The softcore and hardcore movies of John Hilbard that have been cut or banned in Australia.
Bedroom Mazurka
Directed by John Hilbard / 1970 / Denmark / IMDb
In December 1971, a 7920-feet (88:00) print of BEDROOM MAZURKA was passed with the newly introduced R-rating.
This was followed in May 1972 by an ‘English dubbed version’ that ran the same length.
In both cases, Roadshow Distributors was the applicant.
Although it was not recorded as such, the film had been pre-cut before submission.
What was missing?
Shane Harrison reports.
Big Sky Video (au) – DVD – 88:04 (PAL) uncut
Includes 01:36 end credit fadeout music played against a black screen.
Hardcore pictures
12:24 – 00:02 cut – Close up of a hard-core porn photo. This was replaced with a close up of a less explicit image.
Adult store visit
31:37 – 03:07 cut – The complete sequence where Max visits a sex shop was removed. Two topless shop assistants accompany him around the store, showing him various sex toys and pornography. Leather fetish items, rubber, bondage equipment, dildos, vibrators, strap-ons, penis pumps etc. are shown in close-up. The porn magazines have modesty covers on them, which means no hardcore is visible. In the Australian theatrical version, the film suddenly jumped from Max in a museum to him falling out of the door of the sex shop into the street.
A huge hit & influential down under
Shane Harrison reports.
As one of the first R-rated films, BEDROOM MAZURKA would prove to be an iconic success. At Melbourne’s Roma Cinema, starting on March 9th 1972, it would continue running for 91-weeks. This beat the previous record-holder, BENJAMIN, OR THE DIARY OF AN INNOCENT YOUNG MAN (1968) by 20 weeks.
The huge box-office inspired, in part, the creation of ALVIN PURPLE (1973). That film honoured its source with a view of the Roma screening BEDROOM MAZURKA. This can be found at 62:48 on Roadshow’s DVD of the ALVIN PURPLE: HEXAGON TRIBUTE COLLECTION. In a further link between the films, the Roadshow Home Video release of ALVIN PURPLE was advertised on the rear of their BEDROOM MAZURKA tape.
Theatrical re-release
In June 1982, a 2413.00-meter (87:57) print was submitted. It was awarded an R-rating for sex, which was said to be:
Frequency: Frequent
Explicitness/Intensity: Low
Purpose: Justified
…and also for ‘Nudity’.
Blake Films went on to re-issue the film theatrically.
Presumably, this was the uncut version.
Video releases
In the early 1980s, BEDROOM MAZURKA was released on tape by Roadshow Home Video.
The cover announced that it was ‘Now fully uncut’.
Blake Films had an 88-minute video classified in February 1984. The R-rating was awarded for the same reasons as their June 1982 submission.
February 1984 also saw Pakenham Video Library receive an R-rating for a 92-minute tape. This would appear to be the uncut version.
DVD release
In October 2013, Big Sky Video issued BEDROOM MAZURKA on DVD with a cover that stated it was uncut.
As it was not been resubmitted for classification, it still carried the previous R-rating. This explains the lack of consumer advice on the cover.
Bedside Dentist
Directed by John Hilbard / 1971 / Denmark / IMDb
In September 1972, a 2760.41-meters (100:37) print of BEDSIDE DENTIST was banned because of ‘indecency’.
A censored 2687.19-meter (97:57) version was passed with an R-rating in October 1972.
U.I.P released it theatrically. The advertising material lists it as being distributed by Cinema International Corporation.
Theatrical re-issue
In August 1982, Blake Films had a 1077.00-meter (98:08) 16mm print of BEDSIDE DENTIST passed with an R-rating.
It was awarded for sex, which was described as being:
Frequency: Frequent
Explicitness/Intensity: Medium
Purpose: Gratuitous
BEDROOM MAZURKA (1970) received a theatrical rerelease at this time, so presumably, that was the purpose of this submission.
Video mystery
In February 1984, a 100-minute tape was passed with an R-rating. It was awarded for the same reasons as the August 1982 submission.
In early 1982, Roadshow Home Video released a tape titled SNEAK PREVIEWS FROM OUR CATALOGUE, which included BEDSIDE DENTIST.
It is unclear if the complete film was released.
Review
Mike reports
Unknown DVD – 96:54
Thomas (Ole Søltoft) is a dental student who is ‘destined to be the worst dentist in town’ but unknown to him, he has a rich aunt (Annie Birgit Garde) who hopes to leave him all her money. Before she does so she wants to ensure that he is ‘manly’ enough (‘he should be interested in women, beer and horn music!’). She doubts this initially due to a student prank gone wrong in which Thomas lost his trousers and was seen wearing floral underpants, so is keen to be assured that he has a girlfriend. The female dental students are only too happy to oblige.
The plot of BEDSIDE DENTIST is pretty flimsy and dated, but everyone involved seems to have believed in it enough to focus on the story instead of introducing too many sex scenes. One reason for the relative chasteness of the film is that there is a misunderstanding which lasts some time which makes everyone believe that Thomas’s aunt is prudish and conservative, so he spends the first half of the film not having sex to avoid offending her. Overall it plays like a slapstick comedy with a few stronger moments. These include the following.
1. A man and woman are seen having sex in a dentist’s chair. She is bouncing up and down quite enthusiastically. (00.05)
2. Thomas has a part-time job working at a local power station. An emergency arises so he goes to consult the foreman who we see is busy having sex with two naked female apprentices. (00.15)
3. Thomas ultimately show himself to be manly enough and gets his inheritance. All of the students have a party to celebrate and in turns out that one of them has filled the balloons with nitrous oxide. We see some of them acting as if they are high and Thomas’s friend Michael (Søren Strømberg) even inhales it out of a tube. (00.20)
4. Things get slightly out of hand while the students are still high. A woman strips before being laid on a table and covered with grapes, apples and a bunch of bananas over her genital area. She is wearing only a pair of skimpy knickers and various people eat fruit off her body. (00.30)
5. At the very end, the students pair up and we see several quick shots of men thrusting into their female partners from behind. This continues from a distance over the closing credits. (00.20)
The potential cuts to the version I viewed do not seem to add up to the 02:40 removed to secure an R rating in 1972 and it is not clear what else the Board could have found problematic. Although it might seem, based on the runtime, that the Blake Films submission in 1982 was precut, there is nothing in the print I watched that would have been censorable by that stage.
Come to My Bedside
Directed by John Hilbard / 1975 / Denmark / IMDb
In August 1975, a 2765.00-meter (100:47) print of COME TO MY BEDSIDE was refused because of ‘indecency’.
The same month saw the decision confirmed by the Films Board of Review.
A ‘reconstructed version’ running 2385.00-meter (86:56) print was passed with an R-rating in December 1975.
Consolidated Exhibitors were the applicant.
Video releases
In 1982, Roadshow Home Video released a tape titled SNEAK PREVIEWS FROM OUR CATALOGUE, which included COME TO MY BEDSIDE.
It is unclear if the complete film was issued.
An 86-minute tape of was passed with an R-rating in February 1985. It was awarded for sex was described as being:
Frequency: Frequent
Explicitness/Intensity: Medium
Purpose: Gratuitous
Blake Films were the applicant.
The tape was released on the Rodox Video label and distributed by Caballero Home Video.
Danish Sailors
Directed by John Hilbard / 1976 / Denmark / IMDb
In December 1981, a 2486.00-meter (90:37) print of DANISH SAILORS was censored by 15.50-meters (00:34) for an R-rating.
The cuts were made to remove sex, which was found to be:
Frequency: Infrequent
Explicitness/Intensity: High
Purpose: Gratuitous
In the censored R-rated version, it was reduced to:
Frequency: Frequent
Explicitness/Intensity: Medium
Purpose: Gratuitous
Blake Films was the applicant.
Banned in Queensland
On 13 March 1982, the censored R-rated version of DANISH SAILORS was prohibited by the Queensland Films Board of Review.
The distributor was Blake Films.
Video releases
In 1982, Roadshow Home Video released a tape titled SNEAK PREVIEWS FROM OUR CATALOGUE, which included DANISH SAILORS. It is unknown if the complete film was released.
A 91-minute tape of was passed with an R-rating in February 1985. The sex was described as being the same level as the December 1981 classification. This may indicate it was censored.
It was released on the Rodox Video label and distributed by Caballero Home Video.