Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Video Nasties: The Definitive Guide (Nucleus, October 2010)


Well, sounds like something I need anyway...

Prepare to be corrupted and depraved once more as Nucleus Films releases the definitive guide to the Video Nasties phenomenon – one of the most extraordinary and scandalous eras in the history of British film.

For the first time ever on DVD, all 72 films that fell foul of the Director of Public Prosecutions are featured with specially filmed intros for each title in a lavish three-disc collector’s edition box-set, alongside a brand new documentary – VIDEO NASTIES: MORAL PANIC, CENSORSHIP AND VIDEOTAPE, directed by Jake (‘Doghouse’) West.

Producer Marc Morris, co-author of Art of the Nasty and Shock Horror: Astounding Artwork from the Video Nasty Era comments: “Hopefully, every true movie fan will want this in their collection”..

Disc One presents the 39 titles which were successfully prosecuted in UK courts and deemed liable to deprave and corrupt. These included: Absurd, Cannibal Holocaust, The Driller Killer, I Spit on Your Grave, Nightmares in a Damaged Brain, Snuff & Zombie Flesh-Eaters.

Disc Two presents the 33 titles that were initially banned, but then subsequently acquitted and removed from the DPP’s list. These included: Death Trap, Deep River Savages, The Evil Dead, Human Experiments, The Toolbox Murders & Zombie Creeping Flesh

Both discs can be viewed either as a non-stop trailer show, or with newly-filmed introductions from a wide range of acclaimed media academics and notable genre journalists. Each disc is preceded by a brief introduction by cult horror presenter Emily Booth.

Disc Three This era-defining documentary features interviews with filmmakers Ruggero Deodato (Cannibal Holocaust) Neil Marshall (The Descent, Doomsday), Christopher Smith (Severance, Black Death) and MP Graham Bright as well as rare archive footage featuring James Ferman (director of the BBFC 1975-1999) & Mary Whitehouse. Taking in the explosion of home video, the erosion of civil liberties, the introduction of draconian censorship measures, hysterical press campaigns and the birth of many careers born in blood and videotape, West’s documentary also reflects on the influence this peculiar era still exerts on us today.

Extras include a gallery of original video company idents and extensive gallery of lurid cover art for every video nasty.

Release Date: 11 October 2010
RRP: £24.99

7 comments:

Steve Langton said...

Thanks for this. Can recall being involved with fandom at this time, when horror collectors were forced to sawp 2nd or 3rd gen bootleg tapes after a whole bunch of films disappeared from the shelves. I'll certainly be picking this one up in October. Thanks for the info.

jervaise brooke hamster said...

I want to bugger Emily Booth (as she was in 1994 when she was 18, not as she is now obviously).

Jack J said...

Langton!!
Your name kept ringing a wee bell in my head but I couldn't place you, haha. You used to do "Anything Goes" zine, right? Back in the day I always used to go thru zine review sections to see which new zines to get. Unfortunately, there were too many to get them all (or I had too little money) and yours was one I never got hold of. I used to do "Banned in Britain" back then. It got reviewed in a few zines like "Oh my brain hurts" and "Samhain". LOL. The web is nice and all but miss the ol'e print zine days. xD.

In regards to the old video nasties: it's funny how things change; A couple of months ago I won Palace's original pre-cert vhs release of "The Evil Dead" on eBay and I was the only bidder. Back in the day I would've had to fight back hordes of (other) foaming fans to get it, and probably at many times the £10 I ended up paying for it.

Steve Langton said...

Hi Jack,
you got me with Anything Goes. I do recall "Banned", but sorry to say it passed me by - I agree, too little cash and too many zines to buy. Fully agree that the days of zines are sorely missed.

Nice story about Evil Dead. Big dip in the market, though some stuff goes for decent bucks. Glad you got it, and nice to see you on here.

Thomas Duke said...

This looks awesome.

She don't like pornography
When it's on the BBC
She won't even look at me
Oh no no no she don't love me
I love Mary Whitehouse
She don't love me... - The Adicts

Phantom of Pulp said...

This sounds like an absolute winner.

I am pre-ordering right away (if that's possible)

Thanks for the heads-up, Fred.

Explosive Action said...

New follower to this blog; found you from a discussion on awesome PM Entertainment movies over at AV Maniacs.

This does indeed look like an awesome release. I am familiar with the notorious DPP but being from Australia obviously we had our own censorship going on.

I have my own blog Explosive Action if anyone would like to check it out, I review action movies of all types - including PM Entertainment ones ;)