Lords of Chaos is a UK / Sweden thriller by Jonas Åkerlund.
Starring Rory Culkin, Emory Cohen and Sky Ferreira.
A teenager's quest to launch Norwegian Black Metal in Oslo in the 1980s Members of the Norwegian death metal band perform a series of increasingly shocking publicity stunts leading to a very violent outcome.
It is based on real-life band Mayhem, and includes scenes of murder including the brutal killing of a homosexual man - and the burning of churches by satanists.
The latest most controversial film ever has been passed 18 uncut by the BBFC for strong bloody violence, gore, suicide.
According to the Telegraph the BBFC are understood to have been so concerned about the film that it was reviewed at the highest levels and suicide prevention experts were consulted before it was approved for an 18 certificate.
The Telegraph suggests the US film censors at the MPAA were similarly concerned before rating it R for strong brutal violence, disturbing behavior, grisly images, strong sexuality, nudity, and pervasive language.
The BBFC said the film did not glamorise self-harm and that there was no reason to think the film would have a damaging effect on adults who chose to view it - although some might find it distressing.
Church groups have, however, have called for it to be banned. Speaking to The Telegraph, Simon Calvert, deputy director of The Christian Institute, said he was surprised the film had not been banned given the recent discussion about self-harm. He
said:
In the current climate of concern over self-harm and suicide, you would have thought there might have been more consideration of the risk that vulnerable people might imitate what they see. The distributors ought to be asking themselves if it is
worth this risk.'
The film is being distributed in the United Kingdom by Arrow Films and will be released in cinemas on 29th March.
The Golden Glove (Der goldene Handschuh) is a 2019 Germany / France crime horror thriller by Fatih Akin.
Starring Marc Hosemann, Jonas Dassler and Adam Bousdoukos.
A serial killer strikes fear in the hearts of residents of Hamburg during the early 1970s.
One of Germany's most acclaimed directors, Fatih Akin, hit back at criticism of his new film about a real-life serial killer, The Golden Glove. Critics claimed that it exploits the female victims.
Akin insisted the ultra-violent new picture aimed to grant dignity to both the killer and the slain women. He commented:
We are living in a time in which the discussion about sexual violence is everywhere and that is justified. But when you make a film about sexual violence, you have to show it.
Akin said he had no desire to glorify violence against women with the film's scenes graphically depicting sexual torture, murder and dismemberment which many viewers said left them feeling queasy. He said for all the heightened sensitivity around
sexual misconduct in the entertainment industry, it should not be used to stifle artistic freedom.
Toy Story 4 is a 2019 USA family animation comedy by Josh Cooley.
Starring Keanu Reeves, Patricia Arquette and Tom Hanks.
When a new toy called "Forky" joins Woody and the gang, a road trip alongside old and new friends reveals how big the world can be for a toy.
Animal rights campaigners PETA have launched an ad campaign this week, demanding that animators Pixar edit out a sheep-herding crook from the new Toy Story film, ludicrously claiming that the object promotes animal cruelty.
Activists at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) saw the crook as a betrayal of Pixar's attempt to give the character a tough modern update, claiming that the sheep-herding instrument she carries is still problematic.
Their problem is apparently not that they think the crook itself is a cruel instrument, but the fact that it promotes exploiting gentle sheep for their wool.
It is surely doubtful that most kids will even know what the old-time shepherd's tool is in the first place.
The Favourite is a 2018 Ireland / UK / USA historical comedy biography by Yorgos Lanthimos.
Starring Olivia Colman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz.
Early 18th century. England is at war with the French. Nevertheless, duck racing and pineapple eating are thriving. A frail Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) occupies the throne and her close friend Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz) governs the country in her
stead while tending to Anne's ill health and mercurial temper. When a new servant Abigail (Emma Stone) arrives, her charm endears her to Sarah. Sarah takes Abigail under her wing and Abigail sees a chance at a return to her aristocratic roots.
As the politics of war become quite time consuming for Sarah, Abigail steps into the breach to fill in as the Queen's companion. Their burgeoning friendship gives her a chance to fulfill her ambitions and she will not let woman, man, politics or
rabbit stand in her way.
The BBFC passed the Oscars contender, The Favourite as 15 uncut for very strong language, strong sex, but cinema goers have been left disappointed as the sex content fails to live up to expectations.
According to the Daily Mail social media is awash with complaints about the misleading warning. Posts published by the newspaper suggest that the mild sex that the movie contains may be have been uprated to 'strong sex' because of its lesbian
flavour. Eg one fan wrote:
Galling that #TheFavourite, which is wonderful from start to finish, is preceded by a content warning about 'strong sex. It's actually mild sex, which has presumably been promoted to strong sex because it happens to be gay sex,'
The BBFC defended their consumer advice claiming the film had the strong sex tagline primarily for the heterosexual activity.
Waterworld is a 1995 USA action Sci-Fi adventure by Kevin Reynolds.
Starring Kevin Costner, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Dennis Hopper.
Never cut by film censors. The producers shortened the film against the wishes of the Director for theatrical release. The deleted material was restored for an extended TV version, but suffered cuts for the likes of strong language. An uncut
extended version was released in Europe and has been tagged as the Ulysses Cut.
A fan-edit cut of the 1995 movie Waterworld is now available as an official Blu-ray release. The original Ulysses cut was crowdsourced using extra scenes from various TV broadcasts and publicly shared on The Pirate Bay more than a decade ago. The
Blu-ray has been released by Arrow Film, but whether the original editor is aware of it is unknown.
The Arrow release includes three Waterworld cuts which were newly restored from the original material. That by itself would be enough to get proper fans excited, but it's the inclusion of the infamous Ulysses Cut that was most anticipated.
Waterworld is known for its many different versions, but this one never officially aired anywhere. It was created by a fan who, together with others, set out to make the longest uncensored edit of Waterworld possible.
The origin of this fan-edit, well documented by the Unheard Nerd, started in 2005. A user of the Original Trilogy forum asked if anyone had access to the 40 minutes of Waterworld material that appeared in an ABC broadcast. This generated a long
thread where users shared and compared different versions of the film.
In 2006, a user named Mcfly89, showed his interest in the project. Mcfly89 later took the lead and after crowdsourcing copies of different broadcasts, he set out to combine these into a long uncensored edit of Waterworld.
The project progressed slowly and by November 2007 the name Ulysses was first mentioned. This title refers to the unnamed mariner played by Kevin Costner. He's given this name toward the end of the film in a scene that was taken out of the
theatrical version.
With a name for the project, Mcfly89 continued his work. Helped by other members, who also assisted with an appropriate DVD-cover, the fan-made DVD was ready by the summer of 2008. Despite a temporary outage on The Pirate Bay, Mcfly89 managed to
upload a torrent for the Ulysses cut to the site on July 28th, exactly thirteen years after the original premiere.
Many Waterworld fans welcomed the Ulysses release and it was even extended by Zaaacharias a few years later. It's not clear whether the original makers were happy with it. Film fans generally see fan-edits as important preservation projects, but
copyright holders have gone after such releases as well.
Fast forward another decade and now the Ulysses cut has been released legitimately on a Blu-Ray disc put together by Arrow Films. The movie company used the name of the cut, but it was obviously reconstructed from original footage, not the
broadcasts that were used in the fan-edit.
It would probably be an interesting read or feature to know how between Universal, Arrow and Mcfly89 The Ulysses Cut has eventually arrived as a 1080p edition. The story is quite remarkable already but we believe that Arrow Films missed a major
opportunity here. But perhaps the full story will come out one day, in another decade or so.
Shonibar Bikel (Saturday Afternoon) is a 2019 Bangladesh / India / Germany thriller by Mostofa Sarwar Farooki.
Starring Parambrata Chatterjee, Ellie Poussot and Selina Black.
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.
The film has just been banned in January 2019
The film censor claimed 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.
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.
There were relatively few changes in the 2019 BBFC Guidelines updated. The one's I spotted were:
Dangerous Behaviour at U
Previously potentially dangerous or anti-social behaviour which young children may copy can only appear in U rated film if it is clearly disapproved. Now such behaviour can also be included if it is presented
unrealistically.
Nudity at 15
The BBFC is now allowing 'strong nudity' at 15, presumably referring to erections, is allowed if brief or presented in a comic context.
Sex references at 15
The BBFC has upgraded dirty talk to 18. A new rule has appeared stating:
Repeated very strong references, particularly those using pornographic language, are unlikely to be acceptable.
Sexual Violence and Sexual Threat at 12
A new section has appeared which builds on rules previously in the violence section. The 2014 rules included the following
Sexual violence may only be implied or briefly and discreetly indicated, and its depiction must be justified by context.
The new section reads:
There may be verbal references to sexual violence provided they are not graphic.
The stronger forms of sexual violence, including rape, may only be implied and any sexual threat or abusive behaviour must be brief and negatively presented.
So now the previously allowed brief and discreet indication of sexual violence is no longer allowed at 12.
Sexual Violence and Sexual Threat at 15
A new section has appeared which builds on rules previously in the violence section. The 2014 rules included the following:
There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but the depiction of sexual violence must be discreet and justified by context.
The new section reads:
There may be strong verbal references to sexual violence but any depiction of the stronger forms of sexual violence, including rape, must not be detailed or prolonged.
A strong and sustained focus on sexual threat is unacceptable.
The upshot is that strong and sustained sexual threat is no longer allowed at 15.
R18 content
The BBFC has deleted its prohibition on penetration with items associated with violence although it retains the prohibition of items that may cause physical harm.
BBFC launches new Classification Guidelines and calls for greater age rating consistency across online channels
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has published new Classification Guidelines, and in response to public demand is calling for greater consistency for age ratings across different platforms.
The BBFC's public consultation - involving more than 10,000 people -- showed that young people and parents want to see an increase in classification guidance, particularly around online content, as well as more consistency across all platforms.
Demand for age classification has never been higher, with 97% of people saying they benefit from age ratings being in place. 91% of people (and 95% of teenagers) want consistent age ratings that they recognise from the cinema and DVD to apply to
content accessed through streaming services.
David Austin, Chief Executive Officer at the BBFC, said: Over the last five years the way we consume film and video has changed beyond all recognition. That's why it's so important that there is consistency between what people watch on and
offline. The research shows that parents and teenagers want us to give them the information and guidance that they need to view what's right for them.
The BBFC's consultation confirms that people feel a heightened sense of anxiety when it comes to depictions of real world scenarios, in which audiences -- especially young people -- are likely to be concerned that it could happen to them. For
example, realistic contemporary scenarios showing terrorism, self-harm, suicide and discriminatory behaviour. This research confirms that the BBFC's current category standards are reflecting the public mood.
The large scale research also found that attitudes towards sexual threat and sexual violence have moved on since 2013/14. Although the BBFC already classifies such content restrictively, people told us that certain depictions of rape in
particular should receive a higher rating. The BBFC has therefore adjusted its Classification Guidelines in these areas.
People also told us that they expect the strongest sex references, in particular those that use the language of pornography, to be classified at 18. The new guidelines reflect this demand.
David Austin added:
We're here to listen to what people want, which is why they trust our age ratings. So it's encouraging to know that we've been classifying content in line with what people want and expect when it comes to difficult themes around credible real
life scenarios. We also know that people are more comfortable with issues such as action violence, if it's in a way that they are expecting -- such as a Bond or Bourne film. We are updating our standards around depictions of sexual violence and
very strong sex references to reflect changes in public attitudes.
The BBFC found film classification checking is most evident among parents of children under the age of 12, finding that 87% check all or most of the time, and a further 9% check occasionally. Interestingly, there has been a marked increase in the
level of claimed classification checking by parents of children aged 12-14 years -- up from 90% ever checking in 2013 to 97% in 2018.
The new guidelines will come into effect on 28 February 2019.
Forest of Fear is a 1980 USA Sci-Fi horror by Charles McCrann. 
Shonibar Bikel (Saturday Afternoon) is a 2019 Bangladesh / India / Germany thriller by Mostofa Sarwar Farooki. 
