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Video Nasties
For the first time ever on DVD, TRAILERS to all 72 films that fell foul of the Director of Public Prosecutions are featured with specially filmed intros for each title in a lavish three-disc collector's edition box-set, alongside a brand new documentary VIDEO NASTIES: MORAL PANIC, CENSORSHIP AND VIDEOTAPE.

Buy the the definitive guide to the Video Nasties phenomenon from Amazon UK.
Art of the Nasty
Buy the new edition of this essential reference book now from Amazon UK.
Welcome to Pre-Cert Video

Welcome to Pre Certification Video, the ultimate source for information on UK pre-cert videos and rare video releases from around the world.

We have a lively collector's discussion forum, so feel free to sign up and join in the chat. Our forums are private, so you will need to register before you can read and post messages.

We maintain the world's largest database of UK pre-cert video releases which currently lists over 13,000 titles on VHS, Betamax, V2000, laserdisc and CED disc, issued between the earliest days of the home video format until the end of 1985. We also have an Australian pre-cert video database in progress, Watch this space for future additions! follow us on Facebook

Latest User Video Reviews

Well I haven't seen this video, but judging by the sleeve, boy I wish I did!
Night Train Murder (1974)
written by martyhixxy80
how this film did not make the dpp 39 i dont know. Out of all the  72 films on the dpp  list this film deserves the label as a nasty . late night trains is last house on the left but on a train . the story is about two women on there way back home  catching a train back..   but what they dont know is that on the train  are two psychos looking for kicks and a very strange woman gets in on the kicks . but for the 2 psychos the worst is yet to come .. 9/10 .
Innocent Bystanders (1972)
written by Yorkie
Cracking little spy thriller set in the70's, I love this kind of film. Naturally its hard not to compare with the Bonds of the day and in many ways it takes some of that DNA.

Instead of MI5 its K dept and the CIA are imaginatively called Group 3, at least the KGB held onto their moniker.Old spy gets one last mission, is double crossed by his boss and goes rogue looking forĀ a pension pot to retire on.

This is a cracker IMO, the plot moves quickly, some good fight scenes considering the era, its no Bourne Identity but still. The main character played by Stanley Baker is a likeable lead man with enough flaws in a Connery Hue to make him realistic and empathetic. He is joined in the lead with main actress Geraldine Chaplin, yup, none other than Charlie's daughter in the flesh.

Other great names to grace this little known thriller are an uncharactericaly slightly disappointing Donald Pleasance and a superb supporting role from the fantastic Warren Mitchell who brings the funnies into the film. In fact a scene with a fly on his nose whilst he has some zzzz's caused an unexpected outburst of laughter. Mitchell plays an ex WWII Turkish soldier who fought with the Aussies and as such carries a ridiculous Aussie accent and slang terminologies, they are funny though.

You could do a lot worse than give this an hour and forty odd minutes of your life, one I will be returning to without doubt.

What is a Pre-Cert?

A "pre-cert video" (Pre-Certification) is any videotape (or laserdisc/CED) issued in the UK before the introduction of the 1984 Video Recordings Act.

Pre-cert videos were not required by law to be submitted to the BBFC so the era was unregulated, leading to many uncut releases of videos which would have fallen foul of the BBFC's strict guidelines, and would therefore have been censored if submission to the board was a legal requirement.

However, whilst many of the larger respectable companies simply issued their previously BBFC certificated cinema releases onto video to play safe as they feared there was bound to be a clampdown at some stage, some of the smaller independent companies decided to take advantage of the unregulated video rentals market by issuing "strong uncut" versions depicting graphic violence and gore. A whole barrage of titles previously banned by the BBFC from getting a cinema release suddenly ended up uncensored on home video.

What began as a bill drafted by little known Luton Tory back bencher Graham Bright was made law after he and the tabloid press (most notably The Daily Mail) had successfully whipped the media into a frenzied hysteria over so-called "video nasties". Ban the Sadist Videos! was one of the more famous headlines they ran. When the bill was made law it became a legal requirement that all videotapes must be submitted to the BBFC for classification (and possible cuts).

The pre-cert video era is best remembered (amongst horror fans in particular) for the ensuing "video nasty" debacle in which a selection of 72 videotapes were singled out and prosecuted by the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) under Section 2 or Section 3 of the OPA (Obscene Publications Act). Of these, 39 titles were deemed by the courts to be obscene and it's those titles which formed the final "Video Nasties list.

Video releases from this unregulated "pre-cert" era have become increasingly collectible items. Whilst most can be picked up cheaply on eBay and through second hand stores and car boot sales, many titles are highly sought after. In fact some of the very hard to find titles have been known to command prices in excess of £500. There remains to this day a very dedicated pre-cert collector's market, and most of these die-hard collectors can be found lurking in this very web site's discussion forum.

Link: The Video Recordings Act, 1984

Link: About the BBFC

Wanted!

The owners of pre-cert.co.uk are urgently searching for original magazines and memorabilia from the early days of the home video industry, in particular video trade magazines and video company catalogues.

If you have any of the following magazines you are happy to part with please contact us. These will be invaluable additions to our archive and will help us to expand the site considerably. We'll gladly pay for anything offered.

We're also searching for video releasing company catalogues, stock lists, video sleeves, in-store posters, promo items, in fact anything which will assist us in adding to our growing archive and improve our database.

Trade Mags
  • Video Business
  • Video News
  • Video Retailer
  • Video Trade Weekly
  • Video Week

Consumer Mags
  • Music and Video
  • Popular Video
  • Television and Home Video
  • Video: The Magazine
  • Video Review
  • Video Today
  • Video Viewer
  • Video World