British Board Of Film Classification

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) was set up in 1912 and since it has been classifying cinema films, and DVD's when the Video Recordings Act came about in 1984 in the UK. The 1984 act was passed by Parliament and the act required all 'video works' these include video games, TV programmes and films, which were then stored on to a electronical device which is then to be classified.

DVDs are normally viewed by one examiner especially when the watching the DVD release of a cinema film that has already been classified. The examiners focus on the issues such as drugs, horror, language, discrimination, nudity, violence, sex and sexual violence. Context, tone and impact is also considered.s the decision is checked again by the senior examinery two examiners whom use the guidelines that are provided.

There are six classification sections that films are placed into before release, one of them are not as well known or often used.

U stands for Universal. This means that the film should be suitable for any ages over four years old. However it is not possible to know what a child may get upset about therefore the films are positive with no reference to language or violence. It is also suitable for nursery children to be watching on their own as well.

PG is abbreviated for Parental Guidance. The film is general however some scenes may be unsuitable for young children. Children of any age may watch the film unaccompanied however the film should not disturb a child of eight or nine years old. It depends on whether the children's parents allow their children to watch these films as the younger children are more sensitive so they may get upset about the content.

Films with this class certificate means that again nobody under the age of 12 can watch the film only for those aged 12 and over. Although these films may not have sexual references, strong violence etc some material may upset the parents as they think it is not suitable for their child(ren). The 12A film group means children younger than 12 years old can watch this film however they have to be accompanied by an adult.

A 15 rated classification means no-one younger than this age state can watch a film of an age of 15, neither are they allowed to buy or rent a film of this age. Films within this category usually contain strong words, sexual references, strong violence and perhaps illegal substances.

The 18 film classification means that nobody younger than 18 is able to watch the film in a cinema or able to rent/ buy an 18 rated film. This may be due to language, strong violence, sex references or use of drugs. In my opinion 18 is the correct age for this classification as it is the start of becoming an adult and since an individual can drive, drink alcohol and go to clubs so being able to watch films with sexual activity and violence is acceptable. For example Halloween is a film with the classification age of 18.

The R18 classification is a category that is not used on a regular basis it is a legally restricted classification. This is because it has explicitly throughout which consist of sex, strong fetish material involving adults. These films may only be shown to adults in specially licensed cinema or the video works may be supplied to adults only in licensed sex shops.

If I was to give my film; The Book Of Leviticus an age certificate it would be a 15, this is because the genre is a thriller and the entire film will be set around murderers so it would be violence and due to the main character being a lady of the night there will be sexual reference. A 12A would be too young as it can be jumpy and twisted which would confuse the children; it is not a positive film with no bad language etc. Although all these bad things are not shown in the opening they would continue or happen if the entire film was filmed. An 18 certificate would be not be suitable as there is not gore and extremely brutal violence, it is mild especially the opening.