New Releases Announced

Slap the Monster on Page One is a 1972 Italy/France mystery thriller by Marco Bellocchio
Starring Gian Maria Volontè, Fabio Garriba and Carla Tatò

BBFC cuts were required for a 15 rated Blu-ray release in 2024. The BBFC cited child protection issues.

UK: BBFC 15 rated for strong bloody violence, language, threat, injury detail after BBFC cuts:

• 2024 Radiance Films RAB Blu-ray at UK Amazon #ad released on 18th November 2024

The BBFC commented:

This film required a compulsory cut to a potentially indecent image of a child. Cuts were made in accordance with BBFC Guidelines, policy, and the Protection of Children Act 1978.

Thanks to Mike who reports on a discussion from another forum:

At one point in the film an investigative journalist goes to the house of the chief murder suspect and takes a look inside his closet. He sees a range of pictures of children and religious iconography of cherubs. These images are all perfectly innocent, but there is another composite image of a nude adult woman in a sexualised pose with the head of the underaged murder victim stuck on top of it.

As I understand it, this would be considered a pseudo-photograph under UK law, and indecent since it gives the impression of being an image of a child. If so, then I'm fairly sure it's the first indecent pseudo-photograph that the BBFC have ever cut..

Promotional Material

Days before a general election a young girl is raped and murdered. Bizanti (Gian Maria Volonté, The Working Class Goes to Heaven), the editor of a right-wing newspaper uses the story to help the conservative candidate his paper supports. The tumultuous time of Italy's 'Years of Lead' are captured in Marco Bellocchio's powerful political drama which directly addressed topics of its day and even prefigured the creation of the right-wing paper Il giornale, which came into being two years after this film. In an age of media manipulation Slap the Monster on Page One has never been more relevant and stands proudly alongside such Italian activist classics as We Still Kill the Old Way and The Mattei Affair.

LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

• 4K restoration of the film from the original negative by Cineteca di Bologna in collaboration with Surf Film and Kavac Film, under the supervision of director Marco Bellocchio
• Uncompressed mono PCM audio
• Archival interview with Marco Bellocchio (21 mins)
• Newly filmed interview with critic and author Mario Sesti (2024, 25 mins)
• Appreciation by filmmaker Alex Cox (2024, 10 mins)
• Newly improved English subtitle translation
• Reversible sleeve featuring designs based on original posters
• Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Wesley Sharer

Paranoia Agent is a 2004 Japan TV animation horror
Starring Shôzô Îzuka,Toshihiko, Seki,Michael, McConnohie

Seemingly unconnected citizens of Tokyo are targeted for bludgeoning by a boy with a golden baseball bat. As detectives try to link the victims, they discover that following the assaults, the victims' lives have improved in some way.

The previous DVD release of Paranoia Agent was notably censored by the BBFC when in 2006 they demanded cuts to an adults only rated episode featuring a hanging scene depicting an unsuccessful attempt by a young girl to hang herself.

Now the distributor MVD has just tweeted that an April 19th 2021 Blu-ray will be uncut:

We're happy to announce our upcoming Collector's Edition Blu-Ray release of Satoshi Kon's Paranoia Agent will be fully uncut!

Previous BBFC cuts from 2006

See article from animenewsnetwork.com

The BBFC requested the compulsory cut to the eighth part of Paranoia Agent, called Happy Family Planning. This a mostly self-contained story, a macabre black comedy. The story involves three people who meet online, intending to kill themselves together. Two of the trio are adult men, but they're shocked to realise the third person is a preteen girl, who seems to regard suicide as a game.

In one scene, the three characters try to hang themselves in the mountain. In the unedited episode, the girl is shown bouncing happily up and down with the rope around her neck, chanting Swing! Swing! (finally, she breaks the tree branch, sending them all tumbling). However, this scene, lasting 80 seconds, was cut entirely from the UK DVD of the episode, following the ruling by the BBFC.

Responding to inquiries about the cut in the past, the BBFC has made its reasoning clear. Although the relevant DVD was rated 18, the BBFC still judged that the scene of a child enjoying being hanged was irresponsible and harmful, and that underage children could be influenced by the scene.

The Guyver is a 1991 USA / Japan action comedy by Screaming Mad George and Steve Wang.
Starring Greg Joung Paik, Jimmie Walker and Peter Spellos.

UK: Passed 12 for moderate fantasy violence, moderate horror with previous BBFC cuts waived for:

• 2016 Arrow Video RB Blu-ray at UK Amazon released on 19th December 2016

Censorship History

Exists as the Director's Cut/Theatrical Version and a VHS Version. The VHS Version has been shortened for plot but has additional violence.

The VHS Version was cut by the BBFC for 15 rated 1992 VHS. The cuts were waived in 2016 for the 12 rated Director's Cut DVD/Blu-ray. The Director's Cuts us MPAA PG-13 rated in the US.

See further details at Melon Farmers Film Cuts: The Guyver

Promotional Material

PART HUMAN. PART ALIEN. PURE SUPERPOWER.

Mark Hamill (Star Wars) and the team behind horror classic Re-animator join forces for this electrifying live-action adaptation of Yoshiki Takaya s celebrated manga series!

Having been smuggled out of the mysterious Chronos Corporation by one of its researchers, a bio-weapon known as the Guyver unit which transforms its holder into a lethal super-being ends up in the hands of Sean, a young martial arts student. Sean soon finds himself in the sights of the Chronos Corporation and its mutant henchmen, who ll stop at nothing to retrieve the weapon.

Produced by Brian Yuzna (Society, Bride of Re-animator) and co-directed by special-effects masters Screaming Mad George and Steve Wang, The Guyver is an FX-laden extravaganza featuring a plethora of familiar genre faces such as Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes) and David Gale (Re-animator).

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

Brand new digital transfer of the Director s Cut

High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations

Original uncompressed audio

Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

Brand new interview with producer Brian Yuzna

Trailer

Image Gallery

Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Nick Percival

Limited edition O-card

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Fully-illustrated collector s booklet featuring new writing on the film

The Driller Killer is a 1979 USA horror thriller by Abel Ferrara.
Starring Abel Ferrara, Carolyn Marz and Baybi Day.

UK: Passed 18 uncut for strong violence, gore for:

• 2016 Arrow [Theatrical + Pre-release version] Limited Edition Steelbook (RB) Blu-ray/R2 DVD Combo at UK Amazon released on 28th November 2016
• 2016 Arrow [Theatrical + Pre-release version] (RB) Blu-ray/R2 DVD Combo at UK Amazon released on 28th November 2016

UK Censorship History

Shortened for 1982 pre-cert VHS which was then famously banned as a video nasty. A pre-cut version was released on 1999 18 rated VHS. Uncut and 18 rated since 2002. Unrated and uncut in the US.

The 2016 Blu-ray includes for the first time a pre-release version.

There is also a US release

Promotional Material

In career that has encompassed such controversial classics as Ms. 45, Bad Lieutenant and Welcome to New York, none of Abel Ferrara s films have quite managed to match the shock, extremity and downright notorious nature of The Driller Killer.

Ferrara plays struggling artist Reno, a man pushed to the edge by the economic realities of New York living in the late seventies and the No Wave band practising in the apartment below. His grip on reality soon begins to slip and he takes to stalking the streets with his power tool in search of prey...

One of the most infamous video nasties, in part thanks to its drill-in-head sleeve, The Driller Killer has lost none of its power to unnerve and is presented here fully uncut.

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

Limited Edition SteelBook featuring original artwork (2500 copies)

Brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative of the never-before-seen pre-release version and the theatrical cut

High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations

Original Uncompressed Mono PCM audio

Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

Audio commentary by director and star Abel Ferrara, moderated by Brad Stevens (author of Abel Ferrara: The Moral Vision) and recorded exclusively for this release

Brand new interview with Ferrara

Willing and Abel: Ferraraology 101, a new visual essay guide to the films and career of Ferrara by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, author of Cultographies: Ms. 45

Mulberry St. (2010), Ferrara s feature-length documentary portrait of the New York location that has played a key role in his life and work, available on home video in the UK for the first time ever

Trailer

Collector s booklet featuring new writing by Michael Pattison and Brad Stevens