What was the first film to be banned

The British Board of Film Censors arrived in 1913 as�it became obvious to government that 'moving pictures' were more than a passing fad. In the first year no less than 166 films�were cut or banned. Ironically, one of the first films to be banned in Britain has become recognised as one of the best films made - anywhere. Sergei Eisenstein created The Battleship Potemkin (1925) in the Soviet Union. It was viewed by Western authorities as dangerous propaganda (the BBFC was keen that no politics or 'burning issues' be seen on celluloid) and was banned until 1954.

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(*Thanks�to AnswerBank reader Simon Brilliant for contributing to this article)

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A.� Possibly the first was the film Freaks, which was banned in the UK between 1932 and 1962. Dracula director Tod Browning was behind this twisted revenge tale, set in a cirucs, where a beautiful trapeze artist poisons her rich midget infatuated with her so she can run off with his money and her strongman lover. His cast was made up of real-life sideshows performers. Siamese twins Daisy and Violet Hilton, Johnny Eck the Legless Boy, pinheads Zip and Pip, and the Humna Torso. Despite largely positive reviws, MGM didn't know what to do with the filom, and eventually prints of it were shelved, and local bans meant is suffered 20 minutes of cuts in the US, giving it a happy ending. British censors still declared it too shocking and banned it for 30 years. It wasn't until 1963 that it was rediscovered and began to be appreciated, by which time it was too late for Browning, who had died a year earlier.

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Q.� What's the most famous film to be banned

A.� Most films are banned by governments, but A Clockwork Orange was banned at the behest of the director. Stanley Kubrick's film found itself accused of inspiring real acts of teenage violence. it was banned in Britain from 1974 to 1997.��Kubrick was so worried that his film might be causing mass panic on British streets he asked for it to be removed from UK screens. It was only after his death in 1997 that Warner Bros re-released the movie.

Nominated for 10 Oscars and winning two, William Friedkin's film of William Peter Blatty's best-selling book, The Exorcist, is probably Britain's most famous banned film.

Shocked by the images of a sweet little girl turning into an obscenity-spouting monster, then head of the British Board of Film Classification James Ferman had the movie withdrawn in 1984 and never seemed to change his mind. His distrust of parental responsibility meant people were banned from seeing what, to many, was a classic film.

Ironically, The Exorcist had been passed uncut and made a fortune for Warner Bros when it was released theatrically in the 1970s. Famous for its scenes of projectile vomiting, it was condemned by the Catholic Church, and the papers reported mysterious deaths of cast and crew, claiming it 'threatened sanity'. It took the retirement of James Ferman and a new regime at the BFFC before the 25th anniversary theatrical re-release in 1998 was allowed.

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Q.� Which films have suffered home video bans

A.� The aftermath of the Jamie Bulger murder several exceptionally violent films were banned from home video. In 1993 these included When Man Bites Dog, One False Move and Bad Lieutenant. Reservoir Dogs premiered at the Sundance Festival in 1992 but it wasn't until June 1995 that it finally became available on video. Warner Bros was so alarmed by a spate of murder in the US, they banned Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers, shelving video release from 1994 until earlier this year. The Basketball Diaries was withdrawn after the Columbine High School massacre, but it has now re-appeared on video.

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By Katharine MacColl