British Board of Film Classification
Encyclopedia
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), originally British Board of Film Censors, is a non-governmental organisation, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification of films within the United Kingdom. It has a statutory requirement to classify videos, DVDs and some video games under the Video Recordings Act 2010
.
, which was discovered in August 2009 to be unenforceable until the act was re-enacted by the Video Recordings Act 2010
. Legally, local authorities have the power to decide under what circumstances films are shown in cinemas, but they nearly always choose to follow the advice of the BBFC.
The Video Recordings Act requires that video releases not exempt (music, documentary, non-fiction, video games, etc.) under the Act had to be classified, making it illegal to supply any recording that had not been certified. Certificates could restrict release to any age of 18 or under, or to only licensed sex-shops. The government currently designate the BBFC as the authority for certifying video releases. As the law requires the certificate to be displayed on the packaging and media labels of the video recording, in practice only UK releases can be legally sold or hired in the UK, even if a foreign release had identical content.
Video games with specific themes or content (such as the Grand Theft Auto series
) must also be submitted to the BBFC to receive a legally binding rating (contrast with the advisory PEGI
ratings) in the same way as videos, however, under the Digital Economy Act 2010
, responsibility for rating games that include violence or encourage criminal activity will pass from the BBFC to the Video Standards Council
. Other video games may be submitted at the publisher's discretion.
All films and video games rated by the BBFC receive a certificate, along with "consumer advice" detailing references to sex, violence and coarse language. If a certificate specifies that a film or video game is only suitable for someone over a certain age, then only those over that age may buy it.
The BBFC can also advise cuts for a less-restrictive rating. This generally occurs in borderline cases where distributors have requested a certificate and the BBFC has rated the work at a more-restrictive level; however, some cuts are compulsory, such as scenes that violate the Protection of Children Act 1978
or Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937. The final certificate then depends on the distributor's decision on whether or not to make the suggested cuts. Some works are even rejected if the distributor refuses the cut.
Both examiners and the directors of the BBFC are hired on a permanent basis. Examiners are required to watch 5 hours 20 mins of media, to a maximum of 35 hours a week. Turnover is low and vacancies, when available, appear on their London job vacancies website.
Material that is exempt from classification sometimes uses symbols similar to BBFC certificates, for example an E "certificate"
. There is no legal obligation, nor a particular scheme, for labelling material that is exempt from classification. On the BBFC's online classification database, material that has been refused a classification uses a red serif R in place of a rating symbol.
The BBFC was established in 1912 as the British Board of Film Censors by the film industry (who would rather manage their own censorship than have national or local government do it for them). Its legal basis was the Cinematograph Act 1909
, which required cinemas to have licenses from local authorities. The Act was introduced for safety reasons after a number of nitrate film fires in unsuitable venues (fairgrounds and shops that had been hastily converted into cinemas), but the following year a court ruling (LCC
v. Bermondsey Bioscope Co.) determined that the criteria for granting or refusing a licence did not have to be restricted to issues of health and safety. Given that the law now allowed councils to grant or refuse licenses to cinemas according to the content of the films they showed, the 1909 Act therefore enabled the introduction of censorship. The film industry, fearing the economic consequences of a largely unregulated censorship infrastructure, therefore formed the BBFC in order to take the process 'in house' and establish its own system of self-regulation. Some decisions from the early years are now subjected to derision. In 1928, the Board's examiners report famously claimed that Germaine Dulac
's surrealist film The Seashell and the Clergyman
was "Apparently meaningless" but "If there is a meaning, it is doubtless objectionable".
Informal links, to varying degrees of closeness, have been maintained between the BBFC and the Government throughout the Board's existence. In the period before World War II
, an extensive but unofficial system of political censorship was implemented by the BBFC for the Home Office
. As the cinema became a socially powerful mass-medium, governments feared the effect of its use by others for propaganda and as happened in the Soviet Union
and Nazi Germany
discouraged any expression of controversial political views in British films. This trend reached its climax during the 1930s. Following protests from the German Embassy after the release of a film depicting the execution of Edith Cavell
(Dawn, 1928, dir. Herbert Wilcox
), intense political pressure was brought to bear on the BBFC by the Home Office. A system of script vetting was introduced, whereby British studios were invited to submit screenplays to the BBFC before shooting started. Interestingly, imported Hollywood films were not treated as strictly as British films, as the BBFC believed that audiences would recognise American cinema as representing a foreign culture and therefore would not apply any political messages therein to their own lives. So while the Warners
gangster films and other 1930s Hollywood films that dealt explicitly with crime and the effects of the Great Depression
were released in the UK largely uncut, these subjects were strictly off-limits for British film-makers.
During World War II, the BBFC's political censorship function effectively passed to the Films Division of the Ministry of Information
, and the BBFC never regained this to the same extent as before the war. The increasing climate of post-war liberalism ensured that from the 1950s onwards, controversies involving the BBFC centred more on depictions of sex and violence than on political expression. There were some notable exceptions: Yield to the Night
(UK, 1956, dir. J. Lee Thompson
), which opposed capital punishment; Room at the Top (UK, 1959, dir. Jack Clayton
), which dealt with class divisions; Victim (UK, 1961, dir. Basil Dearden
), which implicitly argued for the legalisation of homosexuality, all involved the BBFC in controversy.
In 1984 the organisation changed its name to "reflect the fact that classification plays a far larger part in the Board's work than censorship". At that time it was given responsibility for classifying videos for hire or purchase to view in the home as well as films shown in cinemas. Home video and cinema versions of a film usually receive the same certificate, although occasionally a film may receive a more restrictive certificate for the home video market (sometimes due to the bonus features), as it is easier for children to watch a home video than to be admitted into a cinema.
The Board is an independent, non-governmental organisation
. Its business affairs are controlled by a council of management selected from leading figures in the manufacturing and servicing sectors of the film industry. This council appoints the President, who has statutory responsibility for the classification of videos and the Director who has executive responsibility and formulates policy. The Board, which is based in Soho Square
, London, is financed from the fees it charges for classifying films and videos and is run on a not-for-profit basis.
In the case of films shown in cinemas, local authorities have the final legal authorisation over who can view a particular film. The majority of the time, local authorities accept the Board's recommendation for a certificate for a film. There have been some notable exceptions – particularly in the 1970s when the Board allowed films such as Last Tango in Paris
and The Exorcist
to be released with an X certificate (essentially the same as today's "18") – but many local authorities chose to ban the films regardless.
Conversely, in 2002, a few local authorities, apparently under pressure from distributors and cinema chains, ignored the BBFC's ruling that Spider-Man
receive a 12 rating, and allowed children younger than 12 to see the film. However, the BBFC were already in the process of replacing the 12 rating with a new 12A, which allowed under-12s to see the film if accompanied by an adult, so shortly afterwards, Spider-Man was reclassified as 12A. The first 12A certificate awarded was for The Bourne Identity
.
Local authorities do not have such power for video recordings. Under the Video Recording Act 1984, all non-exempt recordings must be classified by an authority chosen by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
. This classification is legally binding, in that supply of material contrary to its certificate (recordings that have been refused a certificate, or supplying to someone younger than the certified age) is a criminal offence. However, possession is not an offence in itself, other than in the case of "possession with intent to supply". Since the introduction of the Act, the BBFC has been the chosen authority. In theory this authority could be revoked, but in practice such a revocation has never been suggested, since most local authorities simply don't have the supplies needed to do such things as remove cuts, pass films that the BBFC rejected and vice versa, put in place new cuts, etc., regularly.
The BBFC has also rated some video games. Normally these are exempt from classification, unless they depict human sexual activity, human genital organs or gross acts of violence, in which case the publishers should submit the game for classification. A publisher may opt to submit a game for classication even if they are not obliged to. In December 1986, the first computer game to receive a 15 certificate from the BBFC was an illustrated text adventure called Dracula, based on the Bram Stoker
novel, published by CRL
. The first computer game to receive an 18 certificate, on 11 December 1987, was another illustrated text adventure called Jack The Ripper, also by CRL, which dealt with the infamous real life murders in Victorian London. The horror in both games came through largely in their detailed prose. Had the game publishers reprinted the games' text in book form, it would not have carried a certificate, as the BBFC has no oversight over print media. Both games had numerous certificate stickers all over their covers to emphasise to parents and retailers that they were not intended for children, as computer games carrying BBFC certificates were previously unheard of.
The first game to be refused classification by the BBFC was Carmageddon
in 1997, however a modified version of the game was later awarded an 18 certificate. In June 2007, Manhunt 2
was refused classification in both its PlayStation 2
and Wii
versions, meaning that the game was illegal to sell or supply. A modified version was made that was accepted by the ESRB
but was still refused classification from the BBFC. The decision was later overturned by the Video Appeals Committee
(an independent body set up by legislation); the BBFC then asked the High Court for a judicial review of the VAC decision. The High Court ruled that the VAC had made errors in law and instructed it to reconsider its decision, the VAC subsequently ruled that the game should receive an 18 certificate, which the BBFC accepted.
Several films rated 'PG-13' in the US by the Motion Picture Association of America
(MPAA) have received the more restrictive '15' classification in the UK. Recent examples include W.
, Couples Retreat
, Easy A
and Devil
. Also, several films rated 'PG-13' in the US have received the less restrictive 'PG' classification in the UK. These include When in Rome, Whale Rider, Princess Mononoke
, Tales from Earthsea
and School of Rock
.
In 2009, the Japanese horror film Grotesque
was refused classification, making it illegal to sell or supply on a physical medium in the UK. The 2011 horror film The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) was also denied classification.
On 16 June 2009, the UK's Department of Culture, Media and Sport ruled in favour of the PEGI
system to be the sole classification system for videogames and software in the UK. This decision will also, unlike beforehand, allow PEGI ratings to be legally enforced much like the BBFC ratings. The legislation is expected to take effect from 1 April 2011.
A religious musical documentary entitled 'The I-Heart Revolution' received a PG certificate in 2010, despite it containing references to sexual abuse and real images of violence and dead bodies, which would usually have cost the film a 15 certificate if it was not for the strong contextual justification. W.
was passed 15 due the similar content not being justified by the context.
was cut to reduce the "possibility of teenage rebellion". Ingmar Bergman's Smiles of a Summer Night
was cut to remove "overtly sexual or provocative" language.
The BBFC's attitude became more liberal during the 1960s, and they concentrated on censoring films that featured graphic sex and violence. However, some Board decisions caused controversy in the 1970s when it banned a series of films that were released uncut and were popular in other countries (such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
and Last House on the Left
), or released other controversial films, such as Straw Dogs and A Clockwork Orange
. However, under recent President Andreas Whittam Smith
and current incumbent Sir Quentin Thomas, guidelines have been relaxed again, allowing the release, usually uncut, of these previously banned films on video and in cinemas. Some films from the 1970s remain unreleased, but many of these titles remain banned primarily because their distributors have not chosen to re-submit the films to the BBFC, almost certainly for commercial reasons. If they were, they would be likely to receive a more sympathetic hearing than 30 years ago – only two films from the 1970s, Love Camp 7
(rejected in 2002) and Women in Cellblock 9
(rejected in 2004), both of which contain substantial scenes of sexual violence, have remained completely banned following a re-submission since 2000.
In general, attitudes to what material is suitable for viewing by minors have changed over the years, and this is reflected by the reclassification of older films being re-released on video. A 1913 film given the former A rating could very probably be rated U today. An extreme example of this is the rating of the horror film
Revenge of the Zombies
, with a U certificate upon its video release in the late 1990s, whereas, when it was first examined as a film in 1951, it was given one of the first X ratings. In some cases, it does not change, as was the cases of the 1931 film Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
, which was passed A with cuts for its original release, and the 2008 limited re-release was given a 12A certificate, and Ghost
, which was given a 12 certificate when it was originally released, but it was recently re-examined on film and given a 12A certificate. In other cases, the certificate is only lowered down by one. This was the case for the 1981 film An American Werewolf in London
, which was given an X certificate when first released, and subsequent 18 certificates on video, but when examined for a limited re-release in 2009, the rating was finally lowered by one certificate to a 15.
The BBFC are also known to cut the words 'spaz', 'moron' and 'retard' from U and PG cert films and videos on the grounds of discrimination. One example of this is when Marmaduke
was passed U after the word 'spaz' was removed; they offered an uncut 12A rating. They also award higher ratings to films that contain potentially imitable and dangerous behaviour; this includes all three Jackass
films being passed 18, and Fred: The Movie
being passed 12A. They are also very serious about suicide themes, references, or attempts, and will either cut them or award a higher rating. An example of this was in 2010, when the Board cut the Hindi film Anjaana Anjaani
by two minutes and thirty-one seconds for a cinema 12A certificate in order to remove references to and sight of someone attempting suicide by asphyxiation. The cut footage was put back into the film for its video release, which was passed 18.
widely available to adult audiences through the R18 rating. Films with this rating are only legally available from licensed sex shops, of which there are about 300 in the UK. They may also be seen in specially licensed cinemas.
Recent examples include the passing of Irreversible, Romance, Antichrist
, and numerous other films uncut for cinema and video viewing. Despite this trend towards liberalisation, anti-censorship campaigners are still critical of the BBFC. It has attracted criticism from conservative press, in particular the Daily Mail
, on the grounds that the release of sexually explicit and violent films was corrupting the nation. The newspaper's most famous clash with the BBFC came in 1997 when the Board released the David Cronenberg film Crash
without cuts. The following day (19 March 1997) the Mail led with the banner headline "CENSOR'S YES TO DEPRAVED SEX FILM" Westminster City Council
imposed its own ban on the film after the decision.
), nudity
, sex
, violence, sexual violence
, all visual and verbal references to suicide, dangerous actions that can easily be imitated (certain combat moves [ear-claps and neck-breaking in particular] and stunts considered criminal acts or likely to end up in injury or death fall under this category), horror
, and drug use being condoned or glamorised. The BBFC also continues to demand cuts of any material it believes breaches the provisions of the Obscene Publications Act
or any other legislation (most notably the Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937 [which forbids the depiction of animals being abused or in distress] and the Protection of Children Act 1978 [which, as amended, forbids the depiction of minors engaged in sex or in sexually suggestive poses or situations]). In 2009, 2% of cinema films had material cut, and 3.6% of videos. Most cuts actually occur in videos rated for 18 or R18, rather than videos intended for viewing by under-18s. In 2009, 16.8% of 18 videos, and 27.3% of R18 videos, had material cut.
There is no theme or subject-matter that is considered inherently unsuitable for classification at any level, although more controversial topics might require a restricted certificate. This is in keeping with current practice in most liberal democracies
, but in sharp contrast to the early days of the BBFC when such themes as prostitution, incest
and the relations of capital
and labour were unacceptable in any circumstances.
'Bad' or 'strong' language can earn a film a more restrictive certificate, though BBFC policy states that there are no constraints on language use in films awarded an 18 certificate. It is difficult to compare the BBFC's policies in this area with those in other countries as there are different taboos regarding profanity in other languages and indeed in other English-speaking countries. For example, the use of 'strong' language has little effect on a film's classification in France. The BBFC's policy proved particularly controversial in the case of Ken Loach
's Sweet Sixteen
in 2002, which was passed uncut only at 18 certificate, even though its main characters were teenagers who frequently used profanities that the director argued were typical of the social group his film depicted. The film received similar certificates in Ireland (also an 18 certificate) and the United States, but in Australia it was awarded the less restrictive MA15+ certificate. Shane Meadows
' film This Is England
was also passed uncut only at 18 due to its repeated use of racist terms, and the climatic scene where Combo becomes irate and pummels his friend Milky while insulting him. Many local authorities objected to the 18 certificate given to the film (in particular, the town where the film's young star Thomas Turgoose
grew up) and they awarded it a less restrictive 15 certificate.
There are minimal restrictions of the depiction of non-sexual nudity, which is allowed in even U and PG certificate films (for example, The Simpsons Movie
-- which was given a PG-13 rating in the U.S. – was given a PG certificate in the UK, leaving the sequence where Bart skateboards naked through town and his genitals are shown through an open space in a hedge unedited), but scenes of (simulated) sexual activity are limited to more restricted certificates. With regard to material that is intended primarily as pornographic the Board's policy, as stated on its website is "Material which appears to be simulated is generally passed ‘18’, while images of real sex are confined to the ‘R18’ category." However, for some years depictions of real sex have been allowed in 18 certificate videos intended as educational, and in recent years a number of works such as Catherine Breillat
's Romance
, Patrice Chéreau
's Intimacy
and Michael Winterbottom
's 9 Songs, which feature apparently unsimulated sex have been passed uncut for theatrical release.
Violence remains one of the most problematic areas for censorship in the UK, especially when it's in conjunction with sex or likely to sway more impressionable viewers into thinking the violence depicted is "glamorous" or "fun" and "risk-free." However, the Board takes into account issues of context and whether it considers scenes of sexual violence to "eroticise" or "endorse" sexual assault. In 2002, the board passed Gaspar Noé
's Irréversible
uncut, but less than a month later cut Takashi Miike
's Ichi the Killer
by three and a quarter minutes to remove scenes of sexual violence. A Serbian Film
suffered from forty-nine individual cuts by the BBFC, which totalled to four minutes and eleven seconds of cuts. The cuts were made to remove "portrayals of children in a sexualised or abusive context and images of sexual and sexualised violence which have a tendency to eroticise or endorse the behaviour" as the Board's website states.
Criminal acts that can be easily imitated, as well as scenes condoning, glamorising, or showing clear instruction of how to abuse drugs have also been the subject of UK editing. The issue of imitable techniques is one that does not seem to figure especially highly in the censorship systems of most other countries (though the U.S. has done this on occasion, often due to public backlash, as seen on MTV's Beavis and Butthead). In the UK, numerous minor cuts have been made, primarily to films whose distributors want a PG or 12A certificate, to scenes of characters performing acts that would be considered dangerous, criminal, or harmful if done in real life. For example, in 2006 issues involving suicide by hanging became problematic; the Ren and Stimpy Series 1 DVD set (classified PG) was edited to remove the song "The Lord Loves a Hangin'" because the song implied that hanging is "comedic, fun, and risk-free". Paranoia Agent
Volume 3 DVD set (classified 18) was also cut to remove the depiction of a child nearly hanging himself for the same reason.
The requirement to have films classified and censored can cost film producers up to thousands of pounds. The North West New Wave, a blanket term recently used by both film makers and local press to describe independent filmmakers in the Northwest of England, is currently campaigning for the introduction of a Voluntary 'Unrated 18' Certificate in the UK.
On 6 June 2011, the BBFC refused a classification for the horror film The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence). The previous movie in the series was passed uncut at 18, but due to a shift in context and focus, the BBFC judged that the sequel could fall foul of the Obscene Publications Act
.
The film was eventually passed 18 after cuts were made.
Video Recordings Act 2010
The Video Recordings Act 2010 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that received Royal Assent on 21 January 2010. The Act repealed and then brought back into force parts of the Video Recordings Act 1984 which related to the regulation of video recordings...
.
Responsibility and power
The BBFC rates theatrically released films, and rated videos and video games that forfeited exemption from the Video Recordings Act 1984Video Recordings Act 1984
The Video Recordings Act 1984 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was passed in 1984. It states that commercial video recordings offered for sale or for hire within the UK must carry a classification that has been agreed upon by an authority designated by the Home Office...
, which was discovered in August 2009 to be unenforceable until the act was re-enacted by the Video Recordings Act 2010
Video Recordings Act 2010
The Video Recordings Act 2010 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that received Royal Assent on 21 January 2010. The Act repealed and then brought back into force parts of the Video Recordings Act 1984 which related to the regulation of video recordings...
. Legally, local authorities have the power to decide under what circumstances films are shown in cinemas, but they nearly always choose to follow the advice of the BBFC.
The Video Recordings Act requires that video releases not exempt (music, documentary, non-fiction, video games, etc.) under the Act had to be classified, making it illegal to supply any recording that had not been certified. Certificates could restrict release to any age of 18 or under, or to only licensed sex-shops. The government currently designate the BBFC as the authority for certifying video releases. As the law requires the certificate to be displayed on the packaging and media labels of the video recording, in practice only UK releases can be legally sold or hired in the UK, even if a foreign release had identical content.
Video games with specific themes or content (such as the Grand Theft Auto series
Grand Theft Auto (series)
Grand Theft Auto is a multi-award-winning British video game series created in the United Kingdom by Dave Jones, then later by brothers Dan Houser and Sam Houser, and game designer Zachary Clarke. It is primarily developed by Edinburgh based Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games...
) must also be submitted to the BBFC to receive a legally binding rating (contrast with the advisory PEGI
Pan European Game Information
Pan European Game Information is a European video game content rating system established to help European parents make informed decisions on buying computer games with logos on games boxes. It was developed by the Interactive Software Federation of Europe and came into use in April 2003; it...
ratings) in the same way as videos, however, under the Digital Economy Act 2010
Digital Economy Act 2010
The Digital Economy Act 2010 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom regulating digital media. Introduced by Peter Mandelson, Lord Mandelson, it received Royal Assent on 8 April 2010, and came into force on 8 June 2010 The Digital Economy Act 2010 (c. 24) is an Act of the Parliament of...
, responsibility for rating games that include violence or encourage criminal activity will pass from the BBFC to the Video Standards Council
Video Standards Council
Video Standards Council was established in 1989 to establish a Code of Practice for the UK video industry. VSC is the designated body responsible for the age rating of video games supplied in the UK....
. Other video games may be submitted at the publisher's discretion.
All films and video games rated by the BBFC receive a certificate, along with "consumer advice" detailing references to sex, violence and coarse language. If a certificate specifies that a film or video game is only suitable for someone over a certain age, then only those over that age may buy it.
The BBFC can also advise cuts for a less-restrictive rating. This generally occurs in borderline cases where distributors have requested a certificate and the BBFC has rated the work at a more-restrictive level; however, some cuts are compulsory, such as scenes that violate the Protection of Children Act 1978
Protection of Children Act 1978
The Protection of Children Act 1978 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.The Protection of Children Bill was put before Parliament as a Private Member's Bill by Cyril Townsend in the 1977-1978 session of Parliament....
or Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937. The final certificate then depends on the distributor's decision on whether or not to make the suggested cuts. Some works are even rejected if the distributor refuses the cut.
Both examiners and the directors of the BBFC are hired on a permanent basis. Examiners are required to watch 5 hours 20 mins of media, to a maximum of 35 hours a week. Turnover is low and vacancies, when available, appear on their London job vacancies website.
Current certificates
The BBFC currently issues the following certificates. The category logos were introduced in December 2002, replacing the previous ones that had been in place since 1982.| Symbol | Name | Definition/Notes |
|---|---|---|
 |
Universal | All ages admitted, there is nothing unsuitable for children over 4. |
 |
Parental Guidance | All ages admitted, but certain scenes may be unsuitable for children under 8. |
 |
12A | Cinema only. Introduced in 2002. Films under this category are considered to be unsuitable for very young people. Those aged under 12 years are only admitted if accompanied by an adult, aged at least 18 years, at all times during the motion picture. However, it is generally not recommended that children under 12 years should watch the film. Films under this category can contain mature themes, discrimination, soft drugs, commonly used milder swear words, and moderate violence/sex references. |
 |
12 | Home media only since 2002. 12A-rated films are usually given a 12 certificate for the VHS/DVD version unless extra material has been added that requires a higher rating. Nobody younger than 12 can rent or buy a 12-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game. Films in this category may include infrequent drugs, infrequent use of strong language, brief nudity, discreet sexual activity, and moderate violence. |
 |
15 15 certificate The 15 certificate is issued by the British Board of Film Classification to state that, in its opinion, a film, video recording, or game should not be seen or purchased by a person under 15 years old.... |
Only those over 15 years are admitted. Nobody younger than 15 can rent or buy a 15-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game, or watch a film in the cinema with this rating. Films under this category can contain adult themes, hard drugs, strong language, moderate-strong violence/sex references, and mild non-detailed sex activity. |
 |
18 18 certificate The 18 certificate is issued by the British Board of Film Classification to state that, in its opinion, a film, video recording, or game should not be seen or purchased by a person under 18 years old.... |
Only adults are admitted. Nobody younger than 18 can rent or buy an 18-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game, or watch a film in the cinema with this rating. Films under this category do not have limitation on the bad language that is used. Hard drugs are generally allowed, and strong violence/sex references along with strong sexual activity is also allowed. Scenes of strong real sex may be permitted if justified by the context. |
 |
Restricted 18 R18 certificate The R18 certificate represents a film or video classification given by the British Board of Film Classification . It is intended to provide a classification for works that are within British obscenity laws, but exceed what the BBFC considers acceptable for its 18 certificate... |
Can only be shown at licensed cinemas or sold at licensed retailers or sex shop Sex shop A sex shop, erotic shop is a shop that sells products related to adult sexual or erotic entertainment, such as sex toys, lingerie, clothing, pornography, and other related products... s, and only to adults, those aged 18 or over. Films under this category have material the BBFC does not allow for its "18" rating, thus the violence and sex activity will be stronger in R18-rated VHSs, DVDs and films than those rated "18," however, there is still a range of material that is often cut from the R18 rating. More cuts are demanded in this category than any other category. |
Material that is exempt from classification sometimes uses symbols similar to BBFC certificates, for example an E "certificate"
E certificate
In British film classifications, the E certificate is an unofficial rating given to video titles released in the United Kingdom which are exempt from being classified by the British Board of Film Classification as any of the other certificate categories.Material that is exempt from classification...
. There is no legal obligation, nor a particular scheme, for labelling material that is exempt from classification. On the BBFC's online classification database, material that has been refused a classification uses a red serif R in place of a rating symbol.
History and overview
Cinematograph Act 1909
The Cinematograph Act 1909 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . It was the first primary legislation in the UK which specifically regulated the film industry...
, which required cinemas to have licenses from local authorities. The Act was introduced for safety reasons after a number of nitrate film fires in unsuitable venues (fairgrounds and shops that had been hastily converted into cinemas), but the following year a court ruling (LCC
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
v. Bermondsey Bioscope Co.) determined that the criteria for granting or refusing a licence did not have to be restricted to issues of health and safety. Given that the law now allowed councils to grant or refuse licenses to cinemas according to the content of the films they showed, the 1909 Act therefore enabled the introduction of censorship. The film industry, fearing the economic consequences of a largely unregulated censorship infrastructure, therefore formed the BBFC in order to take the process 'in house' and establish its own system of self-regulation. Some decisions from the early years are now subjected to derision. In 1928, the Board's examiners report famously claimed that Germaine Dulac
Germaine Dulac
Germaine Dulac was a French filmmaker, film theorist, journalist and critic. She was born in Amiens and moved to Paris in early childhood. A few years after her marriage she embarked on a journalistic career in a feminist magazine, and later became interested in film...
's surrealist film The Seashell and the Clergyman
The Seashell and the Clergyman
The Seashell and the Clergyman is considered by many to be the first surrealist film.-Production background:The film was directed by Germaine Dulac, from an original scenario by Antonin Artaud, and premiered in Paris on 9 February 1928...
was "Apparently meaningless" but "If there is a meaning, it is doubtless objectionable".
Informal links, to varying degrees of closeness, have been maintained between the BBFC and the Government throughout the Board's existence. In the period before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, an extensive but unofficial system of political censorship was implemented by the BBFC for the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
. As the cinema became a socially powerful mass-medium, governments feared the effect of its use by others for propaganda and as happened in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
discouraged any expression of controversial political views in British films. This trend reached its climax during the 1930s. Following protests from the German Embassy after the release of a film depicting the execution of Edith Cavell
Edith Cavell
Edith Louisa Cavell was a British nurse and spy. She is celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers from all sides without distinction and in helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium during World War I, for which she was arrested...
(Dawn, 1928, dir. Herbert Wilcox
Herbert Wilcox
Herbert Sydney Wilcox was a British film producer and director.-Early life:Wilcox's mother was from County Cork, Ireland, but he was born in Norwood and attended school in Brighton...
), intense political pressure was brought to bear on the BBFC by the Home Office. A system of script vetting was introduced, whereby British studios were invited to submit screenplays to the BBFC before shooting started. Interestingly, imported Hollywood films were not treated as strictly as British films, as the BBFC believed that audiences would recognise American cinema as representing a foreign culture and therefore would not apply any political messages therein to their own lives. So while the Warners
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
gangster films and other 1930s Hollywood films that dealt explicitly with crime and the effects of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
were released in the UK largely uncut, these subjects were strictly off-limits for British film-makers.
During World War II, the BBFC's political censorship function effectively passed to the Films Division of the Ministry of Information
Minister of Information
The Ministry of Information , headed by the Minister of Information, was a United Kingdom government department created briefly at the end of World War I and again during World War II...
, and the BBFC never regained this to the same extent as before the war. The increasing climate of post-war liberalism ensured that from the 1950s onwards, controversies involving the BBFC centred more on depictions of sex and violence than on political expression. There were some notable exceptions: Yield to the Night
Yield to the Night
Yield to the Night is a 1956 British crime drama film starring Diana Dors as a murderess sentenced to hang and spending her last days in the condemned cell in a British women's prison...
(UK, 1956, dir. J. Lee Thompson
J. Lee Thompson
John Lee Thompson , better known as J. Lee Thompson, was an English film director, active in England and Hollywood.- Early years :...
), which opposed capital punishment; Room at the Top (UK, 1959, dir. Jack Clayton
Jack Clayton
Jack Clayton was a British film director who specialised in bringing literary works to the screen.-Career:A native of East Sussex, Clayton started his career as a child actor on the 1929 film Dark Red Roses...
), which dealt with class divisions; Victim (UK, 1961, dir. Basil Dearden
Basil Dearden
Basil Dearden was an English film director.-Life and career:Dearden was born at Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex. He graduated from theatre direction to film, working as an assistant to Basil Dean...
), which implicitly argued for the legalisation of homosexuality, all involved the BBFC in controversy.
In 1984 the organisation changed its name to "reflect the fact that classification plays a far larger part in the Board's work than censorship". At that time it was given responsibility for classifying videos for hire or purchase to view in the home as well as films shown in cinemas. Home video and cinema versions of a film usually receive the same certificate, although occasionally a film may receive a more restrictive certificate for the home video market (sometimes due to the bonus features), as it is easier for children to watch a home video than to be admitted into a cinema.
The Board is an independent, non-governmental organisation
Quango
Quango or qango is an acronym used notably in the United Kingdom, Ireland and elsewhere to label an organisation to which government has devolved power...
. Its business affairs are controlled by a council of management selected from leading figures in the manufacturing and servicing sectors of the film industry. This council appoints the President, who has statutory responsibility for the classification of videos and the Director who has executive responsibility and formulates policy. The Board, which is based in Soho Square
Soho Square
Soho Square is a square in Soho, London, England, with a park and garden area at its centre that dates back to 1681. It was originally called King Square after Charles II, whose statue stands in the square. At the centre of the garden, there is a distinctive half-timbered gardener's hut...
, London, is financed from the fees it charges for classifying films and videos and is run on a not-for-profit basis.
In the case of films shown in cinemas, local authorities have the final legal authorisation over who can view a particular film. The majority of the time, local authorities accept the Board's recommendation for a certificate for a film. There have been some notable exceptions – particularly in the 1970s when the Board allowed films such as Last Tango in Paris
Last Tango in Paris
Last Tango in Paris is a 1972 Italian romantic drama film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci which portrays a recent American widower who takes up an anonymous sexual relationship with a young, soon-to-be-married Parisian woman...
and The Exorcist
The Exorcist (film)
The Exorcist is a 1973 American horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty and based on the exorcism case of Robbie Mannheim, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her...
to be released with an X certificate (essentially the same as today's "18") – but many local authorities chose to ban the films regardless.
Conversely, in 2002, a few local authorities, apparently under pressure from distributors and cinema chains, ignored the BBFC's ruling that Spider-Man
Spider-Man (film)
Spider-Man is a 2002 American superhero film, the first in the Spider-Man film series based on the fictional Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. It was directed by Sam Raimi and written by David Koepp...
receive a 12 rating, and allowed children younger than 12 to see the film. However, the BBFC were already in the process of replacing the 12 rating with a new 12A, which allowed under-12s to see the film if accompanied by an adult, so shortly afterwards, Spider-Man was reclassified as 12A. The first 12A certificate awarded was for The Bourne Identity
The Bourne Identity (2002 film)
The Bourne Identity is a 2002 American spy film loosely based on Robert Ludlum's novel of the same name. It stars Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, an amnesiac attempting to discover his true identity amidst a clandestine conspiracy within the Central Intelligence Agency . The film also stars Franka...
.
Local authorities do not have such power for video recordings. Under the Video Recording Act 1984, all non-exempt recordings must be classified by an authority chosen by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport is a United Kingdom cabinet position with responsibility for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The role was created in 1992 by John Major as Secretary of State for National Heritage...
. This classification is legally binding, in that supply of material contrary to its certificate (recordings that have been refused a certificate, or supplying to someone younger than the certified age) is a criminal offence. However, possession is not an offence in itself, other than in the case of "possession with intent to supply". Since the introduction of the Act, the BBFC has been the chosen authority. In theory this authority could be revoked, but in practice such a revocation has never been suggested, since most local authorities simply don't have the supplies needed to do such things as remove cuts, pass films that the BBFC rejected and vice versa, put in place new cuts, etc., regularly.
The BBFC has also rated some video games. Normally these are exempt from classification, unless they depict human sexual activity, human genital organs or gross acts of violence, in which case the publishers should submit the game for classification. A publisher may opt to submit a game for classication even if they are not obliged to. In December 1986, the first computer game to receive a 15 certificate from the BBFC was an illustrated text adventure called Dracula, based on the Bram Stoker
Bram Stoker
Abraham "Bram" Stoker was an Irish novelist and short story writer, best known today for his 1897 Gothic novel Dracula...
novel, published by CRL
CRL Group PLC
CRL Group plc is a defunct British video game development and publishing company. Originally CRL stood for "Computer Rentals Ltd.". It was based in King's Yard, London and run by Clem Chambers....
. The first computer game to receive an 18 certificate, on 11 December 1987, was another illustrated text adventure called Jack The Ripper, also by CRL, which dealt with the infamous real life murders in Victorian London. The horror in both games came through largely in their detailed prose. Had the game publishers reprinted the games' text in book form, it would not have carried a certificate, as the BBFC has no oversight over print media. Both games had numerous certificate stickers all over their covers to emphasise to parents and retailers that they were not intended for children, as computer games carrying BBFC certificates were previously unheard of.
The first game to be refused classification by the BBFC was Carmageddon
Carmageddon
Carmageddon is the first of a series of graphically violent vehicular combat video games produced by Stainless Games, published by Interplay and SCi...
in 1997, however a modified version of the game was later awarded an 18 certificate. In June 2007, Manhunt 2
Manhunt 2
Manhunt 2 is an action/adventure video game developed by Rockstar Games and the sequel to 2003's Manhunt. The game was released in North America for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, and Wii on October 29, 2007....
was refused classification in both its PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
versions, meaning that the game was illegal to sell or supply. A modified version was made that was accepted by the ESRB
Entertainment Software Rating Board
The Entertainment Software Rating Board is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings, enforces industry-adopted advertising guidelines, and ensures responsible online privacy principles for computer and video games as well as entertainment software in Canada, Mexico and...
but was still refused classification from the BBFC. The decision was later overturned by the Video Appeals Committee
Video Appeals Committee
The Video Appeals Committee was a body set up by the United Kingdom's Video Recordings Act. If a video or video-game distributor's work is rejected by the British Board of Film Classification , preventing it from being legally sold in the UK, the distributor can appeal to the VAC, which has the...
(an independent body set up by legislation); the BBFC then asked the High Court for a judicial review of the VAC decision. The High Court ruled that the VAC had made errors in law and instructed it to reconsider its decision, the VAC subsequently ruled that the game should receive an 18 certificate, which the BBFC accepted.
Several films rated 'PG-13' in the US by the Motion Picture Association of America
Motion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
(MPAA) have received the more restrictive '15' classification in the UK. Recent examples include W.
W. (film)
W. is a 2008 American film based on the life and presidency of George W. Bush. It was produced and directed by Oliver Stone, written by Stanley Weiser, and stars Josh Brolin as Bush, with a cast that includes Ellen Burstyn, Elizabeth Banks, James Cromwell, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, Scott...
, Couples Retreat
Couples Retreat
Couples Retreat is a 2009 American comedy film written and directed by Peter Billingsley with contributions to the script by Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Dana Fox, Curtis Hanson, and Greg Beeman. Vaughn and Favreau star with Faizon Love, Jason Bateman, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell, Malin Åkerman and...
, Easy A
Easy A
Easy A is a 2010 teen comedy film written by Bert V. Royal, directed by Will Gluck, and starring Emma Stone. The screenplay was partially inspired by the novel The Scarlet Letter. The film was shot at Screen Gems studios and in Ojai, California. Screen Gems distributed with a release on...
and Devil
Devil (film)
Devil is a 2010 American supernatural horror film directed by John Erick Dowdle and written by Brian Nelson based on a story by M. Night Shyamalan. The film stars Chris Messina, Bojana Novakovic, Bokeem Woodbine, Logan Marshall-Green, Jenny O'Hara and Geoffrey Arend...
. Also, several films rated 'PG-13' in the US have received the less restrictive 'PG' classification in the UK. These include When in Rome, Whale Rider, Princess Mononoke
Princess Mononoke
is a 1997 epic Japanese animated historical fantasy feature film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli. is not a name, but a general term in the Japanese language for a spirit or monster...
, Tales from Earthsea
Tales from Earthsea (film)
is a 2006 Japanese animated fantasy film directed by Gorō Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli.The film is based on a combination of plots and characters from the first four books of Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea series: A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore and Tehanu. The...
and School of Rock
School of Rock
School of Rock, also called The School of Rock, is a 2003 American musical comedy film directed by Richard Linklater, written by Mike White, and starring Jack Black...
.
In 2009, the Japanese horror film Grotesque
Grotesque (2009 film)
is a 2009 Japanese splatter horror film written and directed by Kōji Shiraishi.-Plot:The doctor is one who's always gotten what he wanted; this has only created more depraved and extreme needs, so he kidnaps a random couple, Aki and Kazuo , two young people who, after a few years working in the...
was refused classification, making it illegal to sell or supply on a physical medium in the UK. The 2011 horror film The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) was also denied classification.
On 16 June 2009, the UK's Department of Culture, Media and Sport ruled in favour of the PEGI
Pan European Game Information
Pan European Game Information is a European video game content rating system established to help European parents make informed decisions on buying computer games with logos on games boxes. It was developed by the Interactive Software Federation of Europe and came into use in April 2003; it...
system to be the sole classification system for videogames and software in the UK. This decision will also, unlike beforehand, allow PEGI ratings to be legally enforced much like the BBFC ratings. The legislation is expected to take effect from 1 April 2011.
A religious musical documentary entitled 'The I-Heart Revolution' received a PG certificate in 2010, despite it containing references to sexual abuse and real images of violence and dead bodies, which would usually have cost the film a 15 certificate if it was not for the strong contextual justification. W.
W. (film)
W. is a 2008 American film based on the life and presidency of George W. Bush. It was produced and directed by Oliver Stone, written by Stanley Weiser, and stars Josh Brolin as Bush, with a cast that includes Ellen Burstyn, Elizabeth Banks, James Cromwell, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, Scott...
was passed 15 due the similar content not being justified by the context.
Attitudes to censorship
Historically the Board has faced strong criticism for an over-zealous attitude in censoring film. Prior to the liberalising decade of the 1960s, films were routinely and extensively censored as a means of social control. For example, Rebel Without a CauseRebel Without a Cause
Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 American drama film about emotionally confused suburban, middle-class teenagers. Directed by Nicholas Ray, it offered both social commentary and an alternative to previous films depicting delinquents in urban slum environments...
was cut to reduce the "possibility of teenage rebellion". Ingmar Bergman's Smiles of a Summer Night
Smiles of a Summer Night
Smiles of a Summer Night a.k.a. Smiles on a Summer Night is a 1955 Swedish comedy film directed by Ingmar Bergman. It was the first of Bergman's films to bring the director international success, due to its exposure at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival...
was cut to remove "overtly sexual or provocative" language.
The BBFC's attitude became more liberal during the 1960s, and they concentrated on censoring films that featured graphic sex and violence. However, some Board decisions caused controversy in the 1970s when it banned a series of films that were released uncut and were popular in other countries (such as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American independent horror film directed and produced by Tobe Hooper, who cowrote it with Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, and Gunnar Hansen, who respectively portray Sally Hardesty, Franklin Hardesty, the...
and Last House on the Left
The Last House on the Left (1972 film)
The Last House on the Left is a 1972 horror film written and directed by Wes Craven and produced by Sean S. Cunningham.The story is inspired by the 1960 Swedish film The Virgin Spring, directed by Ingmar Bergman, which in turn is based on the 13th century Swedish ballad "Töres döttrar i Wänge"...
), or released other controversial films, such as Straw Dogs and A Clockwork Orange
A Clockwork Orange (film)
A Clockwork Orange is a 1971 film adaptation of Anthony Burgess's 1962 novel of the same name. It was written, directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick...
. However, under recent President Andreas Whittam Smith
Andreas Whittam Smith
Andreas Whittam Smith CBE is an English financial journalist, who was one of the founders of The Independent newspaper which began publication in October 1986 with Whittam Smith as editor...
and current incumbent Sir Quentin Thomas, guidelines have been relaxed again, allowing the release, usually uncut, of these previously banned films on video and in cinemas. Some films from the 1970s remain unreleased, but many of these titles remain banned primarily because their distributors have not chosen to re-submit the films to the BBFC, almost certainly for commercial reasons. If they were, they would be likely to receive a more sympathetic hearing than 30 years ago – only two films from the 1970s, Love Camp 7
Love Camp 7
Love Camp 7 is a 1969 U.S. women-in-prison B-movie directed by Lee Frost and written by Wes Bishop and Bob Cresse, the latter of whom also acts as a sadistic camp commandant.-Plot:...
(rejected in 2002) and Women in Cellblock 9
Women in Cellblock 9
Women in Cellblock 9 is a 1977 Swiss film directed by Spanish director Jesus Franco, starring Howard Vernon and Karine Gambier...
(rejected in 2004), both of which contain substantial scenes of sexual violence, have remained completely banned following a re-submission since 2000.
In general, attitudes to what material is suitable for viewing by minors have changed over the years, and this is reflected by the reclassification of older films being re-released on video. A 1913 film given the former A rating could very probably be rated U today. An extreme example of this is the rating of the horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
Revenge of the Zombies
Revenge of the Zombies
Revenge of the Zombies is a 1943 Horror film directed by Steve Sekely, starring John Carradine and Gale Storm. Dr. Max Heinrich von Altermann , is a mad scientist working to create a race of living dead warriors for the Third Reich....
, with a U certificate upon its video release in the late 1990s, whereas, when it was first examined as a film in 1951, it was given one of the first X ratings. In some cases, it does not change, as was the cases of the 1931 film Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931 film)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a 1932 American Pre-Code horror film directed by Rouben Mamoulian and starring Fredric March. The film is an adaptation of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde , the Robert Louis Stevenson tale of a man who takes a potion which turns him from a mild-mannered man of...
, which was passed A with cuts for its original release, and the 2008 limited re-release was given a 12A certificate, and Ghost
Ghost (film)
Ghost is a 1990 romantic drama film starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg. It was written by Bruce Joel Rubin and directed by Jerry Zucker.-Plot:...
, which was given a 12 certificate when it was originally released, but it was recently re-examined on film and given a 12A certificate. In other cases, the certificate is only lowered down by one. This was the case for the 1981 film An American Werewolf in London
An American Werewolf in London
An American Werewolf in London is a 1981 British-American horror film, written and directed by John Landis. It stars David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, and Griffin Dunne....
, which was given an X certificate when first released, and subsequent 18 certificates on video, but when examined for a limited re-release in 2009, the rating was finally lowered by one certificate to a 15.
The BBFC are also known to cut the words 'spaz', 'moron' and 'retard' from U and PG cert films and videos on the grounds of discrimination. One example of this is when Marmaduke
Marmaduke (film)
Marmaduke is an American live action film adaptation of Brad Anderson's comic strip Marmaduke. The film centers on a rural Kansas family and their pets – a Great Dane named Marmaduke and a Balinese cat named Carlos – as the family relocates to California.-Plot:Marmaduke is a Great Dane living in...
was passed U after the word 'spaz' was removed; they offered an uncut 12A rating. They also award higher ratings to films that contain potentially imitable and dangerous behaviour; this includes all three Jackass
Jackass (TV series)
jackass is an American reality series, originally shown on MTV from 2000 to 2002, featuring people performing various dangerous, crude, ridiculous, self-injuring stunts and pranks...
films being passed 18, and Fred: The Movie
Fred: The Movie
Fred: The Movie is a 2010 independent comedy film written by David A. Goodman, directed by Clay Weiner, and produced by Brian Robbins. The film is based on the adventures of Fred Figglehorn, a character created and played by Lucas Cruikshank for Cruikshank's YouTube channel...
being passed 12A. They are also very serious about suicide themes, references, or attempts, and will either cut them or award a higher rating. An example of this was in 2010, when the Board cut the Hindi film Anjaana Anjaani
Anjaana Anjaani
Anjaana Anjaani is a Hindi Romantic film directed by Siddharth Anand, starring Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Zayed Khan. The film is produced by Sajid Nadiadwala under his Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment Pvt. Ltd banner. The film's music has been composed by Vishal-Shekhar, who have...
by two minutes and thirty-one seconds for a cinema 12A certificate in order to remove references to and sight of someone attempting suicide by asphyxiation. The cut footage was put back into the film for its video release, which was passed 18.
Relaxation
There has been considerable relaxation since 1999 onwards. The relaxation of guidelines has also made hardcore pornographyPornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
widely available to adult audiences through the R18 rating. Films with this rating are only legally available from licensed sex shops, of which there are about 300 in the UK. They may also be seen in specially licensed cinemas.
Recent examples include the passing of Irreversible, Romance, Antichrist
Antichrist (film)
Antichrist is a 2009 arthouse-horror film written and directed by Lars von Trier, starring Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg. It follows horror film conventions and tells the story of a couple who, after the death of their child, retreat to a cabin in the woods where the man experiences strange...
, and numerous other films uncut for cinema and video viewing. Despite this trend towards liberalisation, anti-censorship campaigners are still critical of the BBFC. It has attracted criticism from conservative press, in particular the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
, on the grounds that the release of sexually explicit and violent films was corrupting the nation. The newspaper's most famous clash with the BBFC came in 1997 when the Board released the David Cronenberg film Crash
Crash (1996 film)
Crash is a 1996 Canadian/British drama thriller film written and directed by David Cronenberg based on the J. G. Ballard 1973 novel of the same name. It tells the story of a group of people who take sexual pleasure from car accidents, a notable form of paraphilia. The film generated considerable...
without cuts. The following day (19 March 1997) the Mail led with the banner headline "CENSOR'S YES TO DEPRAVED SEX FILM" Westminster City Council
Westminster City Council
Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council and is entitled to be known as a city council, which is a rare distinction in the United Kingdom. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors...
imposed its own ban on the film after the decision.
Current concerns
The BBFC's current guidelines identify a number of specific areas considered when awarding certificates or requiring cuts. These are discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, or mental or physical disability, adult themes, language (i.e., profanityProfanity
Profanity is a show of disrespect, or a desecration or debasement of someone or something. Profanity can take the form of words, expressions, gestures, or other social behaviors that are socially constructed or interpreted as insulting, rude, vulgar, obscene, desecrating, or other forms.The...
), nudity
Nudity
Nudity is the state of wearing no clothing. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic. The amount of clothing worn depends on functional considerations and social considerations...
, sex
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
, violence, sexual violence
Sexual violence
Sexual violence occurs throughout the world, although in most countries there has been little research conducted on the problem. Due to the private nature of sexual violence, estimating the extent of the problem is difficult...
, all visual and verbal references to suicide, dangerous actions that can easily be imitated (certain combat moves [ear-claps and neck-breaking in particular] and stunts considered criminal acts or likely to end up in injury or death fall under this category), horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
, and drug use being condoned or glamorised. The BBFC also continues to demand cuts of any material it believes breaches the provisions of the Obscene Publications Act
Obscene Publications Act
Since 1857, a series of obscenity laws known as the Obscene Publications Acts have governed what can be published in England and Wales. The classic definition of criminal obscenity is if it "tends to deprave and corrupt," stated in 1868 by John Duke Coleridge, 1st Baron Coleridge.There have been...
or any other legislation (most notably the Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937 [which forbids the depiction of animals being abused or in distress] and the Protection of Children Act 1978 [which, as amended, forbids the depiction of minors engaged in sex or in sexually suggestive poses or situations]). In 2009, 2% of cinema films had material cut, and 3.6% of videos. Most cuts actually occur in videos rated for 18 or R18, rather than videos intended for viewing by under-18s. In 2009, 16.8% of 18 videos, and 27.3% of R18 videos, had material cut.
There is no theme or subject-matter that is considered inherently unsuitable for classification at any level, although more controversial topics might require a restricted certificate. This is in keeping with current practice in most liberal democracies
Liberal democracy
Liberal democracy, also known as constitutional democracy, is a common form of representative democracy. According to the principles of liberal democracy, elections should be free and fair, and the political process should be competitive...
, but in sharp contrast to the early days of the BBFC when such themes as prostitution, incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
and the relations of capital
Capital (economics)
In economics, capital, capital goods, or real capital refers to already-produced durable goods used in production of goods or services. The capital goods are not significantly consumed, though they may depreciate in the production process...
and labour were unacceptable in any circumstances.
'Bad' or 'strong' language can earn a film a more restrictive certificate, though BBFC policy states that there are no constraints on language use in films awarded an 18 certificate. It is difficult to compare the BBFC's policies in this area with those in other countries as there are different taboos regarding profanity in other languages and indeed in other English-speaking countries. For example, the use of 'strong' language has little effect on a film's classification in France. The BBFC's policy proved particularly controversial in the case of Ken Loach
Ken Loach
Kenneth "Ken" Loach is a Palme D'Or winning English film and television director.He is known for his naturalistic, social realist directing style and for his socialist beliefs, which are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as homelessness , labour rights and child abuse at the...
's Sweet Sixteen
Sweet Sixteen (2002 film)
Sweet Sixteen is a 2002 film by director Ken Loach. The film tells the story of a working class Scottish teenage boy, Liam , a typical 'ned', who dreams of starting afresh with his mother who is completing a prison term...
in 2002, which was passed uncut only at 18 certificate, even though its main characters were teenagers who frequently used profanities that the director argued were typical of the social group his film depicted. The film received similar certificates in Ireland (also an 18 certificate) and the United States, but in Australia it was awarded the less restrictive MA15+ certificate. Shane Meadows
Shane Meadows
Shane Meadows is an English film director, screenwriter, occasional actor and BAFTA winner.-Background:Meadows grew up in the Westlands Road area of Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. His father was a long distance lorry driver and his mother worked in a fish and chip shop...
' film This Is England
This Is England
-Track listing:#"54-46 Was My Number" - Toots & The Maytals#"Come On Eileen" - Dexys Midnight Runners#"Tainted Love" - Soft Cell#"Underpass/Flares" - Movie Dialogue From This Is England#"Nicole " - Gravenhurst...
was also passed uncut only at 18 due to its repeated use of racist terms, and the climatic scene where Combo becomes irate and pummels his friend Milky while insulting him. Many local authorities objected to the 18 certificate given to the film (in particular, the town where the film's young star Thomas Turgoose
Thomas Turgoose
-Early life:Thomas was born on 11 February 1992 and brought up in Grimsby, Lincolnshire. He attended Wintringham School.- Career :In his first film role in 2006, he played the lead character, Shaun, in This Is England, written and directed by Shane Meadows...
grew up) and they awarded it a less restrictive 15 certificate.
There are minimal restrictions of the depiction of non-sexual nudity, which is allowed in even U and PG certificate films (for example, The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons Movie
The Simpsons Movie is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the animated television series The Simpsons. The film was directed by David Silverman, and stars the regular television cast of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress...
-- which was given a PG-13 rating in the U.S. – was given a PG certificate in the UK, leaving the sequence where Bart skateboards naked through town and his genitals are shown through an open space in a hedge unedited), but scenes of (simulated) sexual activity are limited to more restricted certificates. With regard to material that is intended primarily as pornographic the Board's policy, as stated on its website is "Material which appears to be simulated is generally passed ‘18’, while images of real sex are confined to the ‘R18’ category." However, for some years depictions of real sex have been allowed in 18 certificate videos intended as educational, and in recent years a number of works such as Catherine Breillat
Catherine Breillat
Catherine Breillat is a French filmmaker, novelist and Professor of Auteur Cinema at the European Graduate School.-Life and career:Breillat was born in Bressuire, Deux-Sèvres, but grew up in Niort...
's Romance
Romance (1999 film)
Romance is a 1999 French movie written and directed by Catherine Breillat. It stars Caroline Ducey, pornographic actor Rocco Siffredi, Sagamore Stévenin and François Berléand. The film features explicit copulation scenes, especially one showing Caroline Ducey's coitus with Rocco Siffredi...
, Patrice Chéreau
Patrice Chéreau
Patrice Chéreau is a French opera and theatre director, filmmaker, actor, and producer.-Biography:Patrice Chéreau was born in Lézigné, Maine-et-Loire, and went to school in Paris. At a young age he became well-known to Parisian critics as director, actor, and stage manager of his high-school theatre...
's Intimacy
Intimacy (2001 film)
Intimacy is a 2001 film directed by Patrice Chéreau, starring Mark Rylance and Kerry Fox.Intimacy is an international co-production among production companies in France, the U.K., Germany, and Spain featuring a soundtrack of pop songs from the 1970s and 1980s...
and Michael Winterbottom
Michael Winterbottom
Michael Winterbottom is a prolific English filmmaker who has directed seventeen feature films in the past fifteen years. He began his career working in British television before moving into features...
's 9 Songs, which feature apparently unsimulated sex have been passed uncut for theatrical release.
Violence remains one of the most problematic areas for censorship in the UK, especially when it's in conjunction with sex or likely to sway more impressionable viewers into thinking the violence depicted is "glamorous" or "fun" and "risk-free." However, the Board takes into account issues of context and whether it considers scenes of sexual violence to "eroticise" or "endorse" sexual assault. In 2002, the board passed Gaspar Noé
Gaspar Noé
Gaspar Noé is an Argentine filmmaker and the son of Argentine painter and intellectual Luis Felipe Noé. He graduated from Louis Lumière College and is the visiting professor of film at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland...
's Irréversible
Irréversible
Irréversible is a 2002 French drama film written and directed by Gaspar Noé, starring Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel and Albert Dupontel. The film employs a non-linear narrative and follows two men as they try to avenge a brutally raped girlfriend...
uncut, but less than a month later cut Takashi Miike
Takashi Miike
is a highly prolific and controversial Japanese filmmaker. He has directed over seventy theatrical, video, and television productions since his debut in 1991. In the years 2001 and 2002 alone, Miike is credited with directing fifteen productions...
's Ichi the Killer
Ichi the Killer
is a 2001 Japanese film directed by Takashi Miike, based on Hideo Yamamoto's manga series of the same name.- Plot : While alone with a prostitute, crime lord Anjo is brutally murdered...
by three and a quarter minutes to remove scenes of sexual violence. A Serbian Film
A Serbian Film
A Serbian Film is a 2010 Serbian horror film and the first feature film directed by Srđan Spasojević. It tells the story of a down-on-his-luck porn star who agrees to participate in an "art film", only to discover that he has been drafted into a snuff film with child rape and necrophilic themes...
suffered from forty-nine individual cuts by the BBFC, which totalled to four minutes and eleven seconds of cuts. The cuts were made to remove "portrayals of children in a sexualised or abusive context and images of sexual and sexualised violence which have a tendency to eroticise or endorse the behaviour" as the Board's website states.
Criminal acts that can be easily imitated, as well as scenes condoning, glamorising, or showing clear instruction of how to abuse drugs have also been the subject of UK editing. The issue of imitable techniques is one that does not seem to figure especially highly in the censorship systems of most other countries (though the U.S. has done this on occasion, often due to public backlash, as seen on MTV's Beavis and Butthead). In the UK, numerous minor cuts have been made, primarily to films whose distributors want a PG or 12A certificate, to scenes of characters performing acts that would be considered dangerous, criminal, or harmful if done in real life. For example, in 2006 issues involving suicide by hanging became problematic; the Ren and Stimpy Series 1 DVD set (classified PG) was edited to remove the song "The Lord Loves a Hangin'" because the song implied that hanging is "comedic, fun, and risk-free". Paranoia Agent
Paranoia Agent
is a Japanese anime television series created by director Satoshi Kon and produced by Madhouse about a social phenomenon in Musashino, Tokyo caused by a juvenile serial assailant named Lil' Slugger...
Volume 3 DVD set (classified 18) was also cut to remove the depiction of a child nearly hanging himself for the same reason.
The requirement to have films classified and censored can cost film producers up to thousands of pounds. The North West New Wave, a blanket term recently used by both film makers and local press to describe independent filmmakers in the Northwest of England, is currently campaigning for the introduction of a Voluntary 'Unrated 18' Certificate in the UK.
On 6 June 2011, the BBFC refused a classification for the horror film The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence). The previous movie in the series was passed uncut at 18, but due to a shift in context and focus, the BBFC judged that the sequel could fall foul of the Obscene Publications Act
Obscene Publications Act
Since 1857, a series of obscenity laws known as the Obscene Publications Acts have governed what can be published in England and Wales. The classic definition of criminal obscenity is if it "tends to deprave and corrupt," stated in 1868 by John Duke Coleridge, 1st Baron Coleridge.There have been...
.
The film was eventually passed 18 after cuts were made.
Presidents of the BBFC
- George A. Redford (1 January 1913 – 12 November 1916)
- T.P. O'Connor (11 December 1916 – 18 November 1929)
- Edward ShorttEdward ShorttEdward Shortt PC KC was a British lawyer and Liberal Party politician. He served as a member of David Lloyd George's cabinet, notably as Home Secretary from 1919 to 1922.-Background and education:...
(21 November 1929 – 10 November 1935) - William Tyrrell, 1st Baron Tyrrell (25 November 1935 – 22 March 1948)
- Sir Sidney Harris (31 March 1948 – June 1960)
- Herbert Morrison, Baron Morrison of LambethHerbert MorrisonHerbert Stanley Morrison, Baron Morrison of Lambeth, CH, PC was a British Labour politician; he held a various number of senior positions in the Cabinet, including Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister.-Early life:Morrison was the son of a police constable and was born in...
(June 1960-6 March 1965) - William Ormsby-Gore, 5th Baron Harlech (21 July 1965 – 26 January 1985)
- George Lascelles, 7th Earl of HarewoodGeorge Lascelles, 7th Earl of HarewoodGeorge Henry Hubert Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood, KBE AM , styled The Hon. George Lascelles before 1929 and Viscount Lascelles between 1929 and 1947, was the elder son of the 6th Earl of Harewood , and Princess Mary, Princess Royal, the only daughter of King George V of the United Kingdom and...
(June 1985-18 December 1997) - Andreas Whittam SmithAndreas Whittam SmithAndreas Whittam Smith CBE is an English financial journalist, who was one of the founders of The Independent newspaper which began publication in October 1986 with Whittam Smith as editor...
(18 December 1997 – 1 August 2002) - Sir Quentin Thomas (1 August 2002–present)
Directors of the BBFC
During James Ferman's time, the title of the chief executive officer at the BBFC changed from "Secretary of the Board" to the current "Director". At the same time, the title card displaying a film's certificate, which opens all theatrically screened films in the United Kingdom, stopped carrying the chief executive's signature. The President's signature is now used instead.- Joseph Brooke Wilkinson (1 January 1913 – 15 July 1948) (died in office)
- A.T.L. Watkins (26 July 1948 – 23 January 1957)
- John Nicholls (23 January 1957 – 30 April 1958)
- John Trevelyan (22 May 1958 – 1 July 1971)
- Stephen Murphy (1 July 1971 – 18 June 1975)
- James FermanJames FermanJames Alan Ferman was an American television and theatre director. He was the Secretary of the British Board of Film Classification from 1975 to 1999....
(18 June 1975 – 10 January 1999) - Robin DuvalRobin DuvalRobin Duval was director of the British Board of Film Classification, , from 1999 to 2004. Duval was educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham.- References :...
(11 January 1999 – 19 September 2004) - David Cooke (20 September 2004–present;)
See also
- 18 certificate18 certificateThe 18 certificate is issued by the British Board of Film Classification to state that, in its opinion, a film, video recording, or game should not be seen or purchased by a person under 18 years old....
- R18 certificateR18 certificateThe R18 certificate represents a film or video classification given by the British Board of Film Classification . It is intended to provide a classification for works that are within British obscenity laws, but exceed what the BBFC considers acceptable for its 18 certificate...
- Obscene Publications ActObscene Publications ActSince 1857, a series of obscenity laws known as the Obscene Publications Acts have governed what can be published in England and Wales. The classic definition of criminal obscenity is if it "tends to deprave and corrupt," stated in 1868 by John Duke Coleridge, 1st Baron Coleridge.There have been...
- Censorship in the United KingdomCensorship in the United KingdomCensorship in the United Kingdom has a long history with variously stringent and lax laws in place at different times. Censorship of motion pictures, video games and Internet sites hosted in the United Kingdom are considered to be among the strictest in the European Union, the strictest being...
- Motion picture rating systemMotion picture rating systemA motion picture rating system is designated to classify films with regard to suitability for audiences in terms of issues such as sex, violence, substance abuse, profanity, impudence or other types of mature content...
- History of British film certificatesHistory of British film certificates-Overview:The UK's film ratings are decided by the British Board of Film Classification and have been since 1912. Previously, there were no agreed rating standards, and local councils imposed their own - often differing - conditions or restrictions...
External links
- BBFC parents website
- BBFC homepage
- BBFC students website
- The Melon Farmers: a site critical of the BBFC
- Talking Pictures website: Article by Nigel Watson about film censorship issues accompanied by classroom activities for students