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Cuts

The BBFC tries to minimise the need for cuts by placing the work in the appropriate category. Cuts will be required where a work contravenes relevant legislation or particular Board policies.

The decision to cut a work to obtain a lower category and so make it available to a wider or younger audience is made by the distributor and not by the Board, though the Board will specify how the work should be cut to achieve a lower category. These are called 'cuts for category' and the BBFC makes clear that a higher, uncut classification was available to the distributor. Examples of 'cuts for category' include Pineapple Express which was cut to reduce a scene in which schoolboys are sold drugs by the protagonists to obtain a '15' rating instead of an '18'; Welcome to the Jungle which was cut to reduce the volume and intensity of the violent action and weapon glamorisation and so obtain a '12A' rating instead of a '15'; and Lara Croft – Tomb Raider was cut to significantly reduce the sight of a flick knife and its glamorisation in order to obtain a '12' rating (this was before the introduction of '12A').

In instances in which the appeal of the work suggests a lower category, the Board will cut according to the requirements of the 1994 amendment to the Video Recordings Act, as incorporated in the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act.

The process for cuts, briefly, is as follows:

• Cuts specified by Board in writing, by examiners in the first instance.

• Checked by Senior Examiners.

• Choice of category offered to reduce needs for cuts, unless the cuts are compulsory.

• Company free to find own editing solutions, for artistic or technical reasons.

• Resubmitted work is viewed by a second team to check that the cuts have been made.

• Copy of cuts deposited with the Board.

• In-house trial cuts may be made to check technical feasibility of proposed cuts.

Rejects

If a central concept of the work is unacceptable (for example, a sex work with a rape theme); or if intervention in the form of cuts or other means is not acceptable to the submitting company; or if the changes required would be extensive or complex; the work may be rejected, ie refused a classification at any category. Since cinema licences permit the option of a local certificate, film companies are free to submit their product to any local authority in the hope of a different outcome. A letter of rejection will be sent to the submitting company detailing reasons for the rejection.

Appeals

The BBFC offers a formal ‘reconsideration’ procedure which is open to any distributor dissatisfied with the determination made in respect of their work. The reconsideration is free of charge and will normally take less than 10 working days. A distributor may also appeal directly to an independent authority. Such an appeal may take place following, or instead of, a request for reconsideration by the BBFC. In the case of films, the distributor (or any member of the public) may address itself to the local authority which licenses cinemas in a particular area. In the case of video works (including DVDs, video games, etc) a distributor may appeal to the Video Appeals Committee (VAC) which is independent of the BBFC. The most recent rulings were over The Last House on the Left (1972) in 2002 and the video game, Manhunt 2 in 2007.

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