Films that have been banned or cut by Britain’s official censor over the past century are to be screened in their complete, original versions for the first time as part of a new festival.

The Last Woman, in which Gérard Depardieu mutilates his body with an electric breadknife, caused such a storm in 1975 that it was never officially released in Britain, and Garden of Eden, about a war widow who leaves the home of her despotic father-in-law for a community of nudists, was banned in 1955.

They are among 19 films to be shown at the Barbican in London this autumn for having “riled” the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) since it was founded in 1912.

The earliest films include Red-Headed Woman, in which Jean Harlow, the original Blonde Bombshell, seduces a married man, as well as a chauffeur and a third man. It was considered so morally unacceptable that it was banned in 1933. British audiences had to wait until 1965 to see the Hollywood star at her most scintillating, alluring and provocative best. However, while MGM was prevented from releasing any copies to the British public, King George V is said to have got hold of a copy.

Some cinemas managed to get copies of banned films such as Ai no corrida (In the Realm of the Senses). Made in 1975, its sexually explicit material led to Nagisa Oshima, its Japanese director, being charged with obscenity in Japan, a case that was eventually thrown out. In Britain it was not officially passed by the BBFC for another 14 years, although a few prints circulated in the underground circuit.

The first banned film was A Fool There Was, made by Frank Powell in 1915. It was rejected outright by the censor. Theda Bara gave a mesmerising and sexually-charged performance as a ruthless femme fatale who seduces a happily married lawyer, who in turn loses his job and abandons his wife and child.

The wisecracking sex symbol Mae West made her name in a series of provocative roles, and She Done Him Wrong features one of her most famous lines. “Why don’t you come up sometime and see me?” she says to Cary Grant as she tries to seduce him. It was cut by 14 minutes.

As with many films that caused offence in their day, the material seems innocent, Robert Rider, head of cinema at the Barbican, said: “They’ve got to be seen in terms of the moral climate of the period.”

These days, he noted, there is “very little” that does not get the green light from the BBFC.

— Seduced: Sex and Censorship in the Cinema runs from October 18 to 24.

Nothing left to the imagination

Red-Headed Woman (1932)
Jack Conway

Jean Harlow plays a vamp who causes a married man to fall in love with her and divorce his wife, only to later go off with a businessman. Banned in 1933, it could not be seen in Britain until 1965

Flesh and the Devil (1915)
Frank Powell

The British Board of Film Classification decided in 1927 that 23 minutes of Greta Garbo at her most seductive had to be cut

Fireworks (1947)
Kenneth Anger

Disturbing tale of a young man’s violation by a gang of sailors. Anger, who was 17 when he directed this, created a landmark in experimental film-making

Conspirators of Pleasure (1996)
Jan Svankmajer

A tale of fantasies and fetishes that pushed back the boundaries of sexuality, depicted in animation and live action. Distributed in the US, but never released in Britain

Crash (1996)
David Cronenberg

Adapted from the 1973 novel by J. G. Ballard. It provoked outrage in exploring car-crash fetishism

Explore Film

• Film Reviews

• Trailers

• DVD

• Oscars

• Cannes

Editor's choice

• U2 at Nou Camp Stadium, Barcelona
• The 50 Best Movie Villains
• The 15 golden rules of theatre etiquette