Prano Bailey-Bond was seven years old when she first encountered film censorship. The year was 1989, and she’d just settled down to watch Lady In White on VHS when up popped radio broadcaster, Simon Bates. As readers of a certain age will know, Bates’ introductions informed the viewer of just what to expect from the video they were about to watch in terms of profanity, violence, and sexual conduct, and that it was an offense for anyone to supply videos to viewers under the certified age.
“He terrified me because I thought my mum was going to get arrested,” grins Bailey-Bond over Zoom in early May. “I went, ‘Mum, we’re going to get into loads of trouble because he said people are going to be prosecuted if someone under the age of 12 watches this.’ And I was under the age of 12.”
Fast-forward 23 years to 2012 and Bailey-Bond was about to have another encounter with the peculiarities of film censorship, this one sparking the idea for her debut feature, Censor. She was reading an article about Hammer Horror and the things that particularly peeved the censors. “One of them was blood on the breast of a woman,” she says. Her smile is still in place, but there’s now a look of disbelief in her eyes. “They would cut that because apparently, it made men likelier to commit rape. I was like, ‘Well, surely there are a lot of male censors in that room. What protects the film censor from losing control if these images are meant to pervert our minds?’”
IN THE CUT
This story is from the June 2021 edition of Total Film.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 2021 edition of Total Film.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Dune: Part Two – Desert Power
Like a colossal sandworm racing towards the rhythmic beat of a thumper, Dune: Part Two is almost upon us. And this time, it's war. Total Film returns to Arrakis with writer/director Denis Villeneuve and his (inter) stellar cast to spill the spice on the sci-fi event of the year.
Here Be Dragons
DAMSEL – Millie Bobby Brown fights fire with fire in the bedtime story that’s finally being told the right way.
Back to School
MONSTER – Hirokazu Kore-eda’s latest takes us into a child’s viewpoint once again...
JESSIE BUCKLEY
Catapulting to fame over the last five years, instinctive Irish actor Jessie Buckley has wowed in films (Wild Rose, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, Men) and TV (Chernobyl, Fargo S4). She was Oscar-nominated for The Lost Daughter, won a Laurence Olivier award for Cabaret and now she's spewing wild profanities at Olivia Colman in hilarious period comedy Wicked Little Letters.....
Marty me
Thelma Schoonmaker has edited every Martin Scorsese movie since 1980's Raging Bull. The three-time Oscar winner tells Total Film all about their legendary relationship, and why movies like Good Fellas, The Departed and Killers of the Flower Moon are a cut above...
FRISKY BUSINESS
Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan star as queer friends being chased by dumb male criminals in Drive-Away Dolls, a road movie/ romantic comedy/crime caper by husband-and-wife team Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke. Total Film hitches a ride with the directors and stars to talk dark laughs, dim crims and dildos…
JACK MY LIFE IN PICTURES BLACK
Over the years he's made us laugh as rockers, animated critters and videogame avatars. As he prepares to go full Dragon Warrior again in the fourth Kung Fu Panda movie, JACK BLACK riffs on some of his biggest hits with Total Film
DOG DAYS
Pablo Berger's animated silent’ movie brings the noise.
BEHIND PARADISE
RED ISLAND A coming-of-age-tale that creatively explores France’s colonial past.
THE SIXTH SENSE
MADAME WEB Dakota Johnson brings wit and grit to Sony’s clairvoyant-superhero-origin-story thriller.