Film 92 Barry Norman interviews BBFC Director James Ferman

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7 жыл бұрын

James Ferman was notorious, especially in his later years as BBFC director, for his paranoid censorship of film violence, although he always came across as calm and rational when interviewed, helped in this instance by Barry Norman's even more prudish attitude towards film violence.

Пікірлер: 63

@ajs41 3 жыл бұрын

This man made buying a video of The Exorcist legally impossible between 1988 and 1999.

@TheConciseStatement 3 жыл бұрын

Yeah disgraceful. The 80s and 90s is a very dark period in the BBFC's history. The whole first season of Miami Vice is classified 18 because someone gets ear clapped once. Madness. And their paranoia around nunchucks led to them removing spinning strings of sausages from a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film. Utterly deranged behaviour.

@stephenkissane4268 2 жыл бұрын

People had to get copies from France

@safeashouses211 2 жыл бұрын

A bloke who owns a shop local to me used to have The Exorcist under the counter to rent out to people if they asked for it. As soon as I'd heard about that, I went there and joined the video club. I asked if was true that he had it and if so, could I rent it. After eyeing me suspiciously for a few seconds, he reached below the counter, handed the video to me and charged me £1. I took it home and copied it. That was about 6 years before the ban was lifted. I'd seen it for the first time at a late night showing in London in 1993 and was desperate to see it again.

@joshfulcifan1015 Жыл бұрын

@@TheConciseStatement Couldn't agree more. These people were nothing but oppressive dickheads.

@Muskateering Ай бұрын

And Texas Chainsaw Massacre...

@TheConciseStatement 4 жыл бұрын

I have a lot of respect for the Barry Norman era of The Film Programme. But this is a depressingly weak interview failing to hold to account a little dictator who destroyed film in this country for decades. The Board is a much better organisation having finally gotten out of his long dark shadow.

@ajs41 3 жыл бұрын

Barry was just a very gentle interviewer. That's how he was as a person.

@dalebaker9109 2 жыл бұрын

Things have changed so much from his days. Even silence of the lambs now has gone down to an uncut 15 rating, as many once 18 rated films have been. The film Censor that came out late year, despite being all about video nasties is still rated 15. James Fermen would have probably had it cut even at 18.

@OtisF96 Жыл бұрын

@@snnnaaaaaakeeeee4470 James' heart was in the right place and he did genuinely believe he was protecting people. Of course, he was not fit to certificate films for this very reason, however, he did intend well.

@thomasgeorge-gilmore950 Жыл бұрын

@@snnnaaaaaakeeeee4470 I mean, he made mistakes I wouldn't do. But his heart was in the right place. I oftentimes think he gets too much flack.

@thomasgeorge-gilmore950 3 жыл бұрын

He came across alright to be fair but I think that the way he handled films was a bit wrong. Cutting them for then Video releases was something if I was BBFC president/director I wouldn't do. Thankfully now we have a clearer system.

@IgorsDen 3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, as much as I don't like what the guy did as his life's work, I found myself kind of liking him during this interview

@thomasgeorge-gilmore950 2 жыл бұрын

Sorry just seen your comment after 9 months haha. In the 9 months since I said that now we have a clearer system, I read the guidelines on the BBFC website and my gosh, it is confusing now. 12 15 and 18 tend to really overlap ☺️☺️☺️

@safeashouses211 3 жыл бұрын

The BBFC butchered the Bruce Lee films. Not long after Ferman retired they all came out on DVD uncut.

@Gary80264 7 жыл бұрын

I always hated this guy.

@ajs41 3 жыл бұрын

He was actually an American, but had lived in the UK for a long time.

@readerofmanga 3 жыл бұрын

Most of his censorship and rating decisions only reflect on British people that are very too sheltered.

@joshfulcifan1015 Жыл бұрын

I can't stand him as well. And everything he stands for. I have a few genuine Video Nasty tapes myself, I dare him to fly over to me in Australia and try to take them off me - lol.

@garyhunt8067 Жыл бұрын

@@joshfulcifan1015 definitely. I'm like you. I have a lot of movies that are uncut. We've now moved on.

@FergieWergie86 Жыл бұрын

A lot has changed in the last 2 decades for the Board now. Films that were once considered unthinkable to release now have glossy UHD releaases. Many of the once notorious nasties are now available uncut - some not even 18, but 15. I think the Board has had to change with the times, regardless, people have much more access to films online where the censorial rules that apply on home video don't apply at all. It doesn't take two seconds to go on eBay and find an uncut version of whatever film it may be, and have it delivered 2-3 days later. When you think back on them days now, it almost seems a tad childish that someone could go to jail, and nowadays people are proudly displaying their video nasty collection.

@denniskissane2300 5 жыл бұрын

Terminator 2 was a warning about certain things but at the same time its fantasy

@danielwilliamson6180 4 жыл бұрын

Yes.

@lmaololroflcopter 2 жыл бұрын

Waaaay to miss the point of Terminator 2, Barry.

@petehobson1054 6 ай бұрын

Sadly James predicted where things were heading with increasing violence shown to young people and how it de-sensitizes them to it.

@killboggins 7 жыл бұрын

Barry Norman loved Tarantino movies. And Scorsese movies. He was not prudish towards movie violence

@bendavies4198 7 жыл бұрын

killboggins Considering he thinks Terminator 2 warrants an 18, I'd definitely say so.

@martinwellbourne2674 6 жыл бұрын

I would say he was selectively prudish about violence. He moaned about it in action films, even those he liked like Die Hard and Lethal Weapon 2, but either brushed past it or accepted it as justified within context with the likes of Scorsese or Tarantino. I remember him in particular defending Reservoir Dogs as it clearly showed that 'being shot or tortured hurts'. As he says to Ferman here, it's casual violence he objects to.

@IgorsDen 3 жыл бұрын

@@martinwellbourne2674 Seems like fairly typical views for a mainstream film critic of his age; Siskel and Ebert, for example, held pretty similar views on violence

@stephenkissane4268 3 жыл бұрын

All Barry sees is the violence and not concepts

@theminstryoftruth61 2 жыл бұрын

They cut Taxi Driver, albeit by 1 sec.

@ajs41 2 жыл бұрын

Which second was that?

@theminstryoftruth61 2 жыл бұрын

@@ajs41 The sounds of Travis's zipper coming down.

@robertmonaghan6263 7 жыл бұрын

X was an 18 in 60s

@bendavies4198 7 жыл бұрын

Robert Monaghan Not true - in the 60's, X meant 16+. It wasn't until 1970 that X was raised to 18+.

@graememcgowan9456 4 жыл бұрын

And the first legally age restricted certificate (16+) was the little known H certificate which debuted in 1932.. H for Horror

@philipdalton1000s 3 жыл бұрын

Quite a few X films from the 50's are available on D.V.D. with a P.G. certificate.

@robertmonaghan6263 7 жыл бұрын

Talks about t2 well its fine at 15 for me not seeing any blood as u did in the first

@bendavies4198 7 жыл бұрын

Robert Monaghan The second actually has a lot more blood than the first despite the lighter tone. Compare the police shootouts in both - the former is bloodless whereas the latter has several graphic/bloody kneecappings. Even the heart-pulling scene is shot from the side/implied and the operation sequence is done on a cyborg, whereas in the second film the stabbing/beating scenes show blood and humans are the victims. Both are violent and definitely warrant their 15 certificates but the second is more graphic, not the first IMO. (The BBFC seem to agree with me - the consumer advice mentions 'strong violence' for T2 but only 'moderate violence' for T1).

@sportstackeroctober2531 3 жыл бұрын

@@bendavies4198 Terminator 2 was definitely the best in the series, and, in a way, I’m surprised some of the scenes warranted an 18 at the time, although I can understand the cuts to Sarah’s beatings of the psychiatric carers.

@paulyarrow9857 7 ай бұрын

Aries zodiac James Ferman Ian Duncan Smith Suella Braverman Pritti Patel John Reginald Christie Joan Crawford Bettie Davis

@MrEchoes1962 6 жыл бұрын

James Ferman was doing his job that he was paid for,There is nothing wrong with censorship as it happens even on here and in the world news a lot of it we do not even know about it so why moan about it?

@snnnaaaaaakeeeee4470 5 жыл бұрын

Nothing wrong with censorship? What the FUCK is wrong with you?

@rachel.mcgowan 4 жыл бұрын

One problem is by cutting films, the censor is essentially acting as editor, and can easily ruin the whole work. I have no problems with having edited versions to get a lower age certificate, but films should always be uncut at 18, except in very particular cases (eg. real animal cruelty)

@MrEchoes1962 4 жыл бұрын

@@rachel.mcgowan Most of the time its the distributor that requires a certain certificate that causes censorship cuts (lower certs =more bums on seats to view it -) and Ferman just went what the distributors wants as well.

@MrEchoes1962 4 жыл бұрын

@@snnnaaaaaakeeeee4470 You have no idea what you are posting about lol.

@snnnaaaaaakeeeee4470 4 жыл бұрын

@@MrEchoes1962 This was nearly two years ago dude. I don't care.