Schirmer Encyclopedia of Film
Film censorship in the United Kingdom began initially
with the aim of controlling flammable nitrate film stock.
In 1909 the first Cinematograph Act was passed, giving
local authorities the right to license buildings for the
screening of film only if they met the required fireprevention standards. However, the terms of the act were
wide open and were very soon interpreted for other purposes. In 1910 the London County Council successfully applied the act to restrict the showing of films on
Sundays. It was recognized that the act had also enabled
local authorities to have legal powers of film censorship.
Sensing the difficulties of allowing regional bodies to
make their own regulation decisions, fearful of government intervention but also keen to polish its own image
as a respectable form of entertainment, the film industry
approached the Home Secretary in 1912 with a request
to establish an independent and centralized board of
censorship. In late 1912 the film industry established
the British Board of Film Censors (BBFC, later the
British Board of Film Classification) with approval from
the Home Office.
The BBFC began viewing films on 1 January 1913
with the declared aim of being ‘‘a purely independent
and impartial body, whose duty it will be to induce
confidence in the minds of licensing authorities and of
those who have in their charge the moral welfare of the
community generally.’’ The Board had a significant effect
on the censorship of films, but it did not change its
essential nature. The local authority remained the final
court on whether a film should be screened, censored, or
banned, even if it had been passed uncut by the BBFC.
The local councils largely supported the BBFC’s decisions, but there have been notable exceptions such as
Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979), a film accused of
blasphemy by pressure groups but which was classified
‘‘AA’’ (admission prohibited to anyone under 14). It was
banned by eleven local authorities, with sixty-two enforcing the classification and twenty-eight reclassifying it ‘‘X’’
(admission prohibited to anyone under 18). In a rare
instance, the film Dawn (1928), the World War I story
of nurse Edith Cavell, was banned by the BBFC at the
insistence of the Foreign Office, which did not wish to
upset Germany. But, in opposition, it was passed by
many local authorities. From 1913 to 1932 the BBFC published in its
annual reports a list of prohibited film content. Not a
code, these lists became known after 1916 as O’Connor’s
rules (after the new BBFC president T. P. O’Connor,
who presented a forty-three-point list). Subject to ridicule, the lists were discontinued in 1932, with films later
judged on individual merits. In 1929, for instance, the
list included the prohibition of ‘‘stories tinctured with
salacious wit,’’ ‘‘sensual exposition of Eugenic doctrines,’’
‘‘women fighting with knives,’’ ‘‘libels on the British
nursing profession,’’ ‘‘provocative and sensuous exposure
of girls’ legs,’’ and ‘‘abdominal contortions in dancing.’’
From its beginning, the BBFC had an advisory two-point
certification system—the ‘‘U’’ certificate, which indicated
films especially suitable for children, and the ‘‘A’’ certificate, which indicated films generally suitable for public
exhibition—and in 1921 these were formally adopted for
the first time.
There had been repeated debates concerning an
adults-only category, with proposals for an appropriate
certificate being made as early as 1921. In response to the
increasing number of American horror films, a new category of film classification was created in January 1933.
The new ‘‘H’’ (for ‘‘Horrific’’) classification was purely
advisory and did not alter the admission procedures that
were already in place, still allowing children into the
films if accompanied by a parent or bona fide guardian.
This ‘‘horrific’’ category mixed horror films with nonhorror films, such as Abel Gance’s 1938 antiwar movie
J’accuse! and a 1945 United Nations war crime film. The
‘‘H’’ became a film certificate only in June 1937, when it
was made the first adults-only certificate in the United
Kingdom (admission prohibited to anyone under 16).
In January 1951 the ‘‘H’’ was subsumed into the newly
created ‘‘X’’ certificate (admission prohibited to anyone
under 16; increased to the age of 18 in 1970; in 1982
replaced by a new ‘‘18’’ certificate). Arthur Watkins, the
secretary of the BBFC in 1951, described ‘‘X’’ films as not
‘‘merely sordid films dealing with unpleasant subjects but
films which, while not being suitable for children, are good
adult entertainment.’’ The BBFC currently operates eight
film and video classifications—from ‘‘Uc’’ (Universal, but
especially suitable for very young children), to ‘‘R18’’ (for
screenings in licensed sex cinemas, for sex videos that are
available only in licensed sex shops, and to persons aged 18
and over).