The trivia section on this movie states that it was one of the 74 video nasties. I know it was one of the 39 offical video nasties, but 74?
There seems to be quite a lot of misinformation on the video nasty subject on IMDB; There was never 74 video nasties, only 39.
The 39 were the ones that stuck. There were others that were tentatively put on the list but later removed - this is from Wikipedia:
"In total 74 separate films appeared on the list at one time or another. Thirty-nine films were successfully prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act."
Wiki has an in-depth page on the Nasties - it's worth bookmarking if you need a quick reference guide to the titles themselves ;)
I know, I wrote part of that Wikipedia page.
However Wikipedia does not deal with facts only 'collective truth', i.e if a number of people say it's true, then it becomes a 'truth'.
The so called extra 35 video nasties that get thrown around change from week to week due to mis-information, only the 39 original nasties are set in stone.
I wouldn't trust wikipedia for facts though.
The whole video nasties thing is very interesting to me (I'm from America). Is it really that big of a deal in the UK?
shareIt was a big deal at the time, police raided video shops across the UK taking any film they deemed unsuitable (which included mainstream Hollywood films like The Big Red One just for its title). The whole thing was a mess pushed by a bunch of Christians out of touch with reality, although it could be said video companies like GO and VIPCO were to blame as they fueled these Christian types by playing things up to drum up sales.
shareThere are/were actually 72 not 74 (the two that get included but were never on the list are XTRO and SHOGUN ASSASSIN)on the list and 39 of them got successfully prosecuted including EVIL DEAD which, according to film Critic Mark Kermode, was seen as horror comedy by James Ferman, Head of the BBFC from 1975-1999 but now dead, and would not have been prosecuted but one of the people, not sure what job, who saw it said he felt pysically violated by it so that is an indication.
sharefatboyslim142,
Your reply is partially correct. Certainly you're right there are 39 videos, otherwise known as the DPP39; these being the 39 films deemed obscene by the Director of Public Prosecutions (or "DPP"). The other 33 were often coined as the "Nasties on Parole" these being the group of films the DPP attempted to prosecute but failed to convict.
Many people interested in this topic (even those that grew up or were young adults during the era) don't realise there was a large number of other so-called "Nasties" prior to the Video Recordings Act that were substantially more violent and / or exploitative than those the DPP focused on, proving that as well as being barking mad, they were oftentimes also barking up the wrong tree.
Anyone interested in the entire catalogue of these films should get themselves Nigel Wingrove's and Marc Morris's fully updated and revised book The Art Of The Nasty. The book was originally published in 1998 by Salvation Films Ltd. It was fully revised and updated in 2009 by FAB Press with all the misprints and typos corrected. At 168 pages it's also substantially beefier than its original publication.
This book is something of a Holy Grail for those fascinated by the films and culture of the "Video Nasty" era.
http://www.fabpress.com/books/art-of-the-nasty-the-hardback.html
Suicide, it’s a suicide
I love the list of Video Nasties because there has been many a time where it has given me ideas for movies to watch.
Death lives in the Vault of Horror!
If you’ve seen them all you’ll know the original list of Video Nasties prosecuted by the DPP (aka the “DPP39”) are actually pants and with only few exceptions make for lame viewing.
As I say, there are a few exceptions such as Romano Scavolini’s Nightmare aka Nightmares in a Damaged Brain; Ruggero Deodato’s Cannibal Holocaust and one of my all-time favourites; James Kenelm Clarke’s Exposé aka Trauma aka House On Straw Hill to name of few, but it goes without saying these are just some of my personal faves and this is only my opinion.
Incidentally, the fairly recently released DVD + BD combo of Exposé released under the title House On Straw Hill by Severin Films, includes David Gregory’s documentaries Ban The Sadist Videos! part one (2005) and part two (2006) for those lucky enough to get the initial run of 3,000 discs that comes with a bonus DVD with the aforementioned documentaries.
Going back to the original “Video Nasties” virtually all of them are available uncut in one region or another and make for rather disappointing viewing, though as someone that grew up during this period, I’ve acquired everything I can as this time represents a very significant period in English history both prior to and following the pre-certification era and subsequent VRA (Video Recordings Act).
Marc Morris and Jake West celebrated this period with their 2010 documentary Video Nasties: The Definitive Guide: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape that tackles the reactionary media outburst and scandal of this era with gusto and verve, while providing an opportunity on discs 2 and 3 to view trailers and snippets of The Final 39 and The Dropped 33. It’s an excellent and insightful set and there’s no better reference or starting point for anyone new to the Video Nasty phenomena to use as a handy reference tool in deciding which titles are the ones worth acquiring for the horror fan interested in film history.
It’s also a great ride for seasoned stalwarts, at least in terms of documentaries. There’s more than enough well documented and written literature out there for anyone interested in this era, such as David Kerekes’ & David Slater’s book See No Evil: Banned Films and Video Controversy that delves into the subject in a manner that any horror film buff worth their salt will find engaging.
Marc Morris and Jake West return again this year with their follow-up documentary Video Nasties: The Definitive Guide ... Part Two: Draconian Days. Once again, it’s a 3 disc set with that will showcase the little known The Section 3 list. It will doubtless be another worthy addition to any horror fan’s collection. Here’s more on the new documentary to be released by Nucleus Films in mid July.
http://www.nucleusfilms.com/video-nasties-the-definitive-guide-vol-2.h tml
Suicide, it’s a suicide