LONDON, May 6 (UPI) -- A British film board official said making movie ratings the same for all European Union countries is impractical because nations view films differently.
The EU, which is examining applying the same ratings system to all member states, would only succeed if it agreed "to abide by the standards of the most restrictive nations," British Board of Film Classification's Robin Duval said, the BBC reported Thursday.
But in the BBFC's annual report, Duval, the board's outgoing director, called the idea for a universal ratings system "an impracticable chimera."
"The British are almost alone in Europe, although not in the world, to their sensitivity to bad language," Duval said. "The French place a much higher premium upon the cultural value of film than other nations when they classify. The Spanish tend to take a harder line than anyone on sexual immorality and the Scandinavians are most sensitive on violence and least on sex."
"Pulp Fiction," "The Exorcist," and "Hannibal" were rated 18 in Britain, but received a more lenient 12 rating in France, the BBC said.
