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.
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.
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.