The movies of Jörn Donner that have been cut or banned in Australia.
See also, ANNA (1970) in the Film Censorship Database No. 2.
Black on White
Directed by Jörn Donner / 1968 / Finland / IMDb
In June 1971, an appeal was submitted against the eliminations made to a 6833-feet (75:55) print of BLACK ON WHITE.
No decision was made, as the Films Board of Review described the print as being ‘apparently incomplete’.
The R-rating was not introduced until November 1971, so at the time of this submission, the highest classification available was SOA (Suitable only for Adults). This was broadly equivalent to an M.
Adult rating, but same problem
With a new system in place, in April 1972, Filmways once again appealed against the cuts. The Films Board of Review decided that the 8582-feet (95:21) should indeed be modified.
An R-rating was eventually awarded in June 1972 following the removal of 76-feet (00:50) of footage. The censorship was required to remove ‘indecency’.
In both cases, Filmways was the applicant.
What was censored?
Shane Harrison reports.
Finnkino (fi) – DVD – 91:30 (PAL) as MUSTAA VALKOISELLA
The 00:50 removed for an R-rating would have come from this scene.
45:21 – Juha Holm (Jörn Donner) and his mistress Maria (Kristiina Halkola) are shown making love. It consists of one single 00:56 take that plays out in semi-darkness. They are shown simulating sex with their naked bodies covering each other’s nudity.
There is one other bedroom scene in the film, which lasts around 00:30. Pre-November 1971 this may also have been a problem, but not once the R-rating was available.
Was it uncut?
A 2605.00-meter (94:57) print of BLACK ON WHITE was again passed with an R-rating in August 1977. It is unclear if it had been modified before submission.
The applicant, in this case, was the National Film Theatre of Australia.
Portraits of Women
Directed by Jörn Donner / 1970 / Finland / IMDb
In March 1972, an 8010-feet (89:00) print of PORTRAITS OF WOMEN was censored by 174-feet (01:50) for an R-rating.
The cuts were made to remove ‘indecency’.
The applicant was Roadshow Distributors.
