Visions of Ecstasy
Visions of Ecstasy is a 1989 British short film directed by Nigel Wingrove and starring Louise Downie, Elisha Scott, and Dan Fox. It became the only work to be refused certification by the British Board of Film Classification on the grounds of blasphemy. The film features sexualised scenes of Saint Teresa of Ávila with the body of Jesus on the cross.
Ban
As cutting the scenes would remove approximately half of the film's content, the BBFC decided to refuse certification altogether. The board felt that any release of the film could be liable for prosecution under the common law offence of blasphemous libel, making the refusal a form of prior restraint.The distributor appealed to the European Court of Human Rights. It emerged in 2018 that while the case was pending the Prime Minister, John Major, had considered attempting to derogate from the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights relating to free expression to preempt or override a decision by the court to allow the film's release. This prompted the Foreign Secretary, Douglas Hurd, to point out this was not possible "except in cases of war or threats to the life of the nation". In the end the court found that the UK's blasphemy laws were consistent with the Convention, effectively upholding the BBFC's decision to refuse certification.