BBFC News

Thriller: A Cruel Picture is a 1973 Sweden action thriller by Bo Arne Vibenius (as Alex Fridolinski).
Starring Christina Lindberg, Heinz Hopf and Despina Tomazani.

The Original/Festival Version including director approved hardcore inserts was banned by the Swedish films censors for cinema release and was subsequently significantly cut to obtain a cinema release. The film was also heavily cut in the US for an MPAA R rating. This US Version was banned by the BBFC from a 1974 cinema release. Heavy cuts were then made to obtain an X rated UK cinema release in 1976. The Original Version was submitted to the BBFC in 2026 but the BBFC cut the hardcore inserts for a cut 18 rated Blu-ray release. There are several other versions featuring a mix of material from the above versions.

UK: The Original Version was BBFC 18 rated for sexual violence for sexual violence after BBFC cuts:

• 2025 Screenbound Pictures Blu-ray (rated 28/07/2025)

The BBFC commented in board meeting minutes [pdf] from darkroom.bbfc.co.uk :

The Classifiers discussed Thriller: A Cruel Picture, a Swedish crime drama, from 1973, in which a woman is forced into prostitution and later seeks violent revenge against her abusers

The film was previously submitted to the BBFC, in a pre-cut version, for cinema release in 1974 and found unsuitable for classification. It was resubmitted in 1975 203 following a change in BBFC leadership 203 and classified X in 1976 after further cuts were made to scenes of violence and sexual violence. It has not previously been classified for home video release

The film has now been submitted for a video rating, in its original uncut version.

The Classifiers focused in particular on two scenes of sexual violence, which depict the protagonist participating in sex work with male and female clients while under the control of a pimp who has forcibly addicted her to heroin. The scenes include explicit images of unsimulated masturbation, vaginal and anal penetration, and ejaculation.

The BBFC supports adults' right to choose their own entertainment as long as it remains within the law and is not potentially harmful. However, where a film or video raises issues or concerns that cannot be addressed by classification at a particular category, we may require cuts or other changes as a condition of classification.

Our Classification Guidelines state that such cuts may be required to portrayals of sexual violence that make rape, other non-consensual sexually violent behaviour or sadistic violence look appealing.

The Classifiers noted that the volume and detail of the real sexual activity in Thriller: A Cruel Picture far exceeds previous, and very rare, precedents for unsimulated (or apparently unsimulated) sexual activity during scenes of sexual violence in films classified by the BBFC. They unanimously agreed that the nature and quantity of the explicit and unsimulated images, in the context of scenes of sexual violence, is such that their effect is to eroticise rape in a manner that poses a risk of harm to viewers under the Video Recordings Act 1984.

The Classifiers determined that the scenes breached the BBFC's Guidelines and policy on depictions of sexual violence, and that cuts were therefore required to remove all explicit imagery in order to make the film suitable for classification at 18.

 

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has published its Annual Report for 2024, marking a 112-year-record for cinema film submissions. The report reveals significant achievements in advancing audience protection and delivering trusted age ratings across cinema, packaged media and video on demand (VOD) and streaming services, as well as pioneering developments in the use of AI for content classification.

Cinema classifications

In 2024, the BBFC classified 1,256 feature films for cinema, a 13% increase from 2023, and the highest number of submissions in the organisation's history. As in previous years, the most frequently issued age rating was 15, which was applied to 41% of cinema submissions. In contrast, the 18 classification was issued to 4% of all cinema films, remaining the least common rating.

The increase came as the BBFC implemented revised Classification Guidelines in May 2024. Shaped by extensive feedback from 12,000 people across the UK, these updated Guidelines reflect shifts in audience expectations, particularly regarding the classification of sex scenes at the 12/15 border, violence across the categories, and certain depictions of drug misuse. Participants reported depictions of sexual violence as their primary concern, followed by scenes of suicide and self-harm. Additionally, this research highlighted parents' worries about the potential normalisation of bad language for young children, especially terms with sexual or misogynistic connotations.

The Guidelines research also found that BBFC age ratings remain trusted and valued by audiences, with 97% of respondents seeing a benefit to age ratings, and 90% of parents saying that they trust BBFC age ratings all or most of the time. This research is carried out every four to five years to ensure BBFC standards continue to reflect UK audience expectations.

Packaged media

While total packaged media submissions (DVD and Blu-ray) marginally declined by 1% year-on-year, the total number of minutes classified increased by 11%, reaching 176,004 in 2024, up from 158,159 in 2023. This growth was driven by a remarkable surge in anime titles, which accounted for 38% of all packaged media classifications in 2024 203 up from 25% the previous year.

Partnerships with VOD and streaming services

As part of the BBFC's mission to protect audiences and help them make informed viewing decisions, the BBFC continued to work to extend the use of its trusted age ratings on VOD and streaming services. In 2024, the BBFC worked with 35 VOD platforms and strengthened its partnerships with the UK's leading services. Last July, the BBFC announced a four-year extension of its self-rating partnership with Netflix through to 2028, meaning that Netflix will continue to carry BBFC age ratings and content advice on 100% of its UK catalogue for years to come.

The partnership, which began in 2019, allows Netflix to generate age ratings and content advice in line with BBFC standards, ensuring that its UK users have access to trusted guidance when choosing what to watch. BBFC age ratings also power Netflix's parental controls, allowing parents to limit their children's access to age-inappropriate content.

In September 2024, the BBFC announced the commencement of a pilot to establish a new self-rating partnership with Prime Video. Following the successful completion of the pilot in July 2025, Prime Video can now generate BBFC age ratings and content advice in-house, marking a major step forward in delivering clarity and protection to UK audiences. With Ofcom's forthcoming video-on-demand code on the horizon, these voluntary, best practice partnerships reflect a shared commitment to empower viewers with reliable, transparent age ratings while safeguarding children from potentially harmful content. They also address consumer demand, as according to BBFC Guidelines research, 81% of people want streaming content to be classified in line with the same standards used for cinema and packaged media.

AI and technological innovation

In 2024, the BBFC advanced its AI-powered compliance tool, CLEARD, and established BBFC Technology, a dedicated new entity to support this innovation. CLEARD has been developed in collaboration with international regulators and partners to make it easier for digital platforms to adopt BBFC age ratings quickly, accurately, and at scale. Combining compliance data with AI and machine-learning algorithms, CLEARD generates trusted, localised age ratings and content advice for use on VOD and streaming services across multiple countries from a single human compliance viewing. This means more trusted BBFC age ratings for UK audiences on more online platforms.

BBFC Technology's development of CLEARD reflects the BBFC's ongoing commitment to supporting the film and TV industry in line with its core mission of empowering UK audiences to make informed viewing decisions. This initiative will not only make BBFC age ratings more cost-effective and accessible for streaming services, but any revenue generated will be reinvested into the BBFC's statutory classification services, ultimately helping to reduce the cost of classification for the film and entertainment industry.

Natasha Kaplinsky OBE, President of the British Board of Film Classification, said:

2024 was the BBFC's 112th year of helping people across the UK view what's right for them 203 and what a remarkable year it was. We classified more cinema features than ever before, and we have made significant progress towards extending the coverage of trusted BBFC age ratings on streaming services through new deals with Prime Video and Netflix. We launched our revised Classification Guidelines 203 ensuring that the standards we apply when classifying content continue to reflect the views of UK audiences. Perhaps most exciting of all, we have continued our pioneering work with AI, ensuring that the BBFC remains at the forefront of film and digital content regulation. It has been a genuine privilege to lead the organisation at such an exciting and transformative time.

David Austin OBE, Chief Executive of the British Board of Film Classification, added:

Once again, 2024 has demonstrated the film industry's resilience and adaptability in the face of ongoing challenges. Despite disruptions to the release schedule caused by Hollywood strikes in 2023, as well as the sad news of cinema closures across the UK, it was encouraging to see such a rich and diverse selection of films reaching UK screens. From Deadpool & Wolverine to Wicked, All of Us Strangers to The Substance, 2024 offered plenty to remind us all of why we love going to the cinema. The year also saw an increase in the volume of content submitted to the BBFC for classification. We classified a total of 1,256 cinema features across 2024, which marks an all-time record and demonstrates that after more than a century of content classification, the BBFC's work remains just as vital as ever.

The BBFC commissioned a survey to support its case to become the world's internet porn censor. The survey report has now been published. Here is the executive summary:

Published by the Government in February 2025, Baroness Bertin's Independent Pornography Review has recommended reform to align the regulation of online pornography with existing offline standards to tackle the present availability of violent and abusive content on online platforms.

In light of this review, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) have commissioned a survey of 2,000 adult pornography users in the UK, to measure their exposure to and attitudes towards violent or abusive content in online pornography.

This report summarises key findings from the survey under the following sections:

Exposure to violent or abusive content in online pornography

• A third of adult pornography users in the sample reported having been exposed to violent or abusive content in online pornography in the last three months.

• Of the four key categories of violent or abusive content, respondents most often reported having seen depictions of physical violence.

• Women were more likely to report having seen one or more types of violent or abusive content than men.

Attitudes towards violent or abusive content in online pornography

• Over half of the sample reported being concerned about the levels of violence and abuse depicted in online pornography, with 1 in 5 indicating that they felt very concerned.

• A majority of the sample (62%) thought that depictions of physical violence are normalised in online pornography.

• Two-thirds of the sample thought that violent or abusive pornography is contributing to the normalisation of violent sexual behaviour in the real world.

Attitudes towards regulation of violent or abusive content in online pornography

• Almost 9 in 10 adult pornography users in the sample said that they would support new rules to ensure online platforms verify that all individuals shown in content are consenting adults.

• 4 in 5 adult pornography users in the sample would support new rules to prevent online platforms from publishing or distributing pornography that depicts violence or abuse.

• For both types of regulation, women were more likely to be in favour than men.