( BrE ) ( AmE movie rating ) n
a label that is put on films and videos, stating who can watch them legally. In Britain, the British Board of Film Classification places films and videos in one of five groups, U (Universal) for films which can be seen by anybody, PG (Parental Guidance) for films which may disturb young children, 12A for films where a child under 12 must be with an adult, 15 where no one under 15 may see the film or buy the video, and 18.
In the US, a film is given one of six labels by the Code and Rating Administration of the Motion Picture Association of America. These are: G for general audiences, PG for ‘parental guidance’ (meaning that parents decide whether to let their children see the film), PG-13 for parental guidance for children under 13, R for ‘restricted’ (which means that children under 17 can only see the film with a parent or guardian (= an adult legally responsible for a child), and NC-17 (‘no children-17’) and X for films which may not be seen by anyone under 17. The ratings are the same for videos of the films.
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