Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS
Dir Don Edmonds / 1974 / Canada
For indecency and excessive violence, Filmways has this banned twice in 1975 at 87mins (f), and 1976 in a cut 77mins print. An appeal against the decision was upheld by the Review Board. Whilst 1983 saw Torino Video having an 86min (v) print refused.The censors have passed only one of the series for release in Australia. An Italian language tape of Ilsa-Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks was granted an R in 1982. Jess Franco's unofficial sequel, GRETA THE MAD BUTCHER (aka ILSA THE WICKED WARDEN) was banned in 1977.
In January 2005 there is a report of customs delaying delivery of the Anchor Bay Ilsa Box set. The titles in the shipment were SHE WOLF OF THE SS, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks, and WICKED WARDEN. The package was eventually delivered with a letter informing that they had been delayed because they were suspected of falling within the scope of of Regulation 4A of the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956.
In the Cut
Dir Jane Campion / 2003 / Australia - USA - UK
This title has been included as AN EXAMPLE OF OFLC POLICY. it has not been censored OR BANNED.
Sony Pictures Releasing had a 119min (f) print passed in September 2003 with an R18+ (High Level Sex Scenes, Medium Level Violence) rating. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment were awarded the same rating in March 2004 for the DVD release. Though it was Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment who released the film on disc.
This was quite a controversial title as it contained an explicit scene of (fake) fellatio. So although it is not 'Actual Sex', it is very convincing.
The following is taken from the REPORT ON THE REVIEW OF THE OPERATION OF THE 2003 GUIDELINES FOR THE CLASSIFICATION OF FILMS AND COMPUTER GAMES. It includes information about the classification of this title. Note that the full report can be accessed at the OFLC website.
REPORT ON THE REVIEW OF THE OPERATION OF THE 2003 GUIDELINES FOR THE CLASSIFICATION OF FILMS AND COMPUTER GAMES
Prepared by Kate
Aisbett, Entertainment Insights
December 2004
Executive Summary
Review process
A review of the first twelve months’ operation of the Guidelines for the
Classification of Films and Computer Games 2003 (the 2003 Guidelines) was
promised by the former Attorney General, the Hon Daryl Williams AM QC MP,
to ensure that the decisions made under the 2003 Guidelines align with
those made under the Guidelines for the Classification of Films and
Videotapes – Amendment No. 3, 2000, and Guidelines for the
Classification of Computer Games – Amendment No. 1, 1999 (the previous
guidelines). The review of the 2003 Guidelines has been conducted and is
the subject of this report.
The principal object of the review is to assess whether the combining and recasting of the previous guidelines into the 2003 Guidelines has had the effect of changing the level of content that falls into the various classification categories for film and games.
7 Examination of Board decision reports
7.6.1 Actual Sex
In the Cut was another example of an R18+ classified film
with brief depictions of actual sex content classified in the first year
of the operation of the 2003 Guidelines. This was a high budget Hollywood
studio film directed by Jane Campion and starring Meg Ryan. The scene was
described in the Board report:
At 8.50 minutes there is a brief close-up of explicit fellatio, with the female lips seen around the shaft of the male’s penis… at 9.10 there is another brief close-up of explicit fellatio.
The Board report explains the decision in relation to the actual sex scene as: In the Board’s opinion, the general rule provided for in the R classification is sufficiently flexible to allow limited actual sexual activity in a mainstream film if it is not gratuitous and is appropriately situated within a mature and serious work aimed at an adult audience. (The Board notes that the X classification is a special and legally restricted category which contains only sexually explicit material and that the content of this film does not accord with the content parameters for the X classification).
… The brevity of the two explicit shots, their treatment within a dimly lit and shadowy setting and the oblique close-up camera angle (which all helped reduce the impact).
Attachment D – OFLC
responses to titles referred to in the report
In The Cut
On 29 August 2003, the Board classified the film In The Cut R18+ with the
consumer advice ‘high level sex scenes, medium level violence’. The
Board noted in its report that:
A New York teacher, Frannie Avery, witnesses a sexual act in a bar. Shortly afterward she is questioned by a detective, James Malloy, about a brutal killing that has taken place in her neighbourhood. The pair begin a sexually charged affair as the lonely and confused Frannie increasingly comes to believe that Malloy is the killer (due to a tattoo he has in common with the perpetrator). After Frannie’s sister, Pauline, is murdered the serial killer’s identity is revealed.
… The classifiable elements are high level sex scenes and medium level violence, neither of which exceeds a high viewing impact.
… The Board notes the wording in the classifiable element paragraph relating to sex in the Guidelines at the R classification category which state: ‘Sexual activity may be realistically simulated; the general rule is ’simulation, yes - the real thing, no.’ In the Board’s opinion, the general rule provided for in the R classification is sufficiently flexible to allow limited actual sexual activity in a mainstream film if it is not gratuitous and is appropriately situated within a mature and serious work aimed at an adult audience. (The Board notes that the X classification ‘is a special and legally restricted category which contains only sexually explicit material’ and that the content of this film does not accord with the content parameters for the X classification.)
The Board is of the view that while this film is likely to be offensive to some sections of the adult community, it is not offensive to the extent that it warrants an RC classification. For the following reasons the Board is able to accommodate the film within the legally restricted R classification: The brevity of the two explicit shots, their treatment within a dimly lit and shadowy setting, and the oblique close-up camera angle (which all help to reduce the impact).
The Board also believes that the sex scenes are contextually justified by the framework of the plot and characterizations within a seriously intentioned adult film, and are not gratuitous in their treatment. In the Cut is a restrained adaptation of a literary work of the same name by author Susanna Moore, and the director, Jane Campion, is a widely respected and serious director of films intended for a mature audience, with such previous credits as The Portrait of a Lady, Holy Smoke and The Piano.
The film premiered on Foxtel's Showtime Channel in 2005 in an MA15+ version that toned down the fellatio scene. This was because Showtime is forbidden from screening R18+ content.
Inhumanities 2-Modern Atrocities
Dir L.Emerson / 1989 / USA
Another death documentary falls foul of the censors. The inappropriately named Family Home Entertainment had a 76min (v) tape refused in 1990.The following year, the applicant appealed against the decision; here is what the Board of Review had to say.
Inhumanities 2 is a compilation of newsreel footage of atrocities, murders, natural disasters, aircraft accidents, and other spectacles involving violent death or extremes of human suffering. Much of the footage has been shown previously on television, where this kind of material is distressingly familiar; some of it, so the Board was told, had not been seen before. The extracts seem to have been chosen solely for their shock value and strung together at random. There is a commentary of more than the usual banality and sententiousness. The Film Censorship Board determined by majority that the video should be refused classification because of its prolonged and relished depictions of violence and cruelty.
The applicant, Family Home Entertainment Ltd argued that because the material had already been shown on television it should not be restricted on video; it was an honest and unvarnished depiction of certain harsh realities , admittedly unpleasant but none the less part of real life. Similar videos were available in other countries and at least on (The Worst Crimes of the 20th Century) had been circulated in Australia. Inhumanities 2 was no more shocking than much of the material regularly seen by TV audiences and should not be banned. The applicant offered to remove from the video any portions which the Board found especially offensive.
The Board of Review was unanimous in concluding that the video had no documentary or artistic value. We acknowledged that viewing such material might be a necessary part of training police officers, rescue workers or others in similar occupations, but felt in this case that such considerations were not relevant. We were in no doubt that Inhumanities 2 was intended to exploit a prurient appetite for violence, and that the depictions of killing, corpses, death and putrefaction was meant to be relished and enjoyed.
Nor were we impressed by the argument that most of the footage had already been shown on TV. The depiction of atrocities in bona-fide news programs could, in our view. be justified (within limits), especially when the events were of topical interest. But the repetition and concentration of such depictions ran the risk of trivialising the events and desensitising viewers' reactions. There is a body of evidence to suggest that when violence is made to seem routine-or worse, an acceptable form of entertainment-emotional reactions are dulled. What ought to be normal and humane responses to the suffering of others-pity, shock, compassion, indignation-are diminished by familiarity and over-exposure. To some extent this is inevitable in a violent world, and no member of the Board would argue that people should be sheltered from the knowledge of ugliness and cruelty. (Given the growing diligence and intrusiveness of the media there is little chance that they will be) But seemliness and a decent respect for the feeling of others demand that human suffering should not be gloated on or exploited by others for gain. The Board of Review accordingly upheld the decision of the Film Censorship Board to refuse to classify the video Inhumanities 2 11 April 1991
OFLC and Film and Literature Board of Review-Report on Activities 1990-91
In New Zealand, Family Home Entertainment had no problems releasing this, as well as part one on video.
It is interesting to note that since the banning of this tape, many programs similar to this video seem to fill the prime-time schedules of our commercial TV stations. Not a week seems to go by without another caught on video show hitting the air.
Inmu Box Set
aka Inmu:Feast of Victims
Dir Misumi Ran / 1999 / Japan
This two disc box set of Japanese Hentai from NuTech Digital features the voice of Adult film star Asia Carrera as the Mysterious Witch. Disc One contains the episodes First Night and Second Night, whilst disc Two has Third Night and Fourth Night.
There is a confirmed customs confiscation of the DVD Box Set from 2002. Reasons given were:
"The goods are considered by the Office of Film and Literature Classification to fall within Sub Regulation 4A1(d) of the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations."
Inmu 2 Box Set
1st & 2nd Night aka Fruit Flesh Feast Of Shame
3rd & 4th Night aka The Wandering Flesh Slave
Dir Takeshi Yamaguchi / 2001 / Japan
The second Inmu Box set from NuTech Digital also features Asia Carrera as the voice of the Mysterious Witch. The episodes contained in this set are First Night: Illusion, Second Night: Excessive Love, Third Night: The Shadow Card, and Fourth Night: Drowning in Summer.
There is a confirmed customs confiscation of the DVD Box Set from 2002. Reasons given were:
"The goods are considered by the Office of Film and Literature Classification to fall within Sub Regulation 4A1(d) of the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations."
Inquisition
Dir Jacinto Molina / 1976 / Spain
Thorn-EMI Screen Entertainment had an 88min version Refused Classification in November 1985. The reason given for the ban was 'gratuitous violence, cruelty'.
Thanks to Matt for this review of the likely reasons for the ban.
It is very easy to guess which scenes caused INQUISITION to be banned. Like MARK OF THE DEVIL (also originally banned in Australia), that other famous witch-finder film , this features scenes of women being tortured to extract confessions. The print that I viewed was uncut and ran 89:24. There are apparently two versions of the torture scenes, a clothed one, and a nude one. The print under review was the nude version, though who knows which one Thorn-EMI submitted to the censors.
From 26-28min there is a shot of a topless women being stretched on a rack, followed by a second girl having her chest cut by a blade on a wheel
From 39min to 41min 30sec there is the infamous scene of the topless women being burnt with hot coals, followed by her nipple being cut off.
Although it was never resubmitted, it would have been very easy for Thorn-EMI to remove these scenes and get an R18+ rating. Speaking of Thorn-EMI, what the hell were they doing in 1985 submitting this obscure title? Today an uncut version would easily score an R-rating.
Intimate Stranger
Dir Allan Holzman / 1992 / USA
This is listed as being banned in 1993 in a print that ran 92mins (v). It was followed in July 1993 by an 85mins (v) version that was rated MA15+ (Medium Level Coarse Language, Sexual References). However the only release that seems to have appeared was an R18+ (Medium Level Sex Scenes and Low Level Violence) rated version put out by Home Cinema Group. It looks to be uncut at 92min 00sec. This is not listed in the OFLC database.
The Optus Movie Extra channel was screening this up until early 2004. I have no further details of the version or running time.
Rainbow Entertainment released the film to DVD in August 2005. Again, I have no further details of the version or running time.
Intruder
Dir Scott Spiegel / 1988 / USA
In 1989, before they could give this a video release, CIC-TAFT had to cut it from 84 to 83mins (v) to gain an R18+ rating. The actual runtime is 79min 57sec and has several of the murder scenes toned down.