Pre-certification video
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Pre-Certification Video
In 1984 the UK government introduced a piece of restrictive legislation called the Video Recordings Act which effectively meant that all pre-recorded videocassettes had to be officially classified by an independent body called the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) before they could legally be released in Great Britain. There were some exceptions to this, such as music, educational, documentary and religious programmes providing they contained no profanity, sexual or violent content. These could be released with an Exempt status. Everything else had to be classified - and the costs of getting a cassette classified were quite high!
The years before the VRA (Video Recordings Act) came into force were a most interesting time for pre-recorded videocassettes in Great Britain as these were not subject to classification, certification or censorship by any official means (although some companies chose to implement their own, and of course the Obscene Publications Act (1959) meant hardcore pornography would have been swiftly and severely dealt with - at least if it was on ready display!).
These years, from about 1978 until the classifications finally took hold good and proper in late 1985, became known as the pre-certification years.
And the years of the pre-certification video became a halcyon era never again to be repeated on the shores of Great Britain, as this article will now investigate.
What is a Pre-Certification Video?
A "pre-cert video" is any videotape (or laserdisc) issued in the UK before the introduction of the 1984 Video Recordings Act.
Pre-cert videos were not required by law to be submitted to the BBFC so the era was unregulated, leading to many uncut releases of videos which would have fallen foul of the BBFC's strict guidelines, and would therefore have been censored if submission to the board was a legal requirement.
However, whilst many of the larger respectable companies simply issued their previously BBFC certificated cinema releases onto video to play safe as they feared there was bound to be a clampdown at some stage, some of the smaller independent companies decided to take advantage of the unregulated video rentals market by issuing "strong uncut" versions depicting graphic violence and gore. A whole barrage of titles previously banned by the BBFC from getting a cinema release suddenly ended up uncensored on home video.
What began as a bill drafted by little known Luton Tory back bencher Graham Bright was made law after he and the tabloid press (most notably The Daily Mail) had successfully whipped the media into a frenzied hysteria over so-called "video nasties". Ban the Sadist Videos! was one of the more famous headlines they ran. When the bill was made law it became a legal requirement that all videotapes must be submitted to the BBFC for classification (and possible cuts).
The pre-cert video era is best remembered (amongst horror fans in particular) for the ensuing "video nasty" debacle in which a selection of 72 videotapes were singled out and prosecuted by the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) under Section 2 or Section 3 of the OPA (Obscene Publications Act). Of these, 39 titles were deemed by the courts to be obscene and it's those titles which formed the final "Video Nasties list.
Video releases from this unregulated "pre-cert" era have become increasingly collectible items. Whilst most can be picked up cheaply on eBay and through second hand stores and car boot sales, many titles are highly sought after. In fact some of the very hard to find titles have been known to command prices in excess of £500. There remains to this day a very dedicated pre-cert collector's market, and most of these die-hard collectors can be found lurking in this very web site's discussion forum.
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References
Shock! Horror! Astounding Artwork From the Video Nasty Era
The Art of the Nasty
External links
The Video Recordings Act - http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/content.aspx?activeTextDocId=1810866
About the BBFC - http://www.bbfc.co.uk/about/