The video nasties (from a collectors view)

[Scorpio]

I have collected these since i was a nipper and only sold my collection this year..........i collected the DPP39 - these are the films which were successfully banned in 1984 by the Director of Public Prosecutions. To simplify things, 72 titles were put forward, known now as the DPP72 and 39 were banned. here is the list of the DPP39:

Absurd
Anthropophagus the Beast
Axe
Beast in Heat
Blood Bath
Blood Feast
Blood Rights
Bloody Moon
Burning
Cannibal Apocalypse
Cannibal Ferox
Cannibal Holocaust
Cannibal Man
Devil Hunter
Don't Go in the Woods......Alone
Driller Killer
Evilspeak
Expose
Faces of Death
Fight for Your Life
Forest of Fear
Frankenstein (Andy Warhol)
Gestapos Last Orgy
House by the Cemetery
House on the Edge of the Park
Island of Death
I Spit on Your Grave
Last House on the Left
Lovecamp 7
Mardigras Massace
Madhouse
Nightmares in a Damaged Brain
Night of the Bloody Apes
Night of the Demon
Snuff
SS Experiment Camp
Tenebrae
Werewolf and the Yeti
Zombie Flesheaters

Out of these 39 titles there are many varients, which fluctuate in rarity and value£...........for example, Gestapos Last Orgy was released on both the ViP label and the Videoshack label. The Vip label is worth only £250-£300, but the Videoshak version (of which only 2 known examples exist) commands £2000.

As a set of tapes they are very very hard to collect - i myself gave up at 38 due to the problems of getting 1 particular title.......Beast in Heat, which was released by JVI; only 300 titles were made, and out of those around 150 or so were burned during the DPP cull. Whatever was left has been whittled down to a known 20-30, but the market is flooded with copies, made by expert copiers looking to cash in on the tapes infamous reputation and price tag, which commands upto £2000 now.

The other website i frequent is ran by Marc Morris, the author of The Art of the Nasty, which is jam packed full of collectors of tapes (VHS and Beta)......some collect the DPP39, some the DPP72, some collect labels like Rainbow, Mountain, JVI, Videoshack, GO, Intervision etc etc etc

all in all the video collecting hobby is booming - hope this has been of interest.......sorry it is short, but i have tried to avoid a lengthy post full of jargon

[m35541]

I am not sure 'banned' is the right word. The DPP has not got the power to 'ban' anything or indeed to convict anyone which is a matter for the Courts. Isn't this rather a list of titles that the DPP believed were obscene (presumably they had some kind of legal opinion to support that and possibly case history if the film had been found obscene in court) and sellers of such titles were subject to prosecution under the 1959 OPA.

As opposed to sellers of 'normal' uncertificated videos would would merely be prosecuted under the 1984 VRA.

I am not sure whether successful prosecutions occurred for all of these titles although I believe that a number of the cases were uncontested. IIRC correctly The Evil Dead was originally on the list but taken off the list following an unsuccessful prosecution.

I reckon I've seen 23 of these films.

Did you get a lot of money for the collection? I must say I find the prices for nearly thirty year old VHSs quite high given that most of these films are now available uncut (with BBFC certificates) in much better quality DVDs. Is there really a market for Warhol's Frankenstein on VHS givien it got a high quality DVD release a few years back for example?

[Scorpio]

The 39 listed were banned.....prices fluctuate from 10 to over a grand......Warhol Frankenstein is a 20 tape and the tapes are collectable items as part of the pre certification era. I sold mine for around 5k, missing just beast in heat

Try searching ebay for dpp39

[GRAEME]

I am not sure 'banned' is the right word. The DPP has not got the power to 'ban' anything or indeed to convict anyone which is a matter for the Courts. Isn't this rather a list of titles that the DPP believed were obscene (presumably they had some kind of legal opinion to support that and possibly case history if the film had been found obscene in court) and sellers of such titles were subject to prosecution under the 1959 OPA.

If you can be prosecuted for selling them - and it is against the law to distribute them - isn't that "banned"?

What definition of banned are you using?

[Scorpio]

If you can be prosecuted for selling them - and it is against the law to distribute them - isn't that "banned"?

What definition of banned are you using?

exactly

it was against the law to own or sell......peoples houses were raided and their collections were burned

[Rowdon]

I'm disappointed that Killer's Moon isn't there. Does that mean my old vhs isn't worth anything?


... and that "Burning" isn't The Burning, starring Seinfeld's Jason Alexander, is it? I saw that in a Paris bar one night in 1983 - interesting because a lot of violence happened in the daytime ... but banned? Surely not?

[bruiser15]

I'm disappointed that Killer's Moon isn't there. Does that mean my old vhs isn't worth anything?


... and that "Burning" isn't The Burning, starring Seinfeld's Jason Alexander, is it? I saw that in a Paris bar one night in 1983 - interesting because a lot of violence happened in the daytime ... but banned? Surely not?

It is the one you saw [B]Rowdon The Burning (1981) - IMDb, Holly Hunter's in it too, it's a Friday the 13th clone but not bad as these things go.

I always thought it was the graphic nature of Tom Savini's special effects especially the raft attack which got this one into trouble. If I remember correctly [i can't lay my hands on my copy of See No Evil] they got a x-cert for it with cuts, but then it was sent out in it's original unedited form and that caused the master tape to be seized from, I think Thorn-EMI's offices and an obsenity charge brought which the company was cleared of. I'm sure Scorpio will come along and explain it better than I.

Scorpio mentions Marc Morris [who I'm sure used to frequent these parts as well] and I bought the Video Nasties - Definite Guide DVD boxset that he produced which is a fine piece of work.

[Scorpio]

It is the one you saw Rowdon The Burning (1981) - IMDb, Holly Hunter's in it too, it's a Friday the 13th clone but not bad as these things go.

I always thought it was the graphic nature of Tom Savini's special effects especially the raft attack which got this one into trouble. If I remember correctly [i can't lay my hands on my copy of See No Evil] they got a x-cert for it with cuts, but then it was sent out in it's original unedited form and that caused the master tape to be seized from, I think Thorn-EMI's offices and an obsenity charge brought which the company was cleared of. I'm sure Scorpio will come along and explain it better than I.

Scorpio mentions Marc Morris [who I'm sure used to frequent these parts as well] and I bought the Video Nasties - Definite Guide DVD boxset that he produced which is a fine piece of work.

nothing to clear up, your post is well put and i would offer nothing better (if as well)

[Scorpio]

I'm disappointed that Killer's Moon isn't there. Does that mean my old vhs isn't worth anything?


... and that "Burning" isn't The Burning, starring Seinfeld's Jason Alexander, is it? I saw that in a Paris bar one night in 1983 - interesting because a lot of violence happened in the daytime ... but banned? Surely not?

no idea what killers moon is worth, but i can find out easy enough.........

[bruiser15]

nothing to clear up, your post is well put and i would offer nothing better (if as well)

Cheers, sometimes my memory is slightly addled, how frustrating was it to get to one away from having the full set of the dpp39.

Also, in your opinion which is the best film out of the list, because some are truly dreadful.

[Timmy_Lea]

no idea what killers moon is worth, but i can find out easy enough.........

It's a Fay Weldon classic!

[Scorpio]

is yours a UK pre cert and is it in good condition with all labels in tact and with a full or cut carton?

[Scorpio]

Cheers, sometimes my memory is slightly addled, how frustrating was it to get to one away from having the full set of the dpp39.

Also, in your opinion which is the best film out of the list, because some are truly dreadful.

it was a nightmare, but there is a waiting list for Beast in Heat, with 1 a year turning up and each new find is going for more and more - i decided against another frenzy, sold up and got my eyes lasered, went on holday with the family and got things we needed......no regrets really

my faves are
last house on the left
i spit on your grave
the burning
zombie flesheaters
house on the edge of the park
cannibal holocaust

not keen on the rest

[Scorpio]

I'm disappointed that Killer's Moon isn't there. Does that mean my old vhs isn't worth anything?

cut carton £25

uncut carton £70

[bruiser15]

it was a nightmare, but there is a waiting list for Beast in Heat, with 1 a year turning up and each new find is going for more and more - i decided against another frenzy, sold up and got my eyes lasered, went on holday with the family and got things we needed......no regrets really

my faves are
last house on the left
i spit on your grave
the burning
zombie flesheaters
house on the edge of the park
cannibal holocaust

not keen on the rest

That seems about right, I have a soft spot for House by The Cemetery, but that could be rose tinted specs from a distance

[Scorpio]

That seems about right, I have a soft spot for House by The Cemetery, but that could be rose tinted specs from a distance

it has just been released on blu ray

[Sgt Sunshine]

[Scorpio]

very nice, are you a collector of the Dutch Sunrise range?

[Rowdon]

is yours a UK pre cert and is it in good condition with all labels in tact and with a full or cut carton?

In all its 'gory' ...


Killers Moon VHS3.jpgKIllers Moon VHS2.jpgKillers Moon VHS1.jpg

[Sgt Sunshine]

very nice, are you a collector of the Dutch Sunrise range?

Not yet.......but I soon could be....
I'm a Scorpio too........