U.K. Censors ‘Ulysses’ Film

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31321, 17 March 1967, Page 11

U.K. Censors ‘Ulysses’ Film

(N Z Press Assn.—Copyright) NEW YORK, Mar. 16. The film version of James Joyce’s “Ulysses,” being shown uncut in the United States, is being drastically cut for release in Britain, the “New York Times” news service reports. It would probably never be shown in Ireland, where it was made, said Mr Joseph Strick, the film’s director. Mr Strick, who has spent

the last six of his 44 years trying to bring “Ulysses” to the screen, has spent the last six weeks in a war with Mr John Trevelyan, secretary of the British Board of Film Censors. Mr Strick said Mr Trevelyan had performed “a hatchet job” on the picture, demanding 29 cuts, 27 involving Joycean language, and two Joycean images. Because he must obtain the board’s approval for theatrical release of the novel in Britain, Mr Strick is making the requested cuts, but unwillingly. He is marking each cut with a “beep” on the soundtrack and will provide theatre patrons with leaflets contain-

ing the beeped dialogue and a description of the beeped scenes. “I’m thinking of adding a title card to the picture reading: ’Cuts by John Trevelyan’, but I’m not sure it would be legal,” he said. While “Ulysses” was being shown in the United States without cuts, it had come in for a good deal of “police intimidation,” Mr Strick said. Several weeks ago he called on a Pennsylvania police chief whose threats had forced an exhibitor to cancel a scheduled showing of the picture. “Of course, he had not seen the picture and knew nothing about the book” said Mr Strick.

“When I told him it was a classic, and in his town’s public library, he asked: ‘lt is?’ “He later apologised and suggested 1 should have come to see him sooner. “But what am I supposed to do—go to see every police chief in the country?” The picture, financed by the Walter Reade Organisation, finishes its special, simultaneous three-day engagements today in 65 theatres throughout the country. Mr Strick expects to recover filming costs of $1 million in this first round of showings. If not, he seems certain to recover the costs, and make a profit, when the film is released in cities originally afraid to book it.