Hail Mary
Dir Jean Luc-Goddard / 1985 / France-Switzerland-UK
Although never banned in Australia, this title was the subject of legal action and an intense letter writing campaign by Christians. It went on to play cinemas with an R18+ rating, though it should really have been an M. The R18+ was awarded in April 1986 to Pan American Productions for a 2935.01mtr version, and again in July 1986 for a 105min print.
The following are taken from the Censors Annual Reports and explain how the controversy evolved. I have included links to the original court hearings for the film.
The
film 'Je Vous Salue Marie' ('Hail Mary'), by French director Jean-Luc
Godard, was submitted for registration and classification and was screened
by all Board Members in March 1986, The Board was aware that the release
of the film overseas had caused controversy and that campaigns had been
organised denouncing the film as blasphemous,
The
Board was unanimously of the opinion that the film was not blasphemous,
indecent or obscene and voted by a majority of six to classify it 'R',
with five voting to classify it 'M',
In
May 1986, the Board was advised by the President of a Catholic Marian
group that a campaign and demonstration would be organised against the
film and its forthcoming release in Australia.
The
Board soon began receiving letters of protest - many identically worded
and in roneoed form - which, by the end of August had totalled 39 816, It
was clear that, with one or two exceptions, none of the correspondents had
seen the film.
The
campaign against the film also took other forms including petitions to
Federal Parliament, media interviews and demonstrations outside the State
Theatre where the film was first screened in Australia at the Sydney Film
Festival early in June.
In
July 1986, a Roman Catholic priest and an Anglican priest sought, in an
action brought in the Federal Court, to have the Board's decision to
register the film set aside on the grounds that the Board had failed to
prohibit the importation of a blasphemous film as required by the Customs
(Cinematograph Films) Regulations.
On
4 August 1986, in the Federal Court, Mr Justice Sheppard found that the
two ministers of religion did not have standing as 'persons aggrieved' in
terms of the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act and dismissed
the application. In his judgment, Mr Justice Sheppard said:
'Notwithstanding their special position as ministers of religion, I do not
think that they stand in any different position from countless other
members of the community who, with varying degrees of commitment, profess
the Christian faith.'
The
applicants were granted leave to appeal to the Full Court on 24 October
1986 and on 13 February
1987, Justices Fisher, Lockhart and Wilcox
handed down their decision that the ministers did have standing as
'persons aggrieved'.
The
judges held that as ministers of religion the appellants were in a special
position compared with ordinary members of the public, 'in that it was
their duty and vocation to maintain the sanctity of the scriptures, to
spread the Gospel, to teach and foster Christian beliefs and to repel or
oppose blasphemy which was the denial of the basic tenets of their faith'.
Film Censorship Board and Films Board of Review - Report on Activities 1986
***
Having
been accorded standing as "persons aggrieved" within the meaning
of the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 (see 1986
Report on Activities, page 16), Rev. Fr. Walter Ogle and Rev. Fr. John
O'Neill initiated action in the Federal Court of Australia against the
Film Censorship Board
OFLC and Films Board of Review - Report on Activities 1988-89
This final statement is rather odd. The film print may have been destroyed, after all, the theatrical run was well and truly over. However it had subsequently been released on tape by Video Excellence, and could be found for rent in video stores around the country. The cover played on the controversy with the words:
SHOULD
THIS FILM BE BANNED?
JUDGE FOR YOURSELF!
***
In
his 2004 review of THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, Fred Nile had this to say
about the film.
"I have condemned many anti-Christian,
blasphemous, pornographic films during the years, such as Hail Mary
and The Last Temptation of Christ, which I said were produced
by the devil in the studios of hell.
Umbrella Entertainment released the film on DVD in March 2006.
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Umbrella Entertainment (Australia) DVD |
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