I just got the 8-disc set of Erwin Dietrich-produced Franco films from Anchor Bay UK. Each film comes in its own "slim-sleeve" (like Blue Underground's Mondo box) which contains all the extras from the original Swiss releases. You also have the option of watching all films in German with English subtitles, something that was not possible on the original releases! At GBP 23 postpaid from Play.com it is amazing value for money!

However, as we all know some of the films have been cut. These are the details from the Mondo Erotico site:

# Jack The Ripper (BBFC: No Cuts)
# Blue Rita (BBFC: No Cuts)
# Voodoo Passion (BBFC: No Cuts)
# Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun (BBFC: Cut 6m 15s)
# Love Camp (BBFC: Cut 1m 12s)
# Barbed Wire Dolls (BBFC: Cut 0m 41s)
# Ilsa The Wicked Warden (BBFC: Cut 2m 31s)
# Sexy Sisters (BBFC: Cut 1m 11s)

Scanning through the discs, it is clear that this is definitely not family material - there's a lot of explicit nudity etc. that I'm amazed has been passed by the apparently now much more liberal BBFC!

But has someone delved deeper into what has been cut? I'd like to hear comments by some Franco experts...

The UK government, in its infinite "wisdom", recently changed laws so that, with regard to "obscene" material, "children" now refers to people under 18, whereas it used to refer to people under 16. The BBFC now have to cut anything showing people between the ages of 16 and 17 in sexual situations or else they will be considered to be selling child-porn. It's completely ridiculous because it applies in reverse too, so what was once considered good and wholesome became illegal overnight.

So any and all adaptations of ROMEO AND JULIET are now taboo, unless they feature actors in their 20s?

Ah, but here the plot thickens. Apparently, under BBFC guidelines, you are not allowed to depict any sexual scenes that involve underage CHARACTERS, regardless of whether the actors are over 18 or not. :D As you can probably gather, they flout their own rule quite regularly. With regards to the "16 year olds are now children whereas they weren't yesterday" law, however, they are between a rock and a hard place and can do nothing about it. The problem is that this law is unlikely to go away any time soon, given how easy it is to create stupid laws but how hard it is to get rid of them.

You can find out more about the Sexual Offences Act 2003 by visiting the BBFC's website. Click on 'News', then 'For Customers' and the 'January 28th' link will supply a great deal of information regarding this piece of legislation.

As regards to what is cut from each o the Franco movies, by searching the BBFC's database, most titles now list what was cut and why.

Not quite accurate, and not really relevant in this case anyway. The act applies to 'Indecent' images of children, not to 'sexual situations'. As the BBFC website points out, there is no legal definition of 'Indecent', but it is generally considered to mean pornographic imagery. As such, Romeo and Juliet, Lolita, Kids etc, are safe for now.

Only one of the eight films, 'Love Letters Of A Portugese Nun' was cut due to it containing indecent images of a child, and the new 16/18 distinction is not important, since the character (if not the actress), according to the dialogue, is aged 15 - although the age is given as 16 elsewhere.

This made me wonder if ABUK could simply have removed the line, or redubbed it with an older age. That said, I don't know how old Susan Hemingway was at the time, and she certainly looks well under 16.

I have the new set - which is excellent - I also have uncut versions of Love Letters.., Ilsa... and Barbed Wire Dolls to compare with. So far, I have lloked at both versions of Love Letters of A Portugese Nun, the most heavily censored of the titles.

From the BBFC Website:To obtain this category cuts of 6m 15s were required., some or all of these cuts were substitutions. The cuts were Compulsory.
Distributor was required to cut indecent images of a child under the terms of the Protection of Children Act 1978, and images of sexualised torture, according to BBFC Guidelines and policy.

These cuts are in two main places. Near the start of the film, Maria is interrupted prior to a possible lesbian encounter. The mother superior (?) turns up and forces her to strip and be wrapped in barbed wire. At the end of the film, Maria is strapped (naked) to and stretched on a rack. Both are unpleasant, if unconvincing, sequences, not least because Susan Heningway really does look very young.

I am not sure how much was cut outright, and how much was achieved via substitutions, as mentioned on the BBFC website. There are still many scenes which involve Maria in sexual activity, and nudity, but they tend not to show her face.

Astonishingly the BBFC have missed an almost subliminal (and presumably simulated) facial "cumshot", lasting a few frames, at the end of a sequence where Maria has a flashback to performing oral sex on her cousin.

An interesting cut is from Barbed Wire Dolls.
To obtain this category cuts of 0m 41s were required. The cuts were Compulsory.
Cuts required to remove explicit sight of sexual activity (digital penetration) in order to achieve an 18 classification. An R18 uncut was not available for this non-sex work.
In other words, hardcore material has been excised. The BBFC continue to operate a double standard regarding H/C material in non-sex films, permitting sequences in 'arthouse' works, such as Baise-Moi, Romance, The Idiots etc, yet excising them from exploitation films. (It should be noted that Baise Moi was given a full-on exploitation ad campaign for its video release in the UK.) This cut also explains why ABUK didnt bother picking up Doriana Gray for release, as it contains a lot of footage of Lina Romay playing with her "self".

As you point out, it is not long ago since this kind of thing would be banned outright. Indeed Sadomania - which was banned - is no worse that the WIP films in this collection. I'd definitely recommend this set to PAL/R2 capable Franco fans. The cuts are a pain, but that doesn't stop this from being superb value.

In my opinion LOVE LETTERS OF A PORTUGUESE NUN should be considered 'arthouse'. Together with JACK THE RIPPER, it's by far the most refined, artistically shot, psycologically subtle film of the group. Out of any legal consideration, I feel incredible that this film was cut more than all the other five films together, since I know how much disturbing can be many scenes from GRETA, BARBED WIRE DOLLS, LOVE CAMP and even JACK THE RIPPER.
Without any doubt, if I should show one film of the collection to a female friend, I'd choose LOVE LETTERS as the less offensive.