Censored

In our last (for now) episode, we chat to John Kelleher who was appointed Irish film censor in 2003. When he left in 2009, the Irish Film Censor's Office had been renamed the Irish Film Classification Office, a reform that reflected how it had become, as John says 'more guide dog than guard dog'. Until the pod returns, thanks to everyone for listening!A & LM xx Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Censors have been replaced by classifiers, opaque silence by annual reports. We read recent annual reports from the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) and the Irish Film Classification Office (IFCO) to see how those offices work in a digital media age, and to see what the (complaining) public thinks of their role. Films mentionedMinions: the Rise of GruGhostbustersWatership DownBambiStar Trek the Motion PictureNutcracker (by Matthew Bourne)The BatmanBatman ReturnsA Man Called OttoThe Banshees of InisherinSaltburnCocaine BearBenedettaBBFC 2022 Annual ReportIFCO published reports Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This remarkable neo-noir, directed by Abel Ferrara, has never been certified by the Irish Film Classification Office (the new name for the censor’s office). Aoife and Lloyd Meadhbh are joined by author Rob Doyle to discuss how Abel Ferrara and Zoe Lund, with backgrounds in porno sleaze, made a sincere film about redemption, and forgiveness.Bad Lieutenant dir. Abel Ferrara, starring Harvey KeitelRob Doyle Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Sam Peckinpah’s film, standard Western tropes – outlaws, heroes, beautiful landscape – are used to interrogate an exhausted genre. He knows spectacular gunfights are problematic but did the cut version shown in Ireland convey Peckinpah’s intent?The Wild Bunch, dir Sam Peckinpah, starring William Holden, Ernest BorgnineSupport us and Merch! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of Martin Scorsese’s favourite films and guess what? We agree, it’s brilliant. Contemporary audiences detested it, preferring to ignore why they derived pleasure from realistic, filmed torture and terror. This film has everything from Freudianism to a Hitchcock doppelganger. Cuts made by censors might be lost forever but it still shocks and gives us a perfect amount of ick.Peeping Tom (1960) dir. Michael Powell, starring Karlheinz Boehm, Anna Massey, Moira Shearer Psycho (1960) dir. Alfred Hitchcock, starring Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh.  The Red Shoes (1948) dir. Powell and Pressburger, starring Anton Walbrook, Moira Shearer. Support us!And, Merch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.