Movie News

The MPAA has overturned the NC-17 rating for Blue Valentine. Much more box office friendly for the producers, the Weinstein Co

The Classification and Rating Appeals Board swapped the NC-17, given in October for a scene of explicit sexual contact, for an R attributed to strong graphic sexual content, language and a beating.

No edits were made to the film to secure the rating.

The MPAA's decision came following an appeal made by Harvey Weinstein. After presenting our case to the MPAA appeal board today, they were convinced of the artistic nature of Blue Valentine and recognized that it was consistent with the kind of movies for which the Weinstein Company is known, said a statement from Harvey Weinstein, who led the appeal with a team of attorneys.

According to chief operating officer David Glasser, Weinstein laid out a case based on clips from past R-rated films as well as on moviegoers' support for an R rating for Valentine, as registered via a Twitter campaign and an audience survey at a recent screening.

Update: UK Rating

18th December 2010. See  article from  bbfc.co.uk

Blue Valentine has just been passed 15 uncut by the BBFC for a cinema release.

The BBFC noted:

Contains strong sex and strong language, once very strong

The French erotic-horror filmmaker Jean Rollin has died after a long illness. He was 72.

He was a talented, gentle poet of sensual horror, a man who made personal, lush and haunting works that were often ghettoized alongside the efforts of some of his more crass contemporaries and yet almost always offered something more, something richer and more melancholy.

With films like The Nude Vampire, Requiem For A Vampire, Lips Of Blood, Fascination, The Living Dead Girl And The Grapes Of Death, Rollin left behind a body of work as infatuated with spurting blood as it was enamored of the curves of the female form, often depicting both within the same frame.

Millennium Entertainment have announced that it will challenge the R rating given to its upcoming drama Trust .

The film's executive producer Avi Lerner will appear before the ratings Appeals Board on December 22, 2010 to pursue a PG-13 rating.

Directed by David Schwimmer of Friends fame, Trust centers on a 14-year-old girl's encounter with a cyber predator.

The producers say they are pursuing the lesser rating so it can be screened for teens, in order to raise awareness about the dangers of online predators.

While we respect the MPAA's rating system, we must appeal the 'R' rating given to Trust . This film exposes the true threats posed by cyber predators. It sends a clear message to teens and parents; to be aware of the real dangers of cyber space, Lerner said in a statement: Teens must be allowed to see Trust. They need to know the truth.

According to the MPAA: Trust received an R rating because of a difficult scene portraying the assault of a teenage girl, language, sexual content and some violence.

A Serbian film is a 2010 Serbia adult horror by Srdjan Spasojevic.

The uncut A Serbian film had been submitted to the Australian Censorship Board for a DVD certificate.

But the film censor was having none of it, and has banned the uncut version of the film.

Note that the film distributor has the option to make cuts and try again. Maybe trying with the significantly cut UK version that was passed 18 by the BBFC.

Update: A Serbian Ban Explained

8th December 2010. Based on article from  refused-classification.com

The Australian Film Censorship Board has released its justification for banning the uncut version of A Serbian Film.

In the opinion of the Board, the film contains depictions of sexualised violence and sexual violence which have a very high degree of impact, including an explicit depiction of sexual violence. These depictions are on occasion inextricably linked to themes of paedophilia and child sexual abuse, which further heightens impact.

While the Board acknowledges that a degree of artistic merit and dramatic intent is evident in this fictional film, it is of the opinion that the film (including the examples noted above) is very high in viewing impact and includes an explicit depiction of sexual violence. The film therefore exceeds what can be accommodated within the R 18+ classification and should be Refused Classification pursuant.

A minority of the Board is of the opinion that the film contains a depiction of explicit sexual violence [the toothless blow job] , at 71 minutes and the film therefore must be Refused Classification. In the minority opinion, however, the remainder of the film can be accommodated, with restriction to adults, at the R18+ classification category.

Srpski Film - A Serbian Film is a Serbian language drama, subtitled in English. It tells the story of a retired porn star, Milos, who is lured out of retirement by an offer of money from a mysterious figure called Vukmir. Vukmir wants Milos to star in what he describes as an artistic film for the foreign market but it soon becomes clear the project will require Milos' participation in various acts of sexual violence and paedophilia. The film was classified 18 for very strong sexual violence, sex and violence.

The BBFC's Guidelines state that In line with the consistent findings of the BBFC's public consultations and the Human Rights Act 1998, at '18 the BBFC's guideline concerns will not normally override the principle that adults should be free to choose their own entertainment. Exceptions are most likely [...] where material or treatment appears to the BBFC to risk harm to individuals or, through their behaviour, to society - for example, any detailed portrayal of violent or dangerous acts [...] which may cause harm to public health or morals. This may include portrayals of sexual or sexualised violence which might, for example, eroticise or endorse sexual assault'. More generally, the Guidelines state that A strict policy on sexual violence and rape is applied. Content which might eroticise or endorse sexual violence may require cuts at any classification level and that intervention, even at the adult level, is more likely with sexual violence or sexualised violence which endorses or eroticises the behaviour and with portrayals of children in a sexualised or abusive context .

Before awarding an 18 classification to Srpski Film - A Serbian Film , the BBFC required forty-nine individual cuts, across eleven scenes. A number of cuts were required to remove elements of sexual violence that tend to eroticise or endorse sexual violence. Further cuts were required to scenes in which images of children are intercut with images of adult sexual activity and sexual violence. It is important to stress that the film makers took precautions to avoid the exposure of the young actors to the film's most disturbing scenes and that, in the BBFC's view, no scene is in clear breach of the Protection of Children Act 1978.

Even after cuts, the film's scenes of very strong sexual violence remain potentially shocking, distressing or offensive to some adult viewers, but are also likely to be found repugnant and to be aversive. They are not credibly likely to encourage imitation. In some scenes Milos witnesses, or is forced to witness, acts of sexual violence, including the suggestion that a new born baby is being raped. In the cut version, the rape of the baby occurs entirely offscreen, implied only by the sounds of the baby crying and by the reactions of the onlooking Milos and Vukmir. Although all clear shots of the baby being raped have been cut by the BBFC, it is worth noting that the film makers used a prosthetic model during the filming of this scene and that no real baby was harmed. Later in the film, when Milos refuses to participate in the acts required of him by Vukmir, he is drugged and forced to continue filming against his will. As Milos regains consciousness, he begins to remember what he has been compelled to do, including decapitating a restrained woman during sex and raping his unconscious wife and son. He also recalls, with the assistance of video recordings, some of the acts perpetrated against himself and others during his period of unconsciousness. This includes one of his female friends being suffocated with a man's penis, after her teeth have been extracted, and Milos himself being raped. Once again, the cuts required by the BBFC have removed the more explicit moments from these scenes and much of the action is now brief or implied rather than explicitly depicted. Nonetheless, the scenes remain potentially distressing and offensive, even in their cut versions. Cuts were also required to remove shots which imply that children are witnessing sexual violence, sometimes enthusiastically, or where images of children are intercut with images of sexual activity and sexual violence. This includes a scene in which images of a young girl sucking a lolly are intercut with a scene of fellatio, a scene in which the same young girl appears to lean forward excitedly as she witnesses a scene of violent fellatio, and a scene in which Milos' brother is fellated by a woman whilst watching a family video, featuring his young nephew. All such intercutting has been removed from these scenes. In another scene, Vukmir attempts to persuade Milos to have a sex with an underaged girl. Although Milos refuses, cuts were required to remove shots in which the young girl appears to be encouraging Milos to have sex with her. In spite of the fact that care was taken by the film makers to avoid exposing any of the young actors to anything disturbing, violent or sexual, this juxtaposition of images of children with sexual and sexually violent material is a breach of BBFC policy and Guidelines.

The film contains a number of scenes of very strong bloody violence, including sight of a man's head being repeatedly smashed with a heavy object until his skull caves in, a man's throat being torn out in close up, and a man being killed by having a prosthetic erect penis forced into his empty eye socket. These scenes considerably exceed the terms of the 15 Guidelines where Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also unlikely to be acceptable . Srpski Film - A Serbian Film also contains a number of scenes of strong sex. This includes sight of masturbation, oral sex, group sex, and sexual thrusting, as well as simulated ejaculation onto a woman's face. These scenes significantly exceed the terms of the 15 Guidelines where Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail .

Srpski Film - A Serbian Film also includes very strong visual and verbal sex references, including to bestiality and paedophilia, very strong language, strong language, and strong nudity, including sight of prosthetic erections.

Release Details

A Serbian film is a 2010 Serbia adult horror by Srdjan Spasojevic. See IMDb

The general release at UK cinemas is on Friday 10th January 2010.

Video versions are set for 3rd January 2011:

• UK 2011 Revolver Blu-ray for release on 3rd January 2100 at UK Amazon
• UK 2011 Revolver R2 DVD for release on 3rd January 2100 at UK Amazon

The film/DVD/Blu-ray were all  passed 18 after 49 BBFC cuts totalling 4:12s

The BBFC commented about the cuts:

Cuts required to remove portrayals of children in a sexualised or abusive context and images of sexual and sexualised violence which have a tendency to eroticise or endorse the behaviour. Cuts made in accordance with BBFC Guidelines and policy, and the Video Recordings Act 1984.

The consumer advice is

Contains very strong sexual violence, sex and violence

See trailer from youtube.com

The BBC wrote a piece about A Serbian Film

Controversial movie A Serbian Film has become the most cut film in 16 years, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has said.

The dark thriller, which features disturbing scenes of violence and sex, has had four minutes and 11 seconds of its original content removed.

The BBFC said that it rarely cuts cinema releases with an 18 certificate.

[Previously the most cut cinema film was in 1994 when] the Indian movie Nammavar was cut by five minutes and eight seconds for violent content.

The movie was written by Serbian horror film critic Aleksandar Radivojevic and directed by Srdjan Spasojevic. Radivojevic has defended the movie, calling it an a diary of our molestation by the Serbian government . He said it was designed to show the monolithic power of leaders who hypnotise you to do things you don't want to do .

The subtlety of the use of the word 'film' to denote a 'cinema film release' must have delighted the BBFC. News sources picking up the story paraphrased it, and rather suggested that this is the most censored BBFC film in general.

In reality the BBFC have made much bigger cuts to plenty of videos and DVDs in recent years. Just in the last few days, the BBFC cut 8 minutes from a dated 35 year old sex comedy called Fantasm .

And considering what the BBFC get up to with porn films, then the Serbian cuts are a mere trifle. The BBFC recently cut a whopping 94:57s from a US adult movie called Virgin Territory by Hailey Page.

The BBFC must also be very pleased that the press so far have somehow accepted that the extensive cuts to A Serbian Film have somehow cleansed the film of bannability. Not many articles have really called for bans or boycotts against the movie, in its cut form at least.

Snuff

The hype was nicely exaggerated by the Toronto Sun who picked up on the UK press stories and repackaged them under the headline: Controversial snuff film edited

Release Details

A Serbian film is a 2010 Serbia adult horror by Srdjan Spasojevic. See IMDb

The general release at UK cinemas is on Friday 10th January 2010.

Video versions are set for 3rd January 2011:

• UK 2011 Revolver Blu-ray for release on 3rd January 2100 at UK Amazon
• UK 2011 Revolver R2 DVD for release on 3rd January 2100 at UK Amazon

The film/DVD/Blu-ray were all  passed 18 after 49 BBFC cuts totalling 4:12s

The BBFC commented about the cuts:

Cuts required to remove portrayals of children in a sexualised or abusive context and images of sexual and sexualised violence which have a tendency to eroticise or endorse the behaviour. Cuts made in accordance with BBFC Guidelines and policy, and the Video Recordings Act 1984.

The consumer advice is

Contains very strong sexual violence, sex and violence

A Serbian film is a 2010 Serbia adult horror by Srdjan Spasojevic. See IMDb

The film will have a London premiere next Thursday, November 25 at 6:30pm at the Prince Charles Cinema, with Spasojevic in attendance.

The general release at UK cinemas is on Friday 10th January 2010.

Video versions are set for 3rd January 2011:

• UK 2011 Revolver Blu-ray for release on 3rd January 2100 at UK Amazon
• UK 2011 Revolver R2 DVD for release on 3rd January 2100 at UK Amazon

The film/DVD/Blu-ray were all  passed 18 after 49 BBFC cuts totalling 4:12s

The BBFC commented about the cuts:

Cuts required to remove portrayals of children in a sexualised or abusive context and images of sexual and sexualised violence which have a tendency to eroticise or endorse the behaviour. Cuts made in accordance with BBFC Guidelines and policy, and the Video Recordings Act 1984.

The consumer advice is

Contains very strong sexual violence, sex and violence

Offsite Review: A Serbian Film: Is this the nastiest film ever made?

19th November 2010. See  review from  independent.co.uk

Publicists whispered to journalists that the film was truly vile . Prior to its AFM screenings, the movie had already been yanked out of Frightfest in London when Westminster Council ruled it couldn't be shown in its uncut form and had started frenzied debates about censorship and freedom of speech. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) had asked for a staggering number of cuts in the film and for a full four minutes of footage to be excised in order for it to qualify for an 18 certificate.

Not since the heyday of the so-called video nasties in the early Eighties had a movie exercised the censors in quite such an extreme way.

Much of the imagery in A Serbian Film is indeed quite repellent. That, though, is not the same as saying that it is a repellent film. The film-making is stylised and self-conscious. The most notorious scenes (the rape of the new-born baby, the scene in which the star decapitates a woman and continues to have sex with her headless torso) are grotesque but very obviously contrived. In the film-within-a-film, Vukmir, the psychiatrist-turned-porn director, may be striving for the ultimate realism but Spasojevic heightens the absurdity. Forty years after A Clockwork Orange, audiences are surely too used to these kind of shock tactics to be affected by them – or so we might think. There is a knowing irony. As in Michael Haneke's films, the director seems to be challenging the audience to question their own voyeuristic instincts. As in Peter Greenaway's The Baby of Macôn, he is using extreme imagery for polemical purposes.

... Read the full review

A Serbian film has been banned from public screenings in Spain following a provisional injunction by a court in San Sebastian.

The injunction was served to San Sebastian's Fantasy and Terror Film Week, four hours before A Serbian film was due to screen at the festival, forcing Film Week director Jose Luis Rebordinos to pull the film from the program.

Two more festivals in Spain -- in Molins de Rei and Malaga -- have followed suit.

The film played at October's Sitges Fantasy Fest, stirring a wide range of reactions. One was a request by Spain's Catholic Confederation of Family and Student Parents (Concapa) for the film to be yanked from San Sebastian's Terror Week -- a petition that appears to have prompted the temporary injunction. Concapa argued the film offended human dignity and the underage.

Currently the ban is temporary, the San Sebastian court still has to rule on a definitive prohibition.

Actress Michelle Williams is urging producers not to edit her harrowing new film Blue Valentine in order to get the movie a lower rating - because she'd prefer cinemagoers saw it as it was intended.

Officials at the Motion Picture Association of America's Classification and Rating Administration have awarded the movie a restrictive NC-17 rating because of a drunken sex scene featuring Williams and her co-star Ryan Gosling.

Producer Harvey Weinstein is challenging the movie censors' over the ban for under-17s, and an appeal hearing will take place on November 10th.

Williams said of the MPAA rating: It seems like such a condemnation. It feels like such a slap on the hand, like you've been a bad kid or something.

Saw 3D is a 2010 US horror by Kevin Greutert.

The BBFC passed the film 18 uncut with the consumer advice: Contains strong gory horror.

The BBFC explained their 18 rating:

Saw 3D is the seventh film in the horror franchise and features a vengeful killer torturing selected victims with elaborate purpose-built devices. It was classified 18 for strong gory horror.

There are several scenes of strong gory horror. The killer often constructs elaborate devices or rigs up machinery to kill his victims. For example, circular saw blades slice into the victims causing blood and intestines to spray from the wounds. In another scene, a man has to remove a fish-hook, attached to a piece of string, that is lodged inside a woman's stomach. As he attempts to retrieve it, the woman coughs up blood until the fish-hook, covered in viscera, is finally removed. The horror and violence throughout the film is often prolonged and sadistic, dwells on the infliction of pain or injury, and also features the strongest gory images. The BBFC's Guidelines at 15 state that Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic [...] violence is also unlikely to be acceptable . Therefore, like its predecessors, the film was only permissible at 18 .

SAW 3D also contains some strong language.

Comment: Saw 3D ups the ante on R-rated gore

See  article from  newstimes.com

There are seemingly no restraints on the graphic violence that can be shown in a movie within the framework of an R rating.

Last weekend, I had the misfortune of seeing the No. 1 movie in the United States, Saw 3D , and was appalled by the nonstop torture-related violence in this sixth sequel to a popular series about a madman and his cronies who force their captives to mutilate themselves if they are to have any hope of living.

What really shocked me, however, was how graphic the violence can get now without pushing a movie into NC-17 territory. The MPAA appears to believe that there are still sexual elements in movies that are simply too much for anyone under the age of 16 to witness -- with or without parental consent -- but those same teenagers can handle moments of excruciating mutilation and death that leave nothing to the imagination.

Did the MPAA ratings panel watch all of Saw 3D or did they ask that it be turned off after the teaser opening in which a young woman is sliced in two on camera (perhaps the least graphically violent killing in the film)?

I'm not proposing censorship of horror movies. ..[BUT]... just hoping to make parents aware that their teens might be seeing a lot more than they should when they are dropped off at something like Saw 3D.

Comment: Violence on screen - is it worth the risk?

Based on article from mediawatch-uk.blogspot.com

The final instalment of the horror franchise Saw has topped the box office in its opening weekend. Saw 3D is the seventh film in the ultra-violent series which has been described as torture porn .

Saw 3D has been classified by the BBFC as suitable viewing for people over the age of 18. Once a film has been passed by the BBFC with an 18 certificate it is then able to be shown on television in due course. We are concerned that once this film is shown on television (as previous films in the franchise have been) it will be very easy for children to access - particularly on video-on-demand services such as iplayer, itvplayer and 4OD. Ofcom research shows that fewer than a third of parents use the password protected services available to screen what their children have access to.

We can no longer ignore the fact that what viewers see on screen has an effect. Even the Government recognises this and is reported to be asking the producers of soap operas to include safe sex messages in their programmes. There are numerous studies linking exposure to violence in the media with violent behaviour.

If drug companies now have to pass the most stringent test to show their products don't harm even the smallest proportion of takers, should violence on the screen be any different?

Bearing in mind the cost to society, and the misery of the victims of violent behaviour, if there is the slightest possibility that media violence can cause harm is this worth the risk in the interests of entertainment?

Comment: Mediawatch UK Cannot Quite Say That Saw 3D Should Be Banned

Based on article from mediasnoops.wordpress.com

Why can't they just say what they think! That Saw 3D and other films like it, in their view should be banned. Maybe they are afraid of appearing as the self appointed moral guardians who think they know what is and is not good for the public to be allowed to see that they are.

...Read the full article

British Horror Film Festival
30th October 2010
The Pier Theatre, Bournemouth

Also showing:

• Needle
• Devils Playground
• Voodoo Lagoon

Bournemouth's licensing committee agreed they would not ban A Serbian Film from the forthcoming British Horror Film Festival at the Pier Theatre if it was classified by the BBFC.

But the BBFC will not issue the film with a certificate unless almost four minutes of footage is cut from it first – something the distributor has not yet done.

Cllr David Kelsey, vice-chair of the licensing board, said he would still be uncomfortable with the film being shown, even after the cuts.

I downloaded it last night and I would not recommend it to a member of my family, he told the meeting: It's the most disgusting, vile thing I've ever sat down and watched. It was absolutely unbelievable. I think cutting five minutes from it would not be enough. Even that would leave a lot of scenes that I would not want to see in a public cinema. I just find it amazing what people can actually get away with in the cause of art nowadays – to me that's just not art.

Chairman of the board Cllr Andrew Morgan suggested they write to Pier Theatre manager Ian Goode to inform him councillors would not be happy with the unclassified version of the film being shown. He also recommended the council take Goode up on his offer to vary the Pier Theatre's licence to specifically prevent unclassified films from being shown there.

We're not stepping into the shoes of the BBFC, if they want to show a classified film it's not our role to stop it, he said.

Stuart Brennan, director of the British Horror Film Festival, said it was up to the film company and distribution company to decide whether they wanted to make the cuts required to gain an 18 certificate: If there is a copy of the film that we can show by the time the festival goes ahead then we will show the cut version, he said.

Update: A Serbian Film Cancelled

25th October 2010. From  horror-movies.ca

A few days ago Bournemouth council announced that A Serbian Film will only be approved to be shown once it is certified by the BBFC.

The festival director Stuart Brennan has issued this statement: This is an unfortunate situation for us to be in. We believe strongly the film should be shown, however this new demand has left us in a position where we are left with little choice but to remove the film from our line up, as we cannot guarantee the film will be certified in time.

A statement issued on behalf of Revolver Entertainment Ltd, the UK distributor for the film reads: Revolver Entertainment Ltd. have decided with regret to withdraw A Serbian Film from exhibition at the forthcoming British Horror Film Festival in Bournemouth. The film has been submitted to the British Board of Film Classification but does not, as yet, have a confirmed 18 certificate. While the film and any potential cuts are still under review the film cannot be screened as per the council's decision

Update: More on the cancellation

27th October 2010. Based on article from  bournemouthecho.co.uk

Although the BBFC has issued the film with an 18 certificate for video after almost four minutes of cuts were made, it has yet to issue a certificate for theatrical exhibition.

Sue Clark, BBFC spokesperson told the Daily Echo yesterday that they expected to issue the film version with an 18 certificate.

She said: We have seen the DVD version and they have made the cuts that we requested. If they send the same version in for cinema release there is no reason why we couldn't have that ready for the end of the week.

Alan Jones

A leading film critic has backed A Serbian Film and called for the public to be allowed to judge it for themselves. Alan Jones, who contributes to Radio Times and Film Review, organised the Film4 FrightFest event in August, from which the film had to be pulled after Westminster council refused permission to show it uncut.

He said dropping the film had been a tragedy . I have seen the film numerous times now and have discussed it at length with director Srdjan Spasojevic. Sure, the subject matter is as shocking as they come, but what you actually see on screen in the uncut version, is brilliantly handled so you think you saw what you didn't, he said.

He said the film was a compelling and provocative work of utter hatred and anger against the treatment the Serbian government meted out to its people.

Jones added: That this film has become such a controversial cause celebre – only in the UK and Turkey, I may add – is yet again another example of how the BBFC can tell responsible adults over the age of 18 what they can and can't see. I find that more outrageous than anything seen in the movie.

A special extended 3D edition of James Cameron's science fiction film Avatar has been withdrawn by its Maltese distributors after the censor  board gave it a 12-rating rather than PG.

The original version of Avatar , screened in 2D and 3D, was classified PG and ran for 20 weeks in cinemas.

However, KRS Film Distributors said they did not agree with the new classification awarded to the extended version, which had an additional eight minutes of scenes scattered throughout the entire film.

The additional scenes in the special edition do not justify the film being given a higher classification than that of the original film, KRS said.

KRS Film Distributors and 20th Century Fox were left no option but to withdraw Avatar Special Edition 3D from playing in cinemas in Malta.

In the UK, the original version of Avatar in 2D and 3D and its extended 3D version were classified 12A.

Sarah Butler, the star of I Spit On Your Grave, which released last weekend in theaters, is happy with the decision to release it unrated.

She says that the MPAA required more than 100 cuts to give it an R rating, and that would be like cutting the legs off this film.

It's an extremely gory movie, and the rape scene is extraordinarily hard to watch, as they don't just rape her, they torture her too. By the time she starts getting revenge, you're ready to take a hacksaw to the guys yourself.

She also told USA Weekend: Why go through the whole thing of shooting a film and really committing yourself to the violence and everything, and then just go and cut it all up to pieces? It's pointless.

Please note, this will contain spoilers and may contain descriptions some people may find concerning.

Ok, a while back now, I wrote an article that took a look at A Serbian Film . Since then, all manner of hype, and backlash, has hit this film. However, now that that has died down (at least until the DVD releases), I find myself in a frame of mind to watch it again. Is this a morbid obsession with the films subject matter? Hardly. It's more a case of wanting to analyse the film in a more neutral light. The first time I watched it, I was concerned, the publicity had taken its toll on me, and after re-reading my last article, I found myself sounding slightly biased. This is due to the content of this film, and me having my teenage head on (the sort of mindset you get into when your a mid teen, listening to Rage against the machine, and siding with an opinion you understand nothing about) Now though, after 2 months, I find I actually want to watch this again. But as a film fan, as an art form, and not as something that strikes a blow for artistic license or what the censors deem appropriate. Which looking back on myself, is what I'd slipped into on my previous viewing.

Chainsaw massacre syndrome

So, how does this film fair up? Now that I have had time to chew the proverbial cud.

Well. I still find it a brilliant film. Also, the political message is still very much lost on me. I don't see it, but that's academic. What I do see though, is a film that suffers from what I like to call chainsaw massacre syndrome. This is something that came about in the 1970's, during Hollywood's new found lease on horror, when people were claiming to have seen more in the film than was actually their. I was bought up to believe that The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was a bloodbath, when in actual fact, theirs very little blood, and most of the violence is psychological. this is something I fell into with A Serbian Film . While it does contain a great deal of violence, a lot of it is off screen, or shown in poorly edited camcorder moments. One I will get to in a minute.

Scene to be believed

The Alice in Wonderland scene is actually the tamest of the film, while it is quite nasty, the child element (something that has caused the main problem with this film) is not that bad. This is due to the fact that girl, dressed as Alice, is not that young. She is in her early teens yes, but she's not as young as Milos' son. While she serves no real purpose to the scene, it does give you a nice entry level of shock and intrigue of what's to come. Something that shows a nice direction, rather than a director who wants to get to the nasty crowd upsetting moment. Pace. Something the new Elm St failed to have.

I'm not going to lie, the NEWBORN PORN scene is still very unpleasant to watch. However, it's the idea that provokes the reaction. Because, you actually don't see a great deal, and you have to ask yourself what's he doing? . Of course when you realise, THAT'S when the horror kicks in. It's more the notion, the idea, that scares. Especially when you think of how many babies are born outside of hospitals (I was born in the car on the way).

As I said earlier, this was a moment in my first viewing where I thought I saw a lot more. But I didn't. I thought the baby scene was longer, done from different angles. It's not. It's all shot from behind, and there's no gratuitous moment of penetration. Something I've heard certain IMDBers claim to see.

Another scene I thought I saw more was the death of the nurse. While you see her death in it's entirety, you DON'T see her getting her teeth knocked out, they're already on the floor. This time I noticed the camera man kick them (to illustrate them being there), something I missed last time, as I knew what was coming (due to internet spoilers). So I was ignoring the peripheral, and waiting for the crunch.

The joint rape, is something I missed a lot in. Mainly due, again, to spoilers. I wanted the impact. When what I should have done, is paid attention to the tone and atmosphere of the scene. I missed the shot of Milos' son bleeding, I missed the brothers climax. In fact all I remember from that scene the first time, is the shot of Milos' sons drooling face and the violence that followed.

While the rape scene is horrific, it's the violence that really struck a chord with me this time. I don't remember the brothers bludgeoning going on as long as it does, I was now able to pay attention to Vukmir dying words, and the penis in the eye was now more painful, as a didn't remember the close ups.

Wince and you'll miss it

Does this film disturb a second time? Yes. This film does what so many fail to do. It gives you a new reaction each time. Most probably because you were wincing the first time. Is it something I will watch a third time? Yes. I probably will. But it will have to be for a good reason. This is not something I'm going to strive to own. It does however deserve to be seen by serious film fans who can look past the media frenzy. Something it took me a second viewing to do.

The Expendables is a 2010 US action film by Sylvester Stallone. See IMDb

It has now been assed 18 uncut for:

• UK 2010 Lions Gate Online
• UK 2010 Lions Gate video versions

Previously the BBFC cut 2s for a 15 rating for

• UK 2010 cinema release.

The BBFC noted:

• The company chose to remove one shot, showing a hero sadistically twisting a knife into a guard's neck, in order to obtain a 15 classification. An uncut 18 classification was available.

Avatar is a 2009 CGI laden action adventure by James Cameron. See IMDb

James Cameron has re-inserted the Na'vi lovemaking scene. Cameron explained that he removed the scene for the initial theatrical run after getting a negative reaction from test audiences: I always felt that it was a good moment, so I wanted to put it back in,

Cameron described the lovemaking scene between Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana noting that it lasts all of about 20 seconds . It's been restored, every last frame of it. Seriously. I would say, just so that we correctly manage people's expectations, it does not change our rating at all. I would call it more of an alien foreplay scene. It's not like they're ripping their clothes off and going at it.

This Extended Version/Special Edition was passed 12/12A uncut for the 2010 cinema release/DVD/Blu-ray. It runs 8 or 9 minutes longer than the original.

The BBFC explained their 12/12A certificate (See article from bbfc.co.uk ):

Avatar is an extended version of a science fiction action adventure film. The film tells the story of a human who attempts to persuade the indigenous population of an alien planet to relocate by controlling a genetically cloned avatar with the outward appearance of one of the natives. The original version was classified 12A for moderate violence and intense battle scenes. This extended version has also been classified 12A , for the same reasons.

The BBFC's Guidelines at 12A'/'12 state that Moderate violence is allowed but should not dwell on detail. There should be no emphasis on injuries or blood, but occasional gory moments may be permitted if justified by the context . AVATAR contains a number of battle scenes in which characters are killed or injured. We see some moderate violence, including sight of arrows piercing bodies, fight scenes where characters are heavily kicked or punched, and a fight scene between a man wearing a large metal body armour suit and a fantastical creature. However, these scenes do not generally feature gory images or strong detail and do not emphasise injuries or blood. Blows and sight of impacts are generally impressionistic or occur offscreen.

With regard to the intense battle scenes, the PG guidelines note that Frightening sequences should not be prolonged or intense. Fantasy settings may be a mitigating factor . The intense battle scenes towards the end of the film are both prolonged and intense and include scenes where the heroic characters are attacked or threatened. Although the context is clearly fantastical, the level of intensity may disturb a child aged around eight or older, meaning that the scenes are more appropriately placed at 12A .

Avatar also contains some moderate and mild language; occasional scenes showing an older character smoking, although the portrayal does not promote or glamorise smoking; a mild and oblique verbal drug reference and a very mild sex reference when a female character states that she and a male character are mated .

For a brief moment this past weekend, the impossible happened - the unrated Hatchet 2 opened in over 60 theaters and became a cause for celebration among horror film fans, who viewed the release as a possible way to break the seemingly arbitrary MPAA chokehold that they see as part of the decline of the horror genre.

Hatchet 2 is one of the few times in the last twenty-five years that an unrated film has gotten any sort of theatrical release and the horror launched a Twitter and Facebook campaign to support it.

Leading horror website DreadCentral.com had even asked fans to buy tickets for Hatchet 2 online even if they aren't near a theater showing it as a way to send a message to Hollywood that there's a market for unrated horror.

That dream barely made it through the weekend; the theater chains that were carrying Hatchet 2 pulled it without explanation by Monday morning. It's tough to really know the specific box office numbers since several theaters - in Canada, specifically -- wound up pulling the film right away due to fear of being fined for showing an unrated film, says Green. We're hearing that others decided to only show Hatchet 2 at specific times due to the hassle of having to have someone guard the cinema door to check IDs. When I saw the film in Los Angeles there was a guard at the door for the entire movie checking ticket stubs and IDs where necessary. It was kind of crazy.

Update: Poor Box Office

8th October 2010. See  article from  ifc.com

Adam Green and his marketers pinned their hopes for that miracle on AMC, and an ad campaign that specifically tied Hatchet II 's lack of a rating (I saw posters for the film at Fantastic Fest that even used the tagline Support Unrated Horror ). If nothing else, Hatchet II 's $52,000 weekend gross proves that turning a gory, tongue-in-cheek slasher movie into a referendum on free speech isn't a shortcut to box office gold. Those uncut and unrated slogans are on DVDs because people want to see extreme blood and guts, not because they're looking to strike a blow against organized censorship. They're horror fans, not freedom fighters.

Offsite: Adam Green Speaks

9th October 2010. See  article from  reelzchannel.com by Adam Green

The sad truth of the matter is that no one at [distributor] Dark Sky has been able to tell me the exact reasons behind why the film was pulled (they have not gotten a clear explanation whatsoever) and I only know what I am hearing from the public on Twitter and AMC's response to the press of we base our decisions on performance which does not add up given that we know of at least two theaters that had pulled the film after just 24 hours and given the grand scheme of things, other genre titles performed worse per screen, even though they had bigger budgets and traditional spends on marketing campaigns as opposed to ours.

All signs would point to AMC being unhappy with how vocal I was about the MPAA and not wanting to deal with the controversy — which if the case, is their given right. Had the film grossed millions, maybe it would be a different story with them, but given the size of our release and the nature of what this is, all we ever could have hoped for was a few grand per screen in a realistic scenario.

...Read the full article

Offsite: Adam Green Speaks About Hatchet III

3rd October 2011. See  article from  fearnet.com

When Hatchet II came out, they [the MPAA] were under fire because of the torture-porn that was getting through. But the reason that torture-porn was getting through was because it was being distributed by a studio that pays their salaries, so they couldn't stop it. So there is all this backlash from parents, and I come along with a swamp monster with a gas-powered belt sander, killing comedians like Monty Python, and they came down on me!

But they fucked with the wrong guy because I beat them. I got my film into theatres unrated - which hasn't happened in 30 years - for 48 hours. Then I became the first movie to ever get pulled from theatres. There was all this bullshit that it wasn't performing but in fact it did so great that, within 72 hours of the DVD release, a third one got greenlit. So the MPAA can eat a fucking dick. Hatchet III is coming, so I win, they lose.

...Read the full article

I'm sick of PG-13 horror. Ugh! Another remake? Screw going to the theatre, I'll just wait to see the unrated edition on DVD or Blu-ray.

How many of you have said such things? The sad part is we've gotten used to it. The MPAA has beaten back the genre countless times with their double standards and self given right to deem for us what is acceptable and what is not. No one dared to challenge them, no matter how much we bitched, cried, and moaned. We were never afforded the chance to do anything about their rule over the horror genre, something they clearly do not even understand.

Until now.

This weekend for the first time in over a quarter of a century a movie is coming out in a pretty damned wide release (all things considered) at AMC theatres across the country unrated and untampered with by the film group for whom cool began and ended with the Fonz on Happy Days . Adam Green's Hatchet II isn't looking to reinvent the wheel. That was never the intention. Adam and company just made the film that they wanted to make. He was content with it going straight to DVD unrated. Better that than seeing his flick get butchered again. But then Dark Sky and MPI Films got behind it full force. AMC loved the movie enough to grant it a wide theatrical release. This wasn't an act of defiance of the MPAA on anyone's part who are directly connected to the film, but you know what? It can be for us. We can take the reins here. We have an opportunity to make our voices heard and possibly change the rules in the process.

If we as horror fans make it a point to make sure that Hatchet II is successful at the box office this weekend, we can take back some of the power that the MPAA has been unmercifully wielding for so many years and do so in a way that Hollywood understands ... with cash! Theatre chains would always shy away from unrated horror releases because they didn't think it would be profitable for them to bother showing a film without the ratings board's blessing. We have a unique chance right now to prove that's bullshit!

If this movie is successful this weekend, other theatre chains will be more receptive to the idea of giving indie filmmakers their shot to reach their audience. No one wants to miss out on something profitable. And for the filmmakers the hassle of having to go on trial in front of the MPAA to get their movie rated so it can get out there just may not seem so necessary anymore, and we can FINALLY start getting what we crave the most: Our movies. Our way. Does it get any more punk rock than that?

Director Steven Monroe was interviewed about the remake, I Spit on Your Grave.

Fearnet: Is this truly unrated? Did you submit it to the MPAA at all?

Monroe: Yes, it is truly unrated. The cut we submitted to the MPAA was what we called the Everything Cut. It had everything in there that we wanted in there, and that we thought the fans would want to see. We didn't want the fans to be able to say that we backed off on anything. That is the cut we sent to the MPAA, and that is the cut that is going out to theatres unrated. The MPAA said that cut would be NC-17, but they also said that they don't recommend we cut it down. In a way we were shocked, but it was easy for them. They don't care if the film is released with an NC-17 or an R. It's the distributors who care. Why go NC-17? You can't get into any theatres with that. At least with unrated, you can show it to theatre chains to see if they will take it. And a lot did take it. The R-rated cut that the MPAA signed off on is sitting on a shelf somewhere.

Fearnet: Will that end up getting a wider release?

Monroe: No. They are not doing any release with that R-rated cut. At all.

...Read the full interview

Is unrated cinema becoming the new 3D? A gimmick to get horror fans' asses into theater seats? Anchor Bay is following in Hatchet II 's footsteps by releasing I Spit on Your Grave unrated in select theaters on October 7, 2010.

We are thrilled to be releasing the unrated, uncensored version of the new I Spit On Your Grave , says Bill Clark, President of Anchor Bay Entertainment: Steven R Monroe has brought his own remarkable vision to this cult classic and we are certain that the unrated cut will, like the original, evoke a visceral reaction from audiences worldwide.

The Irish film censor (IFCO) has banned the DVD re-release of the 1978 horror film I Spit on Your Grave starring Camille Keaton.

UK fans of the infamous cult film will be able to purchase the ultimate collector's edition on DVD and Blu-ray albeit cut by the BBFC. However Irish fans of the cult video nasty will be prohibited from purchasing locally, forcing them to import UK versions from internet retailers.

The decision to ban the DVD re-release of the cult classic film was due to the film depicting acts of gross violence and cruelty (including mutilation and torture) towards humans.

Director Meir Zarchi commented on the ban: It doesn't surprise me that Ireland have decided to ban the film. It has relentlessly continued to shock and offend audiences since 1978 when it was first released, and it still does to this date. However, with the level of graphic violence and horror available these days, it's surprising that IFCO sees this 1978 film more offensive than some of the most daring and empty of content torture porn available today.

Since the birth of the Internet all censor boards around the world have instantly become irrelevant. IFCO included. Anyone anywhere in the universe can simply push a button on any video website store and order a disc of I Spit On Your Grave. There are no iron curtains in the skies that can stop it from landing at his or her door.

Are we going through the Lady Chatterley's Lover syndrome all over again? The bottom line - thank you IFCO for promoting the film in Ireland.

The Original Cult Video Nasty is available today on UK DVD and Blu-ray as an ultimate collector's edition dual format - still cut but less so than previous releases.

This month marks the 20th anniversary of the NC-17 rating, invented by the MPAA to separate certain graphic yet non-pornographic films from the porn connotations of the X rating. But the new classification immediately had its own stigma and many theater chains and video stores wouldn't carry films with the NC-17 mark.

Now AMC Theatres, which has long been one of those against booking films lacking classification, is opening its screens (around 60 locations) to the horror sequel Hatchet II , which makes this the widest opening for an unrated film in 25 years. (probably referring to The Evil Dead which opened unrated in 128 theaters and took home more than $2 million)

It's assumed that following the October 1 release of Hatchet II, the also-unrated horror release I Spit on Your Grave will be booked in similar fashion. Then what? If the first title is successful -- and I think it has a good shot at being the highest-grossing unrated film of all time -- can we expect filmmakers to actually start trying to garner an NC-17 just to then go out unrated? Will films that wouldn't even receive an NC-17 exploit the sudden approval by going unrated anyway?

A film by Matthew Barney, Marina Abramovic, Richard Prince and other artists that's playing at the Los Angeles Downtown Film Festival is so graphic that it took four years to get U.S. distribution.

This week's Los Angeles Downtown Film Festival, which will bring together sex and art by some of the world's most innovative and provocative artists and directors, is shadowed by controversy with the screening of the much-talked-about art/sex film, Destricted .

Destricted , an art-based film in which multiple directors—among them Larry Clark (Kids), artists Matthew Barney and Marina Abramovic, and photographer Sam Taylor-Woods—explore modernistic views of sex, sexuality, and pornography in modern film.

Formed in 2004 as a brand (instead of strictly as a film) and originally released in September 2006 in the U.K., Destricted won awards at a range of international film festivals, including Cannes, Sundance, Edinburgh, Amsterdam and Locarno. Despite Destricted's successful debuts, the film would have to wait four years for its U.S. release.

All this time, Destricted has been tied up in American laws governing pornography, which dictate that anyone who appears in a sexually explicit film must be legally documented as over 18. Because some shorts were filmed overseas, under disparate conditions, and perhaps without the artists' foreseeing the necessity of such documentation, some didn't have proper papers, thus they could not be released for profit (which is why admission to the festival screening is free). Just this year, Destricted amassed the necessary documents to clear eight shorts for commercial distribution in the U.S., which will happen in November, via DVD and a small theatrical release.

Destricted 's roster of shorts varies from the international release, to the U.S. release, to what is screened at the festival: the U.S. version features eight short reels, all of which are explicit in nature; six short films, including some not on the U.S. release, will be screened at the Downtown Film Fest; and seven shorts, a mix-up of the previous lists, appear on the U.K. version.

While porn is now a mainstream commodity, its shock value challenged by saturation and corporate marketing, and, some might say, the loosening of American mores, the films comprising Destricted aim to explore and underscore a still-vibrant polemic: to highlight controversial issues about the representation of sexuality in art, opening up for debate the question of whether art can be disguised as pornography or whether pornography can be disguised as art, according to the film's creators.

Controversy looks set to reign at this year's Raindance film festival after organisers announced they will screen a number of highly contentious films over the event's 11-day run, which begins later this month.

Among the features that will show at the festival are first-time director Srdjan Spasojevic's horror picture A Serbian Film , which has been noted for scenes involving paedophilia, necrophilia, rape and incest and was pulled from last month's FrightFest.

Raindance appears to have found a way around the ban by billing the screening as a private event .

Meanwhile, Bruce La Bruce's LA Zombie , dubbed the world's first gay zombie porno, will also make an appearance. It made the news for being being banned in censorial Australia before it could be shown at the Melbourne international film festival. It has already screened at Locarno and Toronto.

Less contentious but with equally difficult subject matter is Five Daughters , a British film about the last weeks of the five women murdered in Ipswich in 2006.

Raindance's founder and director, Elliot Grove, said the festival had a duty to screen films it believed in, and which deserved to be seen by the general public: It's important to understand that these films weren't programmed because people have dubbed them as 'controversial', he said. In many cases we've been following these films throughout the year, and before anybody even mentioned them as causing any supposed offence. We feel audiences have the right to pass their own judgement, and people know exactly what they are seeing.

For the second year in succession, Raindance will take place at the Apollo Cinema in Piccadilly Circus. It runs from 29 September to 10 October.

Meanwhile the Sun has fun with the 'vile' A Serbian Film

See  article from  thesun.co.uk

A sick film which features graphic scenes of necrophilia, paedophilia and even the rape of a baby seconds after its birth, is to be screened at a London festival.

The movie, called A Serbian Film , has caused outrage with harrowing scenes involving the brutal rape of children and the murder of helpless women whose bodies are then violated. Many reviews have condemned the movie with one horror site writer comparing watching the movie to having (his) soul raped .

The BBFC demanded 49 cuts to the movie before it could be screened here. But organisers of the Raindance Festival have scheduled a private screening of the vile movie.

Screenwriter and director SRDJAN SPASOJEVIC attempted to defend the movie as an allegory for the horrific war crimes in his country's recent history: This is a diary of our own molestation by the Serbian government... It's about the monolithic power of leaders who hypnotise you to do things you don't want to do. You have to feel the violence to know what it's about.

From the off, please let me point out this will contain spoilers about the film in question. In order to make my point valid I will have to use examples from the film.

So,

Against all my better judgments I've just sat through an uncut print of A Serbian Film . I say my better judgments, because for me these (I hate this term) torture porn films, hold absolutely no interest at all. How they can be branded horror films is beyond me. To me, horror is something that scares you, and makes you jump, not offends you. Anyway that's purely academic, back on point, I was lucky enough to see an uncut print of A Serbian Film , now for a lot of you this will seem like nothing special, but here in the UK, it's been trimmed by just under 4 mins. I've yet to see the BBFC approved print, but if all they have done is simply lessen the impact of scenes, this will still upset a lot of people.

That being said, I can certainly understand the BBFC's point. While I'm no fan of censorship (I wouldn't be on here if I was), I do believe that a metaphorical line should be drawn in the sand, especially when dealing with children and sex in films. Even to this day, I'm still quite edgy around Larry Clarke's Kids . Which brings me onto the big problem with A Serbian Film . The use of children. While one scene involves newborn porn (sex with a baby) , it does look very fake, and some might even say it's meant to, as it's supposed to be a metaphor and blah blah blah. The scene that really did make me think the BBFC had a point was a joint rape, involving two sheet covered bodies, our main character, Milos, and another man (who's masked) raping them. While this is not shocking as such, what is revealed later in the scene will be too much for some people, as it turns out the masked man, is Milos' brother (a sheriff), who's raping Milos' wife, and Milos is in fact raping his own (heavily drugged) young son. While you don't actually see anything as such, the repeat viewings could be seen as being titillating and arousing for certain viewers. Whether this scene is one of the 49 cuts I can't say, but I'd be surprised if theirs not a few in their, as it does suggest you can easily drug and anally rape a child, and not have to look at them.

Although, their are a lot of violent sex scenes, I think the one the BBFC will have had a problem with, is suffocation via fellatio. One of the support characters (having had her teeth knocked out), is forced to have a penis rammed down her throat resulting in her suffocating and dying. The fact that this is played very real, and does go on, is, I imagine, something that hasn't sat well with them (the BBFC rarely allow these gagging scenes in R18 films (hardcore porn)). That being said, I'll be surprised if they were phased by the necrophilia / rigor mortis sex moments, as they can come off as laughable (as does the death via penis to eye socket), even in the context they're in, and movies like Donkey Punch , seem to have faired off fine, so I doubt they were a problem.

While all the above scenes are shocking and uncomfortable to watch, this film IS very good. And I think that will be it's downfall, you won't forget it, and that scares censors. It doesn't look like some snuff film from Tijuanna. It looks glossy, Hollywood, the cinematography is excellent, the acting top notch (especially as it's subtitled), it looks like a well made, well polished mainstream film. Maybe that's the problem. It's just too damn good.

The illegal screening of a banned zombie porn film went ahead last night after police failed to arrive at the viewing.

LA Zombie played to a crowd of about 200 people at 1000 £ Bend - a cafe-bar in the city - as part of the Melbourne Underground Film Festival.

The audience cheered as some of the more shocking scenes, including a zombie sexually penetrating a dying man's open chest wound, played out on the big screen.

The ban made screening the movie illegal but festival director Richard Wolstencroft said he was defying the ban to support freedom of speech: When MIFF dropped the ball [by not showing it] we felt we had to do something . This is about freedom of speech … I believe in it. You can't just protect speech you agree with.

A Serbian Film is a 2010 Serbia adult horror by Srdjan Spasojevic. The BBFC made 49 cuts totalling 3:48s for the 2010 DVD/Blu-ray release.

In light of A Serbian Film being pulled from the Film4 FrightFest lineup at the last minute after the BBFC demanded nearly four minutes of cuts, UK distributor Revolver has released a brief statement:

A spokesperson for Revolver, the UK distributor of the film said: In light of the BBFC's recent requested 49 cuts totalling approximately 3 mins 48 secs for the DVD / Blu-ray release of A Serbian Film , we remain committed to releasing the closest possible version of the film to the director's original cut.

The company recognises that the film is an uncompromising, artistic and political statement from a unique filmmaking vision and remains fully supportive to the director. Revolver believes this is a film that deserves to be seen by both a theatrical and home entertainment UK audience.

A Serbian Film is a 2010 Serbia adult horror by Srdjan Spasojevic. The BBFC made 49 cuts totalling 3:48s for the 2010 DVD/Blu-ray release. The film was cancelled from a showing at Frightfest

In the past decade, pretty much anything goes down at the BBFC, aka the censors' office. Hostel. Saw. Irreversible. Antichrist. All released, as far as I can tell, uncut.

A refreshing change, finally, for audiences to be treated as adults. Time was, back in the days when professional killjoy James Ferman was in charge, that any remotely interesting movie was cut, banned or otherwise pilloried. Amazingly, as recently as 1996 David Cronenberg's Crash caused such a furore that made the front page of the Daily Mail, while The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (amongst many others) was still persona non grata in British cinemas.

Ancient times. Nowadays, Channel 4 and its spin-offs seems to be showing the early Saw films on constant rotation, and you can go and buy Martyrs in HMV. That's the result, largely, of a more relaxed and circumspect leadership at the BBFC. The vast majority of films are uncut, the current board rightly taking a hands-off view towards anything that doesn't contravene obscenity laws.

Trouble is, taking the stigma out of hardcore horror does tend to leave the genre's extreme wing looking rather toothless. Way back when, getting banned was something of a badge of honour for some directors, proving that their taboo-busting shock tactics worked. These days, Saw is a theme park ride. When the bar has been raised (or, depending on your point of view, lowered), what does it take to get the kind of reaction that once had the tabloids and politicians in apoplexy?

Looks like we've just found out. Srdjan Spasojevic's A Serbian Film has caused outrage and revulsion even amongst hardcore horror fans.

A Serbian Film is a 2010 Serbia adult horror by Srdjan Spasojevic. See IMDb

The BBFC made 49 cuts totalling 3:48s for the 2010 DVD/Blu-ray release.

The BBFC commented:

The BBFC has also required cuts to the DVD submission of A Serbian Film for an ‘18’ rating.  This Serbian language film with subtitles is about a former Serbian porn star, who is lured out of early retirement by an offer of money to participate in an ‘artistic’ porn film for the ‘foreign market’.  When he is forced to participate in abusive activities he tries to pull out but is drugged and is forced to continue with the filming.

The filmmakers have stated that A Serbian Film is intended as an allegory about Serbia itself.  The Board recognises that the images are intended to shock, but the sexual and sexualised violence goes beyond what is acceptable under current BBFC Guidelines at ‘18’.  The Board has therefore required 49 individual cuts to the work amounting to approximately three minutes 48 seconds. These include cuts to the juxtaposition of images of children with sexual and sexually violent material.  Although the Board does not regard these images as likely to contravene the Protection of Children Act 1978, the Guidelines state that intervention is most likely with, amongst other things, ‘ portrayals of children in a sexualised or abusive context’.

David Cooke, Director of the BBFC said:

It is the Board’s policy that at the adult category the Guideline concerns will not normally override the principle that adults should be free to choose their own entertainment... However ..there are cases where the Board will intervene, even at ‘18’, where material or treatment appears to the BBFC to pose a credible potential harm risk to individuals or, through their behaviour, to society, and in particular where portrayals of sexual or sexualised violence might eroticise or endorse sexual assault or where children are portrayed in a sexualised context.

The cuts to A Serbian Film do not detract from the message of the film but remove the most problematic images of sexual and sexualised violence.  The section in the Board’s Guidelines which lists the possible grounds for compulsory cuts also includes material which portrays children in a sexualised or abusive context.  Whilst the Board understands that these images are intended to make a political point, that does not remove the genuine harm risks to which they give rise.

Frightfest

Based on article from  digitalspy.co.uk

Controversial horror movie A Serbian Film will not be screened at this year's Film4 FrightFest event.

FrightFest co-director Alan Jones said in a statement that the horror event organisers pulled the movie because they did not wish to show a version that had been heavily censored by 49 individual cuts.

Film4 FrightFest has decided not to show A Serbian Film in a heavily cut version because, as a festival with a global integrity, we think a film of this nature should be shown in its entirety as per the director's intention, Jones explained.

Several film festivals across the world have already done so. Unlike the I Spit on Your Grave remake, where we are showing the BBFC certified print, as requested by Westminster Council, the issues and time-line complexities surrounding A Serbian Film make it impossible for us to screen it

A Serbian Film is the second withdrawal from FrightFest following Gregg Araki's decision not to screen his apocalyptic teen horror Kaboom .

I Spit on Your Grave is a 2010 US revenge film by Steven R Monroe. See IMDb

The BBFC made 17 cuts totalling 43s for:

• UK 2010 cinema release.

The BBFC explained their cuts:

• Company was required to make a total of seventeen cuts during three separate scenes of sexual violence in order to remove potentially harmful material (in this case, shots of nudity that tend to eroticise sexual violence and shots of humiliation that tend to endorse sexual violence by encouraging viewer complicity in sexual humiliation and rape).

The BBFC added:

I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE is a US remake of the 1978 film of the same name. It tells the story of a young woman, Jennifer Hills, who rents a secluded cabin in order to work on her novel. She is terrorised, assaulted and brutally gang raped by a group of five men, including the local Sheriff. She then takes revenge on each of her attackers. The film was classified 18 for very strong terrorisation, sexual violence and bloody violence.

Before awarding an 18 classification to I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE, the BBFC required seventeen individual cuts to its scenes of sexual violence in order to remove elements that tend to eroticise sexual assault (for example, through the use of nudity), as well as other elements that tend to endorse sexual assault (for example, by encouraging viewer complicity by the use of camcorder footage, filmed by the rapists, during the various scenes of sexual assault). With these cuts made, the film's scenes of very strong terrorisation and sexual violence remain potentially shocking, distressing or offensive to some adult viewers, but are also likely to be found repugnant and to be aversive. They are not credibly likely to encourage imitation. There are three scenes in which Jennifer is terrorised, humiliated and sexually assaulted by the men. She is verbally and physically abused, being forced to drink alcohol, dance in her underwear and behave like an animal. She is also beaten and pushed around by the men. Jennifer is then raped by each of the men in turn, although only two rapes are shown onscreen. In the cut version, the rape scenes feature only incidental nudity and are played largely off facial reactions. Although the scenes of assault are protracted, the most likely response to the cut version of the scenes is revulsion and disgust rather than excitement or arousal.

Frightfest

The cut version of I Spit on your Grave will now be shown at Frightfest in central London as required by the local authority.

Earlier this week Jennifer Aniston came under fire for comments during an appearance on Regis and Kelly. While a guest on the morning show, Aniston made the comment comparing herself to a retard, saying, Yeah, I got to play dress up . I do it for a living, like a retard.

The fallout from the incident was immediate with disability groups calling her choice of words inappropriate and offensive.

In a statement released to TV Guide, a representative for the Special Olympics commented, The Special Olympics is always disappointed when the R-word is used, especially by someone who is influential to society. The pervasive use of the R-word, even in an off the cuff self-deprecating manner, dehumanizes people with intellectual disabilities and perpetuates painful stereotypes that are a great source of suffering and negative stigma.

The bad press did nothing to help Aniston's new film, The Switch which she was on the show to promote in the first place.

The Switch a romantic comedy starting Aniston and Jason Bateman bombed at the box office this weekend, grossing just $8.1 million. So did Aniston's talk show gaffe tank the film? The low box office is definitely due in part to some tepid reviews and stiff weekend competition. However, one can't help but question whether her comment had an effect as well.

L ethal Weapon 2 is a 1989 US police film by Richard Donner. See IMDb

The Theatrical Version has now been passed 15 with cuts waived for:

• UK 2010 Warner Online
• UK 2010 Warner video

All previous DVD/VHS releases have been 18 rated and cut as follows:

• A scene has been removed soon after Mel Gibson sees the body of Patsy Kensit in which he kills two guards. The first one is beaten with a chain and the second has his head rammed in a car door (a definite BBFC no-no).
• There is also a cut close-up of a bad guy being shot during a shortened climatic scene. Multiple shots were reduced to just one.

Enter the Void is a 2009 France/Germany/Italy drama by Gaspar Noé. See IMDb

The BBFC passed the full version 18 uncut for a cinema release but this version was then cancelled.

Rather bizarrely the distributors resubmitted the film with reel 7 left out and also said that the film would be projected at 25 frames per second, shortening the running time by a further 5:43s.

This shorter version was passed 18 without cuts for the 2010 cinema release. The BBFC noted: Contains hard drug use and strong real sex.

The BBFC explained their 18 rating:

Enter the Void is a drama following the lives of a brother and sister living in contemporary Tokyo. The brother, Oscar, is a small-time drug dealer and his sister, Linda, works as an erotic dancer in a strip club. The film was classified 18 for frequent hard drug use and strong real sex.

The film contains frequent sight of hard drug use, including the use of cocaine, LSD, GHB and DMT. At 18 , the BBFC's Guidelines state that cuts may be required to any detailed portrayal of [...] illegal drug use, which may cause harm to public health . More generally, the Guidelines state that No work taken as a whole may promote the misuse of drugs and any detailed portrayal of drug misuse likely to promote or glamorise the activity may be cut . Although Enter the Void places some emphasis on the pleasures of recreational drug use, most notably through extended sequences filmed from the point of view of the hallucinating drug user, the dangers of drug misuse are made clear throughout the film, both in the dialogue and in the narrative itself. For example, one of the central characters is shot by police during a drugs raid and finds himself lying on the floor of a toilet cubicle, covered in his own blood. Such scenes serve to reduce any glamorisation of the lifestyle depicted. Additionally, although various methods of drug use are shown, such as taking pills, smoking drugs and snorting lines, none of the material shown presents information that is likely to be novel or instructional to an adult audience.

The film also contains several scenes of strong sexual activity and nudity, including sight of naked couples thrusting during sex, sight of implied fellatio and sight of erect penises. These scenes exceed the terms of the 15 Guidelines where Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail and are therefore more appropriately placed at 18 . In addition there are infrequent scenes of strong real sex, including sight of vaginal penetration by dildo and by penis and sight of ejaculation. At 18 , the Guidelines state that cuts are likely where there are more explicit images of sexual activity which cannot be justified by context . The images in question are relatively brief and are not dwelt upon. Their purpose is not to arouse or titillate the audience; rather, their purpose is to illustrate the hedonistic and often seedy world inhabited by many of the film's characters.

In addition, Enter the Void contains frequent strong language and two uses of very strong language. It also contains scenes of strong violence, some strong gory images (including sight of head wounds in the aftermath of a car accident), strong verbal sex references and a scene depicting a pregnant woman undergoing an abortion procedure in a hospital or clinic. The latter scene in particular includes sight of surgical instruments being used on the woman and close sight of the dead foetus lying in a metal dish, which some viewers may find disturbing. The film also includes occasional suggestions of an incestuous relationship, including inappropriate kissing between siblings and sight of a brother sniffing his sister's discarded underwear. However, no incestuous sex is actually shown.

Enter the Void also includes a number of sequences of flashing and flickering lights that are likely to trigger a physical reaction in vulnerable viewers. It also contains extended sequences featuring rotating and handheld camerawork that may induce motion sickness in some viewers.

After the MPAA handed an R rating for language to an acclaimed documentary about NFL-player-turned-Army-Ranger Pat Tillman, the makers of the movie have lost an appeal to have the rating changed to PG-13.

The filmmakers tried to argue that The Tillman Story – which delves into the official military cover-up of Tillman's death in Afghanistan by friendly fire and the way in which he was exploited as a potent patriotic symbol — is exactly the kind of historically significant film that should be exposed to as many young people as possible, not hidden from them due to squeamishness over some bad words.

Offsite: I'm Pat Fucking Tillman

5th September 2010. See  article from  chicagotribune.com

According to the MPPA's ratings and classification board. Habitually easy on violence but far more nervous regarding language and skin, the MPAA ratings board issued director Amir Bar-Lev's film an R rating for its 16 instances of the f-word.

Bar-Lev said in a separate conversation Wednesday: If we had sat down and written the film, which of course we didn't since it's a documentary, and used that language to titillate or amuse people — that'd be one context. But we're talking about real-life situations when people are being shot at, or consumed with grief, or a couple of key moments where we show you how Pat Tillman's family sometimes talks.

The veracity of the language is pertinent, Bar-Lev said, given Tillman's likely last words, as he was being fired on, mistakenly, by three of his fellow American soldiers: I'm Pat f---ing Tillman!

...Read the full article

Banned gay horror porn film LA Zombie is still scheduled to screen in Melbourne on August 29 in defiance of the federal censor.

The movie, from American director Bruce LaBruce, was scheduled to appear in the Melbourne International Film Festival, but on July 20 it was 'refused classification' by the Censorship Board, meaning it could not legally be screened in Australia.

Despite that, Richard Wolstencroft, director of the Melbourne Underground Film Festival, yesterday announced his intention to stage a public disobedience freedom of speech event on August 29.

One of the most hyped films of the year has been effectively banned in South korea.

Kim Ji-Woon's upcoming revenge thriller I Saw The Devil? has been given a rating known as Limited Screening , a highly restrictive rating that only allows the film to be screened in special theaters that only show adult films. Currently no such theaters exist, meaning the film has effectively been banned.

Originally submitted for ratings review a month ago, the film has undergone re-editing since first being hit by the rating but to no avail. The rating stood a second submission and distributors have now called off scheduled press screenings while they try to address the ratings board concerns and get a rating on the film that will allow them to actually release it.

The official concern? Scenes that severely damage the dignity of human values.

Kyung-chul is a dangerous psychopath who kills for pleasure. He has committed infernal serial murders in diabolic ways that one cannot even imagine and his victims range from young women to even children. The police have chased him for a long time, but were unable to catch him. One day, Joo-yeon, daughter of a retired police chief becomes his prey and is found dead in a horrific state.

Her fiance Dae-hoon, a top secret agent, decides to track down the murderer himself. He promises himself that he will do everything in his power to take bloody vengeance against the killer, even if it means that he must become a monster himself to get this monstrous and inhumane killer.

The film premieres as part of the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

Meat Grinder is a 2009 Thai horror by Tiwa Moeithaisong

See  article from  thesun.co.uk

Prepare to hide behind your sofa - as the most graphic gore film ever is soon to be released.

The devilishly named Meat Grinder has a title that suggests human insides will soon be on the outsides. And now the BBFC have just given the Thai movie the green light to a completely uncut version.

Horror fans will be treated to plenty of blood splattering and cannibalism, with gruesome scenes including nails being hammered through fingernails and multiple dismemberment of limbs.

The film tells the story of a deranged woman who runs a noodle stall and starts hearing voices in her head. When she finds a dying man in her stall one night, she decides to chop him up and grind his body parts into meatballs as ingredients for her soup. When the dish proves popular and business begins to flourish, she must find a steady supply of fresh human meat to feed her customers.

Even the company distributing the film had doubts it could ever be released in the UK uncut. Tony Taglienti, Managing Director at 4 Digital Media said: We were expecting the BBFC to send us to the cutting room before being able to release it. We are pleased that this is not the case and applaud their decision to let the public have the chance to watch it as the filmmakers intended.

Comment: Quite Bloody

From DarkAngel on the Melon Farmers Forum

I've seen an advanced screener copy of Meat Grinder , and whilst it is indeed quite bloody in places, and features a few yucky ouch moments, its nothing that hasn't been seen before.

Hostel and some of the Saw films are notably gorier!

Demons is a 1985 Italian film by Lamberto Bava. See IMDb

BBFC c uts were waived when the Director's Cut was passed 18 uncut for:

• UK 2010 Arrow R2 DVD at UK Amazon for release on 27th September 2010
• UK 2006 Platinum R2 DVD via UK Amazon

The US release is uncut and MPAA Unrated for:

• US 2007 Ascot R1 DVD at US Amazon

Previously t he DIVID 2000 released was cut by 42s when submitted in 2000 with the following justification: Cut required to sight of razor blade scraped along breast in medium close shot

• This is the scene where one of the "punk" characters scrapes cocaine off the bare breast of Nina (the punk girl) with a razor blade

Previously to that it was cut even more.

Review from UK Amazon : Classic garbage

Demons is cited on the commentary that accompanies this DVD as being one of the most important Italian horror films of the 80's, and indeed it is. Bypassing the flabby, overcooked acting, unevenly distributed action and horrendous scores of many a Euro-horror, Demons goes straight for the jugular, eyeballs, guts and groin. This film is certainly one of the best paced non-American horror flicks of the decade and contains a level of lovingly crafted, sickeningly visceral gore which just wouldn't happen these days.

For a European film the acting isn't actually too bad and the set is very effective. This film of course has bad points. Loads of them, but as is sometimes the case with these trashy horrors, the bad bits are so bad that they end up enhancing the enjoyment of the picture.

Classic garbage and even the involvement of the terminally abysmal Dario Argento couldn't ruin the fun of this film. Add to this toxic cocktail an interesting commentary with the director and a soundtrack featuring Billy Idol, Saxon and the immensely underrated 'Fast as a Shark' by Accept and you have a total winner. I love it.

Jakarta State Administrative Court upheld the film censor's ban on the Australian feature film Balibo , labelling the film sensitive .

A panel of judges ruled that the Film Censorship Board (LSF) had fulfilled the required administrative procedures to ban the controversial film.

The court agreed with the LSF's argument that the film could reopen old wounds .

Balibo recounts the story of five Australian-based journalists who were killed during the invasion of the town of Balibo in Timor Leste in 1975.

The LSF banned the film on the grounds that it depicted violence and that the film had only used Australian and Timor Leste sources, a matter that concerned the Indonesian government. The military has been particularly sensitive on the topic.

A new documentary from Yael Hersonski called A Film Unfinished takes propaganda footage from the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII and reveals the cinematic deception of the frames.

Hersonski outlines how many of the scenes of real life were crafted by the filmmakers to try and show a hideous disconnect between the Ghetto's rich Jews and poor Jews -- scenes of passerby walking over corpses are juxtaposed with lavish dinners (entirely crafted by the Nazis) and entertainment (where people were beaten if they didn't look like they were having enough fun).

It is a harrowing account, for sure, but also a worthy one. However, the documentary has now hit a snag, getting an R rating from the MPAA, which has inspired the Beastie Boys' (and Oscilloscope founder) Adam Yauch to speak out.

In a press release, Oscilloscope Laboratories has announced that they will appeal the R rating, given to the film for disturbing images of holocaust atrocities including graphic nudity. By banning people under the age of 17 from viewing the film without their parent/guardian, the rating will keep the documentary out of classrooms and educational venues.

Adam Yauch says: This is too important of a historical document to ban from classrooms. While there's no doubt that Holocaust atrocities are displayed, if teachers feel their students are ready to understand what happened, it's essential that young people are given the opportunity to see this film. Why deny them the chance to learn about this critical part of our human history? I understand that the MPAA wants to protect children's eyes from things that are too overwhelming, but they've really gone too far this time. It's bullshit.

The graphic nudity consists of shots of the piles of dead, naked Jewish residents waiting for mass burial. There is another scene where Jewish men and women were forced (at gun point) to strip and bathe together.

It's incredibly hard to watch. But it's also incredibly important to watch. Though, as A Film Unfinished points out, it can dangerous, film and photographs are essential to understanding and comprehending the atrocities and impact of tragedies like the Holocaust, the Rape of Nanking, and every other bit of violence that has, does, and will happen in the world. Words, in this case, simply aren't enough.

Update: R rating stands after appeal

6th August 2010. Based on article from  nymag.com

Beastie Boy Adam Yauch's appeal of the MPAA's decision to give an R rating to the Holocaust documentary A Film Unfinished has failed. The rating was upheld by the ratings board by a 12-3 vote.

Yauch expressed his frustration with the decision earlier in the week, arguing the nudity in the film - which compiles footage of the Warsaw Ghetto in 1942 shot for a German propaganda movie - should have been viewed through a historical and educational lens.: In a world where young people are bombarded with meaningless entertainment, it's unfortunate that a film with real educational and historic value would be denied to them by an organization that is supposed to be working to help them. I still have hope that the MPAA will reconsider at some point in the future, so young people will be able to learn from this film.

Saw VI, which was not screened in Spain after it was slapped with an X rating last year, will finally be released in the country in October, its Spanish distributor said.

A new version of the movie, with the most violent scenes cut out, has received a not under 18 rating, meaning it can screen at commercial theatres like the previous installments of the franchise, DeAPlaneta said. It will open across Spain on October 8.

In October 2009 Spain's film institute, a unit of the culture ministry, gave Saw VI an X rating, citing its extreme violence, and in effect relegating the film to porn theatres. It was the first time that the institute's ratings commission awarded an X rating because of violence. The movie ended up not being released in Spain because of the X rating.