Movie News

Night of the Demon is a 1980 US horror by James C Wasson.
With Michael Cutt, Joy Allen and Bob Collins.

Banned as a video nasty in 1983. Later heavily cut for 1984 VHS and the cuts continued to the 2004 DVD. Finally passed 18 uncut for 2022 Blu-ray. Uncut and MPAA R rated in the US.

UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong gory violence, sexual violence:

• 2022 88 Films (RB) Blu-ray at UK Amazon #ad released on 21st February 2022

Summary Review: Cheap

Another film that is something like an urban legend: being banned in countries like Germany or Norway and also very hard to find. The reputation of Night of the Demon is much more interesting than the movie itself!

The story is simple: a professor and some students travel to the dark forests to investigate some cruel murders which were caused by a Bigfoot-like monster that looks like Chewbacca from Star Wars . A feeble minded woman who lives in a lonely hut plays an important role in the solution of the mystery.

Well, the acting is bad, the F/X are pretty cheesy and only the many murders featured in this flick will keep you away from falling asleep! These deaths however are pretty are gory and violent, so fans of splatter movies won't be disappointed!

West Side Story is a 2021 US crime romance by Steven Spielberg
Starring Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler and Ariana DeBose

An adaptation of the 1957 musical, West Side Story explores forbidden love and the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds.

Steven Spielberg's latest movie West Side Story to be released later in the month has been banned in several Middle Eastern countries. The musical has been banned in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and Kuwait.

The film was banned because of Disney's refusal to comply with cuts requested by censors.

The film is rumoured to contain same-sex scenes. Also Disney the portrayal of a transgender character played by a non-binary actor Iris Menas seem to have offended the censors.

Perhaps the most likely scenes for cuts is described by the BBFC:

There are scenes of racist behaviour, including use of the terms spic and coloured. In another scene teenagers mock and misgender a person who is implied to be a trans man, and one of the bullies brags about pantsing him and seeing his genitals. Further discriminatory language includes polack and pansy.

Rocky IV is a 1985 USA sport drama by Sylvester Stallone.
Starring Sylvester Stallone and Talia Shire and Burt Young.    

The BBFC uprated the film from PG to 12A for 2020 cinema release. Director Sylvester Stallone produced a PG-13 rated Director's Cut in 2021, whereas the original was PG rated. The Director's was passed 12A for UK cinema release in 2021.

Summary Notes

Rocky Balboa accompanies his friend Apollo Creed to the ring in a boxing match against a Russian Boxer named Ivan Drago. Drago is too strong for Creed, and unfortunately kills him in his match. Balboa blames himself for Creed's death and is determined to defeat Drago in a boxing match. He gains the help of Creed's former manager, Duke and travels to U.S.S.R. to take on Drago.

Versions

uncut run: 94m pal: 90m

UK: The Director's Cut was passed 12A uncut for moderate violence, bloody images: 2021 cinema release titled Rocky Iv: Rocky Vs. Drago (Director's Cut)

I Miss You, Hugs and Kisses is a 1978 Canada mystery drama by Murray Markowitz
Starring Elke Sommer, Donald Pilon and Chuck Shamata

Briefly banned as a video nasty in 1984. A cut version was released on VHS in 1984 and 1986.

Thanks to Richard:

I saw this video from YouTube about the BeyondFest Festival. At the end (at 41m32s) they show a brief video clip of what US Severin are releasing in 2022, the pool scene in a red tint is from I Miss You. I got out my VHS rip to check and it's the same.

Delirium is a 1979 USA thriller by Peter Maris.
Starring Turk Cekovsky, Debi Chaney and Terry TenBroek.    

Banned as a video nasty in 1983 until 1985. Passed 18 after BBFC cuts for 1987 18 rated VHS. Not released in the UK since.

This film is also set to be released by US Severin in the next few months.

Hong Kong has passed a toughened film censorship law empowering authorities to ban past films for supposed national security threats and impose stiffer penalties for any breaches in the latest blow to the city's artistic freedoms.

In June the city announced censors would check any future films for content that breached China's repressive security law. But this latest law allows scrutiny of any titles that had previously been given a green light.

It empowers Hong Kong's chief secretary to revoke the screening license of past and current films.

Maximum penalties for screening an unlicensed movie have been raised to up to three years in jail and a HK$1 million ($130,000) fine.

Film censorship inspectors can enter and search any premises suspected of displaying unlicensed movies without a warrant and titles deemed a security risk will not be able to appeal via the usual channels.

The Phantom Of The Open is a 2021 UK comedy drama by Craig Roberts
Starring Rhys Ifans, Sally Hawkins and Mark Rylance

The story of golfer Maurice Flitcroft whose performance at the 1976 British Open Golf Championship made him a legend.

Exists in 2 versions. The Phantom Of The Open was cut for BBFC 12A rated cinema release in 2021.  The Fantastic Flitcrofts is uncut and BBFC 15 rated for cinema release in 2021.

 

Versions

cut cut:   run: 103m pal: 99m		UK: Passed 12A for infrequent strong language: 2021 cinema release titled The Phantom Of The Open Cut to reduce strong language.
uncut run: 103m pal: 99m		UK: Passed 15 uncut for strong language: 2021 cinema release titled The Fantastic Flitcrofts

Scream is a 1996 USA crime horror mystery by Wes Craven.
With Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette.      

A killer known as Ghostface begins killing off teenagers, and as the body count begins rising, one girl and her friends find themselves contemplating the "Rules" of horror films as they find themselves living in a real-life one.

The film has generally been released in the Theatrical Version that was cut in the US  for an MPAA R rating. There is an uncut Director's Cut but this has proved elusive.

Now James has observed that the recent UK Blu-ray Trilogy release contains the Director's Cut. He writes:

I have the UK blu-ray trilogy from 2020 and it's definitely the director's cut, even if it isn't advertised as such. I've attached pictures of 2 shots that are only in the directors cut.

Update: Disagreement

26th October 2021. Thanks to Mark

Re your article about the recent Scream Trilogy Blu-Ray containing the unrated cut of the first movie. Unfortunately after checking and comparing it to the original release which I also have, they are identical. You only see the aftermath of the first killing and not the actual spilling of the guts.

And Ramsey also notes that the Trilogy Blu-ray features the cut MPAA R rated version.

The Last Duel is a 2021 USA drama by Ridley Scott
Starring Matt Damon, Adam Driver and Jodie Comer

King Charles VI declares that Knight Jean de Carrouges settle his dispute with his squire by challenging him to a duel.

Passed BBFC 18 uncut for sexual violence, strong bloody violence

Last Night in Soho is a 2021 UK horror mystery thriller by Edgar Wright
Starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Thomasin McKenzie and Diana Rigg

In acclaimed director Edgar Wright's psychological thriller, Eloise, an aspiring fashion designer, is mysteriously able to enter the 1960s where she encounters a dazzling wannabe singer, Sandie. But the glamour is not all it appears to be and the dreams of the past start to crack and splinter into something far darker.

Passed BBFC 18 uncut for strong bloody violence

The Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin has written questioning whether the BBFC are being too strict in the 18 rating for the Last Due and Last Night in Soho:

Borrowing from Kurosawa's Rashomon, Scott depicts the events leading to the duel from his three protagonists' very different perspectives, a narrative device that comes into its own in the depiction of the rape itself. For Driver, the attack is a transaction: he sees something he wants and takes it, while assuming his victim accepts on some deep level this is just how things work. To Comer, it is unthinkably traumatising, but also chillingly banal. The fundamental horror of Driver's actions isn't couched in striking camera angles or lurid stylistic flourishes.

It's what developmental psychologists might describe as a teachable moment: the scene lays bare the mechanisms of sexual violence so frankly that you sense it could give its audience a greater understanding of the subject. But alas, one particular group that might especially benefit -- older teenage boys -- has been prevented from seeing it in the first place.

A few days later, the same classification was handed down to Edgar Wright's Last Night in Soho: another film that addresses sexual violence in ways that could be instructive -- as opposed to scarring -- for younger viewers.

...

But for Scott's and Wright's films to be made out of bounds to every member of a demographic for whom the issues they address might hold particular pertinence feels like the opposite of good moral sense. Understanding often follows discomfort: in fact, the discomfort is often what makes the understanding stick.

Rocky IV is a 1985 USA sport drama by Sylvester Stallone.
Starring Sylvester Stallone and Talia Shire and Burt Young.  

Rocky Balboa accompanies his friend Apollo Creed to the ring in a boxing match against a Russian Boxer named Ivan Drago. Drago is too strong for Creed, and unfortunately kills him in his match. Balboa blames himself for Creed's death and is determined to defeat Drago in a boxing match. He gains the help of Creed's former manager, Duke and travels to U.S.S.R. to take on Drago.

A Director's Cut for Rocky IV is being released in US cinemas on 11th November.

Director, writer and star Sylvester Stallone masterfully has reshape Rocky IV with 40 minutes of never-before-seen footage. He reports that the fight scenes are more intense, the music is more powerful and the drama is heightened.

The Ultimate Director's Cut will then be available to rent on demand beginning Friday, November 12.