The softcore and hardcore movies of Jean-Francois Davy that have been cut or banned in Australia.
The X-rating, for hardcore sex, was introduced in February 1984.
Mechanical Bananas
aka Bananes mécaniques
Directed by Jean-Francois Davy / 1973 / France / IMDb
In July 1973, a 3198.00-meter (116:34) print of MECHANICAL BANANAS was banned because of ‘indecency’.
The following month, Roadshow Film Distributors failed in their appeal to the Films Board of Review.
A censored 2271.70-meter (82:48) version was finally passed with an R-rating in April 1975.
Video release?
In March 1984, Syme Home Video had an 86-minute tape passed with an R-rating.
It was awarded for sex, which was described as being:
Frequency: Frequent
Explicitness/Intensity: Medium
Purpose: Gratuitous
It was submitted under the original French title, BANANES MECANIQUES.
We have yet to see any evidence that this tape was ever released.
Review
Mike reports
Unknown DVD – 84:54 (English dubbed)
Pauline’s (Pauline Larrieu) father has gone away for a holiday with his mistress, so her female friends take the opportunity to escape the city by staying at her villa without her father’s permission. They relax, dance naked and have softcore sex with the local men before her father returns and kicks them out.
There’s not much of a plot to MECHANICAL BANANAS and we never really learn anything about the female characters that exist mainly to allow the sex scenes to take place. These are not especially graphic but they are consistently just slightly beyond what the Film Censorship Board were prepared to allow in 1973. The only nudity in the sex scenes is above the waist but it is clear that all the participants are naked and are performing fairly enthusiastically.
The 116 minute running time of Roadshow’s initial submission is hard to understand as this is 20 minutes longer than any known version. Christophe Bier’s DICTIONNAIRE DES FILMS FRANÇAIS PORNOGRAPHIQUES & ÉROTIQUES (2011) gives the runtime of the original French version as 95 minutes, and most versions currently available are 85-90 minutes. It seems likely based on the strength of the sex in the version I viewed that Roadshow would only have needed to cut 2-3 minutes to achieve the R-rating which the Board granted in 1975.
Exhibition
Directed by Jean-Francois Davy / 1975 / France / IMDb
In November 1975, a 3049-meter (111:08) print of EXHIBITION was banned because of ‘indecency’.
The following month, an unsuccessful appeal was made to the Films Board of Review. The running time of this version was listed as 2880.00-meters (104:59).
The film was censored down to 2605.50-meter (94:58), but in August 1976, this too was banned for ‘indecency’. The print was described as a ‘soft, subtitled version’.
A second appeal to the Films Board of Review saw the ‘soft, subtitled version’ passed with an R-rating in September 1976.
In all cases, Blake Films was the applicant.
Review
Mike reports
Artsploitation Films (us) – DVD – 119:05 (version with epilogue)
A documentary about the 1970s French porn industry, with particular focus on adult actress Claudine Beccarie. We learn about her background, personal life, views on pornographic filmmaking and see some sex footage from her film sets.
EXHIBITION is a relatively serious documentary that is far more concerned with asking Beccarie probing questions than showing sexual material. However, the scenes shot for her porn films have to be included from time to time to provide context.
The running time of the first submission from Blake Films suggests that this was the complete version. Perhaps it was hoped that the serious documentary context would allow the hardcore material to be passed. However, this time the Film Censorship Board’s tolerance for hardcore in R-rated films only extended to genuine sex education, not sex documentaries. It seems very likely that the second submission, which was also banned, only cut the hardcore.
This 105-minute version was likely unacceptable to the Board based on the strength of the sexual material in general. One specific scene, which lasts nine minutes, involves one of her colleagues reading a pornographic story while actors from an adult film Beccarie is appearing in stage a group sex scene. This sex, when cut to remove the hardcore, would have been relatively mild. However, it may be that the Board thought the graphic narration made its impact greater.
It is difficult to understand why the Board also took exception to the 95-minute version that was submitted in August 1976. By that stage there would have been very little sex left and what did remain would have been very tame. Beccarie does use graphic language at times but in a way which is consistent with being honest about sexual matters rather than gratuitously. There is also a sequence in which she tells us how she was sexually assaulted by her uncle as a girl and was sent away to a reformatory as a result. But presumably this wouldn’t have posed problems in what is a genuine documentary.
Prostitution
Directed by Jean-François Davy / 1975 / France / IMDb
In May 1977, a 2977.00-meter (108:31) meter print of PROSTITUTION was banned because of ‘indecency’.
Roadshow Distributors was the applicant.
The ‘indecency’
Simon reports.
102:09
The sex in the version that I viewed is only really shown in three scenes.
The first is Eva giving a client a blowjob and cleaning herself up after sex (12:00) and the second are brief shots of her having sex (36:00).
The longest and most explicit is a 02:30 sequence that briefly shows Eva again giving a client a blowjob (79:00). Despite being obscured by the dim lighting, this appears to be real. They have sex and Eva cleans herself up, after which the man goes into a rage, throws her on the bed and proceeds to beat her. Three women run into the room and eventually throw him out. The whole sequence is staged, as the cameraman does not flinch as the assault takes place and he lingers on Eva as she cries on the bed. The IMDb lists Claude Janna as playing Eva. Presumably, the rest of the interview subjects are real prostitutes, as they certainly appear convincing enough.
Oddly, Roadshow did not attempt to resubmit the film, as the offending sex scenes could have easily been trimmed. Maybe they believed what remained would not have been appealing. Although interesting, it mainly consists of a series of prostitutes talking about their work.
The Porno Kings
aka Les pornocrates
Directed by Jean-Francois Davy / 1976 / France / IMDb
In March 1977, a 2493.60-meters (90:54) print of LES PORNOCRATES was banned because of ‘indecency’.
A heavily censored 1645.00-meter (59:57) ‘reconstructed version’ was passed with an R-rating in July 1977.
Consolidated Exhibitors was the applicant.
Missing hardcore
Simon reports.
DVD (fr) as LES PORNOCRATES – 83:15
There are many hardcore sex scenes throughout the film, so it is understandable why it lost 30-minutes for an R-rating.