It was clear to the BBFC from the outset - as it had also been clear to readers of Ballard's original novel - that the film was not intended to be taken literally. However, it was the unusual combination of sexual excitement with car crashes (and their attendant injuries) that appeared to provoke outrage amongst some. The sexual content of the film was unremarkable in classification terms and the violence was no stronger than could be found in many other features (comprising car crashes rather than one-on-one personal violence). The film tells the story of a couple who overcome the emptiness and tedium of their lives by joining a cult-like group who associate sexual excitement with car crashes. It was against this background that the BBFC was asked to view Crash in October 1996. This was to mark the beginning of an intensive and orchestrated campaign against the film by the Daily Mail and Evening Standard. On the day of its UK premiere at the London Film Festival (where it was shown without a BBFC certificate but with the special permission of Westminster Council) the front page of the Daily Mail demanded 'Ban This Car Crash Sex Film'. Its screening at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival had provoked the Evening Standard's film critic, the late Alexander Walker, to describe the film as 'beyond the bounds of depravity'. David Cronenberg's film of J G Ballard's controversial 1973 novel had already aroused comment in the press before it was submitted to the BBFC.