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List of films banned in Canada

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This is a non-exhaustive list of films that have been or are banned in Canada.

List

[edit]
Release Date Film Notes
1910 Romeo and Juliet Banned in Ontario.[1][2]
1916 Damaged Goods Banned in Ontario.[1]
1931 Little Caesar Banned in Alberta, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia.[3]
1937 The Life of Emile Zola Banned in Quebec.[4] Available in Quebec since 1997 with a "G" rating.[5]
1939 Thugs with Dirty Mugs Banned in Winnipeg, Manitoba, because censors "felt the film was just an excuse to show criminal activity."[6] Available in Winnipeg on DVD as part of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3.
1946 Scarlet Street Banned in New Brunswick.[1]
1946 Wicked Lady Banned in New Brunswick.[1]
1947 Forever Amber Banned in Quebec.[1] Available in Quebec since 1994 with a "G" rating.[7]
1953 The Wild One Alberta, British Columbia, and Quebec banned the film.[8] Available in Quebec from 1968 to 2013 with a "14+" rating and since 2013 with a "G" rating.[9]
1956 Baby Doll Originally banned in Alberta in 1957.[10]
1960 Elmer Gantry United Artists withdrew the film from release in the Ontario province on August 4, 1960, after star Burt Lancaster objected to Ontario censor O.J. Silverthorne's removal of a racy line of dialogue.[11] The ban on the film lasted only a week;[12] the cut version began showing at the Carlton theater in Toronto with a Restricted rating on August 18, though it only was a modest box office success in the city.[13] The uncut version is available on DVD with a G rating under the Canadian Home Video Rating System.
1963 Tom Jones Alberta banned the film. After two years, the decision was reversed and it was allowed to be shown.[14]
1967 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Nova Scotia censors banned the film, describing it as "obscene and blasphemous". After an appeal from the distributor and media coverage, the decision was later reversed and the film was released with a "Restricted" rating[14][15]
1967 Warrendale Manitoba banned the film due to the language. However, due to public outcry, the decision was reversed.[14]
1970 On est au coton The National Film Board of Canada blocks the release of Denys Arcand's controversial documentary. An edited version is released in 1976, but the original unedited version was not released until 2004.[16][17]
1970 Women in Love The Alberta censors banned the film due to nudity.[18]
1971 A Clockwork Orange Alberta and Nova Scotia banned the film.[1] Alberta reversed the ban in 1999. The Maritime Film Classification Board has also reversed the ban.[19] Both jurisdictions now grant an R rating to the film.
1972 Pink Flamingos Edited in several provinces, with Nova Scotia banning it outright until 1997.[19]
1973 Heavy Traffic Banned in Alberta.
1974 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Banned in Alberta in 1975.[20]
1976 Blood Sucking Freaks Banned in Ontario when classified for a videocassette release.[21]
1976 In the Realm of the Senses Banned in Ontario because the censors deemed it contained "degradation, explicit and prolonged scenes of sexual activity, undue emphasis on human genitals, and its representation of a person under 16 in sexual context".[22]
1978 Pretty Baby Banned in Ontario and Saskatchewan on the basis of scenes in which star Brooke Shields, then aged thirteen, was photographed in the nude.[23]: 39  The ban was repealed in 1995.[24]
1978–1996 Faces of Death Series of mondo films banned in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia.[25]
1979 Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens Banned in Nova Scotia.[19]
1980 Caligula Banned by all provinces except British Columbia, which received a Restricted rating with a warning. Edited versions were later passed.[citation needed] The 156-minute "unrated" version was passed in British Columbia by the BC Film Classification Office. The uncut version was banned again in Ontario in 2000 for a theatrical reissue due to "sexual violence" "bestality" and "incest".[26] It has subsequently been reevaluated and approved with an R rating in the Maritimes[19] and in Ontario.
1980 The Tin Drum Edited, and later banned outright as child pornography by the Ontario Film Classification Board.[27]
1981 Not a Love Story The feminist documentary critique of the pornography industry was itself banned in Ontario for its pornographic content, although that decision was ultimately reversed.[28]
1981 Beau-père French film about a man having sex with a minor was banned in Ontario.[29]
1981 The Best of sex and violence Banned in Ontario in 1986.[30]
1983 I Spit on Your Grave Banned in Nova Scotia until 1998.[19]
1984 The Toxic Avenger Ontario censors banned the film after only watching the first 40 minutes due to "graphic and prolonged scenes of gratuitous violence, torture, crime, cruelty, horror, rape, degradation to humans and animals and exploitation of the blind and children, as well as indignities to the human body in an explicit manner".[31] A softer version missing a lot of the gore was passed with a restricted rating after several cuts were made.[32]
1984 Silent Night, Deadly Night Banned in Ontario in 1987.[33]
1985 Day of the Dead Banned in Ontario and the Maritimes, with a cut, 97 minute version passed in Ontario.[34] The original 101 minute version was resubmitted to the Ontario Film Review Board in 1998 and given a R rating when released on VHS. In 2008 the rating was changed to 14A.[35] The 101-minute version has also been granted an R rating in the Maritimes.[19]
1986 Killer Party Banned in Ontario.[36]
1986 Blue Velvet A David Lynch film that was banned by the New Brunswick Film Classification Board due to its prevalence of sexually explicit scenes and of heavily violent scenes.[37] New Brunswick now uses the ratings provided by the Maritime Film Classification Board, which granted an R rating.[19]
1987 Hellraiser Initially banned in Ontario because of "Brutal, graphic violence with blood-letting through, horror, degradation, and torture." Passed with a Restricted rating after New World Mutual agreed to cut 40 seconds of violence.[38]
1989–1993 Death Scenes Video series is banned in Nova Scotia.[19]
1992 Dead Alive U.S. unrated version banned in Ontario, however the heavily cut U.S. R-rated version was approved with a Restricted rating.[39]
1992 Tokyo Decadence Briefly banned in Ontario in early 1994. The distributor appealed and the censor allowed the film to play only in "select venues".[40]
1994 Exit to Eden Temporarily banned by the Saskatchewan Film and Video Classification Board.[41][42] The controversy surrounding the ban and the film itself ultimately led to Saskatchewan disbanding its classification authority, handing classification of films over to the British Columbia Film Classification Office in a 1997 bilateral agreement.[43]
2000 Baise-moi Banned in Ontario in 2000.[44] The ban was lifted in 2001 with the film being passed with a 'Restricted' rating after 13 seconds were removed.[45][46]
2001 Fat Girl Banned in Ontario in 2001 because the censor board deemed the film depicted underage sex.[47] The ban was lifted in 2003 with the film being passed with an "R" rating.[48]
2003 Steve-O: Out on Bail Banned in Ontario because of two scenes of explicit defecation that were deemed to have no artistic merit.[49]
2006 Bumfights This series of shot-on-tape reality productions, is banned in seven of the thirteen provinces and territories; the remaining give it an R rating. [citation needed] As of 2016, the films are still banned in Quebec.[50]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f Censored! Only in Canada, Malcolm Dean, Virgo Press, 1981.
  2. ^ Veillette, Eric (August 20, 2010). "The day Shakespeare was banned". Toronto Star. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Toronto Star Newspapers, Ltd. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  3. ^ Hollywood Censored, Gregory Black, 1994.
  4. ^ "Take 30 examines film censorship". Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  5. ^ "Life of Emile Zola, The - Régie du cinéma". Régie du cinéma. 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-03-04.[permanent dead link‍]
  6. ^ Karl F. Cohen (2013-10-18). Forbidden Animation: Censored Cartoons and Blacklisted Animators in America. p. 29. ISBN 9781476607252. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
  7. ^ "Forever Amber - Régie du cinéma". Régie du cinéma. 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-03-04.[permanent dead link‍]
  8. ^ "The day Shakespeare was banned | Toronto Star". Thestar.com. 2010-08-20. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
  9. ^ "Wild One, The - Régie du cinéma". Régie du cinéma. 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-03-04.[permanent dead link‍]
  10. ^ "Baby Doll Banned in Alberta". Calgary Herald. January 16, 1957.
  11. ^ "Ontario Bars Six Bad Words So Elmer Gantry Won't Show", Toronto Star, p. 1, August 4, 1960
  12. ^ "Alter Film Script For Ontario Use", Ottawa Citizen, p. 21, August 12, 1960
  13. ^ "Elmer Opens to Average Attendance", Toronto Star, p. 19, August 19, 1960
  14. ^ a b c "Take 30 examines film censorship". Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  15. ^ "CBC Archives". Archives.cbc.ca. 2001-09-11. Archived from the original on 2016-02-03. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
  16. ^ Evans, Gary (1991). "'On a Chariot of Fire': Sydney Newman's Tenure". In the National Interest: A Chronicle of the National Film Board of Canada from 1949 to 1989. University of Toronto Press. pp. 177–187. ISBN 978-0-8020-6833-0.
  17. ^ "1976". National Film Board of Canada. Archived from the original on August 23, 2011. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
  18. ^ [Portman, Jamie. Untitled column, Calgary Herald, 21-04-71, https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VWxkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Cn0NAAAAIBAJ&pg=2962,2375889]
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h Rating search at the Maritime Film Classification Board website in 2005, since then, all entries for "Not Approved" (ie. rejected) products have been removed.
  20. ^ Portman, Jamie (April 9, 1975). "Alberta censor says no to gory film". Calgary Herald. p. 80 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ Ontario Videocassette Classifications. 1985. p. 14 – via archive.org.
  22. ^ Schwartzberg, Shlomo (26 June 1988). "Acclaimed Japanese movie banned by Ontario censors". Toronto Star. Toronto. p. H4.
  23. ^ Sirove, Taryn (2019). Ruling Out Art: Media Art Meets Law in Ontario's Censor Wars. Vancouver, British Columbia: UBC Press. ISBN 978-0-7748-3711-8.
  24. ^ Butler, Don (April 18, 1978). "Province backing 'Pretty Baby' ban despite criticism". Ottawa Citizen. p. 77. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  25. ^ "Alberta allows banned tapes". Vancouver Sun. Vancouver. 22 May 1997. p. A8.
  26. ^ "Caligula comes up short again: Unedited version still banned in Ontario, but available in stores". National Post. Toronto. 17 Feb 2000. p. B4.
  27. ^ "History of Ontario's film industry, 1896 to 1985". Free Online Library. 2000-06-22. Archived from the original on 2016-02-03. Retrieved 2012-02-25.
  28. ^ Cole, Janis. "Bonnie Sherr Klein". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica-Dominion. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  29. ^ Neil Boyd, Censorship and Obscenity: Jurisdiction and the Boundaries of Free Expression, Osgoode Hall Law Journal, Volume 23, Number 1 (Spring 1985), p. 56.
  30. ^ Schwartzberg, Shlomo (30 May 1986). "Now they see it -- not you don't". Toronto Star. Toronto. p. D6.
  31. ^ Schwartzberg, Shlomo (13 June 1986). "Toxic Avenger makers outraged censors watched only half of film". Toronto Star. Toronto. p. D11.
  32. ^ Schwartzberg, Shlomo (4 July 1986). "Toxic Avenger still needs a clean-up. film censors say". Toronto Star. Toronto. p. D19.
  33. ^ Schwartzberg, Shlomo (3 July 1987). "Ontario Film Review Board bans two movies, three videos". Toronto Star. Toronto. p. D11. ISSN 0319-0781.
  34. ^ "Search for a Film Classification - Ontario Film Authority". Ofrb.gov.on.ca. 1986-05-12. Archived from the original on 2016-02-03. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
  35. ^ "Search for a Film Classification - Ontario Film Authority". Ofrb.gov.on.ca. 2008-04-15. Archived from the original on 2016-02-03. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
  36. ^ Schwartzberg, Shlomo (30 May 1986). "Now they see it -- now you don't". Toronto Star. Toronto. p. D6.
  37. ^ "The Vancouver Sun - Google News Archive Search".
  38. ^ Schwartzberg, Shlomo (17 July 1987). "Censors burn Hellraiser; Paramount chops Eddie's Cop". Toronto Star. Toronto. p. E10. ISSN 0319-0781.
  39. ^ Wilner, Norman (23 October 1993). "Dead funny". Toronto Star. Toronto. p. SW7.
  40. ^ Pevere, Geoff (18 February 1994). "FILM REVIEW TOKYO DECADENCE". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. p. C2.
  41. ^ Salem, Rob (16 October 1994). "Maybe Saskatchewan had it right first time: Exit To Eden is painful". Toronto Star. p. B3.
  42. ^ (CP) (14 October 1994). "Exit to Eden ban reversed". Toronto Star. p. 88.
  43. ^ "Film and Video Classification Board". Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice. Archived from the original on 2007-02-20. Retrieved 2007-04-30. On October 1, 1997, an agreement between the province of British Columbia and Saskatchewan came into effect, under which the British Columbia Film Classification Office will classify all new theatrical releases and adult videos on behalf of the Saskatchewan Film and Video Classification Board. {{cite web}}: External link in |quote= (help)
  44. ^ Tillson, Tamsen (20 November 2000). "French film Baise-Moi gets thumbs down from Ontario Film Review Board". National Post. Toronto. p. D5.
  45. ^ "BAISE-MOI". Ontario Film Review Board. Archived from the original on 28 December 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
  46. ^ Pevere, Geoff (23 March 2001). "France's natural porn killers ; Banned Baise-moi can finally be seen (minus 13 seconds)". Toronto Star. Toronto. p. MO04.
  47. ^ Stone, Jay (16 November 2001). "Leading Canadian filmmakers oppose ban: Ontario board rejected 'Fat Girl' because of teenage sex scenes: Distributor appeals". National Post. Toronto. p. A2.
  48. ^ Whyte, Murray (30 January 2003). "censors lift Ontario ban on Fat Girl". Toronto Star. Toronto. p. A29.
  49. ^ Rob, Faulkner (26 Mar 2004). "Meet Steve-O, the Lunatic Prince; Troubled star a crazy punk who pushes boundaries". The Hamilton Spectator. Hamilton. p. G14.
  50. ^ "Décisions - Régie du cinéma". Régie du cinéma. 2005-04-29. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
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