BBFC News

Labour's culture spokesman, Gloria De Piero has written to Culture Minister Ed Vaizey to re-open an old whinge about music and sport videos being exempt from the Video Recordings Act.

She wrote:

I have seen some of this content, which includes cage fighting, dangerous combat techniques, topless lap-dancing, illegal drug abuse, and racism. It is clearly unsuitable.

Yet because the video is of a type that which enjoys exemption from statutory classification and because the content falls short of the extreme content which causes the video to lose that exemption, it may be supplied to children. The Government needs to act.

Mr Vaizey expects to make an announcement on the issue soon, she said.

Responsible parts of the video industry do send problematic exempt material to the BBFC for classification but others do not. A BBFC spokesman said:

When the Act was passed in 1984, legislators could not have anticipated some of the material which is legally claiming exemption today.

This means that children can legally obtain this potentially harmful material with no restriction on its supply.

The BBFC believes, along with politicians and parents, that the more extreme music and sport DVDs and some documentaries, should lose their exempt status and be give appropriate age restrictions to protect children.'

Comment: 18 rated sport

1st April 2011. From goatboy

There are UFC DVDs available unrated in the UK that almost certainly would have been BBFC 18 had they been submitted.

Heck UFC 107 - Penn vs. Sanchez is unrated and the main event in that one is a total bloodbath.

However UFC bouts have rules decided on by the various US state athletic commissions, and is most certainly a sport.

In addition I doubt they have many fans under 18, I'd guess them going out unrated is just to save the BBFCs fees rather than attracting a young audience.

The BBFC has introduced a new 'AsLive' type of certificate plays that are performed live at a theatre but also relayed to cinemas.

Presumably the BBFC base their decision on previous performances and hope that the performers don't adlib a stream of expletives should they forget their lines on the night.

From article from nationaltheatre.org.uk

For the first time ever, National Theatre Live will broadcast two separate performances of a production. Throughout the run of Frankenstein at the National Theatre, Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller are alternating the roles of Victor Frankenstein and the Creature. Audiences in cinemas will have the chance to see both combinations, with two broadcasts a week apart.

Both versions of the production will be filmed on 17 March. The evening performance, featuring Benedict Cumberbatch as the Creature and Jonny Lee Miller as Frankenstein, will be broadcast live to cinemas in the UK and some venues abroad on 17 March at 7.00pm GMT as already announced.

The additional filmed performance with the leading roles reversed -- Jonny Lee Miller as the Creature and Benedict Cumberbatch as Frankenstein -- will be screened in the UK and Europe on 24 March, also at 7.00pm GMT (with worldwide screenings at a later date).

The BBFC has decided that the performance is 15 rated.

Note that although this articles notes this as a first, this is the 5th 'AsLive' BBFC certificate for National Theatre performances.

I Saw The Devil is a South Korean revenge thriller. It has rarely been released uncut, even in its home country, due to levels of graphic violence that would give Antichrist a run for its money. It's also totally excellent.

There are several rape scenes, one of which, is sure to cause trouble at the BBFC. It's a rape scene in which the female victim starts to enjoy it midway through the proceedings. This particular rape myth has always been a major bugbear for the BBFC.

Distributors  Optimum aren't seeking a cinema rating for the film. Instead they have secured permission from Westminster council to show the film uncut exclusively at the ICA from 29th April 2011 (adults only).

The film is scheduled for a DVD/Blu-ray release on 9th May 2011.

Promotional Material from UK Amazon:

“The best serial killer film since Se7en"--Arrow In The Head

A psychotic serial killer is on the loose, committing some of the most diabolical crimes the police have ever witnessed. No one is safe as the body count rises and the killer continues his evil odyssey of sadistic butchery. But when the fiancée of an elite special agent becomes one of his victims, a personal investigation becomes a merciless and brutal game of vengeance. As one violent encounter leads to another, it’s a game where the hunter becomes as unhinged as the hunted.

Directed by one of Korea’s most notorious and revered directors Kim Ji-Woon (A Tale Of Two Sisters), I Saw The Devil is as action packed and thrilling as it is extremely dark and disturbing. Reuniting the director with actor Lee Byung-Hun (A Bittersweet Life, Hero, The Good, The Bad And The Weird) it also stars Asian cinema legend Choi Min-Sik (Oldboy).

Update: Passed 18 without BBFC cuts on DVD

17th March 2011. See article from bbfc.co.uk

I Saw the Devil has been passed 18 without BBFC cuts for Optimum DVD/online with the comment: Contains very strong bloody violence and strong sex.

The running time was noted as 138:06s which stacks up with the most commonly quoted 144 minute runtime in NTSC/film. There are however other mentions of a 141 minute version (perhaps the cut Korean version) and a 147 minute version.

From IMDb:

Kim Jee-woon made seven cuts totaling 80 to 90 seconds in order to receive a Korean over 18 restricted rating. Cuts were made to a scene of body parts being eaten by a dog and humans, and a human body being mutilated. Before the censorship, the Korean censors twice gave it a rating that would have prevented a video and mainstream theatrical release.

Emma Pett asks:

I want to find out about your experiences and opinions as a viewer of Asian Extreme cinema. Right now there are a lot of claims circulating in the UK about why people watch different forms of extreme cinema, and what this might do to them. These claims often involve assumptions about film audiences that aren't based on any actual research. Through this questionnaire I aim to gather viewers' own understandings of what they enjoy in Asian Extreme films.

The research is the focus of my PhD which I'm conducting at Aberystwyth University, supervised by Professor Martin Barker and Dr Kate Egan. It is part of a collaborative project with the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). This means that I will have the chance to present my research findings to the BBFC, once they are complete. But the actual research is being designed and conducted entirely independently. I also guarantee that anything you tell me will be fully anonymised in everything I say and write.

At the beginning of the questionnaire you'll see I've listed ten Asian Extreme films. I'm aware that there are lots of films I've missed off this list. These ten films have been chosen either because of their popularity, or because of censorship issues they've raised. Sorry if I've missed out your favourite film, but this way I can make sure that my research will be of direct relevance to the BBFC.

See questionnaire

One may sensibly query if there is any relevance to a censorship body in the 21st century when the internet remains a relatively untrammelled, free-floating entity, difficult to control or regulate.

Most viewers' instinctive reaction would be an emphatic no. But what is a regulatory body to do when, for instance, a film with immense appeal to young people (Rules of Attraction) contains a scene showing a young woman slowly undressing before sitting in a bathtub, taking off her rings and slitting her wrist vertically with a razor blade in an extreme close-up shot. A suicide prevention specialist said few know of how lethal vertical cuts on wrists can be, leading to a speedy and certain death. The scene in the film, played to the beguiling soundtrack of Nilsen's Can't live, if living is without you . . ., presented a glamourised suicide scene and showed what was, in the Board's parlance, an imitable harmful technique.

An example emerged recently in a low-budget American work called Terrorists, Killers and Other Wackos: a collection of clips collected from the floors of editing rooms, cobbled together and set to a jaunty soundtrack. Nothing was sacrosanct: real deaths, suicides, executions, horrific injuries, a close-up of a man having his hand sliced off at the wrist. All served up without any documentary or other context and with the express intent to entertain. It made for jaw-dropping, eye-watering viewing, and the DVD would almost certainly have found a ready market, probably among feckless young men at drink-driven parties. It was also acknowledged that the work was very unlikely to lead to anyone rushing out to copy or imitate the gory actions on view. However, there was an extremely disturbing quality to such unashamedly exploitative material that made it impossible to release without some amount of soul-searching and debate. However, despite my own revulsion at the film, I continued to find it tough to accept that the organisation I worked for had a remit that included protecting the moral fabric of the nation. Who was I to tell people what they could and couldn't watch, all the while being relatively undisturbed myself by watching the same material? Most BBFC cuts are made in the porn category (sensibly, an entirely legal product in the UK, although hardcore material can only be sold in licenced sex shops). The Obscene Publications Act 1959, brought in to unsuccessfully proscribe D.H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover, is also still much in use, notably in the area of porn. It is, thankfully, a law that is almost never used to proscribe printed material any more, but the moving image is apparently still fair game.

Are people really likely to be depraved and corrupted merely by watching porn performers do odd things to each other on screen? All but the very prudish would probably---at least, secretly--- think not. But such acts as the dripping of hot wax on certain body parts have remained on the Department of Public Prosecution's list of obscene material for a long time and there will be little appetite in government to take on what could turn into a rather (forgive the pun) sticky issue.

And so the BBFC soldiers on into the 21st century, doing what it does with sincerity and good intent.

...Read the full article

Pat Higgins is the Writer/Director of straight-to-DVD horror movies such as Hellbride, KillerKiller, The Devil's Music & House on the Witchpit.

He explains how his Trash House DVD ended up with an 18. He also asks how the MPAA could give the same rating for both the King's Speech and Saw 3D

See the video

Update: The Hidden Cost of Easter Eggs

8th February 2011. See video from youtube.com

Pat Higgins, director of The Devil's Music, explains economic censorship resulting from the BBFC fee structure for DVD extras.

See the video

Creative Industries Minister Ed Vaizey, has welcomed the BBFC's new Watch and Rate scheme, which provides classifications for straight to download content, as good for the industry and good for the public.

Speaking after seeing a demonstration of the new scheme, he said:

The Watch and Rate scheme is a welcome addition to the work done by the BBFC.

The internet has completely changed the way we access videos and music so it is good to see the BBFC adapting to meet the demands of the online world.

The BBFC is providing industry with a quick and cost effective classification system for straight-to-download content and the public with an age rating system they trust and understand.

Age ratings will help parents protect their children from inappropriate content and provide people with more confidence about the content they and their families are watching.

Since 2008 the BBFC has been working with the UK video industry to provide a content labelling system for film, video and TV content supplied by internet, wireless or mobile signal which the public can trust and understand. By giving over 200,000 titles a digital classification the BBFC has provided consumers with access to labelling and content information for a massive back catalogue of films and television programmes which are available through video-on-demand, digital rental/sell through, streaming, mobile platforms and connected TV.

Platforms and e-tailers using the BBFC's classifications for their online content pay a licensing fee under the BBFC.online service. As well as the back catalogue all their new content classified by the BBFC is given an online certificate for digital distribution.

For material which is going straight to online the BBFC has developed a brand new classification service, known as Watch and Rate which provides digital e-tailers and platforms with a robust labelling and child protection system for the online world at a cost and speed which reflects the needs of digital distribution.

David Cooke, Director of the BBFC said:

Our new service for straight to online content will provide the industry with a service which will ensure that they can get their content, along with BBFC labelling, out into the rapidly moving digital space. For parents it will offer labelling and content advice they know and trust in what is, for many, an unfamiliar landscape.

We have an exciting part to play in the film and video industry's digital future. For almost 100 years, we have supported innovation in the moving image industries, and our latest service is designed to support the ever-increasing technological development in our second century. Issuing 200,000 certificates at a stroke is a major step towards this.

Lavinia Carey, Director General of the British Video Association said:

The BBFC's act of issuing 200,000 'online' certificates has shown a major commitment to the digital development of home entertainment. At a time when the film and video industry is reinventing itself, the BBFC's role and contribution to the digital future is hugely appreciated and supported by our members.

Stephen Joy, Production Manager of Entertainment One said:

Watch & Rate enables us to distribute certified works digitally without the costs of marketing a physical DVD. Having their trusted symbols attached to our products in the digital space has allowed entry to key on-demand platforms fast, and at low cost.

Eric Stevens, Head of Independent Distribution for Independent Film Company said:

BBFC's Watch & Rate provided us with a cost effective way of certifying products for use in the On Demand space. Licensing and sign-up was quick, service costs were cost effective, for a content owner of our size and online submission was straightforward and streamlined.

The BBFC Talks Modern Warfare 2, Censorship and How They Keep Gaming Standards High. An interview with James Blatch of the BBFC.

Not Actual Game Footage: Is violence more acceptable in a game if it isn't happening to a human being? If a robot or alien is being brutally decapitated for instance, does that make it more acceptable? If yes then why?

James Blatch: In simple terms: YES. It's all about context (a bit of a mantra here in Soho Square). In the Lego series of video games, the player is basically blasting little Lego pieces to bits, that's something my five year old does with the real thing and on the Wii all the time (so far he seems normal...). But if it were the real Luke and Leia, even without blood effects, we might be looking at raising the category

...Read the full article

The BBFC have provided a new app available for iPhone and iPad with the description"

Check out the latest film and DVD classification decisions from the BBFC. Whether you are at home, at the cinema or out and about, get detailed information about why the film or DVD you are thinking of seeing or buying got the classification it did.

Interesting to note the rating has been rated:

Rated 9+ for Infrequent/Mild Profanity or Crude Humor

Presumably the app is not carrying the full range of certificates lest Apple get offended by titles such as Rocco Siffredi's Stick your iPhone up your Arse 17.

Lord Taylor of Warwick has been found guilty of making £11,277 in false parliamentary expenses claims.

He claimed travel costs between his Oxford home and Westminster, as well as subsistence for living away from home whilst in London. He was actually living in a flat in London.

A jury at Southwark Crown Court found him guilty by an 11-1 majority verdict.

He has been released on bail pending sentencing at a date to be confirmed.

Taylor was a former vice-president of the British Board of Film Classification serving from 1998 until 2000.

He was actually appointed during moral times when the Government were keeping a close eye on BBFC presidential appointments. This was to ensure a bit of Jack Straw imposed morality after James Ferman had started the hardcore legalisation ball rolling by passing a few hardcore snippets in R18 videos.

So much for their selection of moral high grounders.

Offsite: The Warlock of Warwick

30th January 2011. See article from telegraph.co.uk

Lord Taylor of Warwick, the first black Conservative politician to take a seat in the House of Lords, faces jail after being convicted of expenses fraud.

The Telegraph can reveal the full extent of his spectacular demise. For as the net was closing in on him, Taylor went ahead with a marriage – including a lavish ceremony and reception at the House of Lords – that was to last just 24 days.

In a remarkably candid interview, Taylor's ex-wife Yvonne Louise, a wealthy evangelical Christian from Florida, tells of their wedding, their bizarre honeymoon and subsequent divorce.

Taylor, also an evangelical Christian, employed as his official wedding photographer the nephew whose damning evidence helped to secure his conviction. The photos of the ceremony, which took place in December 2009 but which are made public for the first time today, show Taylor smiling for the cameras. But his grin masks the scandal about to engulf him.

...Read the full article

Indecision over whether games featuring video content still need a BBFC certificate has temporarily derailed the implementation of PEGI ratings.

The handover from the BBFC to the VSC will not now occur until September at the very earliest.

A new government proposal states that interactive entertainment which features linear content (such as trailers) would require a BBFC rating. That means a game that features a video in it will need to have both a PEGI and BBFC label on the box.

UKIE representing UK games producers condemned the proposal, saying in a statement:

Any dual labelling is contrary to the principles that were established in having PEGI introduced into the Digital Economy Act and if this proposal were implemented we believe it would only cause unnecessary and potentially harmful consumer confusion.

On Friday 21st January 2011 the Police raided an unsuspecting Blockbuster in Northampton upon receiving a complaint from a 'distressed' viewer and seized copies of the film despite the BBFC rating on the front and the content warning in large letters on the back.

The police with their usual, the complainant is always right, attitude didn't check with the BBFC before raiding the store for a perfectly legal film.

Blockbuster has now withdrawn the film from it's catalogue pending consultation with their lawyers.

Northamptonshire police sent dogatemywookie.co.uk the statement:

We received information from a member of the public that a copy of The Serbian Film at a branch of Blockbusters in Northampton contained images of child abuse.

We have a duty to investigate such claims and in agreement with the manager of the shop took a copy away to view and check that it was the edition that has been approved by the British Board of Film Classification for distribution.

It has been established as a legitimate copy of the film that has been approved for distribution by the BBFC and so is being returned to the shop.

The rollout of the new PEGI video games classification system will miss its current April 2010 deadline and will not be introduced until July of this year at the earliest.

The Video Standards Council (VSC) will then take over administration of producer assigned games ratings using PEGI symbols and classifications.

The Conservative culture minister Ed Vaizey has admitted that: There's been some technical delays to iron out a few kinks – nothing fundamental, nothing serious. And we'll crack on with it as fast as we can.

mcvuk.com believes that the delay is due to the time it will take to obtain European parliamentary approval.

In the latest move to bring the BBFC's widely recognised and trusted classifications to the world of digitally distributed content, every VHS, DVD and Blu-Ray title classified by the BBFC since 1985 has been given a digital certificate.

Since 2008 the BBFC has been working with the UK video industry to provide a content labelling system for film, video and TV content supplied by internet, wireless or mobile signal which the public can trust and understand. By giving over 200,000 titles a digital classification the BBFC has provided consumers with access to labelling and content information for a massive back catalogue of films and television programmes which are available through video-on-demand, digital rental/sell through, streaming, mobile platforms and connected TV.

Platforms and e-tailers using the BBFC's classifications for their online content pay a licensing fee under the BBFC.online service. As well as the back catalogue all their new content classified by the BBFC is given an online certificate for digital distribution.

For material which is going straight to online the BBFC has developed a brand new classification service, known as Watch and Rate which provides digital e-tailers and platforms with a robust labelling and child protection system for the online world at a cost and speed which reflects the needs of digital distribution.

David Cooke, Director of the BBFC said:

Our new service for straight to online content will provide the industry with a service which will ensure that they can get their content, along with BBFC labelling, out into the rapidly moving digital space. For parents it will offer labelling and content advice they know and trust in what is, for many, an unfamiliar landscape.

We have an exciting part to play in the film and video industry's digital future. For almost 100 years, we have supported innovation in the moving image industries, and our latest service is designed to support the ever-increasing technological development in our second century. Issuing 200,000 certificates at a stroke is a major step towards this.

Lavinia Carey, Director General of the British Video Association said:

The BBFC's act of issuing 200,000 'online' certificates has shown a major commitment to the digital development of home entertainment. At a time when the film and video industry is reinventing itself, the BBFC's role and contribution to the digital future is hugely appreciated and supported by our members.

Stephen Joy, Production Manager of Entertainment One said:

Watch & Rate enables us to distribute certified works digitally without the costs of marketing a physical DVD. Having their trusted symbols attached to our products in the digital space has allowed entry to key on-demand platforms fast, and at low cost.

Eric Stevens, Head of Independent Distribution for Independent Film Company said:

BBFC's Watch & Rate provided us with a cost effective way of certifying products for use in the On Demand space. Licensing and sign-up was quick, service costs were cost effective, for a content owner of our size and online submission was straightforward and streamlined.

There were major problems with the British film censors over Killer Bitch. We were told the BBFC was very concerned at the content of the movie and it was screened at least four times to various combinations of censors, eventually including the Chairman of the Board. I suspect it was just a case of a movie with a high-profile tabloid reputation being referred-up because each person was too scared to take the risk of passing it himself/herself…. At one point, a BBFC Examiner sent an e-mail to the UK distributor saying it was more likely than not that there would be several cuts.

I was amazed when I found out what they claimed the problem was. We were told there were two areas of concern:

The first was a glimpse of part of the erect shaft of porn star Ben Dover's penis at the beginning of the movie. This gobsmacked me. Apart from the fact neither the director nor I had ever noticed this and the censors must have gone through it frame by frame with a magnifying glass (no reflection on Ben Dover), I have still never spotted the offending shot in the movie.

The second problem was the scene which had got the tabloids worldwide into such a tizzy when (without ever having seen it) they had denounced it as a ghastly and vile rape scene. What the BBFC was worried about was not the actual sex scene itself (which was not a rape scene at all) but the pre-amble to the sex scene, in which leading lady Yvette Rowland initially resists Alex Reid then melts in his arms.

There IS a rape scene in Killer Bitch (which in no way glamorises nor diminishes the horror but it is not the scene the tabloids got into a tizz about). And someone DOES get his cock cut off in vision. But apparently neither of these scenes worried the censors.

What seems to have worried them was the movie's reputation. It worried everyone. It was, ironically, passed uncut by the BBFC, but banned from display on the shelves of ASDA, Morrison's, Sainsbury, WH Smith, Tesco and others (although most of those sell it online). It was even withdrawn by iTunes after two days on sale for rather vague reasons. HMV remained a sole beacon of high street retail sanity and online retailers like Amazon and Play.com never had any problem.

...Read the full article

I saw The King's Speech yesterday. I really enjoyed it – but the point of this post is that a while back I commented on the fact that Made in Dagenham should have had a 12A certificate (like The King's Speech) – and not the 15 rating it got.

I based this on the hearsay knowledge that the f word was used in The King's Speech and was thought to be an integral part of the film – and the film's overall worthiness meant that it should be seen by 12A (ie accompanied by an adult). Having now actually seen this film – I would agree – the use of expletives is integral to this film.

In Made in Dagenham – which is the story of the women workers at Dagenham car plant who fought for equal pay – supported by their male colleagues – and which ultimately led to the Equal Pay Act – the f word is also used. In my view in this film, the use of the f word is just as integral to the telling of this story as are the expletives in The King's Speech.

The differential in the certification by the British Board of Film Classification (independent body for film certification) means that more and younger folk will be able to see a great film about part of our history – ie King George VI – but not our great history of the fight for equality.

I am still at a loss to understand the differential certification.

Is there are a trend here? The percentage of R18s cut has been more like 25-30% over the last few years. But for the last 6 months the figure has been just 15%.

Are the BBFC cutting less?, or are the producers moving away from 'rough sex'?

BBFC R18 cuts for December 2010

Number of submissions = 43
Number that were cut = 7
Percentage of R18s censored by the BBFC = 16%

The R18 monthly cuts stats 2010: 

• January: 75 R18s cut out of 375 (20%) *
• February: 6 R18s cut out of 76 (7%)
• March: 15 R18s cut out of 76 (19%)
• April: 16 R18s cut out of 65 (24%)
• June: 23 R18s cut out of 80 (28%)
• July: 15 R18s cut out of 69 (21%)
• August: 16 cut out of 95 (17%)
• September: 8 cut out of 63 (13%)
• October: 8 cut out of 61 (13%)
• November: 4 cut out of 67 (6%)
• December: 7 cut out of 43 (16%)

The R18 total cuts for 2010: 

• 2010: 209 cut out of 1135 (18%)
   
• 2010: 1 banned (Lost in the Hood, gay porn with a sexual abuse theme).

* The BBFC re-assigned all video certificates passed during the preceding months when the Video Records Act was in limbo, to a January 2010 date when the new VRA was back in force.

Cuts of interest:

Lesglam One

A single compulsory cut was required to remove a scene of fisting (digital penetration of the vagina involving all five fingers of a hand to a depth beyond the knuckles). Cut required in accordance with current interpretation of the Obscene Publications Act 1959.