Remember the media fuss over this?(Mainly for UK residents - maybe US)

Remember the newspapers up in arms over this? I think because of the violent imagery - I think the final cannibalism scene at the end sets them off. Because it was an art film rather than the video nasties of the 1980s - it really set them off. Plus, it was before "Silence of the Lambs". It did also kick up some controversy, because it was seen as an attack on Thatcherism and the "greed" of the 1980s.

It didn't seem to hurt the film though. The critics seemed to love it. I remember Barry Norman's review of it. He even put it on his Top 10 of the year(1989) and of the 1980s. Plus, although it was a limited release in the cinemas - it did make decent money. It was certainly a big hit on rental VHS - it made the Top 5 and Top 10 a lot of the time.

I think I remember Helen Mirren being on Clive Anderson's old Channel 4 chatshow mentioning it, but she was there to promote "Prime Suspect" at the time.

I think in the US - it got into trouble with the content. It got a limited NC-17 release - that caused a fuss. There was a more widely released R rated cut release. I remember that Roger Ebert did an interview with Helen Mirren about it at the time - and she said it was silly that the US ratings system was setup like that. Ebert loved the film, it was on his Top 10 best of the year in 1990.

Anyone remember any of the media coverage of it? Share your thoughts here.

By the way, it's on Film 4(in the UK) next week.