Nowadays anybody watches any type of weird thing as many times as they want for free on the internet, including extreme violence and any consensual sex involving adults and nothing too terrible seems to have happened.
It seems laughable now to think that some harmless films were treated like dangerous contagions.
Martin Luther, the film, was banned from 1953 for about a decade in Quebec for no other reason than the fact that it told the story of a guy who worked to split from the Catholic religion. Real mature.
The ban seems to have become a point of pride for some Quebecers including some servicemen who interrupted the film for about 15 minutes in Winnipeg in 1954, shouting Vive Quebec.
In July 1962 Quebec's censor said the decision to ban the film was "incomprehensible" and reversed the ban, which only helped the film gain popularity elsewhere.
Of course many people protested against the ban, which seemed to be based on claims of historical innacuracy.
You can watch the film here.
Quiet Days in Clichy During one of the most tense and violent moments in this city's history, our mayor was not focused on the War Measures Act which saw soldiers rolling around the city in tanks to defend us against the killer FLQ terrorists, Nope, Newly-re-elected Mayor Jean Drapeau's main concern was to protect us from a film called Quiet Days in Clichy in late 1970. Watch it here.
Johnson vs. Jeffries According to one biography, a film of controversial black heavyweight boxing champ Jack Johnson prevailing against a white opponent named James Jeffries was not shown in Montreal movie theatres when it came out after 1910. The theatre owners opted simply not to show it. Audiences would presumably not have enjoyed seeing the white man lose. Johnson fled to Europe via Montreal following some outrageously trumped up charges and threw a bout over there. No other black man would hold the crown until Joe Louis after WWII. Watch it below.
It seems laughable now to think that some harmless films were treated like dangerous contagions.
Martin Luther, the film, was banned from 1953 for about a decade in Quebec for no other reason than the fact that it told the story of a guy who worked to split from the Catholic religion. Real mature.The ban seems to have become a point of pride for some Quebecers including some servicemen who interrupted the film for about 15 minutes in Winnipeg in 1954, shouting Vive Quebec.
In July 1962 Quebec's censor said the decision to ban the film was "incomprehensible" and reversed the ban, which only helped the film gain popularity elsewhere.
Of course many people protested against the ban, which seemed to be based on claims of historical innacuracy.
You can watch the film here.
Quiet Days in Clichy During one of the most tense and violent moments in this city's history, our mayor was not focused on the War Measures Act which saw soldiers rolling around the city in tanks to defend us against the killer FLQ terrorists, Nope, Newly-re-elected Mayor Jean Drapeau's main concern was to protect us from a film called Quiet Days in Clichy in late 1970. Watch it here.Johnson vs. Jeffries According to one biography, a film of controversial black heavyweight boxing champ Jack Johnson prevailing against a white opponent named James Jeffries was not shown in Montreal movie theatres when it came out after 1910. The theatre owners opted simply not to show it. Audiences would presumably not have enjoyed seeing the white man lose. Johnson fled to Europe via Montreal following some outrageously trumped up charges and threw a bout over there. No other black man would hold the crown until Joe Louis after WWII. Watch it below.
The fight between Johnson and Jeffries was considered the Fight of the Century. The POTUS nearly became ref. Jeffries came out of retirement from his alfalfa farm and lost an insane amount of weight for the fight. Read Bederman's "Manliness and Civilization" for more information.
ReplyDeleteWow, I grew up in the suburbs of Boston and I always thought that was Catholic ground zero but we had nothing on Quebec. Banned books in the 60's? That's pretty hardcore Catholic.
ReplyDeleteUp until abut 1965, the Catholic Church in Quebec had a powerful influence over what appeared on the newsstands and in films because they had a member on the censor board.
ReplyDeleteIn that year, Playboy Magazine was finally permitted to be sold on Quebec newsstands. Up until then, it could be subscribed to by mail.
That being said, such censorship laws have varied from province to province and state to state. I remember being in Florida back in 1981 when Penthouse Magazine could only be purchased by asking the news agent for it. This reportedly to prevent minors from browsing. Not sure if that rule has since changed down there, but it wouldn't surprise me.
I recommend "Censored! Only in Canada", by Malcolm Dean. (Virgo Press, Toronto - 1981) ISBN 0-920528-32-5
Seems like it is out-of-print, so you may have to dig around to find it.