[BlizzardUK]

Not sure if it s a new trend but there don't seem to be many 18 rated movies coming out any more that are big films that get a cinema release. Back in the 80's loads did, such as Robocop, all the Arnie movies, and war films, etc. Most these days seem to be 12 rated or so.

So are there many 18 rates movies now ?

[vosne]

Not enough

[BastardBeaver]

Yes. Most of the ones I ... Err.. watch.

[yesman2012]

tbh why was terminator 1 rated 18?

nowadays, it'd be a 15

[fhs man 2]

Originally Posted by BlizzardUK

Not sure if it s a new trend but there don't seem to be many 18 rated movies coming out any more that are big films that get a cinema release. Back in the 80's loads did, such as Robocop, all the Arnie movies, and war films, etc. Most these days seem to be 12 rated or so.

So are there many 18 rates movies now ?

The films that are rated 18 back in the 80s would be 15, another reason is that the line between a film being 18 or banned is thin like the original remake of Texas chainsaw got banned wasting millions so now I think a lot of companies play it safe at being a 15. Also being a 15 gives them a massive market so a lot of people aim for that like the Keith Lemon movie they cut bits so that it could be a 15.

[misha06]

Films like, say Robocop or Rambo II, which have, shall we say, somewhat silly violence, are considered a bit naff today and would not get an 18 cert.

And most big action/drama films still basically do the same thing; shooting baddies and lots of them, and maybe the odd gratuitous boobies on show. But it's been done before and now it is considered the public take the film for what it is.

Nowadays it is the context of the subject matter which gives a film an 18 cert. Which most mainstream films don't go near

For example, the distributors of 'The Human Centipede' sequel has had to fight for a UK release, and only got an 18 cert after nearly four minutes of cuts were imposed.

May not sound a lot in terms of a films running length, but if you look at the BBFC website, in relation to most films presented that is a huge cut.

Over the top killings, boobies, scary monsters and ghosts are fine. But if it gets a bit too bat shit weird, and ventures into the realms of sexual torture or humiliation, then the lines are drawn.

And, on balance I think rightly so.

But equally most mainstream films don't want to go there anyway.

[vosne]

Originally Posted by fhs man 2

The films that are rated 18 back in the 80s would be 15, another reason is that the line between a film being 18 or banned is thin like the original remake of Texas chainsaw got banned wasting millions so now I think a lot of companies play it safe at being a 15. Also being a 15 gives them a massive market so a lot of people aim for that like the Keith Lemon movie they cut bits so that it could be a 15.

In a sane world Lemon's film would have had about 120 mins of cuts.

[maurice45]

Originally Posted by yesman2012

tbh why was terminator 1 rated 18?

nowadays, it'd be a 15

Yeah when it first came out it was an 18, but the DVD's rating has dropped to 15.

Still, the Terminator films get progressively less dark and gory, and IMO less interesting, so I'm dreading the next one (T2 was good, but Arnie in the original was epic).

[CJClarke]

Originally Posted by fhs man 2

The films that are rated 18 back in the 80s would be 15, another reason is that the line between a film being 18 or banned is thin like the original remake of Texas chainsaw got banned wasting millions so now I think a lot of companies play it safe at being a 15. Also being a 15 gives them a massive market so a lot of people aim for that like the Keith Lemon movie they cut bits so that it could be a 15.

The 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre didn't get banned, it was passed uncut with an 18 rating.

There have been a few 18 rated films recently, Lawless and Dredd being two of the most recent, both of which did fairly well at the UK box office (despite flopping elsewhere, Dredd opened at number 1 here, the first 18 rated film to do so since Saw 3D back in 2010).

[StratusSphere]

Isnt it a bit of a double standard to show boobs but never dicks?

[19Nick68]

They are very cautious about making that many 18 rated movies it excludes the under 18's who make up a large number of cinema goers.

Commercially it doesn't make much sense for them, to make a large budget movie and then restrict the audience to over 18's.

[Suzywong 63]

Human Centipede 2 apparantly.

[flobadob]

Originally Posted by 19Nick68

They are very cautious about making that many 18 rated movies it excludes the under 18's who make up a large number of cinema goers.

Commercially it doesn't make much sense for them, to make a large budget movie and then restrict the audience to over 18's.

This.
It could also explain why nearly all big budget films these days seem so bloody infantile. Or maybe I'm just becoming a grumpy old man.

[Biffo the Bear]

Originally Posted by flobadob

This.
It could also explain why nearly all big budget films these days seem so bloody infantile. Or maybe I'm just becoming a grumpy old man.

Yes they do. This era if cinema is not producing many classics.

[ThatGuy11200]

Originally Posted by misha06

Films like, say Robocop or Rambo II, which have, shall we say, somewhat silly violence, are considered a bit naff today and would not get an 18 cert.

Robocop is still an 18.

Remember, near the beginning of the film Alex Murphy is tortured by being shot repeatedly, before being shot in the head. That isn't silly violence.

[stud u like]

Gay films are often 18. Some are 15.

[Trsvis_Bickle]

Originally Posted by vosne

In a sane world Lemon's film would have had about 120 mins of cuts.

[stud u like]

Originally Posted by StratusSphere

Isnt it a bit of a double standard to show boobs but never dicks?

Some do.

[roger_50]

I said this in another thread a day or so back, regarding 18-rated films:

....there's something that I do prefer from 'the old days' regarding the BBFC. You always used to have a better idea of the content of the film by simply going on the rating. Sex/violence/bad language would only be of a certain intensity in a 15 rating for example. The 18 would hoover up anything harsh, so you always roughly knew what to expect.

But these days, in many ways, the 15 rating is effectively the same as the old 18 rating with the strength of stuff that gets passed. It seems they've meshed the two ratings together needlessly and resulted in less clarity of the film-content per rating.

When weighing up a modern 15-rated film, it could be tame with just a few f-words and fairly small gunshot wound - or it could be an intense nasty flick with c-words and guts spraying over walls, faces caved in, etc.

In the old days, there was always a nice way to rate the two separately; tame vs strong. But that's been effectively ditched by the BBFC.

[Scooterwolf]

The Hollywood remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was the last 18 rated film I recall seeing at the cinema, quality film as well.

[Gilbertoo]

Originally Posted by StratusSphere

Isnt it a bit of a double standard to show boobs but never dicks?

Not really. Boobs (woman) and chests (man). Vagina (woman) and penis (man).

[NRG]

Originally Posted by yesman2012

tbh why was terminator 1 rated 18?

nowadays, it'd be a 15

Precisely! another Arnie movie which springs to mind is Predator. Can't recall the film I watched recently (can't have been up to very much) but it was a couple of years old and cert 15 and chockablock with gory violence and sex scenes. If that film was made in '80s of '90s, it'd been a cert 18 without question.

[Gilbertoo]

Isn't it all about box office these days? I mean, if they think reducing violence/sex will increase their profits, they'll cut a film until it appeals to a wider audience.

[theonlyweeman]

As some have alluded to, these days it takes a lot (of everything except very strong language) to get a film up to an 18.

Language - Up to 7 non-aggressive, contextually justified uses of very strong language allowed at a 15
Violence - As long as it's not graphic or about infliction of pain, the BBFC will be willing to give it a 15 (The BBFC have said that "Drive" is one of the only films to get an 18 based on violence alone in recent years)
Sex - Unless full frontal nudity is shown it's likely to get a 15

Some of it, also has to do with major studios not doing horror movies, and when they do they tend to be jump scare movies, rather than gore scare movies...

[Motthus]

I saw both Dredd and Lawless in the cinema and both were 18 rated however it is very rare for 18 rated films to be released in the cinema so I was suprised to see Dredd and Lawless released so close together and both being 18 rated!