Film - Political Aspects, Censorship

Forbidden Films

Name: Forbidden Films
Author: Dawn B. Sova
ISBN: 9780816043361

by Dawn B. B. Sova, Marjorie Heins

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Overview

Since the earliest days of the film industry, mainstream films have been banned for their sexual, religious, social, and political content. Forbidden Filmstraces the efforts to censor 125 films, ranging from the silent Birth of a Nation to Schlindler's List. This fascinating reference examines the continued efforts to regulate the industry, providing a summary of each banned film-including production details, censorship history, and suggestions for further reading.Coverage includes:· Early efforts to regulate the movie industry, such as the Hays Code in 1922 and the Motion Picture Production Code in 1930 · The emergence of the Catholic League of Decency, which wielded extensive power for nearly forty years· The reasoning behind different types of film censorship-including racism and anti-Semitism, sexual "indecency," and the fear of Communism· Classic and contemporary films that have faced censorship, for sexual content (Last Tango in Paris, A Streetcar Named Desire), social content (Basic Instinct, Of Human Bondage), political content (Anna and the King, Revenge at Daybreak), religious content (La Dolce Vita, The Last Temptation of Christ), and violence content (Natural Born Killers, Scarface)· Appendixes profiling the directors of the banned films, films classified according to the reason for their censorship or ban, and a listing of 125 additional challenged, censored, and banned films.

Synopsis

Noting that a comprehensive account of film censorship, even in the US, since the industry began a century ago would be overwhelming, Sova (English, Montclair State U.) limits her detailed coverage to 125 representative films, but does append the titles and dates of as many more. The entries are alphabetical by title and include complete production data, cast information, plot summary, censorship history, and list of further reading. Also appended are profiles of directors and reasons for banning.

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Publishers Weekly

What do Anna and the King, Basic Instinct and La Dolce Vita have in common? All have faced censorship for political, religious, sexual or social reasons. In the vein of 100 Banned Books (and from the same imprint) comes Forbidden Films: Censorship Histories of 125 Motion Pictures. The title says it all, almost but in addition to outlining each film's troubles with decency boards, however formal or informal, Dawn B. Sova offers plot summaries, production details and suggestions for further reading. And since each film entry can be digested in under five minutes, it's both a handy basic reference and a good coffee break read. (Nov.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly

Library Journal

The notion that the best way to insure an artwork's popularity and enduring fame is to declare it forbidden is amply demonstrated by many of the motion pictures featured in this engrossing compilation, including Frankenstein, A Streetcar Named Desire, and The Great Dictator. Along with the familiar array of films suppressed for sexual, political, social, and religious reasons are some X-rated movies, including Emmanuelle and Deep Throat, that reached mainstream audiences. For each film profiled, the cast and production credits are provided, along with a "Plot Summary," "Censorship History," and "Further Reading," a handy format identical to that used by Sova (English, Montclair State Univ.) in her well-received contributions to Facts On File's "Banned Books" series. The entry for Damaged Goods, a largely forgotten 1919 British silent film about the tragic consequences of syphilis, is typical of the careful research throughout. After tracing the film's history from an earlier, now lost version produced for the U.S. Army as a training film about the dangers of promiscuity, Sova explores the history of censorship from the perspective of redeeming artistic qualities; the "Further Reading" includes valuable citations to three contemporaneous articles from obscure, long-defunct movie magazines. Highly recommended for academic and public libraries. Richard W. Grefrath, Univ. of Nevada Lib., Reno Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.