Speak Of The Devil, Just Not On Good Friday
Newcastle Herald
Friday April 6, 2001
VICTORIANS should head north if they want to watch The Exorcist next Friday.
The new director's cut of the 1973 horror film has been banned in the southern State on that day. Under Victoria's Theatres Act (1958), cinemas cannot screen films on Good Friday and Christmas Day without a special permit.
Victorian Premier Steve Bracks said the ban on R-rated films being shown on those holidays had been a `longstanding procedure', but it was now under review.
`Generally, the Department of Justice have deemed that anything over an M-rating is not suitable,' he said.
The Exorcist is about a 12-year-old girl possessed by the devil. The Catholic Church has applauded the ban but NSW cinemas will screen the movie, although its Hunter season closes before April 13.
A spokeswoman for NSW Premier Bob Carr said the Theatre and Public Halls Act (1908) allowed the Attorney-General to ban a film if he was of the `opinion that it is fitting for the preservation of good manners and decorum'. Coincidentally, legislation to repeal the act was introduced to State Parliament yesterday.
The Word hopes it had nothing to do with a computerised directory service giving us a NSW Department of Justice phone number ending in `666'.
© 2001 Newcastle Herald