Uploaded October 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
BLASPHEMY AND HORROR! SAUCY SWEDES! LUKE SKYWALKER’S CHARRED AUNT & UNCLE!
Australia has censored it all.
Did you know Aussie audiences were originally denied bona fide classics The Night of the Hunter, Breathless and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (to name just a few out of literal hundreds), or that Australians initially saw a watered-down version of Star Wars in cinemas?
Simon Miraudo's Book of the Banned is a rigorous, rollicking, riotous and righteously-furious jaunt through film history that reveals the shocking stories behind Australia’s classification system and how your favourite movies have been snipped down under, featuring interviews with Margaret Pomeranz, David Stratton, a bunch of ‘banned’ filmmakers and even their censors.
Like any good story, there are heroes, anti-heroes, unexpected criminals and downright dastardly villains, though they’re not always whom you’d expect. But by discussing the movies, scenes and lines of dialogue deemed too extreme for Aussie eyes and ears, we can see how far we’ve come in Australia… and how far we have to go.
Simon Miraudo is in conversation with Writing WA's Will Yeoman.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit writingwa.substack.com/subscribe (writingwa.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2)
BLASPHEMY AND HORROR! SAUCY SWEDES! LUKE SKYWALKER’S CHARRED AUNT & UNCLE!
Australia has censored it all.
Did you know Aussie audiences were originally denied bona fide classics The Night of the Hunter, Breathless and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (to name just a few out of literal hundreds), or that Australians initially saw a watered-down version of Star Wars in cinemas?
Simon Miraudo's Book of the Banned is a rigorous, rollicking, riotous and righteously-furious jaunt through film history that reveals the shocking stories behind Australia’s classification system and how your favourite movies have been snipped down under, featuring interviews with Margaret Pomeranz, David Stratton, a bunch of ‘banned’ filmmakers and even their censors.
Like any good story, there are heroes, anti-heroes, unexpected criminals and downright dastardly villains, though they’re not always whom you’d expect. But by discussing the movies, scenes and lines of dialogue deemed too extreme for Aussie eyes and ears, we can see how far we’ve come in Australia… and how far we have to go.
Simon Miraudo is in conversation with Writing WA's Will Yeoman.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit writingwa.substack.com/subscribe (writingwa.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2)
