Censorship of Faces of Death (1978-90) series

The first four editions of FACES OF DEATH all had censorship issues in Australia.

Currently, only the original film is legally available. Three of the sequels remain banned.

Faces of Death

Directed by John Alan Schwartz / 1978 / USA / IMDb

In December 1980, a 2956.10-meter (107:45) print of FACES OF DEATH was Refused Registration.

The reason given was violence, which was described as being:
Frequency: Frequent
Explicitness/Intensity: High
Purpose: Gratuitous

Roadshow made an unsuccessful appeal to the Film Board Review in January 1981.

Roadshow’s logo turned up before a Dutch video release of FACES OF DEATH. See below for more information.

Banned on video

In November 1983, a 113-minute videotape of FACES OF DEATH was banned.

Again, the reason was violence, that was said to be:
Frequency: Frequent
Explicitness/Intensity: High
Purpose: Gratuitous

The applicant, M.C. Stuart and Associates, had FACES OF DEATH 2 (1981) refused at the same time.

Unrated VHS bootlegs

In the late 1980s, unofficial video releases of FACES OF DEATH and its sequel began to surface in Australia.

Both covers credit them to Gorgon Video, the label that first issued them in the United States. The back cover states that they are ‘Distributed by Silver Screen, C.P.O. Box 1073, Auckland’. The FACES OF DEATH tape ran 105:39 and was a direct copy of the American Gorgon/MPI video. The actual Australian distributor is unknown.

The database of New Zealand’s Office of Film and Literature Classification  lists FACES OF DEATH as being passed by their Chief Censor of Films with an R18 (Content may disturb) rating in December 1986. Their 1987 Video Recordings Act saw this changed to ‘Objectionable’ in May 1989.

DayNight Video

A second late-1980s release came from DayNight Video. The cover titles it FACE OF DEATH. Copies have been seen with both M and R-rating stickers attached.

Their only other title appears to have been Barry Prima’s THE WARRIOR AND THE NINJA (1985). In January 1987, that received an M-rating, with the applicant listed as Mr P. Baglieri.

Little else is known about this company. Both of their releases list only a Melbourne telephone number.

Gorgon Video is incomplete

Marc Morris reports.
Standard Video (nl) – 104:02 at 25 fps
Begins with a distributor’s logo ‘A Film From Roadshow – The Australian Company’.
Transfer favours the bottom of the image and is superior in terms of brightness and colour.

Gorgon Video (us) – 105:45 at 24 fps
Transfer favours the top of the image.
The tape is cut in the following places.
15:42 – A shot of a man holding a long knife has been slightly shortened (at the end of a reel).
20:33 – Two shots of streets in the Middle East have been cut.
32:28 – A single medium close up of a man has been cut (near the end of a reel).
101:14 – A complete 02:06 sequence involving a psychic has been cut.

‘Video Nasty’ scare

In February 1988, FACES OF DEATH and its sequel attracted press attention following their alleged link to a murder.

Judging by the tagline, both tapes appear to be the New Zealand imports of the Gorgon Video releases. As mentioned, the M-rating they refer to is fabricated, most likely by the video store.

February 21, 1988
A brutal video series being examined by Melbourne police in connection with two murders is readily available in Sydney and renting well.

The video, FACES OF DEATH, comes in two parts, is rated “M” and boasts “the brutal and explicit depiction of actual death”. [Taken from cover of FACES OF DEATH 2 (1981) on Gorgon Video].

Video outlets in Sydney yesterday said the video, banned in 46 countries [Taken from cover of FACES OF DEATH on Gorgon Video], was rented out three times a week on average. Detective Inspector Graeme McDonald, of Melbourne Homicide Squad, said a man was charged with murder hours after viewing the video and another alleged killer was believed to have seen it, but died before he could be charged.

– Brutal Video in Link to Murders
– The Sun-Herald

The controversy continued with Andrew McCutcheon (Labor) calling for a crackdown on violent videos.

At this time, FACES OF DEATH was still Refused Registration in Australia. The four other titles mentioned were R-rated and, apart from MANIAC (1980), uncut.

February 22, 1988
The states should be able to get Commonwealth censors to revise their classifications of violent videos, the Victorian Attorney-General, Mr Andrew McCutcheon, said yesterday.

Mr McCutcheon said the state Government was very concerned by the liberal classifications given to some videos circulating in Australia.

The law should be changed so that the censors would have to review their own classifications if the states requested it. This could mean that previously approved videos could be restricted or prohibited, he said in a statement.

Of particular concern were the films FACES OF DEATH, to which the media had drawn attention, and TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, MANIAC, I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE and BLOOD SUCKING FREAKS, which should be considered for either tighter classification or prohibition, Mr McCutcheon said.

Mr McCutcheon said he would be writing to the federal Attorney-General, Mr Bowen, on the matter and he hoped to receive an answer at a special meeting of ministers responsible for censorship in Brisbane next month. He would also urge the Federal Government to ban the importation of videos that encouraged violence.

“Import controls have to be more strictly enforced to ensure that videos which foster violence remain outside our community,” he said.

He said he was concerned by the continued circulation of X-rated videos in the ACT and the Northern Territory.

– Victorian move on ‘liberal’ censorship of violent videos
– Canberra Times via Trove

Police raid

Following the media attention, the NSW Police obtained the unrated tapes and submitted them to the Film Censorship Board.

In April 1988, a 108-minute VHS was banned due to violence, which was described as:
Frequency: Frequent
Explicitness/Intensity: High
Purpose: Gratuitous

These were the same reasons as the initial refusal back in December 1980.

At the same time, FACES OF DEATH 2 (1981) was also Refused Registration.

Legal at last

In March 2007, a DVD of FACES OF DEATH was passed with an R18+ (High Level Violence, Distressing Images and Themes) rating.

This film was due to be part of a four-disc boxset that included FACES OF DEATH 2 (1981), FACES OF DEATH 3 (1985) and FACES OF DEATH 4 (1990).

December 2008
Possibly one of the most talked about series of all time, FACES OF DEATH examines the many guises of death in the extreme close-up. Sure to shock and horrify, these brutal films are not meant for the faint of heart.

Volume I features a vicious pit bull fight, the clubbing of baby seals, a man setting himself on fire, an electrocution, San Francisco cultists dining on human organs, and a suicidal jumper taking his final leap.

Volume II shows guerrilla death squads in El Salvador, Napalm bombings in Vietnam, and a train disaster in India.

Volume III exposes viewers to a disaster on Germany’s Autobahn, a parachutist landing in a crocodile pit, and torture and murder in El Salvador.

Volume IV depicts a cremation, an electrocution, a terrorist destroyed by his own bomb, and a man-eating tiger turning on its trainer.

FACES OF DEATH – Vol. I-IV (4 Disc Box Set) (797568)
Coming Soon! Pre-Order Now – Available Monday, 04 February 2008
$AU39.83 (inc GST)
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Fullscreen Transfer Format: 4:3
Category: Box Sets
Running Time: 485 mins

– DVD promotion

Unfortunately, this had to be abandoned after all three were refused in December 2007.

February 2008
Possibly one of the most talked about series of all time, FACES OF DEATH examines the many guises of death in the extreme close-up. Sure to shock and horrify, these brutal films are not meant for the faint of heart. Volumes 2-4 have now been banned by the censor, only volume 1 is available.

– Email promotion
– Umbrella Entertainment

The first part was released as a stand-alone DVD by Umbrella in February 2008. The artwork was a modified version of the abandoned boxset.

This uncut disc ran 105:39 (NTSC). It includes FACES OF DEATH: FACT OR FICTION? (1999), a documentary extra that features clips from the three banned sequels.

Faces of Death 2

Directed by John Alan Schwartz / 1981 / USA / IMDb

In November 1983, a 100-minute video of FACES OF DEATH 2 was banned.

Again, the reason was violence, that was said to be:
Frequency: Frequent
Explicitness/Intensity: High
Purpose: Gratuitous

The applicant, M.C. Stuart and Associates, had FACES OF DEATH (1978) refused at the same time.

Unrated VHS

In the late 1980s, unofficial videos of FACES OF DEATH 2 and FACES OF DEATH (1978) were distributed in Australia.

Both are credited to the American label Gorgon Video but came via New Zealand. The back cover lists them as being ‘Distributed by Silver Screen, C.P.O. Box 1073, Auckland’. The actual Australian distributor is unknown.

A second tape, with an alternative Gorgon Video cover, also found its way into Australian video rental stores.

This release does not appear to have any New Zealand connection.

Media panic & police crackdown

The illegal distribution of the first two films resulted in a periodic return of Australia’s own ‘video nasty’ scare. This saw the NSW Police submitting both Gorgon Video tapes to the Film Censorship Board in April 1988 and having them confirmed as Refused Registration.

The 108-minute VHS of FACES OF DEATH 2 was again banned for reasons of violence, which was described as:
Frequency: Frequent
Explicitness/Intensity: High
Purpose: Gratuitous

This case is covered in more depth in the above FACES OF DEATH (1978) entry.

Banned on DVD

In December 2007, FACES OF DEATH 2 was Refused Classification as it ‘…contained detailed depictions of deceased persons that are offensive and exploitative’.

It was due to be included in a four-disc boxset from Umbrella Entertainment. More details can be found in the above FACES OF DEATH (1978) entry.

Faces of Death 3

Directed by John Alan Schwartz / 1985 / USA / IMDb

In the early 1990s, unclassified VHS tapes of FACES OF DEATH 3 were distributed in Australia.

The artwork was taken from the American Gorgon Video release with the addition of fake R-ratings.

DVD rated RC

In December 2007, FACES OF DEATH 3 was banned due to it containing ‘…detailed depictions of deceased persons that are offensive and exploitative’.

Umbrella Entertainment had planned to include it in a four-disc set.

More details can be found in the above FACES OF DEATH (1978) entry.

Faces of Death 4

Directed by John Alan Schwartz – Susumu Saegusa – Andrew Theopolis / 1990 / USA / IMDb

In the early 1990s, unclassified VHS tapes of FACES OF DEATH 4 were distributed in Australia.

Fabricated R-ratings were attached to the cover was that copied from Gorgon Video’s American release.

Banned DVD boxset

In December 2007, the Classification Board found that FACES OF DEATH 4 contained ‘…detailed depictions of deceased persons that are offensive and exploitative’. They awarded it an RC-rating that resulted in Umbrella Entertainment abandoning a planned FACES OF DEATH boxset.

More details can be found in the above FACES OF DEATH (1978) entry.