Many public information films are hard hitting, impactful and downright  terrifying. The adults who saw them in schools and on television as children still remember them today, because of how frightening they were. Usually, films which have violence, gore and other vices such as drug or alcohol use are rated at an age rating which will keep them away from children, but not always... 

In 1978 the UK was introduced to video recorders, which scared the film industry, creating a panic that they would take revenue away from cinemas. The video market was left open for smaller video distributors. Due to budget size, the videos were mostly horror or pornography. There wasn’t any kind of age ratings or legislation for these videos, which became a problem as anyone could get access to them, including children.

 

The British Board of Film Classification (the BBFC) introduced a voluntary scheme for rating video recordings. Major companies started to comply however, smaller companies were not obliged to and didn’t, which meant that the worst videos wouldn’t be pulled off of the shelves. Public outcry and political concern grew, to the point where the Director of Public Prosecutions responded by issuing a list of ‘video nasties’ which were in breach of the Obscene Publications Act. These ‘video nasties’ could only be prosecuted once released which meant that by the time they made it to court, they’d be circulating in shops and homes. Getting a prosecution was also difficult, as even if the film was deemed a breach of the Obscene Publications Act in one area, it could still be sold in another.

 

There wasn’t any surefire way to control video distribution until the 1984 Video Distribution Act, which stipulated that all video works (plus later, laserdiscs and DVDs) must be rated, cut or rejected by the BBFC. The Video Distribution Act brought in more amended age classifications; U, PG, 15, 18 and R18 (plus the 12 rating in 1994). It made the distribution of supplying unrated videos an offence, however, the most important part of this legislation was the addition of the exemption of a rating. According to the BBFC, there are two reasons why a video would be exempt, ‘works which, taken as a whole, are designed to inform, educate or instruct’ or ‘works which, taken as a whole, are concerned with sport, religion or music’. Public information films fall under this first category as they were made to inform and educate. They could have as much violence and illicit imagery as the production team could manage to fit in, as all these films were exempt. 

So next time a childhood memory of The Finishing Line pops into your head causing a cold sweat, thank the BBFC!