Video Nasties: the Definitive Guide Part 1

This set isn't called the Definitive Guide for nothing. The Video Nasties is a very fascinating period in time; not only for the impact it had on VHS culture, but very much on cinema as a whole. There are many, critics and politicians alike, who balk at horror/exploitation films and point to them as the beginning of the decline of Western civilization. The sad truth, however, is that horror/exploitation is STILL a vulnerable genre. Many of those films contain no more violence, or at least violence no more graphic than, some of the critically lauded "classics" of cinema. Think of the graphic violence from films like, say, The Godfather, Bonnie & Clyde, Goodfellas, etc. Yet where was the ban on them?But I digress, this is space for a review of the Video Nasties documentary. And what a docu it is. Director Jake West wisely chooses to present the events as they were, instead of shaking a finger at the BBFC and the British government as a whole. It IS scary to see how easily civil liberties were cast aside in the name of building a nanny nation. What's even scarier is the lack of accountability from many of the political members involved. Video interviews show how many of these pearl-clutchers openly admitted they never actually watched any of the tapes that were supposedly destroying the innocence of the nation's youth. But again, West declines judgement. That much is left to many of the interview subjects who found themselves on the "wrong" side of the law.The docu is chock full of carefully researched info on the inception of the term Video Nasty, the beginning of the ban list, those who faced or might face criminal charges, and the "end" of the Video Nasties Witch hunt. Interview subjects range from film makers who were involved in the production of said Nasties, shop owners who bore the wrath of the government, some of those government officials themselves, to modern-day directors and writers who very clearly wear the influence of the Nasties with pride. It's the diverse range of interviews and research that give this a more well-rounded look at the subject than most fluff pieces and/or one-sided documentaries on some film subjects. Of course, the docu itself is the academic aspect, looking more at the time period itself than the films themselves.That's where the other 2 discs come in. For those who might find the docu boring, discs 2 and 3 are where the fun begins. Disc 2 lists the 39 (of 72 from the banned list) film titles that were successfully deemed to have a corruptible influence on the UK youth, and prosecuted as such. There are 2 viewing options on this disc. One is to watch just the trailers for the films on a straight shot, not unlike the 42nd Street Forever DVDs. The other is to watch not only the trailers, but intros and information beforehand from a wide array of directors, writers, collectors, and personalities. I personally prefer the latter. It's fascinating seeing the critical analysis of these trailers, many of which, through modern eyes anyway, seem downright tame. Fair warning, though. Watching the trailers with intros WILL eat up about 3-4 hours of your time. For the intellectual bloodhound, though, it's 3-4 hours well spent. The same goes for disc 3, which goes into the remaining 33 film titles whose bans were eventually lifted in the UK.I HIGHLY recommend this guide for any stripe of film fan out there. There have been countless books written on the subject, as well as books detailing the VHS cover art of these beauties, but for a fully immersive experience, you can do no better than this.

Another amazing set from the people who brought us Grindhouse Trailer Classics, this collection serves as not only a fantastic trailer comp but a fascinating history lesson as well (and BOY are there lessons to learn...)!The idiology behind the Video Nasties list was simply iditotic, pandering to the fears of "upstanding" British citizens by delivering the standard amount of BS the usually goes along with propaganda. The footage of VHS tapes being burned is particularily disturbing, as one cannot help but recall the days of Nazi book-burning.The tidbits and "fun facts" preceeding all of the trailers are excellent. And although the trailers vary in quality - some obviously from DVD releases, some obviously from VHS - it was great that Nucleus was able to gather all of the trailers (and, yes, ALL of the Video Nasties trailers are here)!After holding onto a bootleg copy of the UK release, it was nice to add an offically-released copy of this set to my library. If you're even somewhat interested, I would advise you to do the same.

All 72 video nasties are covered in the most educational and entertaining documentary available on cinema censorship of low budget horror films. If you enjoy trailers of drive-in or grindhouse movies you will definitely enjoy this. If you recall VHS rental stores or horror films of the 80's watching this will bring back fond memories. This 3 DVD collection includes the documentary on disc I (with interviews of cinema critics and the law makers who broke their own law to ban violent VHS tapes in the U.K.). Ruggero Deodato briefly discusses Cannibal Holocaust. Disc 2 has trailers for all the banned Video Nasties which can be seen with or without a introduction on why the film was banned. Disc 3 has trailers for the films that were intially banned then released and can be seen with out without an introduction. There is really nothing negative to say about this DVD set because it is the definitive guide.

This is a really great dvd set if you are interested in all the "video nasites" titles. There is a documentary on one disc and then trailers for all of the video nasties on the other discs. The documentary itself is a little dry because it focuses mostly on the politics behind the movies being banned and not on the individual films themselves, but overall it was informative. The content of the other discs is where the dvd set shines. You can play the movie trailers by themselves or you can play them with their own introduction from people that discuss the film and why it made the list. Very entertaining! Now I'm hoping some of the titles get released on blu-ray in the future!

good

It was OK. Trailers are a good feature.

very well done history of the British 'video nasties' scandal of the 80's.

Absolutely Awesome collection of trailers ,and a great documentary as we'll! If your into B-Horror then your into this!

An interesting documentary on the introduction of the video tape in 1980's Britain, the video rental market and the subsequent video nasty 'moral panic' that ensued....Well worth a look for both the movies (that were subsequently banned) and how spineless politicians/tabloid newspapers can whip up a frenzy amongst the gullible...

Such a treat! Great and informative interviews with plenty of extracts from the Finns and trailers.

If you grew up in the 80s and loved horror films this is for you , it is an amazing slice of 80s gore tastic. It shows how certain people lost their minds saying these films were bad for people to watch. Of course they were talking nonsense. Just good clean fun 😜😜😜😜😜😜

brilliantly made if depressing documentary about the corruption and stupidity of those in power, the trailers however are excellent

Great