Film Ratings

In this post i will discuss the differences between American and British film ratings and where we would like our film to fall.

BBFC

U

Standing for 'universal' a U rating means the film is appropriate for all ages, with little to no content that can be deemed inappropriate for children.

PG

'Parental Guidance'. the majority of children's films actually fall into this, as it is given to films that contain some justified violence, make mild reference to sex/drugs and/or contain what could be considered disturbing scenes (to children under 8.)

12A

Introduced in 2002, these are films considered unsuitable for children. Children under 12 can only watch a 12-A film if accompanied by someone over 18. They can contain mature themes, discrimination, soft drugs, infrequent strong language and moderate violence, sex references and nudity. Sexual activity may be briefly and discreetly portrayed.

12

Suitable for only those aged 12 or over, unlike 12-A, it cannot be viewed by anyone under 12. It has not been used for cinema releases since 12-A was introduced, but a 12-A film will usually have this rating for home release.

15

Suitable only for persons over 15.  they can contain adult themes, hard drugs, regular use of foul language and limited use of very strong language, strong violence and strong sex references, and nudity without graphic detail. Can also contain sex scenes, as long as they are not extremely explicit in nature.

18

Suitable for only those over 18. They do not have limitation on the foul language that is used, hard drugs, explicit sex references and detailed sexual activity are also allowed. Explicit sex scenes, if justifiable, are allowed, as well as strong, gory, and/or sadistic violence. Sexual violence can also be permitted provided it is not erotiscized or excessively graphic.

MPAA

General Audience

Suitable for most audiences, contains little to no offensive or explicit content.

Parental Guidance

Contains some material that could be deemed unsuitable for children. Some parents may find the content to be unsuitable whilst others may not have an issue with it.

Parental Guidance 13

The most common rating nowadays, a strong warning to parents that the film contains content unsuitable for children under thirteen, and potentially content they may not want teenagers to be exposed to.

Restricted

Contains content unsuitable for persons under 17 and they may only be admitted if they are accompanied by a person over 18. along with NC-17, this is the only rating with any restriction on viewing.

No Children under (or including) 17

Nobody 17 or under is to be admitted to see an NC-17 film with or without accompaniment. More common than expected, a lot of 90's gross-out comedy films like American Pie fall into this catagory. There is a lot of stigma to this rating as many films previously rated X were re-assigned as NC-17.

The British ratings are clearly more detailed in what exactly they can and cannot contain, and the American system appears to be more based upon circumstance, with much looser guidelines. Our film would fall into a PG-13 american rating, or a 12/12-A or 15 at most, as this would allow us to cater to a larger movie going audience without sacrificing too much in terms of dark/violent content, fairly necessary for a western to be enjoyable. However, films do not always need Tarantino-esque violence or constant cursing to feature dark themes, and we would hope to achieve that with our film.

Western films and their age ratings (as stated on the BBFC website):

- A Fistful of Dollars (1964) - 15
- For A Few Dollars More (1965) - 15
- The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966) - 18
- Unforgiven (1992) - 15
- 3:10 to Yuma (2007) - 15
- The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) - 15
- True Grit (2010) - 15
- Django Unchained (2012) - 18