Idioterne (The Idiots), a dark farce art film which includes hardcore sex scenes, was cleared to show on British television - with a pixelated catch: Images of erect penises and penetration must be masked to comply with Independent Television Commission regulations, according to the Internet Movie Data Base.
FilmFour, the channel run by Channel 4, has received clearance to show Idioterne. They have agreed to comply with the pixelation requirement - but they have also posted the scenes unedited, in streaming video, on their Website (www.filmfour.com). That was part of a general online discourse on British film censorship, the IMDB said. FilmFour is circulating a petition online, asking British regulators to let all films it shows be seen in their original, uncut forms.
Written and directed by Lars von Tier, the 1998 Idioterne - a Cannes Film Festival feature, though not judged for prize honors - stars Bodil Jorgensen, Jens Albinus, Louise Hassing, Troels Lyby and more.
