British Ratings

Howard M Green

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Apr 4, 1991, 2:08:52 PM4/4/91

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From reading a few magazines that leak over to this country from the UK, I
have noticed your movie classification system. I have a few questions about it.
The first couple, U and PG seem to me to correspond roughly with the American
G and PG ratings, with a handful of deviations. I notice you then have 12, 15
and 18 ratings. It seems that 12 would be some of the PG's and PG-13 films
in this country. 18 I suppose would be the harder R's (under 17 not admitted
without parent) and probably NC-17 (No one under 17 admitted), like Lethal
Weapon and Cook, Theif, Wife and her Lover Respectively.
The 15 rating, I noticed, had been given to movies that had one
of three ratings in this country. For example I noticed Beetlejuice (A PG in
the US) got a 15 classification, as did Batman, which was rated PG-13 stateside,
and The Blues Brothers amoung other softer American R's (probably for language,
they're very picky about It here.)
So this is what I am wondering. First, what are the ratings based on in
the UK-what would give a film a 15 or 18 rating for example. Secondly, what
do the ratings mean. For the 12, 15, or 18 ratings, are they just warnings to
parents, like PG-13, are children under that age not admitted without a parent?
Are there any films to which children are not admitted at all ?
Incidentely the Flying Circus episodes on videotape here appear without
a rating. The movies "MP and the Holy Grail" and "...And Now For Something
Completely Different" are both rated PG. "Life of Brian", "The Meaning of Life"
and "Live at the Hollywood Bowl" were all rated R, as were the "Secret
Polieceman's Ball", films.
-Just Wondering,
-Howard Green

Graeme Griffiths

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Apr 8, 1991, 6:44:19 AM4/8/91

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I'll try and help (i hope) but your description of US ratings has me beaten
(I never knew there were so many).

I think you know U means anyone (Disney etc)

PG basically means anyone but leaves a warning to any parents that give a
monkeys about their kids that some of the scenes are a bit violent/explicit
(utter crap in most PG cases)

12 was brought in for Batman as far as I can tell (I'd certainly never heard
of it before then) and was probably bought by the makers of this film to
prevent the censors putting a 15 on it and reducing its total market.

(As an aside I think the film would have benefitted if it had not been made
with children in mind , it is essentially a film about a psychopath after
all)

15 means that under 15's are not allowed this doesn't mean they don't get in
they just get a buzz out of cheating the system (oh to be young again, I'm
old enough to do ANYTHING legally now and it mostly lessens the fun).

18 is the old X rating (adults only honest) and are mostly watched by kids
on video.Amazing to think Jaws was this rating 15 or so years ago.

I hope this clears it up.

To tie this to a.f.m-p I may as well say that most of the films came out as
15's except MoL which I think was an 18.

Howard M Green

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Apr 8, 1991, 2:58:17 PM4/8/91

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What I was wondering about those number ratings was if they all meant that
children under that age could not see them IN ANY CASE, NO QUESTIONS ASKED.
Because in america, most movies with "Adult material" are rated "R", and
children under 17 are not supposed to be admitted on their own, but can
be taken by their parents. Supposedly this should give the parent the right
to decide first whether the film is suitable for the child.
Of course, the applications of the rating are generally bogus. Most
R rated movies are so rated because their content offends the old fogies
on the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) ratings board. It's
certainly them, not younger teenagers, who are shocked by Freddy making
hamburger out of a high school athlete or cheerleader. I've also noticed
that ratings are based on "bad" language above most else. I've noticed that
the word "Fuck" three times (sometimes less), or "motherfucker" even once is
an automatic R. Now they are releasing reasons for R ratings. If you read
Variety magazine, you may notice that some films are denoted as having
"Strong Sensuality". STRONG SENSUALITY????? What do they do, exactly, come
around with hot oil during the movie and give you a bodyrub???
Anyway, like I say, the system has good intentions, but is generally
bogus. Between about 13 and 17 there were plenty of ways to get in. First
there was going to multiplexes and sneaking around in theatres, which I still
do today, so at 7.50 a show I can actually get my moneys worth. Then we just
found the theatres wich would sell us tick -howie

Daniel Bowen

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Apr 8, 1991, 11:12:43 PM4/8/91

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Just in case no-one's interested, here are the Australian ratings:

In article <1991Apr8.1...@abekrd.co.uk>, gra...@abekrd.co.uk (Graeme Griffiths) writes:
> I think you know U means anyone (Disney etc)

The equivalent here would be G.

> PG basically means anyone but leaves a warning to any parents that give a
> monkeys about their kids that some of the scenes are a bit violent/explicit
> (utter crap in most PG cases)

Same here.

>
> 12 was brought in for Batman as far as I can tell (I'd certainly never heard

Batman here got a PG.

> 15 means that under 15's are not allowed this doesn't mean they don't get in
> they just get a buzz out of cheating the system (oh to be young again, I'm
> old enough to do ANYTHING legally now and it mostly lessens the fun).

Ours is M (Mature Audiences), which is 15 and over.

> 18 is the old X rating (adults only honest) and are mostly watched by kids
> on video.Amazing to think Jaws was this rating 15 or so years ago.

R here. (Restricted). For some reason the rules say no-one between the
ages of 2 and 18 is allowed in. So Toddlers get to see R movies? I dunno.

> To tie this to a.f.m-p I may as well say that most of the films came out as
> 15's except MoL which I think was an 18.

You sure about that? What about "And Now For Something Completely
Different"? I'm not sure, but I think that got either a G or a PG here.

As far as I know, everything else got an M here, including MoL. Why did that
get an 18? Certainly all the videos are labelled M. As someone else
mentioned, videos and films ratings are now being labelled as having
certain elements. Here they are of the type "Frequent Low-level Violence"
(for TMNT), or "Crude Language" or "Sexual Allusions" (Black Adder 3, rated
PG) or "Sexual scenes". That sort of stuff.

Daniel Bowen
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Thomas J Weisswange

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Apr 14, 1991, 2:50:09 AM4/14/91

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I am posting this for the benefit of our foreign readers (the other
ethnocentric rotten loathsome-spotty behinded americans who didn't even
think of the fact that people in other countries might not have complete
access to every bit of information about the United States may as well
go and boil your bottoms you second-hand electric donkey bottom biters.)

In article <1991Apr9.0...@monu6.cc.monash.edu.au> edb...@monu6.cc.monash.edu.au (Daniel Bowen) writes:
>Just in case no-one's interested, here are the Australian ratings:
>
>In article <1991Apr8.1...@abekrd.co.uk>, gra...@abekrd.co.uk (Graeme Griffiths) writes:
>> I think you know U means anyone (Disney etc)
>
>The equivalent here would be G.

G here also.

>> PG basically means anyone but leaves a warning to any parents that give a
>> monkeys about their kids that some of the scenes are a bit violent/explicit
>> (utter crap in most PG cases)
>
>Same here.

In lieu of adding another "same here" I will say "here also".

>>
>> 12 was brought in for Batman as far as I can tell (I'd certainly never heard
>
>Batman here got a PG.
>
>> 15 means that under 15's are not allowed this doesn't mean they don't get in
>> they just get a buzz out of cheating the system (oh to be young again, I'm
>> old enough to do ANYTHING legally now and it mostly lessens the fun).
>
>Ours is M (Mature Audiences), which is 15 and over.

Here we have just one rating "PG-13" which is SUPPOSED to indicate
something which is too stressful/violent/obscene/interesting to allow
those little creeps, uh, I mean little kids to watch. This is
bullshit.

>> 18 is the old X rating (adults only honest) and are mostly watched by kids
>> on video.Amazing to think Jaws was this rating 15 or so years ago.
>
>R here. (Restricted). For some reason the rules say no-one between the
>ages of 2 and 18 is allowed in. So Toddlers get to see R movies? I dunno.
>
>> To tie this to a.f.m-p I may as well say that most of the films came out as
>> 15's except MoL which I think was an 18.
>
>You sure about that? What about "And Now For Something Completely
>Different"? I'm not sure, but I think that got either a G or a PG here.
>
>As far as I know, everything else got an M here, including MoL. Why did that
>get an 18? Certainly all the videos are labelled M. As someone else
>mentioned, videos and films ratings are now being labelled as having
>certain elements. Here they are of the type "Frequent Low-level Violence"
>(for TMNT), or "Crude Language" or "Sexual Allusions" (Black Adder 3, rated
>PG) or "Sexual scenes". That sort of stuff.
>

In the US, the rating "R" has been used for years and years to indicate
something that you had to be over 17 or with your parents to get into
(right). Of course here it is quite possible to go to a movie theatre
with 12 movies showing, buy a ticket to another movie showing about the
same time, and to walk into a different viewing room. You think they'd
learn.

The rating "X" has also been used for years and years to indicate "adult
films" (porno movies). The only problem with this rating is that the
MPAA forgot (stupid bastards) to copyright the indication "X" on a movie
and so anyone who produces anything can call it "X". This angered a
couple of people (it was something about not being able to tell the
difference between a film like "eighty-seven babes and the San Diego
Zoo" from something more artsy, like "Tie me up, Tie me down." Don't
ask me, I'm just the schmuck typing this in) and so they forced the MPAA
to adopt another designation "A", which they can use to indicate movies
that kids cannot get into but probably do not include a whole lot of
sex. P.S.: both "X" and "A" movies do not allow kids under 17 in under
any circumstances (right).

"Thinking up more shit to do things to make things to do things to other
people with, and thinking up new shit to do with the things we have."
-George Carlin

Thomas Weisswange (weis...@phoenix.princeton.edu)

"You're one of our best customers...you and the United States."