The Brute

violence

The film has a theme of domestic abuse, which is apparent from the opening sequence, in which a man wakes his sleeping wife by spitting in her face, then beating her viciously, punching her and thrashing her with a belt. The next morning he is verbally abusive, and this pattern of behaviour continues even after she has left him. In one scene he persuades that they should reconcile, only to attack her with a branding iron. A second woman is also subjected to physical and verbal abuse by her husband, who tracks her down at a women's refuge and tries to assault her as she flees with her child. There is also a scene in which a spade is used to cut off the head of an injured rabbit, in an attempt to spare it further suffering.

sexual violence and sexual threat

There are scenes in which a man initiates sex with a vulnerable woman and persists despite her repeatedly telling him 'No'. She later has nightmares about these incidents and other abuses she has suffered.

additional issues: There are scenes of strong sex and nudity. There is infrequent strong language ('f**k'), as well as milder terms including 'bitch', 'whore', 'slut', 'shit', 'piss', 'bloody', 'bugger', 'sod', 'crap' and 'arse'. There is also some use of discriminatory language including 'oriental' and 'coloured', as well as 'coon' and 'fag'. In one scene a man suggests a white woman should 'black up' while having sex with him.

One or more of the releases in this collection was cut.

Classified Date:

22/03/1977

Version:

2D

Use:

Cinema

Distributor:

Rank Film Dists Ltd

Cuts:

This content received cuts or alterations as part of the classification process.

strong violence, threat, domestic abuse, sexual violence

Classified Date:

17/01/2022

Version:

2D

Use:

Physical media + VOD/Streaming

Distributor:

Powerhouse Films UK

violence

The film has a theme of domestic abuse, which is apparent from the opening sequence, in which a man wakes his sleeping wife by spitting in her face, then beating her viciously, punching her and thrashing her with a belt. The next morning he is verbally abusive, and this pattern of behaviour continues even after she has left him. In one scene he persuades that they should reconcile, only to attack her with a branding iron. A second woman is also subjected to physical and verbal abuse by her husband, who tracks her down at a women's refuge and tries to assault her as she flees with her child. There is also a scene in which a spade is used to cut off the head of an injured rabbit, in an attempt to spare it further suffering.

sexual violence and sexual threat

There are scenes in which a man initiates sex with a vulnerable woman and persists despite her repeatedly telling him 'No'. She later has nightmares about these incidents and other abuses she has suffered.

additional issues: There are scenes of strong sex and nudity. There is infrequent strong language ('f**k'), as well as milder terms including 'bitch', 'whore', 'slut', 'shit', 'piss', 'bloody', 'bugger', 'sod', 'crap' and 'arse'. There is also some use of discriminatory language including 'oriental' and 'coloured', as well as 'coon' and 'fag'. In one scene a man suggests a white woman should 'black up' while having sex with him.

Classified date

17/01/2022

Director(s)

Gerry O'Hara

Production Year

1977

Genre(s)

Drama, Thriller

Approx. running minutes

90m

Cast

Sarah Douglas, Julian Glover, Roberta Gibbs