Subject
Schiff/Lyne LO Film cleared for UK (fwd)
Date
Body
From: Ben Walsh <benw@mktg-mail.dublin.iona.ie>
(From the Independent)
Lolita film cleared for screening uncut
A FILM of the controversial child sex novel Lolita has been passed uncut by
the chief censor for viewing in cinemas
nationwide.
Andreas Whittam Smith, the new president of the British Board of Film
Classification, has granted the movie an 18
certificate after consulting police and child psychiatrists to ensure it
does not condone paedophilia.
The film, starring Jeremy Irons as middle-aged man who becomes obsessed
with a sexually precocious under-age girl,
has attracted concern from anti-pornography groups that it could break
obscenity laws.
But Mr Whittam Smith, who took over at the helm of the BBFC in January,
said the film handled its subject responsibly
by showing the relationship as both wrong and disastrous.
He said: "Whatever decision was made on this film it was going to be
controversial, whether we gave it a certificate or
banned it.
"We were very aware of the feelings which this subject generates, but we
have been extremely thorough in seeking
opinions from authoritative sources.
"At the end of the day, it is a portrayal which shows a tormented,
agonising and evil relationship which ends up hurting
everybody concerned. I am satisfied it cannot be seen as corrupting or
encouraging of paedophilia."
The film's director, Adrian Lyne, used a 19-year-old body double to film
physical scenes in the movie which - like the
original novel by Vladimir Nabokov - details the sexual relationship
between Humbert and Lolita.
Nabokov's novel was first published in Britain in 1959. It is used as an
exam text in schools and studied widely at
universities.
(From the Independent)
Lolita film cleared for screening uncut
A FILM of the controversial child sex novel Lolita has been passed uncut by
the chief censor for viewing in cinemas
nationwide.
Andreas Whittam Smith, the new president of the British Board of Film
Classification, has granted the movie an 18
certificate after consulting police and child psychiatrists to ensure it
does not condone paedophilia.
The film, starring Jeremy Irons as middle-aged man who becomes obsessed
with a sexually precocious under-age girl,
has attracted concern from anti-pornography groups that it could break
obscenity laws.
But Mr Whittam Smith, who took over at the helm of the BBFC in January,
said the film handled its subject responsibly
by showing the relationship as both wrong and disastrous.
He said: "Whatever decision was made on this film it was going to be
controversial, whether we gave it a certificate or
banned it.
"We were very aware of the feelings which this subject generates, but we
have been extremely thorough in seeking
opinions from authoritative sources.
"At the end of the day, it is a portrayal which shows a tormented,
agonising and evil relationship which ends up hurting
everybody concerned. I am satisfied it cannot be seen as corrupting or
encouraging of paedophilia."
The film's director, Adrian Lyne, used a 19-year-old body double to film
physical scenes in the movie which - like the
original novel by Vladimir Nabokov - details the sexual relationship
between Humbert and Lolita.
Nabokov's novel was first published in Britain in 1959. It is used as an
exam text in schools and studied widely at
universities.