The movies of John D. Lamond that have been cut or banned in Australia.
Australia After Dark
Directed by John D. Lamond / 1975 / Australia / IMDb
In 1975, a 2276:00-meter (82:58) print of AUSTRALIA AFTER DARK was submitted for classification. However, the Film Censorship Board demanded cuts before they would award it an R-rating.
An appeal was made to the Films Board of Review. In September 1975, their decision was to ‘Register film For Restricted Exhibition without eliminations’.
November 1975
John Lamond’s AUSTRALIA AFTER DARK was also recently passed on appeal with an ‘R’ without cuts, in spite of the initial insistence by the Censor that deletions be made in two scenes.These included close-ups of fellatio and penetration in the sadomasochistic and blue-movie sequences.
– Cinema Papers Issue No. 7
May 1980
One of my most interesting pastimes has been in my dealings with the Film Censorship Board. In spite of what some people may think, the Board is not anti-filth as such, but in fact seems to me to be very fond of watching pictures (you’d have to be to watch millions of footage a year as they do). They are also not as blue-nosed as is normally believed.The classic erotic movie EMMANUELLE was hacked about in the UK, but was untouched here. The beautiful STORY OF O was at first banned in England but released straight away in uncut form here. THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE ran into strife in the UK, but, after some initial censorship problems, it ran for years in Australian cinemas.
Interestingly, when I was having laboratory work done on my first feature film, AUSTRALIA AFTER DARK in Stockholm, people there expressed alarm at my statement that the picture would probably have censorship trouble in Australia. “Why?” they cried. “There’s nothing violent in your film.” In Sweden, censors crack down hard on violence (considered by authorities to be anti-social behavior) but not on sex (considered to be normal social behavior). I’ll drink to that!
– Sex and Censorship in Australian Cinema
– John Lamond
– Australian Playboy
May 27, 2010
– John D. Lamond, Confessions of a Sleazemonger
The funny thing was, when AUSTRALIA AFTER DARK came out, I found out they wanted about fourteen cuts in it. I found out you could go in front of the censorship board and argue your case. I objected to all the cuts and I won every time, they didn’t cut anything. Because they were intimidated, people didn’t usually turn up to argue, they could safely cut it.
– mondostumpo.blogspot.com
In February 1976, a shorter 2226.00-meter (81:08) print was passed with an R-rating.
The Film Censorship Board noted that it had been ‘Reduced by producer’s cuts from 2276-meters’.
It is unclear why this version, missing 01:49, was prepared and submitted for classification when a longer print already held an R-rating.
In all cases, Roadshow Distributors was the applicant.
Video release
In December 1984, Palace Home Video had an 82-minute tape passed with an R-rating. It was awarded for sex, which was found to be:
Frequency: Infrequent
Explicitness/Intensity: Medium
Purpose: Gratuitous
It was released on Palace’s Vibrant Video label.
This was followed in January 1985 with the submission of a 90-minute tape by Roadshow Home Video.
This longer version was awarded an X-rating because the sex was now considered to be:
Frequency: Infrequent
Explicitness/Intensity: High
Purpose: Gratuitous
This does not appear to have been released.
DVD double-bill
In July 2009, Umbrella Entertainment released it on DVD with John D. Lamond’s next feature, THE ABC OF LOVE AND SEX: AUSTRALIA STYLE (1978).
It was reissued in January 2011 as part of Umbrella’s OZPLOITATION DVD BOX SET VOLUME 3.
This version of AUSTRALIA AFTER DARK ran 82:25.
Fully uncut
During his commentary on Umbrella’s DVD, John D. Lamond mentions that he owned the master of a longer version that contained at least one new scene. This would go on to be released for the first time in March 2016 by Severin Films in the US. It was added as an extra on their FELICITY (1978) Blu-ray.
The extra material reportedly consists of the following.
March 2016
No cuts (87:42 NTSC) – contains footage never previously available, including previously cut footage sourced from a time-coded video master.0:05:58-0:08:58: whipping and frontal male nudity during the visit to the salon of Madame Lash.
0:40:46-0:41:10: a close-up of the female sacrificial victim’s genitalia being oiled up by cultists’ hands.
1:04:12-1:05:38: explicit oral sex and penetration during the stag film shoot.
1:06:39-1:07:25: preparation for a sequence of food sex during the stag film shoot.
– Previously cut footage available on Severin Films Blu-ray
– DVD Compare
Presumably, this was similar to the print that received an X-rating in January 1985.
Law enforcement
In June 2017, a 245-minute DVD of AUSTRALIA AFTER DARK and THE ABC OF LOVE AND SEX: AUSTRALIA STYLE (1978) was passed with an R18+ (High impact sexualised nudity and scenes of actual sexual activity) rating.
The classification matrix described,
High impact: nudity, sex
Strong impact: themes, violence
Moderate impact: language
None: drug use
Presumably, this submission was either a copy of the 2009 Umbrella Entertainment DVD or an import of the 2012 Intervision Picture Corp DVD. Both releases double-bill the discs.
Earlier that month, the applicant, the NSW Police – Sex Crimes Squad, had also received R18+ ratings for John D. Lamond’s FELICITY (1978) and Sylvester Stallone’s RAMBO (2008). It is unknown why these were submitted as uncut versions of both already held R18+ classifications.
The NSW Police – Sex Crimes Squad also had AUSTRALIA AFTER DARK classified as a stand-alone title and received an R18+ (High impact sexualised nudity).
The classification matrix described,
High impact: nudity
Strong impact: themes, sex
None: violence, language, drug use
The National Classification Database does not list a date for this decision. It was likely made mid-2017, around the same time as their other submissions. The running time was noted as being 136-minutes.
The ABC of Love and Sex: Australia Style
Directed by John D. Lamond / 1978 / Australia / IMDb
In March 1978, a 2387.20-meter (87:01) print of THE ABC OF LOVE AND SEX: AUSTRALIA STYLE lost 98.7 meters (03:36) before being awarded an R-rating.
The reason for the cuts was ‘indecency’.
Roadshow Distributors released it theatrically.
What was censored?
In an article written to coincide with the release of PACIFIC BANANA (1980), John Lamond revealed some of the cut footage.
May 1980
One of the most sinister aspects of censorship in Australia came to light when I made ABC [OF LOVE AND SEX: AUSTRALIA STYLE]. In Stockholm, I had shot two sequences that I considered most important to the picture. Remembering what sex experts had told me on male premature ejaculation and female orgasmic problems, I shot sequences concerning them as well as female masturbation. The sequences were shot in great detail, in a serious manner, and had been thoroughly researched. The sequence on female masturbation explained that it was a normal means by which females could reach orgasm, and I also stressed that this was a normal act for both sexes. The operative word here is normal because, in many circles in Australia, particularly among some religious groups, the act of masturbation is considered abnormal.Well, did the censors get stuck into this piece! They hacked the premature ejaculation piece to shreds and, worst of all, left some of the masturbation sequences intact but cut the close-up pieces and the bits that stressed the normality of the act. Naturally, this distressed me as a filmmaker, but it was far more worrying that here was a clear case of moral censorship, distinct from censorship that excises gratuitous sexually explicit material. In ABC, I was sincerely trying to explain and correct certain commonly held sexual misconceptions.
In Australia the cut material is in a can somewhere in the Imperial Arcade, in the Film Censorship Board’s [Sydney] office, but that same material can be seen on the screen wherever the picture is shown: America, Italy, Holland, Hong Kong England, Yugoslavia, France, Germany, Spain. Makes you stop and think, doesn’t it, folks?
– Sex and Censorship in Australian Cinema
– John Lamond
– Australian Playboy
Video releases
In February 1984, Pakenham Video Library had an 80-minute tape passed with an R-rating.
The reason given for the R-rating was sex, which was described as:
Frequency: Frequent
Explicitness/Intensity: Medium
Purpose: Justified
This was followed in November 1984 by a 76:53 (PAL) tape that that was also classified with an R-rating.
The sex was now said to be:
Frequency: Infrequent
Explicitness/Intensity: Medium
Purpose: Gratuitous
The applicant, Roadshow Home Video, released it on their Vibrant label.
DVD release
In July 2009, Umbrella Entertainment issued an uncut 82:53 version of THE ABC OF LOVE AND SEX: AUSTRALIA STYLE on DVD.
It was double-billed with John D. Lamond’s previous feature, AUSTRALIA AFTER DARK (1975).
They rereleased it in January 2011 as part of their OZPLOITATION DVD BOX SET VOLUME 3.
Umbrella DVD vs. Roadshow VHS
Chris reports.
Umbrella Entertainment (au) – DVD – 82:35
Roadshow-Vibrant Video (au) – VHS – 76:53
The theatrical version lost 03:36, whereas the difference between the DVD and VHS is 05:42.
The Vibrant Video VHS appears to be censored in at least three scenes. Times quoted below refer to the uncut DVD.
Sex and blowjob
Before – Narrator says, ‘concentrate on pleasing each other’.
Censored – 49:36 to 53:16 – Further softcore sex that ends with an actual blowjob.
After – Sped up scene of a couple having sex on a bed.
Masturbating woman
55:50 to 57:15 has been toned down in the VHS.
A woman sits in front of a mirror with her legs apart masturbating. The VHS removes several close-up shots of her vagina, and at least one of her parted legs.
These are odd cuts, as two other scenes that are in the VHS are equally, or even more explicit. They appear in the DVD as follows.
23:55 to 24:00 – Close-up of a woman running her fingers over her vagina.
28:14 to 28:28 – Close-up of a woman touching her vagina and running her fingers over the lips and clitoris.
Both are uncut on the VHS.
Hardcore penetration
Before – Narrator says, ‘The orgasm for a woman can be big or little’.
Censored – 62:58 to 64:30 – A couple having rear entry sex with actual penetration. It then moves to a second couple and shows the woman masturbating the man. Both of these sequences are the most explicit scenes in the film.
After – Narrator says, ‘P is for pornography’.
There may be other minor cuts, but the above three scenes are the main ones. It is not surprising that the hardcore footage was removed, but quite a bit remained. For example, the VHS shows uncensored hardcore pictures from a porn magazine. This footage appears in the DVD at 65:34.
The Film Censorship Board obviously went a little easier on the film due to its ‘educational’ aspects. Which was just as John D. Lamond and every other producer of ‘white-coaters’ planned.
Protecting NSW
In June 2017, a 245-minute DVD of AUSTRALIA AFTER DARK and THE ABC OF LOVE AND SEX: AUSTRALIA STYLE (1978) was passed with an R18+ (High impact sexualised nudity and scenes of actual sexual activity) rating.
The classification matrix described,
High impact: nudity, sex
Strong impact: themes, violence
Moderate impact: language
None: drug use
The NSW Police – Sex Crimes Squad was the applicant.
See the above AUSTRALIA AFTER DARK (1975) entry for more details regarding this submission.