The Last Broadcast - Why BBFC 18? SPOILERS!!!

[White Line]

Have you seen The Last Broadcast yet? Terrific film. Anyway, why was it rated 18? I didn't see anything in the film that I though warranted the rating, so I'm a little confused.

I'm impressed the film was made for $900 with Adobe software - it makes the movie even more enjoyable when you see what can be done. It's made me want to grab my camcorder and go out to do a horror flick.

[Rob]

Saw it last year - brilliant film and IMHO, much better than The Blair Witch Project. The two are often compared (for obvious reasons) but it's interesting to note that TLB was released well before TBWP.

Some people thought that the end spolied it, but I thought it was sensational.

A real find.

[LooneyJetman]

I never saw the end - kept falling asleep. Guess I'll have to watch it again.

[Matt.Wild]

Why?

To stop the poor kiddies having to see this god awful piece of turd!

Erm, on a more serious note, I think it prolly was because of the phychologiocal nature of the film and a little swearing I seem to remember. That, and the fact, that it was released before the recent update of the BBFC's certification process.

[Michael Brooke]

I haven't seen <I>The Last Broadcast</I>, but since <I>The Vanishing</I> (the original ultra-terrifying psychologically intense version) got a 12 and <I>The Blair Witch Project</I> got a 15 before the BBFC revamped their guidelines, I don't buy that explanation for a second!

[Michael Brooke]

Here's the official BBFC breakdown, for what it's worth:

Advice for consumers
Language - Some strong, once coarse
Sex/Nudity - None
Violence - Infrequent, strong
Theme or content - Horror, murders

[Matt.Wild]

Originally posted by Michael Brooke
I haven't seen <I>The Last Broadcast</I>, but since <I>The Vanishing</I> (the original ultra-terrifying psychologically intense version) got a 12 and <I>The Blair Witch Project</I> got a 15 before the BBFC revamped their guidelines, I don't buy that explanation for a second!

Erm well, I think that, erm, I have a much nicer :D than you :p (I don't have a clue then!).

:D

[urruri]

IMHO I thought it was an awfully disappointing film much the same as The Blair Witch Project.

[Joober]

I think both films are excellent. I did find tho, that TLB was a bit boring until the end, then it totally redeems itself. It totally made me bab me pants, i really shouldnt have watched it at 1am, lol.

[Jimmyboy]

But its not really a horror film, its more of a detective documentry.
If you've ever seen a Crime stoppers reconstruction then thats the type of film it is, with interviews with people who knew the believed killer, police officers, etc.
This makes up the overall content of the movie so I can't quite understand how it can end up with an 18 cert.

Having said that, there is a scene in the film which shows a women being choked with see through sheets wrapped round her head, kind of like having a bag on someones head to prevent breathing, this is the only scene I can remember which it could be given the 18 cert for.

The "spell it out loud" scooby doo ending does totally spoil the rest of the film.

[Michael Brooke]

I haven't seen the film, but I suspect from your description that you're right - that sounds like the kind of imitable violence that usually earns a mandatory 18.

Swearing <I>per se</I> is <U>very</U> rarely the reason for an 18 - you can get away with just about anything in the 15 category (as <I>The Blair Witch Project</I> proved, not to mention <I>Withnail & I</I> and <I>The Commitments</I>!)

[RichB]

Hey thanks for the spoiler warning :rolleyes:

[Jimmyboy]

Originally posted by RichB
Hey thanks for the spoiler warning :rolleyes:
I can't quite see how I've spoiled anything ?.

[Kit_Taylor]

The word ***** gets you an automatic 18, I believe.

[AndyWilson]

To be honest, even Picasso couldn't have mixed perspective in the same way as the ending of this movie. The difference is that Picasso did it well, The Last Broadcast does it so badly it would be laughed out of a GSCE film-making project!

I actually liked TLB until the ending, which was so unbelievably bad it ruined the whole film.

[Paul490]

Isn't the "C" word allowed once, if it's not abusive, in a '15' certificate?

The BBFC aren't very consistent with things like this.

[Kit_Taylor]

Straight from the horses mouth:

'15' Suitable only for 15 years and over

There may be frequent use of strong language; the strongest terms (eg '*****') are only rarely acceptable. Continued aggressive use of strong language and sexual abuse is unacceptable.


The "hamfisted *****" line had to be cut from Bridget Jones' Diary to avoid an 18.

[Mike]

Originally posted by Paul490
Isn't the "C" word allowed once, if it's not abusive, in a '15' certificate?

The BBFC aren't very consistent with things like this.

It's used very abusively in the '15' rated "Glengarry Glen Ross" and "Sophie's Choice".

[Michael Brooke]

Not to mention a rather famous line from a rather famously 15-certificate film that also contains the words 'Monty', 'you' and 'terrible'...

[Kit_Taylor]

The new BBFC guidelines are tougher on language than the old ones.

[Michael Brooke]

True, but <I>The Last Broadcast</I> was classified well before the new guidelines were established.

[Byron]

Originally posted by Michael Brooke
Not to mention a rather famous line from a rather famously 15-certificate film that also contains the words 'Monty', 'you' and 'terrible'...

And to quote an episode of The Sopranos, "Boca", "You stupid ********** blabbermouth [a certain colloquial slang term for the female genitalia]!" Screamed by Junior Soprano into his girlfriend’s face – if usage gets more aggressive, I’d love to see how.

(Rated 15 under the BBFC's old guidelines)

[Michael Brooke]

I've been racking my brains trying to think of a 15-certificate film with multiple uses of the word in question - and I think <I>Welcome to the Dollhouse</I> comfortably qualifies.

That said, I suspect context played a major role here, since it's clearly in the context of repeated bullying and humiliation.