Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape
Synopsis
72 films that changed Britain forever.
Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape is an in-depth documentary by director Jake West (Evil Aliens) and producer Marc Morris which charts the Video Nasties phenomenon and sheds light on one of the most important scandalous eras in British history.
Popular reviews
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Quite simply one of the very best documentaries about films that I have seen, and in so many ways, too.
It's by no means a balanced documentary - it is largely a polemic piece that casts deserved derision on people such as Mary Whitehouse and former MP Graham Bright, two of the main driving forces behind the Video Recordings Act of 1984. But it IS one that does affors Bright the opportunity to have his say and even, frustratingly, falls short of questioning him further regarding his proven lies about his purported research at the time.
But balance isn't really supposed to be the point of Jake West's eye-opening documentary anyway. It is more of retelling of one of the…
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A superb and brilliantly edited documentary about the early 1980s video nasties "panic" which is admirably only concerned with one, less-frequently discussed, aspect: the legal side, which resulted in retailers being arrested and the BBFC taking on a huge new role. The usual suspects crop up as talking heads - Kim Newman, Geoffrey Robertson QC, Allan Bryce - but most significant are the interviews with hateful former MP Graham Bright, who still believes that he was doing the right thing, and Martin Barker, the media studies professor who's as passionate and pissed off as he ever was about the whole ridiculous affair.
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I missed out on the scandal of 'Video Nasties' as I was born in 1978. I have vague recollections of dodgy videos being passed from under the counter to my Dad while we were picking up whatever brain rotting cartoons me and my brother wanted though.
I am glad really...I just spent the whole of this doc punching myself in the face at the ludicrous and downright criminal behaviour by the politicians etc.
I have been interested in censorship and the right for adults to choose what they want to watch since the time of Reservoir Dogs, Killing Zoe and Bad Lieutenant having trouble in the early 90s. Well before I was old enough to watch them of course!
I…
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Very interesting documentary about the government's rush to ban video nasties.
Includes Mary Whitehouse saying that she doesn't need to see the films to know they should be banned.
Also includes an interupting bishop.
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A superb documentary about the Video Nasties and the people who wanted to ban them.
I am really struggling to write this review, I don't watch many documentaries and it's not the same as writing a film review.
Jake West has put together a great film, looking at not just the people who were for the Campaign to Ban Video Nasties. But also the people who tried to defend these films, for what they were, a horror film, to many just entertainment!
With comments from many of todays horror directors, like Chris Smith and Neil Marshall, West also used genre critics to outline the history of the campaign and the ludicrous ideals the backers of the campaign had.
But West…
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The best movie about horror movies and censorship I've ever seen.
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Probably the fifth time I've watched this, the video nasties "outbreak" is one of my favourite era's to watch documentaries on and read about. The doc is so well researched and put together. And it contains my favourite quotation from a politician...
"These films not only affect children but they affect dogs too!" - Graham Bright. Both a genius and a complete moron at the same time. Oh and he still believes that he saw a real murder in 'Snuff'...and these people were trusted to make important decisions?
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I missed out on the scandal of 'Video Nasties' as I was born in 1978. I have vague recollections of dodgy videos being passed from under the counter to my Dad while we were picking up whatever brain rotting cartoons me and my brother wanted though.
I am glad really...I just spent the whole of this doc punching myself in the face at the ludicrous and downright criminal behaviour by the politicians etc.
I have been interested in censorship and the right for adults to choose what they want to watch since the time of Reservoir Dogs, Killing Zoe and Bad Lieutenant having trouble in the early 90s. Well before I was old enough to watch them of course!
I…
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Fascinating documentary about film censorship in the UK during the 1980's
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Very interesting documentary about the government's rush to ban video nasties.
Includes Mary Whitehouse saying that she doesn't need to see the films to know they should be banned.
Also includes an interupting bishop.
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Ένα καταπληκτικό documentary για τα video nasties και πως αυτά πολεμήθηκαν από τον τύπο, από την κυβέρνηση κι από οργανώσεις. Δεν εστιάζει μόνο στις ταινίες αλλά περιέχει ένα συγκλονιστικό footage από την εποχή που τα θεωρούσαν τη ρίζα της διαφθοράς και της εγκληματικότητας.
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I was only 5 at the time but I find the whole subject incredibly interesting. I can't believe that some people were so gullible and damn stupid.
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Brilliant documentary detailing the events and effects of the BBFC's clamp-down on horror films in the early 80s. Showing both sides of the argument, it's a fascinating look at an era that many outside of the UK may be unfamiliar with.
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Terrific documentary on the history of Britain's video censorship crusade in the early 80s, with interviews with the people who were there.