Bracks Stands By Ban On The Exorcist
The Age
Friday April 6, 2001
The State Government is sticking to its decision to ban the screening of The Exorcist: The Director's Cut on Good Friday, despite condemnation from artists, civil liberties advocates and the State Opposition.
But the government's powers to order which films can be shown in Victoria on Good Friday and Christmas Day could be scrapped under a review of the laws.
Christian churches have largely welcomed the ban, but denied they had pressured the government. Some church leaders said the ban made little sense and would be counterproductive.
Premier Steve Bracks admitted yesterday that the current laws were riddled with anomalies and were hard to enforce.
But he said it was reasonable to ban the showing of a film like The Exorcist, which is R-rated, on such a holy day for Christians. ``This is one day in the year. One day. I think people would be patient enough to realise one film on a very important day is not such a big issue," he said.
Mr Bracks said the film had been banned because of its R-rating and not because of its religious themes. He said the government was following long-standing practice.
But cinema operators and the opposition disputed this, saying R-rated films in recent years had not been banned. Last year on Good Friday, three R-rated films - Romance, Boys Don't Cry and Fight Club - were shown in Victoria. This year, the R-rated films Hannibal and The Girl Next Door have not been banned.
The Exorcist, as well as other films with controversial religious themes such as The Last Temptation Of Christ, can be rented from video stores on Good Friday.
State Parliament's law reform committee is examining the Theatres Act and is expected to hand down its report next month. Mr Bracks said the government was looking at whether the licensing process could be streamlined.
The Exorcist was banned by Justice Department officials apparently after Palace Cinemas applied to show the film as part of its annual licence application.
Shadow attorney-general Robert Dean said it was bizarre to ban a film for one day and that it showed government ministers were being led by their departments.
Liberty Victoria president Chris Maxwell, QC, said the decision was consistent with the Theatres Act of 1926 - ``it's just the whole scheme is about 75 years out of date".
Free Speech Victoria president Terry Lane said the government should play no role in helping or hindering religion.
The director of the Comedy Festival show Jesus Christ Movie Star, Clare Watson, said the ban would at least start a debate about free speech. ``I'm actually quite surprised that we're part of such a conservative, right-wing system and yet we're under a Labor government," she said.
But the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne said the ban recognised the importance of Good Friday to so many Victorians. Spokesman Father Christopher Prowse said the film ``trivialises the central and consoling message" of Good Friday, of good triumphing over evil.
But the Australian Catholic Film Office's Father Richard Leonard said the film took evil seriously and did not glamorise it. ``It is curious that ... on Good Friday when the casino, other gambling venues and hotels which can have an equally destructive impact on society, are not impeded from their trade," he said.
A Sydney spokesman for the Catholic Church, Father Brian Lucas, said it did not seem to make sense to ban only one movie.
The Anglican Church's Canon Ray Cleary said any government move that encouraged Victorians to reflect on the meaning of Good Friday should be welcomed.
OPINION 16: Editorial
Good Friday: what's not banned in Melbourne
* Hannibal: R-rated film with Anthony Hopkins playing a serial killer who eats brains and disembowels people
* The Girl Next Door:
R-rated film on the career of a housewife turned porn star, featuring sex scenes and a graphic cosmetic surgery sequence
* Jesus Christ Movie Star:
a comedy festival show "that combines Christianity and popular culture", caused outrage with its promotional material featuring rosary beads in the form of a penis
* Some adult bookshops will open, together with nude peep shows
© 2001 The Age