The DPP list of 'video nasties' was first made public in June 1983.
The list was modified monthly as prosecutions failed or were dropped. In total, 72 separate films appeared on the list at one time or another.
Thirty-nine films were successfully prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act but some of these films have been subsequently cut and then approved for release by the BBFC.
The remaining 35 were either not prosecuted or had unsuccessful prosecutions.
A number of films spent a short time on this list because their prosecutions failed shortly after publication or because it was decided that prosecution was not worth pursuing.
Ultimately, the list became obsolete when the Video Recordings Act came into force, and since 2001, several of the films have been released uncut.
In the majority of cases below where cuts were made, they were scenes of real-life animal cruelty and/or excessive violence to women, both of which are still regarded with some degree of severity by the BBFC.
Although commonly thought of as part of the DPP list, the following two titles never actually appeared on any government list: Shogun Assassin (1981)
- re-released uncut in 1999. Xtro (1983)
- released uncut in 1987, re-classified 15 in 2007; it was a common title seized during police raids in the North of England prior to the official list being published. The Last House On Dead End Street (1977), also known as The Fun House, was confused with Tobe Hooper's similarly titled film The Funhouse (1981) and avoided being placed on the list.
Breakdown of the list of these films:
•39 have been released uncut.
•23 have been released cut.
•1 has been released with additional footage.
•11 are banned in the UK because they have not yet been resubmitted for classification by any distributors or been rejected for classification.
Unless noted otherwise, all films that have been released have been rated 18. Also note that a large number of these movies caused additional controversy with the cover art of the original big box releases seen in the video shops of the early 1980s.
Films banned by the BBFC but not classed as Video Nasties: The Exorcist (1973) (commonly said to have banned around the same period as video nasties, this is actually untrue as the studio decided not to push for UK release following the 1984 act.) The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) was passed uncut with an 18 certificate in 1999. Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) was originally never submitted for a certificate. It was submitted and passed uncut with an 18 certificate on January 22, 2010. Straw Dogs (1971) was banned around the video nasty period but not actually included on the list. It was re-released in 1995 partially cut with it finally being released uncut in 2002. The New York Ripper (1982) was banned outright in 1982 until it was released with cuts in 1997. Mikey (1992) is still banned. Maniac (1980) was passed with cuts on May 29, 2002.
Other Films grouped with Video Nasties
It is often mistaken that Stanley Kubrick's film adaption of A Clockwork Orange (1971) was banned by the BBFC.
It was actually Kubrick himself who decided to withdraw the film from exhibition in the UK after reports of copycat behavior.
The film was eventually released uncut in the UK shortly after the death of Kubrick in 1999.
The British film Scum (1979) has a tagline "The film they tried to ban".
The original TV film was made by the BBC, but they later decided not to broadcast it owing to the violence and suicides in the film.
It was quickly remade by most of the original production team and released in cinemas, it was released on VHS at the height of the Video Nasties controversy and quickly became associated with them in the media.
