët, François Nambot and Mario Fanfani.
Passed 18 uncut with strong real sex.
Summary Notes
Theo and Hugo meet each other in a sex club in Paris. After building a special connection while having sex, the meet outside the club where they realize they had unprotected sex. Since one of them is HIV positive, they go
to the hospital to get checked and start the required treatmemt. You see the boys spend the night together and fall in love after this incident.
Versions
uncut
96:57s
UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong real sex for:
2016 Peccadillo Pictures / Saffron Hill RB Blu-ray at UK Amazon
2016 Peccadillo Pictures / Saffron Hill R2 DVD at UK Amazon
2016 cinema release
The BBFC commented in its annual report covering 2016:
Theo and Hugo is a French drama about two men falling in love while also dealing with the potentially dangerous consequences of unprotected sex. The film opens with
a sequence in a Parisian club where men engage in explicit oral sex and masturbation.
Theo And The
Metamorphosis is a 2021 France/Switzerland film by Damien Odoul Starring Theo Kermel, Pierre Meunier and Sonia Gondry
The BBFC notes that the 18 rated film contains real sex.
Summary Notes
After his father leaves, a 27
year old with Down's syndrome living in the woods has to reinvent his life and open himself up more to things and beings.
Versions
uncut
run:
96m
pal:
92m
UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong real sex, gory images:
2022 cinema release
2022 Sovereign Film Distribution VoD
The BBFC commented:
During a surreal dream sequence, a man's penis is cut in half
One scene includes brief images of real sex from a pornographic film, including penetration and oral sex. In
another, a topless woman masturbates. There is also a scene in which a woman fondles a man's penis during a massage.
The Third One is a 2014 Argentina gay drama by Rodrigo Guerrero. Starring Carlos Echevarría, Emiliano Dionisi and Nicolás Armengol.
Uncut in the UK
Promotional Material
Fede is young, hot, horny and in a chatroom. When he meets a gay couple online, he decides to take the plunge and over to theirs to see where
the night takes him. When the evening unfolds with an intensity and complexity he wasn't expecting, Fede is forced to see himself a new light. A brilliant evocation of the possibilities of one night stands, The Third One asks -can one passionate night
change your life?
Versions
uncut
70:16s
UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong real sex for:
2014 Tla Releasing R2 DVD at UK Amazon released on 8th December 2014
The BBFC commented in the Annual Report covering 2014:
In one scene a man watches a pornographic film on his computer and there are brief images of real penetration of the anus and oral sex. Given the brevity of the
images and the dramatic nature of the context in which they are present, the BBFC considered them acceptable acceptable at 18 under the Classification Guidelines.
Thundercrack! is a 1975 US adult comedy by Curt McDowell Starring
Marion Eaton, George Kuchar and Melinda McDowell
A cult film that was notably unreleased in the UK for many years except on the cinema club circuit. The film was finally BBFC 18 rated without cuts for 2024 release. The BBFC noted that it contains strong real sex. Uncut and MPAA Unrated in
the US.
Summary Review
With a killer gorilla on the loose, a group of strangers find themselves stranded at a remote mansion of a grieving madwoman one dark and stormy night. They
indulge in swapping bizarre personal backstories - and bodily fluids.
Imagine yourself a typical low-budget horror opening, in which random people gather around an old dark mansion during a nightly thunderstorm. They're all
slightly eccentric characters with unusual backgrounds and/or odd personalities and, naturally, the female owner of the mansion is the queen of all madness.
Her guests soon begin to physically experiment with themselves
and each other and these sexual outbursts become gradually odder. Masturbation and ordinary hetero-sex at first, but before you properly realize it; you're up to your neck in gay sex, voyeurism, sex with peculiar attributes and even bestiality.
This movie is available in two versions, but I can safely say already that even the cut Theatrical Version (120 minutes instead of 150) is more than weird enough for every avid fan of offbeat cinema on this planet.
Versions
uncut
run:
159:27s
pal:
153:04s
UK: Uncut and BBFC
18 rated for strong real sex, nudity:
Tony Manero is a 2008 Chile/Brazil crime drama by Pablo Larraín.
With Alfredo Castro, Amparo Noguera and Héctor Morales.
Passed 18 for infrequent explicit and strong sex.
The BBFC commented:
Tony Manero is drama set in Chile in 1978 against a backdrop of Pinochet's
dictatorship. It follows the story of a middle-aged man whose need to impersonate the lead character from Saturday Night Fever has found him turning to crime in the pursuit of his obsession. It was passed '18'' for infrequent explicit and strong sex.
The film focuses on the increasingly dysfunctional life of the lead character and one of the areas in which this is apparent is his impotence. The sex scene is symbolic of his failure in life generally. In an early intimate scene with his lover the
couple try to make love. She takes his flaccid penis briefly into her mouth, but he remains unaroused. The sex is unsuccessful and she accuses him of being aroused only by thoughts of dancing. At '18', the BBFC's Guidelines state that 'the more explicit
images of sexual activity' are only acceptable if 'they can be exceptionally justified by context and the work is not a 'sex work'. In the context of this dramatic work the purpose of the scene is to convey the breakdown of his sense of reality and as
such it was felt to be exceptionally justified at the adult category. There is another sex scene in which, once again, the man is not aroused, but the scene includes close-up images of nipple kissing and a woman masturbating to orgasm but without
explicit detail. This too is acceptable at '18'.
Versions
uncut
97:02s
UK: Passed 18 uncut for infrequent explicit and strong sex for:
2012 Network Made in Chile Double Bill R2 DVD at UK Amazon
Touch Me Not is a 2018 Romania / Germany / Czech Republic / Bulgaria / France drama by Adina Pintilie. Starring Laura Benson, Tómas Lemarquis and Christian Bayerlein.
Features a non pornographic sight of an erect penis.
Summary Notes
"Tell me how you loved me, so I understand how to love." Together, a filmmaker and
her characters venture into a personal research project about intimacy. On the fluid border between reality and fiction, Touch Me Not follows the emotional journeys of Laura, Tómas and Christian, offering a deeply empathetic insight into their lives.
Craving for intimacy yet also deeply afraid of it, they work to overcome old patterns, defense mechanisms and taboos, to cut the cord and finally be free. Touch Me Not looks at how we can find intimacy in the most unexpected ways, at how to love another
without losing ourselves.
Versions
uncut
run:
123:15s
pal:
118:19s
UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong sex, nudity:
2018 cinema release
The BBFC commented in its annual report covering 2018:
Strong sex and nudity were the category-defining issues in the drama Touch Me Not, in which a filmmaker explores intimacy with three subjects. While
the content is evidently not pornography, it does feature scenes that exceed BBFC guidelines allowance at 15. In one scene, for instance, a man is shown holding his erect penis after masturbating, and there is a sequence in which people engage in BDSM
activities. Accordingly, we classified the film 18.
Unfaithful is a 2009 France adult gay drama by Claude Pérès. With Claude Pérès, Marcel Schlutt.
Uncut by the BBFC
Summary Notes
Claude Pere's invited an actor to make love with him. They do not know each other. They do not know whether they like each other. They do not know what
will happen. They meet in a flat. They are alone. For one night. For more privacy, Claude Pere's will record images and sound. There is no contract, no obligation. They remain free to say and to do whatever they want. They can stop anytime.
The sex is explicit but lacks any passion, innovativeness or eroticism. If you take it as a porn movie -- it is a very bad porn, too.
Versions
uncut
94:09s
UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong real sex, nudity and drug use for:
The BBFC commented in the annual review covering 2013:
Unfaithful is a European experimental work, submitted for DVD release and classified without cuts at 18. A filmmaker invites a man to his apartment to conduct an
experiment about sex. Most of the film consists of long conversations between the two men. However they also engage in sexual activity, including sight of real fellatio. The more explicit moments are brief and not the main focus of the work.
v Variety
- 1983 US/West Germany/UK drama by Bette Gordon
Variety is a 1983 US/West Germany/UK drama by Bette Gordon Starring Sandy McLeod,
Will Patton and Richard M. Davidson
The
BBFC notes that there are images of real sex throughout in the 18 rated uncut video release of 2023. The 18 rated cinema release of 1984 is very short, presumably missing scenes featuring the real sex.
Summary Notes
A woman becomes obsessed with pornography and the mysterious rich patron of the Times Square porn theater called Variety where she works selling tickets. This awakens her sexuality, which confuses her worried boyfriend.
Versions
uncut
run:
100:43s
pal:
96:41s
UK: Uncut and BBFC 18 rated for strong sex references, nudity, very strong language:
2023 Other Parties Film Company cinema release (rated 30/06/2023)
The BBFC commented:
A woman's new job at a pornographic film theatre broadens her sexual horizons in this gritty US drama. Graphic descriptions of sexual scenarios and explicit images of real sex feature throughout.
pre-cut
cut:
run:
40:01s
pal:
38:25s
UK: A very short version was BBFC 18 rated:
1984 British Film Institute cinema release (rated 03/04/1984)
v We
- 2018 Netherlands / Belgium drama by Rene Eller.
We is a 2018 Netherlands / Belgium drama by Rene Eller. Starring Aimé Claeys, Tijmen Govaerts and Pauline Casteleyn.
Passed with 'strong real sex' for a BBFC 18 rating.
Summary Notes
During a scorching summer in a Belgian-Dutch border village, eight teenagers play games of discovery to break the listless monotony. They challenge each other and themselves and pretty
soon, their sexual curiosity starts to blur the lines between right and wrong. As innocence is crushed in depraved games and sexual exploitation, the teenagers soon turn into ruthless predators.
99:27s
UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong real sex, sexual violence, violence, very strong language:
2020 Matchbox Films R2 DVD at UK Amazon released on 11th May 2020
WR: Mysteries
of the Organism is a 1971 Yugoslavia/West Germany comedy drama fantasy by Dusan Makavejev. With Milena Dravic, Ivica Vidovic, Jagoda Kaloper.
The uncut cinema release was one of the very few examples of hardcore
allowed by the BBFC in an X rating. A cut version was submitted for VHS though.
Summary Review:
Unique and warped
A dense film that cuts up footage of a primary plot of two young Yugoslavian girls,
one a politico and the other a sexpot, and an affair with a visiting Russian skater. Mixing metaphors of Russia's relationship with Yugoslavia, intercut with footage and interviews with Wilhelm Reich and Al Goldstein of Screw magazine. The film applies
Reich's theories of Orgone energy and analogies of Stalinism as a form of Freudian sexual repression.
What makes W.R. such a unique and warped bird of art is how it challenges the viewer, provokes fully if not discussion then some
kind of collision of intellectual and visceral reaction for those who at least meet the filmmaker halfway. Once in a while frustrating, but never ever boring, W.R. is a cinematic shock from a go-for-broke iconoclast.
Versions
uncut
Unrated
84:30s =81:07s
UK: Passed X (18) uncut for:
1971 cinema release
The cinema version is one of the very few films released with BBFC blessings from the Stephen Murphy and James Ferman era that contain hardcore scenes.
UK: A pre-cut version was passed 18 without further BBFC cuts for:
1995 Connoisseur VHS
Censored for the video version. James Ferman indicated that he would have preferred the uncut version for video release but it was the censored version prepared for channel 4 that was submitted.
After opening credits a B&W Soviet sex-education film viewed through a kaleidoscope lens is obscured by animations of goldfish. Apparently this hasn't completely obscured the action and an erect penis can still be seen on close inspection.
Wall paintings of men and women masturbating have been blanked out
A sequence showing Jim Buckley having a plaster cast made of his erect penis has all the tumescent shots obscured by animated stars
These amended scenes can be found as an extra on Criterion's DVD release of WR.
