American adult movies from 1976 that have been cut or banned in Australia.
The X-rating, for hardcore sex, was introduced in February 1984.
Alice in Wonderland
Directed by Bud Townsend / 1976 / USA / IMDb
In September 1976, a 1974.96-meter (71:59) print of ALICE IN WONDERLAND was censored by 18.4-meters (00:40) for an R-rating. The cuts were made to remove ‘indecency’.
20th Century Fox was the applicant.
Both hardcore and softcore versions were prepared for worldwide distribution. Presumably, the R-rated Australian theatrical print began life as the latter.
Banned in Queensland
On 29 June 1978, the censored R-rated version of ALICE IN WONDERLAND was prohibited by the Queensland Films Board of Review.
The distributor was Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.
Banned on video
In April 1979, a 74-minute video was refused because of ‘indecency’. The tape, submitted by Videobrain, was presumably an import.
Further bans followed in November 1981 for both Meridien Electronics and Video Classics. These 76-minute tapes ran into problems because of sex, which was found to be:
Frequency: Infrequent
Explicitness/Intensity: High
Purpose: Gratuitous
R-rated softcore videos
In August 1982, a 75-minute tape censored for an R-rating. The sex was now described as being:
Frequency: Frequent
Explicitness/Intensity: Medium
Purpose: Gratuitous
Video Classics, the applicant, released it on their Media Home Entertainment sub-label.
Blake Films had a 2084:00-meter (75:58) ‘soft version’ passed with an R-rating in June 1983.
This was followed in April 1984 by Video Classics, who had a 76-minute tape passed with an R-rating.
Both of these final two submissions were passed for the same reason as the one in August 1982.
Blonde Velvet
Directed by Bill Milling / 1976 / USA / IMDb
In January 1982, a 49-minute ‘modified version’ of BLONDE VELVET was passed on videotape with an R-rating. It was awarded for sex, which was said to be:
Frequency: Frequent
Explicitness/Intensity: Medium
Purpose: Gratuitous
Anjohn International was the applicant.
This may have been a copy of the UK pre-cert released by either Poseidon or Intercity. Both labels issued I FEEL IT RISING (aka TEMPTATIONS) (1976), SEXPERT (1975) and TANGO OF PERVERSION (1973) that Anjohn International had also imported.
Female Chauvinists
aka Pussy Brigade
Directed by Jourdan Alexander / 1976 / USA / IMDb
In February 1978, a 2413.84-meter (87:59) print of FEMALE CHAUVINISTS was banned because of ‘indecency’.
It was awarded an R-rating in June 1978. However, this was only after the 2022.00-meter (73:42) ‘reconstructed version’ lost a further 12.30-meters (00:26) of ‘indecency’.
14th Mandolin was the applicant. In the early 1980s, it was released on their King of Video label.
Banned in Queensland No. 1
On 8 March 1979, the censored R-rated version of FEMALE CHAUVINISTS was prohibited by the Queensland Films Board of Review.
The distributor was 14th Mandolin.
Hard & Soft
The X-rating was introduced in February 1984. In July of that year, a 90-minute tape of THE FEMALE CHAUVINISTS was passed with this new classification. It was awarded for sex, which was said to be:
Frequency: Frequent
Explicitness/Intensity: High
Purpose: Gratuitous
This was followed in April 1985 by a 70-minute tape, which was passed with an R-rating. The sex was now described as being:
Frequency: Frequent
Explicitness/Intensity: Medium
Purpose: Gratuitous
In both cases, 14th Mandolin retitled it PUSSY BRIGADE and released it on their Pink Video label.
Banned in Queensland No. 2
On 25 May 1985, the censored 70-minute R-rated version of PUSSY BRIGADE was prohibited by the Queensland Films Board of Review.
The distributor was 14th Mandolin.
Gums
Directed by Robert J. Kaplan / 1976 / USA / IMDb
In June 1981, a 1800.50-meter (65:38) print of GUMS was banned because of sex, which was described as being:
Frequency: Infrequent
Explicitness/Intensity: High
Purpose: Gratuitous
…and for language, which was said to be:
Frequency: Frequent
Explicitness/Intensity: High
Purpose: Gratuitous
A 1729.06-meter (63:01) ‘reconstructed version’ was passed with an R-rating in August 1981. It was awarded for sex and language, which were both said to be:
Frequency: Frequent
Explicitness/Intensity: Medium
Purpose: Gratuitous
Blake Films was the applicant.
Banned in Queensland
On 19 April 1982, the censored R-rated version of GUMS was prohibited by the Queensland Films Board of Review.
The distributor was Blake Films.
Unconfirmed video
In April 1982, Cinema Papers No. 37 published a ‘Feature Film Checklist’ of titles that had been issued on videotape in Australia.
It was compiled from information supplied by distributors, with GUMS being listed on 14th Mandolin’s King of Video label.
We have yet to see any evidence that this tape was ever released.
Censored videos
In February 1984, a 60-minute tape was passed with an R-rating. Pakenham Video Library was the applicant.
The same month saw Blake Films receive an R-rating for a 62-minute tape.
Roadshow released GUMS on tape on their Vibrant Video label.
The Joy of Letting Go
Directed by John Gregory / 1976 / USA / IMDb
In March 1978, a 2104.70-meter (76:43) print of THE JOY OF LETTING GO was banned because of ‘indecency’. The running time indicates that this was a precut before submission.
It was finally passed with an R-rating in July 1978, but only after the 1755.00-meter (63:58) ‘reconstructed version’ lost a further 12.50-meter (00:27). These cuts were again made to remove ‘indecency’.
Blake Films was the applicant.
The image used for the daybill appears to have been censored by applying a bra to conceal the bare breasts.
Banned pre-cert import
In August 1982, a 37-minute video of THE JOY OF LETTING GO was banned because of sex. This was said to be:
Frequency: Infrequent
Explicitness/Intensity: High
Purpose: Gratuitous
International Video Pty Ltd was the applicant.
This may have been a UK import as a version with a similar running time was released on the Dapon label.
X-rated hardcore video
In May 1984, Blake Films had an 81-minute tape passed with the newly introduced X-rating. The sex was said to be:
Frequency: Frequent
Explicitness/Intensity: High
Purpose: Gratuitous
The uncut version was released on tape in 1984 by Mature Media Group/Caballero Home Video.
