Before a film has it's theatrical release, it must be watched by a qualified examiner of the BBFC and be given an age rating. Some examples of the topics in which the examiner bases the age rating on are: horror; drug abuse; violence; nudity and foul language. The impact of particular scenes on the audience are also considered.
The possible age ratings that may be given to a particular film (in order of age) are:
A film with the 'universal' rating is suitable for all audiences aged four years or older. The film should not contain any examples of behaviour that could be found distressing to a young child, such as sexual violence, for example. However- it is impossible to determine what may or may not upset each individual child. Universal films are usually aimed at an audience of children and are usually the films with the largest profit for the institution as every age is able to see the film. An example of a universal film would be "Shrek the Third".
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Parental guidance does not differ much from the 'universal' age rating in terms of the conditions,-besides a child aged four years or older would obviously be accompanied by an adult anyway- however a PG age rating states that the film should not unsettle a child aged eight or older, but it is the parents choice whether or not they feel comfortable letting a child aged younger than eight watch the film as a young child may find some scenes of the film upsetting. This is due to the fact that there is examples of mild violence and swearing allowed in the film, such as 'bitch' which would not be included in a 'universal' film. An example of a PG film is 'Johnny English'.
A 12A film means that anyone aged younger than 12 must be accompanied by an adult, however it is the adults responsibility to consider whether the film may be found distressing to the child. This is because the film may have content that is considerably unsuitable for a child under the age of twelve to be viewing such as topics of violence etc as stated before in the explanation of a PG. However, on the dvd or blu-ray edition of the film the rating becomes a '12' as once somebody has purchased the film for home usage, it becomes impossible to control what age the audience are who are watching it. An example of a 12A film is 'Guardians of the Galaxy'.
A film with the age rating of a 15 means that no one under that age can buy or watch the film at a cinema. This is because there is no limit on the themes or content that can be used in a 15- such as an unlimited amount of swearing- obviously once they have been considered appropriate for someone that age. An example of a 15 is 'Black Swan'.
18 films are only for adults. This is because the film has been rated unsuitable for children due to the themes and/ or topics that are included such as extremely prominent sexual scenes which may actually be what the whole film is based around on. Other themes may be extreme discrimination towards a particular race or ethnic group, or murder and drug abuse. An example of an 18 film is 'The Human Centipede'.
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