These are good times for British film fans. The UK is lucky to have some of the best DVD labels in the world (Arrow, the BFI, Masters of Cinema, Odeon, Second Run, Second Sight, Nucleus...) producing essential releases of that cater for every taste.
But this golden age could be coming to an end, courtesy of some well-meaning government legislation. From May, the way home video material is classified is changing: material that is currently exempt from classification will have to be inspected by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).
It's all the fault of the likes of Rihanna and Lady Gaga; their saucy antics on prime time shows like The X Factor caused something of an outcry and gave focus to the government's (previously rather nebulous) campaign against 'the sexualisation of childhood'.
The Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) decided that the best way to stem this tide of filth is to tighten up BBFC ratings and they came up with some new regulations.
The main change is that any 'documentary' material that contains clips of things that might be considered unsuitable for children will no longer be exempt from classification. So any DVD extra (an interview, for example) that contains a clip from the main feature (that has ALREADY BEEN CLASSIFIED) will have to be scrutinised again.
You might not realise it but distributors have to pay for everything that the BBFC examines – a 90 minute film on DVD/Blu-ray will set you back £615 plus VAT, according to the fee calculator on their website. No big deal to the major labels but potentially calamitous for the knife-edge economics of the independent sector. It was Marc Morris, of Nucleus Films who first sounded the alarm about these changes and he offers a case study of the impact they'll have on industry.
A couple of years ago, he released Video Nasties: The Definitive Guide, a serious, scholarly examination of a cultural phenomenon, providing context and balance to a significant moment in the history of British state censorship. Even for those who don't like Video Nasties, this is a major work (and for those who DO like Video Nasties it's practically compulsory). While Morris was careful to have all the trailers which form the spine of the set classified, the framing documentary material was exempt.
Under the new rules, however, all that would change: he estimates it would cost between £6,000-£7000 if he had to put out the set again, money he simply can't afford. As Alan Byron, MD of Odeon Entertainment puts it: "The focus of the government's desire to curb raunchy exempt music videos has simply brought in back-door charging of film extras."
Other labels are equally concerned. “The new legislation has serious implications for niche labels,” says Francesco Simeoni of Arrow Films. “Our audience is very much on an international level and so we must compete with territories that do not have to contend with such costs. Whether we choose to include content for our releases has a whole new set of financial considerations which means we are at a significant disadvantage to our competitors.”
The change has big repercussions for viewers too. You know those deluxe editions, stacked with extras, that you enjoy so much? Enjoy 'em while you can because they could soon be a thing of the past: “The economics behind collector's releases will now dictate that extra features are reduced and more vanilla editions will appear,” says Alan Byron.
It goes without saying that all this was pushed through without consulting any of the labels it affects – and there's been virtually no communication from either the DCMS or BBFC to explain that the changes were even happening (Morris found out after a panel discussion with a BBFC examiner).
There's shock at the way the government has pushed these changes through. As Alan Byron notes, “protecting children from seeing raunchy videos is not the same as having to certify extras on an 18 certified horror film that children should not be seeing in the first place.”
Aye, there's the rub: the independent market is being attacked by legislation that won't even tackle the problem it's supposed to address. As Simeoni says, “The BBFC's remit is to protect children but these new guidelines only cover home entertainment media not anything on the internet, which is where most children will see offending material whether they be watching music videos or films/TV. Instead of protecting children it's really just penalising companies that still have a vested interest in physical media. This is especially crushing for smaller companies operating on tight budgets.”
There is something charmingly quaint about the DCMS's changes. They reflect an olde-worlde vision of pre-internet days when all that was needed to defend the nation's morals was a state appointed ratings board.
So here we are: a government that claims to cut regulation to aid small businesses is implementing regulation that will directly damage small business, and might even force them to close. Oh, and the regulation won't even do what it's supposed to do.
It's a small miracle that British independent labels are able to turn out quality product considering the pressures they're already under – don't think that piracy isn't hurting them badly. These changes can only make things much worse: those of us who value their work should be very concerned.
We'll keep you posted as things develop.
Edit: Clarification of the BBFC's pricing structure and amendment of incorrect figure
