Shakespeare with the British Board of Film Classification

[angevin2]

So Troilus and Cressida was really quite good, although some of the scenes with the Greeks yammering on at each other were a bit hard to take; the scenes with people being really camp were quite well-done and Pandarus and Thersites both made me really want a shower, which is pretty much the aim of Pandari and I'm not sure what the correct plural of "Thersites" is. Thersiteses? Anyway. I will probably write a thinkier post later, but this is not that post.

This is a post on the ratings of individual Shakespeare plays on account of my curiosity when I noticed that T&C had received a 12 rating from the BBFC, and looked up the British ratings system to see what the ratings meant and how the plays stacked up. It may vaguely amuse you; it did me, because ratings for Shakespeare often do.

In particular, the division between PG ratings and 12 ratings sometimes makes me go "bzuh?"

Universal: Suitable for all, but parents are advised that certain scenes may be unsuitable for children under 4 years old

All's Well that Ends Well
Antony and Cleopatra
As You Like It
Hamlet
Henry IV 1-2
Henry V
Julius Caesar
King John
Love's Labour's Lost
The Merchant of Venice
The Merry Wives of Windsor
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Much Ado About Nothing
Othello
Richard II
Richard III
The Taming of the Shrew
The Tempest
Timon of Athens
Twelfth Night

Parental Guidance: All ages admitted, but parents are advised that certain scenes may be unsuitable for children under 8

The Comedy of Errors
Coriolanus
1 & 3 Henry VI
Henry VIII
King Lear
Macbeth
Measure for Measure
Romeo and Juliet
Titus Andronicus
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
The Winter's Tale

12: Suitable for those aged 12 and over. No-one younger than 12 may rent or buy a 12 rated VHS, DVD or game (home media only since 2002)

Cymbeline
2 Henry VI
Pericles
Troilus and Cressida