(Credits: Far Out / Jeremy Yap)
Cinema harnesses the power to disrupt – to tear apart our understanding of the world and leave us shaken, even scarred. To regulate the spread of movies that could possibly cause offence or even traumatise viewers, organisations like the BBFC crack down on the availability of certain films, and in some cases, this means outright banning movies for good.
Throughout cinema history, specific movies have been banned that are now widely available to stream or purchase in a physical format, like Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange and classic slasher The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Meanwhile, others remain cult favourites that only a certain group of movie lovers seem to know – or care – about.
You can see why some films get banned, like Pier Paolo Pasolini’s powerful indictment of totalitarianism, Saló or the 120 Days of Sodom, which features explicit nudity, torture, sex, and even the consumption of faeces. It’s a pretty stomach-curdling watch, and one that has been banned and censored in various countries since its release in 1975. Initially rejected by the BBFC for classification due to ‘gross indecency’, it was eventually given an 18 rating in 2000, much to the delight of those with a taste for the perverse.
While most films that were once deemed too controversial to receive a classification and widespread release have now been given the benefit of the doubt as societal attitudes have changed, there is a small group that remains banned. Some of these were simply refused classification upon their initial releases, perhaps many decades ago, and have not since been resubmitted, while others are highly controversial. We’re all for the freedom of creative expression, but some filmmakers take it too far in their quests to make transgressive art, creating movies that are more harmful than interesting.
Which movies are currently banned in the United Kingdom?
Most films that are banned in the United Kingdom violate certain laws, such as the bizarre Bumfights, which features fights between real people, including various homeless men, which went against the Video Recordings Act 1984. Similarly, a film called Changing Room Exposed was banned because it violated part of the European Convention of Human Rights for its depiction of people getting changed without their consent.
Then there are the myriad of exploitation movies that have remained unclassified because of their graphic depictions of violence and sex. While plenty of films feature explicit scenes these days, the ones that remain banned might appear to glorify sexual abuse or feature underage actors, for example, or as is the case with 1977’s Gestapo’s Last Orgy, include anti-Semitism and particularly offensive approaches to depicting violence.
In some cases, the BBFC might be unable to find a reason to justify such scenes, suggesting that they were only placed in the film to titillate and promote harmful rhetoric. When harmful sequences can’t simply be removed via cutting – perhaps because they make up the bulk of the film – the whole movie will usually end up getting banned.
Interestingly, Michelangelo Antonioni’s I Vinti makes it onto the list, even though he is well known for making popular films like Blow-Up, La Notte and L’Avventura. Released in 1953, I Vinti follows murderous youths, and the BBFC refused to rate it. For some reason, it’s never been resubmitted for classification despite his later successes as a widely-renowned filmmaker, although you can now find a rip of it on YouTube.
Movies currently banned in the United Kingdom:I Vinti (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1953)491 (Vilgot Sjöman, 1964)Sweet Movie (Dušan Makavejev, 1974)Love Camp 7 (R.L. Frost, 1969)Perfect Victims (Shuki Levy, 1988)Mikey (Dennis Dimster, 1992)Bare Fist: The Sport That Wouldn’t Die (David Monaghan, 1997)Brave, Bashed, Battered and Bruised (Tim Eyrl, 1996)Date with a Mistress (1997)Changing Room Exposed (1997)Banned from Television (1998)Hooligans (2001)Bumfights (2003)Spy of Darkness (2003)Women in Cellblock 9 (Jess Franco, 1977)Traces of Death (Damon Fox, 1993)Terrorists, Killers and Other Wackos (2005)Murder-Set-Pieces (Nick Palumbo, 2004)The Texas Vibrator Massacre (Rob Rotten, 2008) Grotesque (Kōji Shiraishi, 2009) My Daughter’s a Cocksucker (2009)Lost in the Hood (2010)The Bunny Game (Adam Rehmeier, 2011)Hate Crime (James Cullen Bressack, 2012)Gestapo’s Last Orgy (Cesare Canevari, 1977)
Related Topics