Film rating & certificates, 12a etc

I showed ‘All The Presiden’s Men’ to a group of very intelligent 13-year-old boys recently, which carried a ’15’ rating (I had to get their parents’ permission).
The language was a little raw in places, but I promise you they enjoyed it.

Also – most pointless 12a-rated films ever – Alien vs Predator.

:confused:

I think another reason some of these films are 12a these days is – money.

Think about it – it costs X-hundred million to make a (say) Batman movie. Therefore, you need maximum bums on seats to get a safe return on your investment. 15-rated would mean that most teenagers wouldn’t be able to get in. You make it a 12a and say it contains “XYZ things that viewers may find disturbing”. Your ass is covered both financially and morally. Job done. As Nashio says, if it was a 15, Warners would have lost a good chunk of audience, and therefore profit.

Look at how many action films these days are 15-rated. Back in the 1980s, when the likes of Stallone and Schwarzenegger were at the top of their game, 18-rated action movies were a dime a dozen.

The original (and best ;)) Batman film was released in the cinema as a 12a, but on home media it was a 15 – and still is, despite being nowhere near as bad as The Dark Knight in terms of its content.

I go to www.imdb.com and read the parental guide. There is no judgment, it just details what the film contains, language, nudity, drugs, drink etc. then make up your own mind. Works for me.

What an excellent suggestion – I use Imdb a lot but having no need of parental guidance had not noticed the service existed.

I go to www.imdb.com and read the parental guide. There is no judgment, it just details what the film contains, language, nudity, drugs, drink etc. then make up your own mind. Works for me.

Good tip – thank you, “sucker punch” was on my sons radar, I just looked here and it’s off the list !

It does come to money as Ben says, WB invested in Batman toys for ages 5 and up…

You know Jon – I saw this thread title and INSTANTLY thought of the Dark Knight

My conclusion as to why its a 12a – There is no blood/gore

If it as a 15 rated film WB would have lost probably 30% of their audience….

There are a few other films about that I really dont think are bad enough to justify an 18 rating now

A Clockwork Orange – Imo there are plenty of 15s about that are worse
Alien.

There are a few Ive seen recently I think should be higher rated – I cant think for the life of me what they actually are at the moment though.

The one film I watched that should not be for children – Watership Down – Its a horrifying film and definitely not for children!

(5 more posts 😀 )

Ditto.
Obviously avoid the X rated, and obviously allow the Disneyish……but the others, I tend to watch first and judge. My lad is 8. Any swearing but the F word I tend to let through, but he’s bright enough to still know it’s wrong.

Similar vain, he was doing Electricity at School and consequently got an overconfidence in Plugs and Sockets. Having explained that it kills if not treated with respect he started asking how it kills, again, explanations on heart stopping and muscle spasms etc.
So, I found on YouTube a clip of an Indian man walking along the roof of a train…..you guessed it, ZAP…he falls down dead in the same position he grabbed the wire and then starts to ignite and burn.
Now, he fully respects electricity! Shock tactics (No pun intended)

I go to www.imdb.com and read the parental guide. There is no judgment, it just details what the film contains, language, nudity, drugs, drink etc. then make up your own mind. Works for me.

Film certification has been criticised for as long as I can remember. People will always disagree with the decisions made, as they are bound to be made subjectively. Years ago I knew a member of the board and he always said it was a minefield.