Movie News

Itirazim Var (Let's Sin) is a 2014 Turkey action drama by Onur Ünlü.
Starring Serkan Keskin, Hazal Kaya and Öner Erkan.

There is a murder while at prayer. Selman Bulut, the imam of mosque, starts to investigate the murder and faces with people in the neighborhood.

Politicised censorship of the satirical film Let's Sin by Onur Unlu, has cast a shadow over the industry.

The film, about an irreverent Imam who goes to extreme lengths to solve a murder, received several awards. But the Turkish Ministry of Culture designated an 18 rating for the film normally reserved for those with the most extreme sexual or violent content - a commercial kiss of death for most films, as few Turkish cinemas screen them.

The decision was widely seen by the film industry as politically motivated. A charge well founded, according to Yamac Okur, the film industry's representative on the rating classification board. Okur says ever since last year's anti government protests known as Gezi, the government has adopted a political agenda on classifying films:

Especially after the Gezi protests, I can say there is a tendency. It's very related to politics. Sometimes with the subject whether the content is sexual or religious and sometimes who directed it or produced it. For example for Onur Unlu, because Onur Unlu was very political and critical of the main government and politics.

The government of course denied any political motivation behind film classifications, but after the film industry erupted in outrage over the classification of Unlu's film. The Ministry of Culture finally backed down and re-classified the film as suitable for viewers 13 years old and above.

Arbitrarily awarded 18 ratings can also have another politically repressive usage. Any films that are state funded have to return the funding should the film be awarded an 18 rating. Obviously if ratings are not tied to content, then film makers are open to a massive financial hit should they offend the state and so get an 18 rating.

Okur, a successful film producer and a member of the classification board, has been trying to persuade the government to introduce reform. He says new legislation is pending that will introduce a clear criteria for the classification of films but that any reform is unlikely until after next year's general election.

To Singapore, with Love is a 2013 Singapore documentary by Pin Pin Tan.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Singaporeans, who were activists, student leaders or Communists were exiled from their country. Fifty years later, despite resettling in countries such as the United Kingdom, Malaysia and Thailand, it is clear that the diaspora still holds Singapore and the idea of returning home in their hearts and minds. TO SINGAPORE, WITH LOVE follows the exiled protagonists in the film, as they undertake a trip to Singapore's closest neighbor, Malaysia, where they attend reunions, memorials and stay in a hotel that overlooks their homeland.

A documentary film about self-professed exiles -- including members or supporters of the now-defunct Communist Party of Malaya (CPM, who are living overseas has been barred in Singapore.

Announcing its decision to ban the 70-minute film To Singapore, With Love , Singapore's films censors of the Media Development Authority (MDA) claim that its contents:

Undermine national security because legitimate actions of security agencies to protect national security and stability of Singapore are presented in a distorted way as acts that victimised innocent individuals.

The individuals in the film have given distorted and untruthful accounts of how they came to leave Singapore and remain outside Singapore

The MDA said, adding that the Government has made it clear that it would allow former CPM members to return if they agree to be interviewed by the authorities on their past activities to resolve their cases.

The MDA pointed out that the CPM had sought to overthrow the legitimate elected governments of Singapore and Malaysia through armed struggle and subversion, and replace them with a communist regime .

The film by local director Tan Pin Pin centred on the exiles -- some who have not returned for 50 years -- ruminating about their lives away from Singapore. It has won Ms Tan multiple international awards, including Best Director at the Muhr AsiaAfrica Documentary Awards at the Dubai International Film Festival last year.

Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim said he supported the MDA's assessment.

Update: Cross border screening

20th September 2014. See  article from  sg.news.yahoo.com

Hundreds of defiant Singaporeans protesting censorship gathered in Malaysia on Friday to see a documentary banned by censors in their home country.

The film, To Singapore, with Love , examines the case of political exiles in the city-state and features interviews with nine former activists, student leaders, and self-confessed communists who fled Singapore from the 1960s until the 1980s and are currently settled in Malaysia, Britain and Thailand.

Organisers estimated 400 people watched the screening, saying most of the audience was made up of Singaporeans who had crossed the border to view the production in the southern Malaysian city of Johor Bharu.

Singapore, ruled by the same party since 1959, has relaxed strict social controls including media censorship in recent years, but continues to impose stringent regulations on films that discuss local politics.

Found is a 2012 USA horror thriller by Scott Schirmer.
Starring Gavin Brown, Ethan Philbeck and Phyllis Munro.

The film's Australian distributor Monster Pictures has said that 2 minutes have been cut to placate the country's film censor.

It was originally noted that the censored version was 7 minutes shorter, but presumably 4 minutes of this can be attributed to a PAL speedup and the other minute to rounding errors.

So the international league table of censorship now reads

3rd place Australia, R18+ rated after 2 minutes of cuts

2nd place UK . 4 seconds cuts

Passed 18 for strong bloody violence, sexualised violence, gory images after 4s of BBFC compulsory cuts for:

• 2014 Monster Pictures R2 DVD at UK Amazon released on 13th October 2014

The BBFC commented:

• A cut was required to remove sight of a murderer's erect penis, during a scene of sadistic sexualised violence and threat.

1st place, US, uncut

Uncut and MPAA Unrated for:

• 2014 Xlrator R1 DVD at US Amazon released on 23rd September 2014

Promotional Material

FOUND is a unique and supremely disturbing coming-of-age story of a boy whose big brother is a serial-killer.

Growing up is tough for Marty. His parents don't understand him and he is bullied at school. He has only his big brother to look up to...that is until he discovers his brother's chilling secret and a severed head in a sports bag at home.

FOUND unravels a gripping and gruesome story that captures what it's like to grow up in the time of VHS tapes and video nasties, as the American dream and everyday suburbia descends into a home-grown hell that will leave even the most hardened horror fan shocked by its disturbing finale.

Richard Kiel has died aged 74. The 7ft 2in actor was most famous for his role as James Bond villain Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979),.

It's perhaps as the silver-toothed colossus Jaws that he will be best remembered, but like the character, who eventually reforms and becomes good, he was in reality a gentle giant and everyone who was lucky enough to meet him came away with happy memories.

Friday the 13th The Final Chapter is a 1984 US horror film by Joseph Zito.
With Erich Anderson, Judie Aronson and Kimberly Beck.

Cut for an MPAA R rating. The BBFC made further cuts for VHS, but the UK cinema release and DVDs are the R rated version.

Summary Review: Saving the best for last, sort of

After being mortally wounded and taken to the morgue, murderer Jason Voorhees spontaneously revives and embarks on a killing spree as he makes his way back to his home at Crystal Lake.

Immediately picking up where Friday the 13th Part 3 , Friday the 13th Part 4 was such a brilliant addition to the franchise. For those who haven't seen the series, Part 4 is not a bad place to start, or finish.

We get a great little campfire story and a lot of great death sequences  within the first 5 minutes. We also get real acting, & actual character development with the Final Chapter . This was the last movie in the series that was actually made AS a horror film, and not as a cult film. And this movie does scare!

UK: The cut R Rated Version was passed 18 with a further 20s of BBFC cuts for:

• 1987 CIC VHS

Thanks to Vincenzo. The official BBFC cuts were:

• At 72 mins - Reduce hacking to death of young man with garden fork to only one blow, before first cutaway to girl followed by quick death after it, losing intermediate shot altogether.
• At 78 mins - After girl leaps to ground through window and killer looks out, remove high angle shot of her body with skirt raised to reveal panties.
• At 81 mins - When boy chops killer [Jason] in head, considerably reduce process of [machete] slicing through head [and eye] both during fall and after body hits floor.

According to the Hollywood Reporter (THR), director Abel Ferrara is furious at  IFC Films, who are distributing his latest film Welcome to New York. IFC is refusing to release the film until Ferrara cuts it down to an R-rating. Ferarra told THR:

They knew from day one when they bought this film that they had the final version and that it wasn't going to be changed.

I've fucking had it with this corporate assault on the artists and the freedom of the artist, period. It's like a war against movies, he griped. Because 90% of the marketplace is owned by five guys masquerading as corporations. They're vultures and they're vampires, and they're trying to suck the blood out of the life of the filmmaking community.

The Equalizer is a 2014 USA action crime thriller by Antoine Fuqua.
Starring Denzel Washington, Marton Csokas and Chloë Grace Moretz.

UK: Passed 15 for strong bloody violence, sex references, strong language after BBFC advised pre-cuts for:

• 2014 cinema release

The BBFC commented:

• This work was originally seen for advice. The company was advised that the film was likely to receive an 18 certificate but that their preferred 15 classification could be achieved by making cuts to reduce the violence in two scenes. When the finished version of the film was submitted for formal classification, edits had been made to reduce sequences of violence, including detail of a stabbing with a corkscrew and a garroting. The formal submission was consequently rated 15.

Summary Notes

A former black ops commando who faked his death for a quiet life in Boston comes out of his retirement to rescue a young girl and finds himself face to face with Russian gangsters.

A Walk Among the Tombstones is a 2013 USA action crime drama by Scott Frank.
Starring Liam Neeson, Ruth Wilson and Dan Stevens.

UK: Passed 15 for strong bloody violence, sexualised violence, very strong language after pre-cut for:

• 2014 cinema release

The BBFC commented:

• This work was originally seen for advice. The company was advised that the film was likely to receive an 18 certificate but that their preferred 15 classification could be achieved by making cuts to reduce a scene of sexualised threat and to remove an accompanying aggressive use of very strong language directed at a woman. When the finished version of the film was submitted for formal classification, edits had been made to this scene. The formal submission was consequently rated 15.

Lord of the Flies (1963), directed by Peter Brook, was classified X (suitable only for those aged 16 and over) for language and nudity as well as the final scenes in the film, which were considered too strong and alarming for children. Cuts for an A certificate were offered to the company, but these were refused on the grounds that they would spoil the film and it was therefore passed X.

...

In 1989 Lord of the Flies, directed by Harry Hook and starring Balthazar Getty, was submitted to the BBFC. The distributor of the film requested a PG certificate, but immediately four uses of strong language in the film made this lower category impossible and pushed the film to a 15 classification. Examiners however did consider whether the film could be contained at the new 12 certificate, introduced for film in 1989.

..Read the full article

Friday the 13th Part 3 is a 1982 US horror film by Steve Miner.
With Dana Kimmell, Tracie Savage and Richard Brooker.

Cut for an MPAA R Rating. This version was passed X for 1982 cinema release but further cuts were required  by the BBFC for 1987 18 rated VHS. The BBFC video cuts were waived for 2001 18 rated DVD and 2009 15 rated Blu-ray, which are the same as cut US R rated releases.

Summary Review: Anyone for Hockey?

Jason is back to revenge on all that visit his woods. A new group of friends come over to party at an area close to the campsite. This time, Jason will be stronger than ever, and getting a hockey mask from one of those friends.

UK: The cut US R Rated Version was passed 18 after a further 4s of BBFC cuts for:

• 1987 CIC VHS

Thanks to Vincenzo. The official BBFC cuts were:

• At 57 minutes - When dart is fired into girl's [Vera's] eye , remove close shot of dart in eye.
• At 62 minutes - When girl [Debbie] is knifed in hammock, reduce sight of boy's [Andy's cut in half] corpse above her on the shelf, and reduce sight of knife emerging from her chest to brief establishing shot only.

From IMDb. Note that the following cuts for an MPAA R rating are included in all releases to date:

• The death scene of Andy showed his right leg and stomach being cut apart.
• Vera's death was longer, it included more blood and a shot of her reaction. It was cut because the board said that it looked too real.
• Edna's death was cut of excess blood.
• The impaling of Chili with the hot poker was cut. Originally, the impalement was shown, along with a splash of smoldering blood.
• Debbie's death originally showed blood spraying across her upper half and face.

A member of Russia'a culture committee recently recommended a ban on foreign films that demonize Russia.

While the idea of stricter control over the image of Russia and Russians in foreign films has been floated by top officials time and again over the last few years, the first concrete proposal aimed at banning foreign films that demonize Russia was recently made by Batu Khasikov, a member of the culture committee at Russia's Federation Council, the upper chamber of Parliament. He proposed:

Specific requirements should be introduced for film exhibition in the country, and movies where everything related to Russia is overtly demonized or shown in a primitive and silly way should be banned from theatrical distribution.

Found is a 2012 USA horror by Scott Schirmer.
Starring Gavin Brown, Ethan Philbeck and Phyllis Munro.

Banned

The uncut version of the movie was banned by the the Australian film censors earlier this year in May.

Re-banned

The distributor, Monster Pictures,  has just resubmitted a cut version, approximately 6 minutes shorter than the previous submission.

However the film censors did not relent and the film is still banned, even in its cut form.

Unbanned

The Australian film censors relented after the film was submit for the third time, this time with about 7 minutes being cut.

The heavily cut film is now rated R18+ for high impact sexualised violence, violence and themes

The extended classification information reads,:

• High impact: themes, violence
• Moderate impact: language, nudity

Still no word how the film is faring at the BBFC. It is due for UK release on 13th October 2014.

The revising committee of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has cleared the Hollywood comedy, Sex Tape , giving it an adults only A certificate.

The committee asked the film's distributors to cut around 10 minutes' footage from the film. Committee chairman Nandini Sardesai said:

Several scenes shown before the title of the film feature frontal nudity and blatant sexual intercourse which was definitely not beautiful; we have asked distributors to cut them out.

The distributors were armed with a proper self-censorship sheet and they even offered to cut more scenes if needed. We have already pointed out the deletions and they have agreed to carry them out.

The film was previosuly set for release in India in the first week of August. But last month, the examining committee of the CBFC denied the film a certificate due to its adult content.

The Expendables 3 is a 2014 USA action adventure thriller by Patrick Hughes.
Starring Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham and Jet Li.

The latest episode in the previously R rated series was controversially toned down for a child friendly MPAA PG-13 rating.

Stallone suggested during pre-release hype that there will be a 'harder' version released on home video. However there is no sign of this for the first batch of home video releases. Or at lease no sign of an extended version on promotional material provided to Amazon UK.

India's Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has banned another film dealing with the turbulence of 1984. Dilli 1984 , based on the anti-Sikh riots in Delhi, has not been certified on the grounds that the board could not even suggest cuts as the entire film was disturbing.

The film was screened before the board on August 14 and was denied a certificate four days later.

The film's director Ashok Gupta, said:

We had kept the film very close to the reality and showed the truth which apparently was uncomfortable.

Kaum De Heere is a 2014 India drama by Ravinder Ravi
Starring R aj Kakra , Gurpreet Ghuggi , and Rahul Devi

India has banned the release of a film based on the assassination of former Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi, after complaints it glorified her killers. The film, Kaum De Heere , (Real Heroes), had been scheduled for release on Friday.

It tells the story of Ms Gandhi's Sikh bodyguards who shot her dead apparently to avenge her decision to send troops in a deadly raid on the Golden Temple. Sikhs say thousands were murdered when the army entered Sikhism's holiest shrine in Amritsar to flush out militants. Mrs Gandhi's assassination triggered an outburst of communal violence targeted at Sikhs and more than 3,000 Sikhs were killed in attacks across India.

Officials of the home and information and broadcasting ministries and the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) saw the film again and deemed it not fit for release. Chief film censor Leela Samson said after a review of the movie:

We saw the film and decided that it must not be released.

The home ministry earlier voiced serious concern at the content of the Punjabi film, and asked the I&B ministry to take a relook at its clearance. It said the Punjabi-language film Kaum De Heere may affect communal harmony in Punjab and other northern states.

There were reports that CBFC CEO Rakesh Kumar, who was arrested by the CBI recently for corruption, had previously cleared the film after allegedly taking Rs 100,000.

The Congress Party - which Indira Gandhi led - had previously threatened to carry out protests if the film was released and the party's youth wing also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking for the film to be banned, saying it presented her assassins as heroes.

In the UK, the film was passed 15 uncut for strong bloody violence.

Update: Censored whilst claiming to be uncensored

25th August 2014. See  article from  totalfilmy.com

After Kaum De Heere was banned the producer of controversial film has threatened to take legal action against the censor board. The producers say, the prohibition is not justified given that it is based on true incidents, as per the findings of the Justice Thakkar Commission that had probed the assassination. Moreover, contrary to media reports the film does not portray the killers as heroes but presents the actual chain of events and give biographical accounts of Satwant, Beant and Kehar Singh.

Satish Katiyal stated:

We are consulting our lawyer. First, we will file a case against the censor board. We will go to court and then we will go to public. There is nothing controversial in the film. The Centre has banned the film due to political pressure. It is a rumour that we bribed to get our film cleared from censor board.

Madeleine Collinson was a Maltese model and actress. She was chosen as Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month in October, 1970, together with her twin sister Mary Collinson. They were the first identical twin Playmate sisters.

The Collinson Twins first arrived in Britain in April 1969,] and prior to their appearance in Playboy one of the first people to use them was the famed glamour photographer/film maker Harrison Marks who cast them as saucy maids in his short film Halfway Inn .

It was when Hammer cast them as the Gellhorn siblings in the 1971 film Twins of Evil that their eternal fame was cemented.

Their career, however, didn't last and despite the Playboy spread and modelling work, they retired from the industry, and Madeleine raised a family back in Malta.

Madeleine passed away on August 14, 2014 according to the Peter Cushing Society.

The Daily Mail has found itself a new Christopher Tookey-like film critic who has had a mega-whinge about the new British movie, Inbetweeners 2 . Brian Viner spouts:

Four young Englishmen go backpacking around Australia. That is the inoffensive, seven-word synopsis of The Inbetweeners 2 movie. But this blurb hides such a barrage of obscenity, of words and images ranging from the plain crude to the downright misogynistic, that it makes my heart sink to report that the film's first-week box-office returns already proclaim it the comedy hit of the summer.

...

The Inbetweeners 2 carries a 15 certificate, meaning it is deemed unsuitable for those under 15, but the people checking tickets might as well have been handing out lollipops on the door for all the care they took to weed out those too young. It is dispiritingly evident that, on occasion, the film classification board is simply wasting its time.

In fact, it mystifies me that this was given a 15 certificate at all --- it would have been rated 18 a few years ago. The humour may be puerile, but the obscene language and imagery are far too much for young teens.

...

For, with every instance of words such as gash and clunge (used to describe women or their genitalia), with every homophobic jibe, every misogynistic suggestion that all girls are either easy conquests or appalling harpies, and with every fresh burst of appreciative audience laughter, I sank lower and lower in my seat.

...Read the full review

On the Other Hand: Filthy fun down under

See review from  spiked-online.com

For a more appreciative piece

Yes, it's puerile at points. Yes, at others it's downright filthy, as Jay would say. But it is also food-snorting-out-of-your-nose funny.

...

The putdowns and piss-taking of mate-dom do two things. First, they capture something of the essential un-PCness of groups of mates, their willingness to leave nothing unmocked. Offensiveness is the currency of young male friendships. And what makes it work is that among mates, there is trust that despite the unparalleled cruelty of the jibes, that person is still your friend.

...Read the full review

Menahem Golan was an Israeli director and producer. He produced movies for such stars as Sean Connery, Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Charles Bronson.

Using the pen name of Joseph Goldman, Golan also wrote and polished film scripts. He was co-owner of Golan-Globus with his cousin Yoram Globus.

Golan's production company, The Cannon Group, produced a long line of films during the 1980s and early 1990s, such as Delta Force, Runaway Train, and some of the Death Wish sequels. In 1986, Cannon was taken over by Pathe Communications.

Golan produced several comic book-style movies in the latter half of the 1980s, perhaps most notably Masters of the Universe, based on the toys of the same name and inspired by the comics work of Jack Kirby.[5] In 1987, Cannon gained infamy after their U.K.-based production of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace failed in theaters and provoked a negative backlash from fans. In 1989 Golan resigned from Cannon, and by 1993 it had folded. Immediately following Cannon's collapse, Golan became head of 21st Century Film Corporation and produced several medium-budget films.

Golan produced about 200 films, directed 44, won 8 times the Violin David Awards and The Israel Prize in Cinema.

And by way of a tribute here are a few of his 200 films that caught the Melon Farmers eyes.

 1993 Emmanuelle VI (executive producer)
 1987 Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (executive producer)
 1987 American Ninja 2: The Confrontation (producer)
 1986 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (producer)
 1986 Cobra (producer)
 1986 The Delta Force (producer)
 1985 Runaway Train (producer)
 1985 Death Wish 3 (producer)
 1985 American Ninja (producer)
 1985 Lifeforce (producer)
 1984 Exterminator 2 (executive producer)
 1984 Ninja III: The Domination (producer)
 1984 Bolero (executive producer)
 1983 10 to Midnight (executive producer)
 1982 The Last American Virgin (producer)
 1982 Death Wish II (producer)
 1981 Enter the Ninja (producer - uncredited)
 1981 Lady Chatterley's Lover (executive producer)
 1980 Schizoid (producer)
 1978 Lemon Popsicle (producer)

Hollywood films have traditionally been given more leeway than Indian home grown films when it comes to kissing. But now in a bid to stop such allegations of discrepancy, Indian films censors have started cutting kissing scenes in American movies too.

In a current example, the Censor Board Of Film Certification (CBFC) has censored a deep-mouth French kiss in the Lasse Hallstrom's The 100 Foot Journey which features Om Puri and Helen Mirren as two warring restaurateurs who come together to cook up a romantic dish.

A source close to the CBFC said:

The CBFC gave Reliance Big Entertainment, the co-producers of 100 Foot Journey the choice of keeping the French kiss with a 'UA' (parental guidance) certificate. But Reliance has opted to take a 'U' certificate without the French kiss, as it (the U certification) allows a much wider spectrum of audience to watch the film.

The earlier logic that westerners are more comfortable with indulging in and watch smooching does not apply any more. When we allowed kissing to remain in Hollywood films, Indian producers would point accusing fingers at them asking why there couldn't be kissing in their scenes. So no, from now on if you want a serious kiss-and we are not talking about just a peck which the CBFC allows anyway-then be prepared for a UA certification.

 

She may be Pakistan's sweetheart, but the country's most highly paid actress, Humaima Malik, says she worries about how home audiences will respond to her latest on-screen romance - soon she'll be seen locking lips with Indian co-star Emraan Hashmi in her first Bollywood starring role.

With this kiss, Malik joins the line-up of Pakistani female actors who have crossed the border to India, and - in the eyes of some - to infamy.

But the backlash against our girls going across the border to seek fame and fortune has always been extreme in conservative Pakistan. People feel that kissing the enemy is simply not on - not halal . In fact, until recently, kisses were invariably censored in all films shown in Pakistani cinemas.

Humaima Malik's kiss is unlikely to pass the Pakistan censors, who always seem to take patriotic umbrage at such close fraternising with the Indians. Bollywood may be bigger and brighter, but Lollywood (based in Lahore) and the Pakistani army are determined to bring our girls back to Pakistani cinema.

The Indian censor board raised an objection over the way the name Abdullah has been mispronounced in the upcoming film Entertainment and has requested the film's makers to change it.

A character is named Abdullah, which is a very sacred name. Throughout the film other characters keep mispronouncing Abdullah's name, calling him all sorts of things like 'arashogollah' and 'amashallah', a source told IANS .

The source said the Censor Board of Film Certification (CBFC) asked the film's producers to change the name to avoid hurting religious sentiments.

In response to the request, the name was changed from Abdullah to Habibulllah in the movie.

Commenting on the matter from a Pakistani perspective, Sindh's censor board chairperson Fakhr-e-Alam said he has asked distributors to either remove all the scenes where the name Abdullah is mentioned or mute the dialogues before the film is shown in Pakistan. He said:

Abdullah is a very sacred name and it has been used in a derogatory fashion in the movie

A source from the film makers commented:

It was a lot of hard work since the jokes on the name occur very often. But there was no other option; we can't afford to take the risk of hurting religious sentiments.

The source added that the CBFC also ordered the removal of a shot showing a character throwing a trishul (trident) across the screen:

The CBFC doesn't want any Hindu organisation asking why the trishul was used as a weapon.

The CBFC also objected to the use of term HIV in a comical dialogue.

Marilyn Burns was an American actress, best known for her roles in Tobe Hooper's cult horror films The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), and Eaten Alive (1977). She is also known for portraying Linda Kasabian in the three-time Emmy-nominated miniseries Helter Skelter (1976).

Filmography

1974	The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
1976	Helter Skelter
1977	Eaten Alive
1981	Kiss Daddy Goodbye
1985	Future-Kill
1994	The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation
2012	BoneBoys
2013	Texas Chainsaw 3D

 

 

Paramount Australia have been left red-faced following the release of a new poster for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles which has resulted in whinges citing PC bollox about disregarding the feelings of 9/11 victims.

The promotional poster, featuring the four heroes jumping from an exploding skyscraper juxtaposed with the film's Australian release date of September 11, was released yesterday evening through the distributor's social media channels.

A few Twitter users branded the promotion as bad taste , with hundreds more responding with equally whingey replies.

The image has since been removed from their social feeds.

Campaigners from Morality in Media throw down a challenge. Dawn Hawkins, Executive Director, Morality in Media writes:

Fifty Shades of Grey has taken the world by storm. The well-oiled PR machine they have hired would have you think that all women want to be treated as slaves and that NO really means YES!

I believe that a majority of people are not buying into these lies, but they are bullied by the mainstream media into staying silent. Today with the release of the new movie trailer, most of the popular news outlets are pushing this story that romanticizes and normalizes sexual violence.

The popular series promotes torture as sexually gratifying and normalizes domestic violence, particularly violence against women. This type of material cultivates a rape and sexual violence culture and is now permeating our society. With the popularity of this book, mainstream opinion-makers (like Oprah, the Today Show, Planned Parenthood and Broadway) are telling the public (especially youth) that humiliation, degradation and torture in sex is normal and to just give it a try.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), published by the American Psychiatric Association, states that sadism and masochism are mental disorders, which should be dealt with on a professional psychiatric level.

We must oppose the continued promotion of BDSM in our society. We will go after all public leaders that propagate the lies that torture and violence are normal and healthy sexual templates.

The Grand Budapest Hotel is a 2014 USA / Germany / UK comedy by Wes Anderson.
Starring Ralph Fiennes, F Murray Abraham and Mathieu Amalric.

GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting and the battle for an enormous family fortune -- all against the back-drop of a suddenly and dramatically changing Continent.

The guardian of Indian innocence and sensibility, the Censor Board, has edited a little more than four minutes off Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel even though the film was awarded an adults only 'A' rating.

One of the montages that has been cut establishes that the film's flamboyant hero and the hotel's head concierge Gustave H as a womaniser. The deleted shot shows Gustave delicately eating grapes while getting a blow job.

The lengthiest cut in the Indian version of Anderson's film has absolutely no reference to anything even vaguely sexual. It involves four convicts, one concierge, some dessert, hatching a cunning plan for a jail break.

The plotting is cut along with a scene in which the convicts stay up past the official bedtime to dig through the cement floor of their cell with smuggled in tools .

Presumably the escape plan is a good one as the Indian authorities presumably fear that is could be using in Indian prisons.

USA Today has reported that Morality in Media's executive director, Dawn Hawkins, has whinged at the newly released trailer for the movie, Fifty Shades of Grey . She claims the trailer:

Deceives the public with a visually appealing melodramatic love story that romanticizes and normalizes sexual violence.

A warning to the women lining up to see this film: There is nothing empowering about whips and chains or humiliation and torture. Women as a group will not gain power by collaborating with violent men. Women would be serving only as an agent to further their own sexual degradation, handing themselves on a silver platter to exactly the sort of men who want to use and abuse them, and take away their power.

And it seems that an awful lot of the public are enjoying being deceived as the trailer on YouTube has been viewed 11,200,000 times already.

Meanwhile Parents Television Council have been joining in the whinge. PTC director of grassroots education and advocacy Melissa Henson spouted:

We're talking about basically the equivalent of a dime-store trashy romance novel. Essentially, [The Today programme on NBC] is promoting what people refer to as 'mommy porn.'

[The movie is one] that's romanticizing violence in relationships ... sexual violence is basically what this movie is promoting.

And anti-porn campaigner Gail Dines somehow reads lethal violence into the trailer:

In the trailer there is a hint of some of the violence that is about to come Anastasia's way when he tells her I don't do romance and warns her that I am incapable of leaving you alone. Stalker talk, for sure! In his book on batterers, Lundy Bancroft provides a list of potentially dangerous signs to watch out for from boyfriends. Needless to say, Christian is the poster boy of the list, not only with his jealous, controlling, stalking, sexually sadistic behavior, but his hypersensitivity to what he perceives as any slight against him, his whirlwind romancing of a younger, less powerful woman, and his Jekyll-and-Hyde mood swings. Any one of these is potentially dangerous, but a man who exhibits them all is lethal.

...Read the full  article

Halloween II is a 1981 US horror film by Rick Rosenthal.
With Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence and Charles Cyphers.

It is rare that horror sequels (or any film sequels) manage to capture the tone and feel of their predecessor. However Halloween 2, made 3 years after John Carpenter's original, is a successful exercise in terror.

However, expect more violence than the almost entirely blood-free first outing. A very worthwhile film for lovers of the horror genre.

Uncut for cinema and DVD but was cut by the BBFC on VHS

The 1990 Castle VHS release was passed 18 after 17s of BBFC cuts. The BBFC cuts were to the scene where Michael dunks a nurse into a boiling Jacuzzi:

• At 49 mins - Reduce scalding to death of nurse in overheated jacuzzi by removing 3rd and 5th times her head is lowered into water, cutting away after 1st shot of temperature gauge which follows 2nd dunk, and resuming after 2nd shot of gauge to see her head raised for what was originally 3rd time and then lowered and raised again.
  
  Also reduce sight of bare-breasted body before she falls to floor, cutting away after she is raised again to remove last immersion and resuming on long shot of her upright body just before it falls to floor.

Sex Tape is a 2014 USA comedy by Jake Kasdan.
Starring Jason Segel, Cameron Diaz and Rob Corddry.

Summary Notes

A married couple wake up to discover that the sex tape they made the evening before has gone missing, leading to a frantic search for its whereabouts.

UK: rated 15 uncut for strong sex references, sex, very strong language, drug use

US: Rated R (17) for strong sexual content, nudity, language and some drug use.

India: The film was banned by the CBFC in July 2014

A source from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) says, Owing to excess vulgarity in the film, we have decided to not certify the film.

A former member of the board says:

Hollywood films are usually viewed as 'more corruptible' than Hindi films and they get rejected for their overt sexual content and brutal violence. But in the case of Hindi films, producers get away with a lot more.

Also, Hollywood films that have sexually provocative themes or titles tend to bear the brunt. It is a knee-jerk reaction and is not the right way to certify films. Why shouldn't an adult film be cleared with an A certificate? Aren't 18-year-olds mature enough to watch films with sexual or violent content?

The BBFC Annual Report for 2013 highlighted that a record 321 cinema films were given a 12A rating last year, up a third from 234 the previous year. The rating means children aged 12 and over can see a film at the cinema unaccompanied, and those under this age can also view the film with an adult.

Of course the clear popularity of this rating with parents does not sit well with moralist campaigners who ludicrously try spin popularity and profitability as something sinful and wrong.

Miranda Suit, co-founder of Safer Media, a christian campaign group, said she always suspected that when the 12A category was introduced it would benefit the film industry far more than parents or children, and the record numbers of 12As in 2013 appears to confirm this. She spewed:

12As are a gift to the industry -- allowing a whole extra group of children, the under 12s, to provide a new revenue stream, as long as they are with an adult.

Meanwhile the BBFC are happy to allow surprisingly explicit violence and sadism in 12As, as evidenced by the complaints made about 12A Jack Reacher.

Explicit sex is also an issue, and the BBFC have actually relaxed controls on bad language in this category.

The BBFC need to provide much better protection -- our children are far too precious to justify weighting regulation in favour of the industry rather than young people's wellbeing.

Vivienne Pattison, of moralist campaign group Mediawatch UK, said the findings and changes only highlight how children are being used to turn films into lucrative business ventures. She spewed:

The increase would appear to underline the fact that producers want to get that crucial 12A rating because it means children can go and leads to a substantial increase in the potential audience.

You can sell a lot more lunchboxes and duvet covers linked to the film if under 12s have been allowed to see it.

The problem arises at the top end of the classification, when producers make a snip here and a cut there to a film so they can get the 12A rating. It does not always mean the film is suitable for children.

The BBC made a few comments on the BBFC Annual Report.

The BBFC rated 974 cinema films in 2013 - up from 850 last year, and its highest figure since the 1960s. However the latest figure includes the new idea of cinema relays of theatre and opera stage events.

Interestingly the most common cinema certificate is now a 12A where previously it was 15. 321 films were 12A in 2013 compared with 234 in 2012.

The BBFC must be doing something right as the number of complaints received is trivially small. These may indicate a few of the films closest to the borderline with a higher category. The BBFC wrote:

The 12A theatrical classification of Jack Reacher generated the most feedback in 2013, with a total of 26 complaints. Despite a number of reductions made to scenes of violence to achieve a 12A certificate, those who contacted us considered the film too violent, dark and sadistic for twelve-year-olds, and inappropriately presented the hero as a vigilante figure.

The film is occasionally gritty and realistic, but the overall tone and treatment of the violence is similar to recent 12A action films such as the Bourne series and does not exceed the Guidelines at 12A. The film is relatively restrained in showing injury or blood, with no undue focus on the suffering of the victims and the Jack Reacher character is quickly established as an 'anti-hero'.

Other films noted were:

• The Paperboy (15). 12 complaints for strong sex scenes
• The Wolverine (12A). 12 complaints for strong language.
• The Life of Pi (12A), 10 complaints for scenes showing animals attacking each other being too distressing for children.
• The Impossible (12A), 10 complaints for graphic injury detail
• About Time (12A), 6 complaints about language and sex references

Magnum Force is a 1973 USA action mystery thriller by Ted Post.
With Clint Eastwood, Hal Holbrook and Mitch Ryan.

San Francisco Police Inspector 'Dirty' Harry Callahan and his new partner, Early Smith have been temporarily reassigned from Homicide to Stakeout Duty. Meanwhile, those of the city's criminals who manage to avoid punishment by the courts are nevertheless being killed by unknown assassins. Callahan begins to investigate the murders despite the orders of his superior officer, Lieutenant Briggs. A man has to know his limitations...

Cut by the BBFC for 1973 cinema release but the cuts were waived for home video

UK: Passed X (18) after BBFC cuts for:

• 1973 cinema release

Thanks to Vincenzo. The BBFC cuts were:

• Reel 1 - Sight of Ricca and attorney twitching in rear seat of car after they have been shot was reduced to a flash shot.
• Reel 3 - The struggle in a taxi when pimp kills prostitute was reduced. Sight of pimp's hand hanging over car door and twitching after he has been shot was reduced to a flash shot.
• Reel 7 - The killing of a policeman by Harry where he punches and then chops him in the throat was reduced. Blows to the throat were reduced.

UK: Passed 18 uncut with previous cuts waived for:

• 2013 Warner [Clint Eastwood 20 Film Collection] R0 Blu-ray at UK Amazon
• 2008 Warner R0 Blu-ray at UK Amazon
• 2008 Warner R2 DVD at UK Amazon

Boyhood is a 2014 USA drama by Richard Linklater.
Starring Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke.

US : Rated R (17A) for language including sexual references, and For teen drug and alcohol use.

UK : Rated 15 uncut for strong language, sex references, drug use

The USA lacks a rating for mid teens. There is a PG-13 rating for young teens but the next step is an R rating which is in UK terms a 17A rating. So movies that are 15 rated in the UK have to be overrated with a 17 rating in the US. It is often cited as a criticism of the US system that something as trivial as a couple of 'fucks' tips a movie from a 13 rating to a 17 rating. One such example is Richard Linklater's Boyhood.

Richard Linklater's Boyhood was given an R-rating, despite the fact that it quite realistically charts the growth of a contemporary suburban child up until his college years. Naturally, the MPAA wants to protect any kid who might actually watch something that, critics say, accurately depicts their own lives. But distributor IFC Films isn't having it.

In response to the R-rating, IFC tweeted about Boyhood , which is playing at the IFC Center in New York, as well as five other locations:

Though the MPAA has rated BOYHOOD R, we feel the film is appropriate for mature adolescents & will be admitting teenagers at our discretion. --- IFC Center (@IFCCenter) July 11, 2014

The indie film from director Richard Linklater follows a young boy named Mason, who makes it through a rocky childhood with an alcoholic father (Ethan Hawke) and, eventually, a single mother (Patricia Arquette) as he attempts to define his identity over the course of twelve years. Boyhood carries an R-rating attached to crude language, including sexual references, and teen drug and alcohol usage. There are several implications of spousal abuse as well as domestic unrest, which are no doubt intense for the viewer. Which is sort of the point: it's almost as if the MPAA is penalizing Linklater's movie for being honest.

The director of an Indian investigative documentary that tracks the events leading to the Muzaffarnagar riots last year and is anti-BJP in tone, said the West Bengal government's decision to cancel the film's screening at a state-run cultural centre reflects its refusal to take on the BJP .

The Muzzafarnagar riots in Uttar Pradesh last year left nearly 40 people dead according to some estimates, and over 50,000 homeless.

The documentary En Dino Muzaffarnagar by filmmaker Shubhradeep Chakravorty and Meera Chaudhury explores how the BJP swung the caste differences between the Jats and Muslims, in their favour to garner maximum votes in alliance with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), right before the crucial Lok Sabha elections in May this ye ar .

The documentary which was rejected by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), but screened at Mumbai's Prithvi Theatre in April, was scheduled for a showing at Kolkata's Charukala Bhavan in July.

Mondo Cane is a 1962 Italy documentary by Paolo Cavara & Gualtiero Jacopetti.
With Rossano Brazzi and Stefano Sibaldi.

The film consists of a series of travelogue-vignettes providing glimpses into cultural practices throughout the world intended to shock or surprise the mostly Western film audience, including an insect banquet and a memorable look at a practising South Pacific cargo cult. Mondo Cane's shock-exploitation-documentary style was the inspiration for numerous imitations, including Shocking Asia and the Faces of Death series of movies.

It was nominated for the Palme d'Or, the highest prize given to a competing film at the Cannes Film Festival.

The film was banned by the BBFC for 1962 cinema release but was resubmitted in 1963 and passed X after about 14 minutes of cuts. Thanks to Vincenzo. The BBFC cuts were:

• Reel 1 - Remove shots of pigs being beaten to death.
• Reel 1 - Remove shots of dead dogs in cooking-pots and live dogs in cages in Formosa Roast-Dog Restaurant.
• Reel 1 - Shorten the incident of the Easter Egg chickens which are put alive into hot ovens, together with commentary relating to this.
• Reel 2 - Remove shots of a snake being skinned alive in Singapore.
• Reel 2 - Considerably shorten the episodes of sharks having poisonous and prickly plant pushed into their mouths, and shorten also shots of the sharks' struggles in the water.
• Reel 3 - Reduce the shots of the drunkards and drug-addicts in Hamburg.
• Reel 4 - Reduce the shots of buffaloes being decapitated by Gurkhas to no more than one shot, which should not be a close up.
• Reel 4 - Remove the shot of the man being killed by a bull in the street, and being dragged away. Also remove the sound of his groans.
• Reel 4 - Reduce to a minimum the shots of a man being tossed in the bull-ring

The film has not been released since in the UK but is uncut in the US on DVD:

• 2013 Blue Underground [Midnight Movies 11] R1 DVD via UK Amazon and at US Amazon
• 2008 Blue Underground R1 DVD via UK Amazon and at US Amazon

British Board of Film Classification see digital growth, measure public trust and launch new education resources in 2013

The BBFC's voluntary regulation services grew significantly in 2013. In September the BBFC became the regulator of internet content delivered via mobile networks. Meanwhile, content classified for video-on-demand under the BBFC's Watch & Rate service increased by 200% in 2013, with 34 new companies submitting content for classification. BBFC ratings can be found on iTunes, BT Vision, Talk Talk, BlinkBox, FilmFlex, Sainsbury's, PlayStation and XBox. They are available for customers building Ultraviolet collections and can be seen on the seatback entertainment systems on Virgin and British Airways flights.

Education for younger children was an area where the BBFC expanded on its existing outreach programme by launching a new website for children and their parents, www.cbbfc.co.uk , in September. The website features child friendly interactive content, including classification information for the latest film releases rated U to12A; timelines explaining the history of film classification; the popular rate a trailer activity; and a page dedicated to understanding 12A. The website launched with a competition for children, which challenged them to draw pictures representing the correct audiences for each age rating. The winning illustrations, selected from over 130 entries, feature on a poster resource and leaflet which is available as a free resource for schools.

The BBFC's research effort in 2013 was dominated by the large scale public consultation into the BBFC's Classification Guidelines. Involving more than 10,000 adults and teenagers, the results of the consultation fed directly into the BBFC's latest Classification Guidelines, published in January 2014. The research showed strong public trust in the classification system. 89% of film viewers rated classification as important and 92% of recent film viewers agreed with BBFC age ratings for films and videos they had seen recently.

BBFC Director David Cooke said:

2013 was a year of key firsts for the BBFC. We began working to provide a classification framework for mobile operators, trailblazing new ways in which the BBFC's research and expertise in content classification can be applied. We also spoke to teenagers for the first time as part of our Guidelines Consultation exercise, finding that 76% consider classification to be important. Meanwhile our new website for younger children aims to ensure they too learn how to navigate age ratings and, alongside their parents, make informed choices about what they watch at the cinema, on DVD and on VoD platforms.

Mobile Operators in the UK began to use the Mobile Classification Framework designed by the BBFC to filter video and website content available via mobile networks on 2 September 2013. The framework is used to filter internet content available via mobile networks and is a key component of the Mobile Operators' code of practice, established in 2004, and was previously devised by the Independent Mobile Classification Board (IMCB).

Another area of growth for the BBFC involved international partnerships. Working with the Dutch media regulator, NICAM, the BBFC designed a user generated content rating tool that can be used to provide ratings for content uploaded to video sharing websites. The tool allows viewers to rate content themselves with the ratings adapted to suit the requirements and expectations of the country in which they are viewing the video. The tool is currently being trailed by the Italian media company Mediaset on their video sharing platform 16mm.

Unhinged is a 1982 US horror by Don Gronquist.
With Laurel Munson, Janet Penner and Sara Ansley.

Uncut by the BBFC for an 18 rated 1983 cinema release. Banned as a video nasty in 1983. Uncut for DVD in 2004.

From the 88 Films blog:

At 88 Films we wanted to release Unhinged on BluRay but, sadly, the elements are not there. However, the forthcoming DVD of Unhinged will mark the launch of 88's new dedication to slasher cinema -- from the golden era of the 1980s. This will be the best looking print of the film ever, and it will also come with a brand new commentary from Gronquist himself, who will doubtlessly speak a little about the UK controversy. This is going to be the finest the film has ever looked with a transfer approved by Gronquist himself.

Don't Go in the Woods is a 1981 USA horror by James Bryan.
Starring Jack McClelland, Mary Gail Artz and James P Hayden.

Banned as a video nasty in 1983. Passed 15 uncut for 2007 DVD

From the 88 Films blog:

Don't go in the Woods was filmed in 35mm and, as such, the opportunity has arisen for 88 to release this puppy on BluRay. The elements remain and we are thrilled to announce that, getting its UK debut soon, will be this outrageous example of eighties horror hokum.

Jafar Panahi's Closed Curtain will be released digitally online and will be free for viewers in Iran using VHX, the direct-to-consumer platform, beginning Monday, July 14th.

One of Iran's most celebrated filmmakers, Panahi has been under house arrest since 2011, and the Iranian government has banned him from making any films for 20 years. Closed Curtain marks Panahi's second time defying the ban placed upon him by the government. The first was his 2011 documentary This is Not a Film.

Closed Curtain won the Silver Bear for Best Script at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year and recently opened at the Film Forum in New York City. It will screen across the U.S. and Canada throughout the rest of the summer.

VHX has led the charge on a social media campaign to support Panahi. Using the hashtag #Celebratenotcensor, VHX is asking people to tweet using that hashtag and to:

Show your support as well by sharing a personal message of support for Jafar and for other artists around the world who are being denied the freedom of expression.

Hercules is a 2014 USA action adventure by Brett Ratner.
Starring Dwayne Johnson, John Hurt and Ian McShane.

UK: Passed 12A for moderate violence, bloody images, moderate sex references, strong language after pre-cut for:

• 2014 cinema release

The BBFC commented:

• This film was originally seen for advice in an incomplete form. The company was informed that it was likely to be classified 15, but that their preferred 12A could be achieved by reducing some bloody detail in three scenes. When the finished version was submitted for formal classification, those moments had been addressed.

For comparison, the US version, presumably uncut was rated PG-13 for epic battle sequences, violence, suggestive comments, brief strong language and partial nudity.

Summary Notes

Fourteen hundred years BCE, a tormented soul walked the earth that was neither man nor god. Hercules was the powerful son of the god king Zeus, for this he received nothing but suffering his entire life. After twelve arduous labours and the loss of his family, this dark, world-weary soul turned his back on the gods finding his only solace in bloody battle. Over the years he warmed to the company of six similar souls, their only bond being their love of fighting and presence of death. These men and women never question where they go to fight or why or whom, just how much they will be paid. Now the King of Thrace has hired these mercenaries to train his men to become the greatest army of all time. It is time for this bunch of lost souls to finally have their eyes opened to how far they have fallen when they must train an army to become as ruthless and blood thirsty as their reputation has become.

The Expendables 3 is a 2014 USA action adventure thriller by Patrick Hughes.
Starring Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham and Jet Li.

Barney and his team, known as "The Expendables", come into conflict with ruthless arms dealer Conrad Stonebanks, the Expendables' co-founder, who is determined to destroy the team.

US: Cut for an MPAA PG-13 for violence including intense sustained gun battles and fight scenes, and for language.

Collider reports:

Collider.com learned from sources that the film just squeaked by the MPAA with a PG-13 rating, and they had to make trims to get there after the first pass was given an R.

Knowing the first cut was rated R, probably means  an unrated version of The Expendables 3 will be released on Blu-ray.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a 2013 USA comedy fantasy adventure by Ben Stiller.
With Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig and Adam Scott.

A day-dreamer escapes his anonymous life by disappearing into a world of fantasies filled with heroism, romance and action. When his job along with that of his co-worker are threatened, he takes action in the real world embarking on a global journey that turns into an adventure more extraordinary than anything he could have ever imagined.

The BBFC advised cuts for a PG rated cinema release in 2013. Now movie-censorship.com is reporting that this version cut on advice of the BBFC has now been released in Germany and the US (and probably worldwide)

UK: Passed PG for infrequent moderate violence, mild language and sex references after BBFC advised cuts for category for:

• 2014 20th Century Fox RB Blu-ray at UK Amazon
• 2014 20th Century Fox R2 DVD at UK Amazon
• 2013 cinema release

The BBFC commented:

This work was originally seen for advice. The company was advised that the film was likely to receive a 12A rating but that their preferred PG rating could be achieved by making limited changes, including:

• to remove sight of naked female pin-up pictures and

• to reduce violent threat in a fight scene.

When an edited version of the film was submitted for formal classification, these scenes had been addressed and the film was consequently rated PG.

UK film productions that receive money from the BFI Film Fund must adhere to new political correctness quotas from September, the BFI has announced.

The BFI's new three ticks assessment - designed to mandate diversity of ethnicity, disability, gender, sexual orientation and socio-economic background in the industry - requires applicants to demonstrate political correctness compliance across three areas of their production: on screen, off-screen and employment opportunities.

At least one tick will be needed in two of the three areas for a project to be eligible for funding

Projects will be independently assessed by the BFI's Orwellian sounding, Certification Unit with qualifying films receiving a BFI logo certifying the production's political correctness.

To further incentivise compliance each year one qualifying producer will be given a Lottery award to fund a diversity opportunity or work placement within their company for 12 months.

The BFI is also recruiting a political correctness 'expert' to support the implementation of the new guidelines and provide guidance to BFI-backed productions.

Examples of recent Film Fund films that would get a tick for politically correct subject matter include Belle, Pride, Suffragette, The Selfish Giant, Philomena, Catch Me Daddy and Calvary.

Step Up: All In is a 2014 USA romance by Trish Sie.
Starring Alyson Stoner, Briana Evigan and Adam G Sevani.

All-stars from the previous Step Up installments come together in glittering Las Vegas, battling for a victory that could define their dreams and their careers.

UK: Passed PG for mild bad language, rude gestures, sex references after pre-cut for:

• 2014 cinema release

The BBFC commented:

• This film was originally seen for advice. The BBFC advised the company that it was likely to be classified 12A, but that their preferred PG could be achieved by removing two uses of strong language. When the film was submitted for formal classification, both uses of strong language had been removed.

Various Nigerian press outlets are reporting that Biyi Bandele's Half Of A Yellow Sun has finally been cleared by the Nigerian Film and Video Censors Board, for local release.

The film is set for release in August. According to the Board's Corporate Affairs representative, Caesar Kagho, the film has been approved with an 18 rating. (Compared with an R rating in the US and a 15 rating in the UK). It is reported that censor cuts had to made to obtain the Nigerian 18 rating.

It was to open in Nigeria, where the film is set, on April 25, but that didn't happen, as its release date was postponed, and has since been delayed, due to delays in getting certification from Nigerian Film and Video Censors Board.

Government censors said that they delayed the release of the film because it might incite violence in the country given its subject matter - specifically, a scene that details a massacre at a northern Nigerian airport - in light of current political turmoil within the country.

Yes and Yes (Da i Da) is a 2014 Russia drama by Valeriya Gay Germanika.
Starring Vladimir Dubosarsky, Aleksandr Gorchilin and Agniya Kuznetsova.

Actress Agniya Kuznetsova plays an inquisitive girl from the outskirts of Moscow, embarking on a coming-of-age adventure in the city's bohemian art community.

Russia's new anti-obscenity law, that came into force on 1st July, has forced Vologda's VOICES Film Festival  to pull its screening of Valeria Gai Germanika's Yes and Yes (Da i Da) .

However, the extensive use of strong language means that the film's producers have not been able to obtain a distribution certificate to release the film in Russian cinemas. Under the new legislation, films containing foul language will be banned from general release.

The film, which had its European premiere at last week's Moscow International Film Festival and won four awards including best director and the FIPRESCI Prize. In a last minute decision, a limited release was organised in five Moscow cinemas in the three days leading up to the law coming into effect which resulted in good box office.

Kremlin propaganda claims that the new law is meant to ensure the protection and development of linguistic culture , but critics say it is reminiscent of Soviet-era censorship.

Mizo , a film by Nam Ki-woong made headlines last month when it was banned by the Korea Media Rating Board's (KMRB). The film censors claimed:

The premise of the film damages and distorts our sense of human dignity and value, and has the potential danger of disrupting social order and public sentiment.

Nominally the censors gave it a restricted rating, which means that such films can only be shown in specialty theaters, of which none actually exist in the country.

However the film may finally hit local theaters next week, as filmmakers have censored parts deemed problematic. Filmmakers hope blur effects will help overturn the Korea Media Rating Board's (KMRB) de facto ban. The KMRB is now in the process of reviewing the censored version of the film.

The incenstuous drama is about a young woman who, after having long been sexually abused by her adoptive parents, sets out to find her biological father. She seeks to make him fall in love with her only to eventually kill herself, thereby breaking his heart and avenging her pain.

The uncensored original version is set to open in Japanese theaters in October.

On October 28, 2014, the horror label SCREAM FACTORY, in collaboration with Morgan Creek Productions and Clive Barker's Seraphim, Inc., will finally unleash the highly sought-after Director's Cut of Clive Barker's classic tale of terror NIGHTBREED!

Perfectly timed for Halloween, NIGHTBREED will be available in two retail versions: a 5,000-unit Limited Edition 3-Disc Blu-ray set and a Special Edition DVD and Blu-ray Combo. Written and directed by visionary filmmaker Clive Barker (creator of Hellraiser) and based on his popular novel Cabal, the cult-classic film stars Craig Sheffer (Hellraiser: Inferno), Anne Bobby (Born on the Fourth of July), David Cronenberg (Director, Eastern Promises), and Charles Haid ("Hill Street Blues") and features a soundtrack by award-winning composer Danny Elfman.

In 1990 the film was released theatrically nationwide; however, the movie studio edited the film extensively, and several scenes were excised or rearranged -- much to Clive Barker's disappointment. Since then a fan-driven movement was created ( OccupyMidian.com ) to see the full version of the film restored and re-released. Now, after 25 years, fans and horror enthusiasts can finally experience NIGHTBREED like never before! Scream Factory, in conjunction with Warner Bros., was able to find the long-thought-missing original film elements and combed through over 600 boxes to locate not only the lost scenes but a treasure trove of never-before-seen footage as well. With nearly an hour of lost footage meticulously restored, the result is not only a more faithful adaptation of Clive Barker's book Cabal but also what he originally intended NIGHTBREED to be.

Official statement from Director Clive Barker:

"This is film history and beyond my wildest dreams of realization. When Scream Factory told me that they found the NIGHTBREED film footage, I was gob-smacked! This is the ultimate validation of choices made by myself and Mark Miller [of Seraphim Films] all the way back in 2008. As we embarked down the road of attempting to track down the lost footage, we looked at each other and said, 'Maybe one day they'll find it.' It's my pleasure to announce that the day has come. Speaking personally, I didn't allow myself to believe that it would. Even if we did find some footage (which we did in 2009 in the form of heavily degraded VHS tapes) and even if we did find a company willing to release the film (which we did in 2013 with Scream Factory, God bless them), the prospect of finding the actual lost film materials was remoter than I'd wanted to admit out loud. If the footage could not be found by those who had worked closest on it the same year it had been released, then what were the odds we'd be able to find anything 20 years on? But Scream Factory, in their commendable determination, kept up the search, and thanks to them total reconstruction has been made a possibility. There's never been a reconstruction that's had as little chance of succeeding and yet has succeeded on as many fronts as this film has. It's unprecedented. To now have a movie that we can put together in the way that I fully intended it to be seen when I first set out to make this film in 1989 is extraordinary. The project has moved inexorably to this conclusion. Fate and the hard work of individuals such as Mark Miller, Russell Cherrington, Phil and Sarah Stokes, Occupy Midian, Morgan Creek, and ultimately, Scream Factory have made this a possibility; and I could not be happier."

Those who order the Limited Edition set directly from ScreamfactoryDVD.com will also receive an exclusive 18"x24" poster of the newly designed artwork (available while supplies last)! The Scream Factory site will also receive the first 1,000 numbered copies.

Limited Edition Set. $79.97. Only 5,000 numbered sets produced:

Disc 1: Unrated Director's Cut of the film on Blu-ray

Disc 2: The 1990 R-rated theatrical version of the film on Blu-ray (through a special licensing agreement with Warner Bros.)

Disc 3: EXCLUSIVE-TO-THIS-SET Bonus Blu-ray disc packed with extras (details forthcoming)

Includes Collector's Book with an essay and rare photos

Slipcase includes newly designed artwork approved by Clive Barker

Special Edition Set. $29.93:
 

Disc 1: Unrated Director's Cut of the film on Blu-ray plus bonus features (details forthcoming)

Disc 2: Unrated Director's Cut of the film on DVD (details forthcoming)

Slipcase includes artwork approved by Clive Barker