Original Movie Posters - New Zealand Censorship By John W Reid

New Zealand Censorship 1916-1990s

Approximately 10 years ago I heard through the movie poster grapevine that a huge collection of original movie posters was being sold off in New Zealand after the closure of a distributer. I had been aware that this holy grail of posters existed for some time and when they finally came up for sale I flew to New Zealand immediately and was fortunate to be able to purchase them all. The enormous and daunting task of getting them all back to Australia for sorting and cataloguing is another story that I wont go into here.

The inventory included posters from the 50s to the 90s with the majority unused. New Zealand rarely printed movie posters of their own and used American, British and Australian posters and lobby cards. Consequently, the majority had New Zealand censorhip stamps or stickers added. These labels had often been painstakingly applied to every poster and lobby card. In many cases the US or Australian distribution and censor details were blacked out by hand along with any other imagery or text that was considered inappropriate.

Censorship of films and posters began in New Zealand around 1911 when lobby groups started to pressure the government to exercise some control over some of the risque or controversial films that had begun to appear along with some graphically lurid posters. As a result, the Cinematograph Film Censorship Act of 1916 was introduced for the censorship of films. Its amendment in 1926 allowed for the censorship of posters. The various regulations were consolidated in the Cinematograph Films Act of 1928.
In 1956 the Censorship Regulations were revised on the advice of the Film Censor, Gordon Mirams, to provide for five classes of certificate:

• (G) Approved for general exhibition.
• (Y) Recommended as suitable for persons aged 13 and over.
• (A) Recommended as suitable for adults only (persons aged 16 and over).
• (R) Screening restricted to persons over a specified age or to a specified class of audience.
• (S) Recommended as suitable or unsuitable for a specified class of audience.
• (R16) was introduced in the 1950s. 16 year olds were considered for practical purposes to be adults although this was not always the case in other legislation. This system was considered to be somewhat goundbreaking through its focus on parental control rather than cutting films. Despite this Mirams was more willing to cut films than his predecessors.

Censorship of movie posters was used either in the form of stamps or stickers. Whilst the stickers can generally be removed by a competant restorer, the stamps can be more difficult and are often accompanied by large blackout areas where ink has been used. Two of the best examples of original daybills that have been heavily censored are with Goldfinger and Marnie.

This system that had been introduced by Gordon Mirams lasted until 1976 when the single "A" and "S" certificates were dropped and a "Y" certificate was introduced - (Approved for general exhibition: recommended as more suitable for persons 13 years of age and over). Another change resulted in a "GA" and a "GY" classification to indicate that they were restrictions and not recommendations.

The Films, Videos and Publications Act of 1993 has produced a revised system that draws on the historical traditions of censorship with its current system of ratings and classifications. Instead of "Indecent" it now uses "Objectionable" and the current "M" (Suitable for mature audiences 16 and over) rating has replaced the older "A" or "Special A" ratings. Posters in New Zealand now use neat stickers for censorship.
The Chief Censors:

• William Jolliffe 1916-1927
• W.A.Tanner 1927-1937
• W.A.Von Kiesenberg 1938-1949
• Gordon Mirams 1949-1959
• Douglas McIntosh 1960-1976
• Bernard Tunnicliffe 1976-1983
• Arthur Everard 1983-1990
• Jane Wrightson 1991-1993
• Kathryn Paterson 1993-1998
• Bill Hastings 1999- present day

Censorship and the Value of posters

In the cases of Goldfinger and Marnie, the censorship with the heavily blacked out areas which severely detract from the image can significantly devalue a poster. Others that have a neat sticker are less affected particularly as most stickers can easily be removed by a restorer. The stamps can also be removed in many cases but many collectors are quite happy to retain the unique aspect of the posters history.

http://www.moviemem.com

My website lists rare original movie posters from around the world including lobby cards, US one sheets, British Quads and Belgian Posters covering all genres, including Science Fiction, Horror, Film Noir, Australian Cinema, James Bond, John Wayne, and classic cinema.

"The Taking of Pelham 123" Movie Review By Marty Meltz

"The Taking of Pelham 123" (my 0-10 rating: 7)
Director: Tony Scott
Screenplay: Brian Helgeland, re-make of the 1974 film based on the novel by John Godey
Cast: Denzel Washington, John Travolta, John Turturro, James Gandolfini, Luis Guzman
Time: 1 hr., 46 min.
Rating: R (violence, considerable vulgarity)

Yeah, right -- loud, bombarding your senses, brute force entertainment -- but it works.

You're used to this by now, right? Brash, breathtaking action suspense with spectacular dynamics in every department, making the national critics call it trash, but god, can you ever love it? You came and paid your good money to be entertained intelligently, and wow, you got it! "The Taking of Pelham 123" is astute, concentrated stuff by actionmeister director Tony Scott which steamrolls objections by the application of professional competence, updating an older film and lining it with modern thrills. The story is of reliable countdown volatility and it cares not whether you want to call it a re-make of the 1974 classic starring Robert Shaw or a re-do of the original novel. Whatever, the new New York is there in bold portrayal and the canny casting of John Travolta vs. Denzel Washington is powerful. Steaming but not overcooked images bombard the screen with an unerring cold calculation in gripping you down to the gut.

True, the subway thriller does lack the dark humor of the '74 original, Like when the subway dispatcher, assessing the perils of the hostage passengers, observed, "What do they expect for their 35 cents, to live forever?"

The film dives right into the fun.

Seizing the Manhattan Lexington Line subway train is swarthy assaulter Ryder (John Travolta) who heads up a gang of four who demand $10 million ransom after they seize the lead #123 car of the Manhattan downtown train out of suburban Pelham. They're cold-blooded and ruthless as the gunmen down a plainclothes cop and take 18 terrified passengers hostage at gunpoint. You've got 60 minutes to deliver the cash, they advise the controllers at headquarters, or we'll start more killings. Later, it'll be learned that Ryder's more clever motive, however, is to set off a stock market crash with him invested smartly in gold.

But hey, radio dispatcher Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) objects, I'm just a little guy in the city's operation, apprising the nasty villain that he, Garber, is in no position to round up those kind of funds. Interestingly (and different from the original film starring the late great Robert Shaw as Ryder's character), Walter and Ryder begin sharing personal stuff with each other, some of it yielding some useful info about the assailant, and one item revealing a very dark and cruel instance in his past life. A considerable fleshing out of the characters develops.

Ryder, we now understand, is a former Wall Street ace con man of the highest order, now just finished with serving nine years for embezzling money from a city pension fund. This guy is an icy killer who can and now does kill innocents.

And now, with the deadly deadline approaching, Garber's position is taken over by a professional hostage negotiator (John Turturro) as cops swarm over the subway route and the mayor (James Gandolfini) is all over the place.

And now, another murder. Things are getting very tense.

And now Ryder hurls the subway car loose into a high velocity charge toward Coney Island. The sleek and steamlined modern cars, graffiti-free and soaring, carry us along in an emotional speed every bit as compelling as a Star Trek ship moving at warp speed.

Garber, under the natural calm control of Denzel Washington, exhibits the unshakeable plain-guy heroism but in this case one having a flaw in his record pointing to his humanness.

Director Scott is not now and never was a manager of female stars or their roles. They're almost superfluous here, with Garber's Queens-based wife (Aunjanue Ellis) answering the phone here and there and the girlfriend of one hostage checking in on an online video chat.

In this re-make, the transit system's central control HQ is totally high-tech as the local authorities wind themselves tightly in high anxiety. The final touch is tops, as Garber exits his sterile office and hits the street action. Travolta will be denounced critically for over-acting but I'll buy it. His exchanges with Garber modulate enough.

Let the critics have their lofty perches as they decry and disparage from their cocktail party points of view. Darn, I liked this movie. It's New York, thrills, desperate characters and a gripper.

Marty Meltz, for 30 years the film reviewer for the statewide Award-winning Maine Sunday Telegram whose column was terminated 12-31-07 in budget cuts, writes his right-to-the-point reviews on his website http://www.martymoviereviews.com

New DVD - The Tale of Despereaux By Patrick Daniels

The Tale Of Despereaux is based on a book. The movie scene is a magical place called the kingdom of Dor and one day, after an accident the King is left with a broken heart and the townspeople are left without their favorite kind of soup! The sun fades away and all of a sudden a mouse comes in.

Despereaux is a brave mouse who was banished for to a dungeon because he talked to a human. Some of the other characters include a rat who loves soup, a princess whose father is really sad and a servant who wants to become a princess. Despereaux makes friends with Pea, the princess and he learns to read. He is rescued by the rat and then Pea is captured. Despereaux is the only one that can save her.

The Tale of Despereaux is an amazing story of bravery and is great for young children. It teaches them values that even parents love to learn from the lovable mouse. The movie has music in it that goes great with the plot and the friendship between these animals and the human world makes this story great.

Sigourney Weaver, Matthew Broderick, Dustin Hoffman and Emma Watson are all featured in the movie through the animals. It is full of well-known actors as well as some new ones and smaller roles that make it wonderful.

The Tale of Despereaux is full of values for children and is a great movie to get and watch. It is exciting and a classic story and children (and even adults) will be begging to watch it over and over again.

The Tale of Desperaux is a cute movie that children can love and learn about values through a lovable mouse. If you are looking for The Tale of Desperaux DVD, you can buy it through CDWow.