I think movie censorship is an important thing because as much as we would all love to watch anything we want with no restrictions in a day and age it just can't be possible. It's so easy to access any movie you want regardless of how old you are so things need to be kept to a minimum to prevent a movie getting into the hands of the wrong person. That is my personal opinion but lets explore the history of British censorship. ------------The BBFC----------- The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) is in control of what certificate every movie released in the UK and it was founded in 1912. As an overview what they do is watch movies before they are ...  Read the complete review

Right let's get down to business. I don't want to bore you with lengthy rants, legal precedents and historical details about censorship but it is a subject I feel strongly about. Generally I disagree with censorship as a whole as expression through art and media is equally valid to expression through free speech. I think it's fair to say that music and video games have almost broken free of censorship and adopted a sensible rating system in terms of the latter. Film however continues to be subject to strenuous cuts which do on occassion ruin the experience. Some have become notorious and made classics like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which incidentally ...  Read the complete review

I'm fundamentally opposed to censorship. In principal, I believe that everybody should be free to say what they think, watch what they want and believe what they want, provided that they accept that not everybody will see things the same way. It's a tolerance thing. Even when people say really stupid or judgmental things, I think it's entirely appropriate to allow them to say them. To deny people such rights creates an undercurrent of repression, bitterness and often hatred, sometimes fuelling extreme ideas on the basis that believers become martyrs to their cause. There is a very common mentality in the world today that if somebody finds something offensive, ...  Read the complete review

The Times recently reported that a Conservative MP, Julian Brazier, is trying to get the UK's video censorship laws tightened. He's latched onto an old video nasty, SS Experiment Camp, and is using it to revert the UK to the bad old days of the 80s and 90s. SS Experiment Camp is an idiotic film (and unlike the authors of stern op ed pieces in the Times and Express, I've seen it). It depicts some bad stuff - mutilation, upside-down crucifixion - and sounds on the face of it to be immensely disreputable. (Concentration camp exploitation was a short-lived sub-genre that developed after the success of semi-respectable films like The Night Porter and Salon ...  Read the complete review

I decided to put forward this topic (Though wasn't the first to get an opinion up... Damn you, sparkymarky1973! Damn you all the way to hell!!!) for discussion as it's one that has always been a very big issue for me. For many years now, the BBFC has been overseeing film, video and now DVD releases in the UK. From establishing what certificate a film should be given through to trimming out anything that they deem to be unsuitable for us to watch - like we're stupid and can't decide for ourselves what we can handle when it comes to our own viewing. The thing is, we see horrific images on the news every single day now. From the memorable and ...  Read the complete review