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278:. 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!
318:(a) that the video work concerned or, if the video recording contained more than one work to which the charge relates, each of those works was either an exempted work or a work in respect of which a classification certificate had been issued, or
336:(1) Where a video recording contains a video work in respect of which no classification certificate has been issued, a person who has the recording in his possession for the purpose of supplying it is guilty of an offence unless —
162:. "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.
192:, 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.
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The Video
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306:(1) A person who supplies or offers to supply a video recording containing a video work in respect of which no classification certificate has been issued is guilty of an offence unless —
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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
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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
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if submission to the board was a legal requirement. However, whilst many of the larger respectable companies simply issued their previously BBFC certificated
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These years, from about 1978 until the classifications finally took hold good and proper in late 1985, became known as the pre-certification years.
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Video releases from this unregulated pre-certification era have become increasingly collectible items. Whilst most can be picked up cheaply on
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315:(2) It is a defence to a charge of committing an offence under this section to prove that the accused believed on reasonable grounds —
270:, which effectively meant that all pre-recorded videocassettes had to be officially classified by an independent body called the BBFC (
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339:(a) he has it in his possession for the purpose only of a supply which, if it took place, would be an exempted supply, or
330:(b) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding £20,000 or both.
321:(b) that the supply was, or would if it took place be, an exempted supply by virtue of section 3(4) or (5) of this Act.
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The pre-certification video era is best remembered, amongst horror fans in particular, for the ensuing "
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Before the VRA (Video
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by any official means (although some companies chose to implement their own, and of course the
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Section 10 Possession of video recording of unclassified work for the purposes of supply.
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would have been swiftly and severely dealt with (at least if it was on ready display).
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Pre-certification videos were not required by law to be submitted to the
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Section 9 - Supplying video recording of unclassified work.
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http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/39/contents
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market by issuing "strong uncut" versions depicting
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http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/39/content
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139:What began as a bill drafted by little known
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312:or (b) the video work is an exempted work.
234:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
266:In 1984, the UK government introduced the
173:(DPP) under Section 2 or Section 3 of the
357:- David Kerekes & David Slater (Book)
254:Learn how and when to remove this message
77:Learn how and when to remove this message
40:This article includes a list of general
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342:(b) the video work is an exempted work
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272:British Board of Film Classification
232:adding citations to reliable sources
188:and through second hand stores and
418:Entertainment rating organizations
46:it lacks sufficient corresponding
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413:Censorship in the United Kingdom
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171:Director of Public Prosecutions
150:was made law after he and the
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18:Pre-Certification Video (UK)
196:Introduction of legislation
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360:Video Recordings Act 1984
103:1984 Video Recordings Act
388:The Video Recordings Act
291:Obscene Publications Act
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134:home video
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215:does not
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