''Visions of Ecstasy'' is a 1989 British short film directed by

Nigel Wingrove Nigel Wingrove (born 26 October 1957) is the founder of the horror film company Salvation Films and the Redemption film label and creator of the online alternative female collectivethe Satanic Sluts He is also a film director and the only direct ...

and starring Louise Downie, Elisha Scott, and Dan Fox. It became the only work to be refused certification by the

British Board of Film Classification The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of f ...

(BBFC) on the grounds of

blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...

. The film features sexualised scenes of

Saint Teresa of Ávila In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...

with the body of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

on the cross.

Ban

As cutting the scenes would remove approximately half of the film's content, the BBFC decided to refuse certification altogether. The board felt that any release of the film could be liable for prosecution under the common law offence of

blasphemous libel Blasphemous libel was originally an offence under the common law of England. Today, it is an offence under the common law of Northern Ireland, but has been abolished in England and Wales, and repealed in Canada and New Zealand. It consists of t ...

, making the refusal a form of

prior restraint Prior restraint (also referred to as prior censorship or pre-publication censorship) is censorship imposed, usually by a government or institution, on expression, that prohibits particular instances of expression. It is in contrast to censorship ...

. The distributor appealed to the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...

. It emerged in 2018 that while the case was pending the Prime Minister,

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...

, had considered attempting to derogate from the provisions of the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by t ...

relating to free expression to preempt or override a decision by the court to allow the film's release. This prompted the Foreign Secretary,

Douglas Hurd Douglas Richard Hurd, Baron Hurd of Westwell, (born 8 March 1930) is a British Conservative Party politician who served in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major from 1979 to 1995. A career diplomat and political secretary to P ...

, to point out this was not possible "except in cases of war or threats to the life of the nation". In the end the court found that the UK's blasphemy laws were consistent with the Convention, effectively upholding the BBFC's decision to refuse certification.

Sale during ban

A secondary school science teacher was arrested for selling Wingrove's ''Visions of Ecstasy'' in February 1992 in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. Michael Newman, an atheist, then repeated the act of selling the video in public near to

Canterbury Cathedral Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...

. This led to a debate with the Bishop of Rochester on

BBC Radio Kent BBC Radio Kent is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Kent. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at The Great Hall in Tunbridge Wells. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of ...

. Newman later resigned as a teacher following protests from Christian parents. Newman also made an appearance on

Channel Four Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service i ...

’s ''Comment'' in August 1992. https://web.archive.org/web/20130403020310/http://philosopedia.org:80/index.php/N

Eventual release

In 2008 the

blasphemy laws A blasphemy law is a law prohibiting blasphemy, which is the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence to a deity, or sacred objects, or toward something considered sacred or inviolable. According to Pew Research Center, about ...

in the UK were repealed. In January 2012 the BBFC gave the film an 18 certificate with no cuts or alterations to the original film's content.

References

External links

* *
Case Study: ''Visions of Ecstasy''
!-- original URL, now dead: http://www.sbbfc.co.uk/CaseStudies/Visions_of_Ecstasy --> * {{cite web, url=http://thequietus.com/articles/08667-steven-severin-soundtracking-interview, work=

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quiet ...

, title=The Art Of Soundtracking: Steven Severin Interviewed, date=30 April 2012, last=Graham, first=Ben 1989 films 1989 short films British short films British exploitation films Portrayals of Jesus in film Obscenity controversies in film Religious controversies in film Cultural depictions of Spanish women Teresa of Ávila Films originally rejected by the British Board of Film Classification 1980s English-language films 1980s British films

Ban

Sale during ban

Eventual release

See also

References

External links