Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.

Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Aziraphale615 "Filth" just happen to come on after another show - I didn't intend to watch it, but the opening song contrasting with the prim-looking lady on the bicycle so intrigued me that I ended up watching, and I'm glad I did.This is a story about Mary Whitehouse, a mother, wife and school teacher, who is outraged by the Director General of the BBC's (Sir Hugh Carleton Greene)new programming. It's the beginning of the Age of Aquarius, and the "new morality," is making its way onto TV during teatime, and Mary Whitehouse will have none of it.This is a very successful television movie in that every main character was three-dimensional. Mary starts out as a sympathetic character who eventually turns into a Master Censor as she sends letters to the beleaguered Sir Hugh complaining about two unkind characters in a children's television program. Sir Hugh also takes a turn, as he starts out an arrogant elitist who won't even meet with Mary (a "nutter") to a defender of free speech who simply can't withstand her repeated assaults.Beautifully told, acted and cleverly directed, "Filth" is well worth a watch.

ianlouisiana BBC's "Panorama" has yet to show an episode entitled "The Joy of Bestiality".Now that may be a matter of regret for some but I daresay most viewers are happy that censorship in some for or another is enforced at the national self - styled "centre of broadcasting excellence".Equally your children are unlikely to be confronted by CBBC transmitting "Paedophilia for Kiddies".In some small measure this circumstance prevails because a middle aged provincial schoolteacher took on the might and arrogance of the British Broadcasting Corporation nearly fifty years ago,and despite she and her family being vilified in the liberal press and of course by the BBC's coterie of in - house intellectuals who believe it is their God - given duty to shock us proles and mock our chavvish bourgeois morality. The D.G. of the BBC at the time was the megalomaniacal Sir Hugh Carleton - Greene who resisted any whiff of censorship with a rage Pavlov's Jack Russell would have been proud of. But,unbelievably,the peasants who supported Mrs Whithouse made up a significant proportion of his viewing figures and her steely determination - with the indefatigable support of her husband who was himself the victim of an appalling campaign of mockery by those oh - so - smug writers and producers who shamefully seized on the fact that he was involved(although blameless) in a fatal Traffic Accident at the height of his wife's campaign. Clearly quite mad it is a matter of shame that Carleton - Greene was able to hang onto his job for so long. But sometimes it does appear that God is on the side of the small battalions because Mrs Whitehouse won her personal war of attrition and the D.G. was forced to step down. His hatred of censorship did not extend to giving his opponents the right to reply,a nicety he did not lose any sleep over. In "Filth - the Mary Whitehouse story",Mrs Whitehouse is portrayed as a Mrs Grundy for the 1960s,the sort of woman who would place a cover over the legs of her piano. In settling for parody the producers have been fair - minded as the D.G. himself is made out to be a foul - mouthed, sexist skirt - chaser who presumably - we are meant to believe - wouldn't last ten minutes in the 21st century diversity - centred BBC.Well,maybe. Miss Julie Walters gives her considerable all in the title role,falling just the right side of caricature although her Brummie accent thickens considerably when the actress wishes to patronise. This is just an old battle in an old war now of course but,just occasionally,the Whitehouse Spirit resurrects itself when some overpaid oaf steps over the line and outrages the peasants(Viz:- Ross and Brand last year)and the Corporation is forced to rattle a few sabres. But,generally speaking we get the broadcasting media the "Guardian" readers deserve and the rest of us can either like it or lump it. I must admit that generally I choose to lump it.

davideo-2 STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning Early sixties Britain is still a fairly innocent place and Mary Whitehouse (Julie Walters), a suburban local art teacher and church-goer, lives a dainty little English existence in her quiet, dainty little Midlands village. But she becomes outraged by what she sees as declining standards on British TV, with more regular, casual bad language, sex talk and violence. The film portrays her real life crusade to 'clean up TV', bringing her into conflict with Hugh Greene (Hugh Bonneville) the new Programmes Commissioner at the BBC, who's moving with the times more and showing programmes more suited to the changing social attitudes.It's interesting to note what a puritanical society we used to be not really so long ago, especially when we comment on the Americans and their prudish standards they still have on mainstream TV. Maybe it's the age I've been raised in but I've always been one for freedom of expression and mature adults being allowed to see what they want, so Mary Whitehouse was never a character that was going to agree with me. But even if you think her campaigns were misguided, you have to admire her determination and conviction of her will, which this very well made TV drama has portrayed.The main thing that drives it is two superb lead performances. In the title role, Walters gives it her all as the quaint English lady with an unwavering moral compass who is forced to come to terms with society's changing ideals, attitudes, morals and beliefs while leading her campaign and similarly Bonneville is also great as the arrogant TV chief who bites off more than he can chew with the little guy.Both the characters are very well written too, along with the script, which really gets you involved with the story, which is engaging and enthralling but refreshingly humorous, too, although in a manner risqué enough, ironically, to get Mrs Whitehouse up in arms about. ****

de_niro_2001 Although Julie Walters looks a bit like Caroline Aherne as her Mrs Merton character in quite a few scenes this is quite a true and very fair portrayal of Mrs Whitehouse. Whatever you think of her prudery and her lack of humour you actually feel sympathetic to her when she gets heckled at meetings and gets abusive letters and phonecalls. It's fair to say that the permissive society had an inpermissive nature, if you get my meaning. She was also not a lady to mess with and you said unfavourable things about her at your peril. The film mentions her successful defamation actions. It's fair to say that if you were up against Mrs Whitehouse in court your chances of success were slim. The end credits mention Whitehouse v Lemon (aka The Gay News Case) which was very much on the Pythons' minds when they made The Life of Brian. To her credit she was one of the first people to campaign against child pornography but she turned herself into a figure of fun by finding fault with Dr Who and Pinky & Perky. I wondered how on earth was Pinky & Perky corruptive? Well, I suppose it was. It inspired many 60s and 70s kids to play LPs at 78rpm and I think that might have been bad for the records. Sir Hugh Carleton-Greene is not portrayed favourably. He is shown to be arrogant, smug, coarse, foul-mouthed and lecherous. I have no idea what he was like as a person so I can't judge how fair a portrayal this was. Julie Walters these days is of course best known as Molly Weasley in the Harry Potter films and I imagined a scene where Sir Hugh gets a howler from Mary Whitehouse. The letter gets delivered by owl on his desk and then shouts, in Julie Walters' voice, "Hugh Carleton-Greene, I am absolutely disgusted" and then goes on to complain about the number of bloodys in Till Death Us Do Part, Dr Who having nightmare qualities etc and what kind of example certain programmes are to the young people of the country and then goes on in the gentler "Oh and Ginny dear" voice to say "Oh and last Sunday's Songs of Praise was lovely", then blowing a raspberry and self-shredding. Mrs Whitehouse died the year the first Harry Potter film came out. It's fair to say she'd have some criticisms to make of Harry Potter.