I Spit On Your Grave R2? [Archive] - Forums @ The Digital Fix

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chris21

06-02-2002, 18:21

While looking round HMV after work tonight I saw this title on the shelf. Is it uncut?

It says on the cover "Original Version", but on the back cover at the bottom it says Some pictures maybe from uncut version.
(something along these lines anyway)

I doubt if it is uncut seeing that Last House on the Left is still banned, but the "Original Version" on the cover got me thinking.

Anyone know?

diydestruction

06-02-2002, 18:30

the original "cut" version..... doh....

its got around 7 minutes of cuts....

Michael Mackenzie

06-02-2002, 18:40

Approx six minutes are missing from the UK release of I Spit on your Grave.

With any luck, we'll be seeing Last House on the Left uncut soon. The BBFC offered 16 seconds of cuts, but the producers of the DVD, Blue Underground, declined to make these cuts, and are going to the Video Appeals Committee, where they intend to kick up a serious fuss. I can hardly wait ;)

p_chally

06-02-2002, 19:07

With regard to Last House On the Left I have this on dutch R2 which I recently got from my sister which is uncut and is one of the worst films I have seen in years and will never bother to watch again, acting on par with Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which when the wife and I watched it a couple of years ago at the cinema 90% of the audience laughed most of the way through.

Michael Mackenzie

06-02-2002, 19:22

Maybe. I'll wait till I've seen it before passing judgement. In the meantime, I don't think its quality has anything to do with whether something should be banned or not ;)

Michael Brooke

06-02-2002, 19:43

Last House on the Left is a far less coherent and controlled film than The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - the low budget is rather more obvious, and there are some major artistic misjudgements (the comedy routines involving the two cops).

But at its best, it has a weird power that's quite unmatched by most other horror films of the period, and it's definitely worth seeing - though I wouldn't bother with a cut version. As for I Spit On Your Grave, would anyone seriously miss seven minutes of ineptly-shot simulated rape footage?

Driller_Killer

06-02-2002, 22:13

Yes I spit on your grave is cut 7mins 2 secs these cuts
take away the whole point of the film that is to make rape
a brutal unpleasent exsperiance.I own the uncut US DVD
by Elite so if you can find it on one of the dvd web sites
its worth snatching up dont bother buying the UK version

Paul490

06-02-2002, 22:25

Last House on the Left is a pretty good film IMHO. The comedy cops scenes were a pointless addition to the film though and took some of the power of the other scenes away.

Driller_Killer - Your DVD Profiler URL is not correct. The correct URL is http://www.dvdprofiler.com/mc.asp?alias=Driller_Killer&type=O&sc=C&Is=T

Michael Mackenzie

07-02-2002, 16:29

Originally posted by Michael Brooke
As for I Spit On Your Grave, would anyone seriously miss seven minutes of ineptly-shot simulated rape footage? I guess not, but in principal we shouldn't half to miss seven minutes of anything, no matter how badly filmed and torrid a subject matter...

Jimmyboy

07-02-2002, 17:28

Originally posted by Whiggles
I guess not, but in principal we shouldn't half to miss seven minutes of anything, no matter how badly filmed and torrid a subject matter... I seem to remember getting in a heated debate with wiggles over this issue a while back.
I wont bother going over it again, but the best thing you can do is not watch "I Spit" at all, cut or uncut there both crap.

sidebog7

07-02-2002, 18:08

http://members.lycos.co.uk/sidebog7/merton.jpg
Let's have a heated debate....

My opinion is that while the film may be bad cutting any material out a film has the potential to alter the overall message and tone of the film (not that I particularly agree with the message in this film).
As I haven't seen the cut version can anyone tell me what has been cut (I suspect it is all from the first half of the film).

Jimmyboy

07-02-2002, 18:34

Originally posted by sidebog7
My opinion is that while the film may be bad cutting any material out a film has the potential to alter the overall message and tone of the film (not that I particularly agree with the message in this film).

Obviously the BBFC didnt agree with the message either.
I can understand the argument that people should be able to make up their own minds as to what they want to watch instead of the BBFC doing it for them, I can also fully respect the BBFC reasons for cutting 7mins from this particular title.
If I Spit had any artisic merit I might feel differently, but we are talking about a film in which a 15 - 20min rape scene was included simply as a selling point for the film itself and for no other reason.

Michael Brooke

07-02-2002, 21:14

Brutal rape scenes per se aren't necessarily a problem - in fact, the BBFC is more likely to sanction footage that emphasises just what a vile, demeaning crime it is.

They come down hard on rape scenes for two reasons:

1) they suspect the film-maker's motives

(just why is the scene in I Spit On Your Grave quite so protracted, when the basic point could have been made in a fraction of the time?).

2) it promotes the myth that "women like it really"

(which is responsible for Straw Dogs' unavailability on UK video - though I would argue that this is based on a fundamental misreading of the scene in question, and that cutting it in the way the BBFC have proposed actually makes it far worse).

I was involved with the UK release of Man Bites Dog, and we were expecting trouble from the BBFC - but in the event they saw that the graphic rape scene was absolutely integral to the serious moral point that the film was making, and passed it uncut. Ironically enough, it was removed from the first US release version, rendering the film's message largely incomprehensible!

Michael Mackenzie

08-02-2002, 11:28

Originally posted by Jimmyboy
I seem to remember getting in a heated debate with wiggles over this issue a while back.
I wont bother going over it again, but the best thing you can do is not watch "I Spit" at all, cut or uncut there both crap. I remember it well ;) I have no wish to revisit it either, particularly since it's very difficult to defend a film I haven't seen :D

sidebog7

08-02-2002, 11:35

The thing I can't understand with this film is that even if the BBFC cut 7 minutes of rape scenes, the rape scene would still be quite lengthy and could be argued to be protracted.
Then again the alternative argument is that the protracted nature of the rape is supposed to make you feel uncomfortable and make the next revenge scenes seem more justified.

Michael Mackenzie

08-02-2002, 11:43

It's interesting that the rape scene against a woman is edited, but the woman's extremely violent revenge on these men is left intact.

Michael Brooke

08-02-2002, 13:42

The thing I can't understand with this film is that even if the BBFC cut 7 minutes of rape scenes, the rape scene would still be quite lengthy and could be argued to be protracted. 

Their hands may well be tied here – extreme sexual violence is explicitly proscribed by the law, unless there’s a clear artistic merit defence. Since this film has been condemned even by genre fans (Kim Newman springs to mind), this is unlikely to hold much water.

Then again the alternative argument is that the protracted nature of the rape is supposed to make you feel uncomfortable and make the next revenge scenes seem more justified.

Yes, but does that argument actually stand up when set against the evidence of the film itself? A talented director can make you feel extremely uncomfortable in just a few minutes or even seconds – just look at the sledgehammer impact of the rapes in Abel Ferrara’s Ms.45, where even the cut version makes you feel unclean (oddly enough, this cut version was released on DVD in the US, but there’s little practical difference).

In fact, Ferrara’s film makes for an excellent comparison, as it was made in the same year and has a very similar basic plot – but it’s vastly superior on every level, most notably its far more convincing psychological portrait of the victim and the way it resists the temptation to resort to crude shock tactics. By contrast, I Spit On Your Grave has little else to offer.

sampath

08-02-2002, 13:56

Originally posted by Whiggles
It's interesting that the rape scene against a woman is edited, but the woman's extremely violent revenge on these men is left intact.

There's an article on The Melon Farmers (http://www.dtaylor.demon.co.uk/op02.htm#BBFC Sex Descrimination) site (about the cuts to Baise Moi) which includes a response from the BBFC as to why they allow sexual violence against men but frown upon violence against women....