Legislation
The Cinematograph Act arrives giving local authorities the power to provide or withhold licenses for cinemas in their region.

Legislation
The British Board of Film Censors is created by a burgeoning film industry as a means of ensuring uniformity for film classification decisions.

Sexual Violence
'Outrages on women' is added to BBFC's list of concerns.

Drugs
BBFC's grounds for deletion extended to include 'the drug habit, e.g. Opium, Morphia, Cocaine etc...'

Sex
Director of the BBFC lists 43 grounds for deletion. They include 'unnecessary exhibition of under-clothing' and 'excessively passionate love scenes'.

Sexual Violence
BBFC's list of exceptions is revised to include 'girls' clothes pulled off, leaving them in scanty undergarments', 'drugging and ruining of young girls' and 'criminal assault on girls'.

Sex
Flesh and the Devil is cut for A to remove many of Greta Garbo's passionate embraces.

Legislation
The H certificate is introduced by the BBFC. H is an advisory certificate which tells the public that a film has a horror theme and is not suitable for children.

Sexual Violence
BBFC cuts a scene from The Public Enemy in which James Cagney pushes a grapefruit in Jean Harlow's face.

Drugs
Sequence in Chaplin's Modern Times shows the star becoming comically affected by inadvertently sniffing 'nose powder'. The film is passed U without cuts.

Drugs
Reefer Madness propagandises, in no uncertain terms, against young people trying marijuana.

Sexual Violence
No Orchids for Miss Blandish is cut by 11 minutes despite earlier enforced script changes by the BBFC to limit its sexual violence. It was later banned by local authorities and the BBFC's Secretary is forced to publicly apologise for passing it at all.

Sex
Brief Encounter is rated A for its theme of adultery.

Violence and Weapons
Brighton Rock is attacked by critics as 'nasty and sensationalist' but is a success at the box office.

Legislation
As a result of changes to the Cinematograph Act, the X certificate is introduced. No children under the age of 16 are allowed to see an X film. This is the first mandatory age-restricted category.

Violence and Weapons
The BBFC rejects The Wild One on the grounds that it presents an 'unbridled spectacle of hooliganism'. It is not rated until 1967.

Drugs
The Man with the Golden Arm Frank Sinatra startles audiences by playing a heroin addict in a film based on a gritty cult novel by Nelson Algren. The BBFC awards the film an X certificate.

Violence and Weapons
The BBFC requires cuts to Rebel Without A Cause to remove a knife fight.

Sex
Carry On Sergeant is rated U without cuts. It's the first of the popular British sex comedy franchise.

Legislation
In the first famous trial using the new Obscene Publications Act, D H Lawrence's novel Lady Chatterley's Lover becomes freely available for the first time in 32 years. The book is deemed art rather than pornography.

Sexual Violence
BBFC rates Hitchcock's Psycho X after cuts to the notorious shower scene. The film in later years is rated 15 uncut on video.

Violence and Weapons
The BBFC rejects Lady In A Cage on the grounds that is an exercise in sadistic brutality and might 'have the effect of encouraging juvenile violence'. The film is later rated 18 uncut on video in 2002 and 15 uncut on DVD in 2005.

Sex
Stanley Kubrick's Lolita rated X without cuts but only after changes required by the BBFC at the script stage are made. The BBFC rates Victim X after minor cuts. It is the first British film to deal openly with the subject of homosexuality.

Sex
Helga, the first sex education film to be rated by the BBFC, is awarded an A rating after cuts are made.

Legislation
The age limit on the X category is raised from 16 to 18. The advisory U and A categories are introduced along with the AA category that allows admission to those aged 14 and over.

Sexual Violence
BBFC demands cuts to Nicholas Roeg and Donald Cammell's Performance, in a scene juxtaposing sex with a violent attack.

Drugs
Andy Warhol's Trash is rejected by the BBFC. It is subsequently passed X with cuts in 1972. Rising star Al Pacino appears in Panic in Needle Park, about heroin addicts in New York. The film is rejected by the BBFC and not rated until 1975.

Sex
The first male erection shown on British screens is seen in Andy Warhol's Flesh. It is given an X certificate. The Yugoslav film WR - Mysteries of the Organism, which contains sight of erections and real sex, is rated X without cuts.

Sexual Violence
Straw Dogs is cut to reduce a rape scene. BBFC is attacked by critics for passing the film and a number of councils opt to ban it. BBFC rates A Clockwork Orange X uncut. Although the film implies sexual violence, no rape is actually shown.

Sexual Violence
BBFC requires cuts to a sequence in John Boorman's Deliverance in which a man is seen being raped.

Sex
Last Tango in Paris rated X with a ten second cut to the infamous 'butter scene'.

Violence and Weapons
Enter the Dragon is rated X for cinema release with cuts to violence, but with nunchaku (chainsticks) scenes intact. A Clockwork Orange is removed from sale by Stanley Kubrick after controversy about its violence and death threats against his family.

Violence and Weapons
After reported outbreaks of violence involving martial arts weapons, BBFC Director James Ferman enforces a blanket ban on all sight of nunchaku and shuriken (throwing stars).

Sexual Violence
BBFC refuses certificates to films Maitresse and Salo, both of which heavily feature the theme of sadomasochism.

Sex
The Obscene Publications Act is extended to film. This allows films to be judged as a whole rather than single scenes being judged as indecent. As a result the BBFC waives its original cut to Last Tango in Paris.

Sexual Violence
BBFC recalls Emmanuelle (1974) from distribution to remove a rape scene in which sexual assault is presented as good for the victim.

Violence and Weapons
James Ferman recalls Enter the Dragon to cut nunchaku scenes. The Warriors is rated X uncut. Local authorities, concerned by reports of the film's effects in the US, ask the BBFC to reconsider. The BBFC declines.

Drugs
Cult German film Christiane F portraying heroin addiction is passed with an X certificate. The initial 18 rated video version is cut to reduce scenes of drug taking for home viewing in 1986. A later version in 2000 is passed 18 without cuts.

Legislation
The BBFC rating system is overhauled with the introduction of the PG, 15, 18 and R18 categories. The first film rated PG is Return Of The Soldier.

Sex
The special R18 category is introduced, allowing more explicit sex films to be shown in members only cinema clubs.

Sexual Violence
Director of Public Prosecutions instructs police to seize 'video nasties', many of which include sexually violent scenes and have never been rated by the BBFC. Seized titles include I Spit On Your Grave, Last House On The left and Cannibal Holocaust.

Legislation
The Video Recordings Act (VRA) is passed and the BBFC becomes the designated authority for rating videos 'for suitability within the home'. The BBFC becomes the British Board of Film Classification.

Violence and Weapons
Streets of Fire is one of the last films to feature butterfly knives before they are added to the list of banned weaponry. The Video Recordings Act is introduced to prevent underage access to unsuitable videos and crack down on so-called 'video nasties'.

Drugs
Comic references to cocaine are cut from Crocodile Dundee for PG on video. Ecstasy is established as the drug of choice in the rave dance scene.

Violence and Weapons
Sight of a poster featuring Bruce Lee holding nunchaku is cut from No Retreat, No Surrender.

Violence and Weapons
Outright ban on nunchaku, shuriken and balisong is waived in non-action/martial arts works where the sight is incidental, comic, brief and/or used to establish character. After the Hungerford Massacre, Rambo III is cut to reduce violence and knifes.

Sexual Violence
BBFC rates The Accused 18 uncut on the grounds that it does not exploit or eroticise sexual violence but is intended to make a serious point.

Legislation
Tim Burton's Batman becomes the first 12 rated film in the cinema. Children under 12 cannot view this in the cinema. This category is only available for theatrical releases.

Sex
Explicit fellatio is passed for the first time on film in Ai No Corrida (In the Realm of the Senses). On video, the BBFC rates the sex education work The Lovers Guide 18 without cuts. It contains images of real sex.

Sexual Violence
BBFC requires cuts to Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. Later in 1993, more extensive cuts are made for the film's video release.

Violence and Weapons
Sight of an anthropomorphic turtle wielding a string of sausages in a manner similar to nuchaku is cut from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret of the Ooze.

Violence and Weapons
The James Bulger case prompts concerns about possible effects of video violence. Child's Play 3 is wrongly linked to the case and withdrawn from sale. Parliamentary discussion of the VRA delays release of Reservoir Dogs and other works.

Legislation
An amendment is made to the VRA in the wake of the Jamie Bulger case. The BBFC is asked to pay 'special regard to any harm that may be caused to potential viewers... or society...' in any given video or video game.

Sexual Violence
BBFC refuses a video certificate to exploitation film Bare Behind Bars. The distributor appeals against the decision but the Video Appeals Committee agree that the BBFC was correct to refuse a rating.

Drugs
Trainspotting passed uncut on film. The film is, however, cut for its first outing on video.

Violence and Weapons
Natural Born Killers is rated 18 uncut after the BBFC investigates possible links between the film and killings in France and the USA. No link is found but after the Dunblane School Massacre, the distributor decides not to release the film on video.

Sex
Crash banned by Westminster Council and other local authorities after receiving an 18 certificate from the BBFC. The feature Kissed is also rated 18 in the same year. Both films cause controversy for their accounts of fetishistic sexual activity.

Sex
The Idiot and Romance rated 18 on film - both contain brief explicit images of penetration.

Sexual Violence
BBFC refuses a video certificate to the American version of Straw Dogs, for a scene in which a female character appears to enjoy being raped.

Violence and Weapons
The ban on martial arts weaponry is lifted. For the first time the BBFC publishes a set of written Guidelines which disallow emphasis and glamorisation of realistic contemporary and easily obtainable weapons but do not automatically ban any weapon.

Violence and Weapons
Enter the Dragon is rated 18 uncut on video. A Clockwork Orange is re-released in UK cinemas after Stanley Kubrick's death.

Sex
British actor participates in explicit fellatio in the feature Intimacy, rated 18 without cuts.

Sexual Violence
BBFC refuses a video certificate to the American version of Straw Dogs, for a scene in which a female character appears to enjoy being raped.

Violence and Weapons
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is cut for glamorisation of knives in a film aimed at young teenagers. Natural Born Killers is finally released uncut on video and DVD.

Legislation
Following an extended period of consultation, the 12 category for cinema is replaced with the advisory 12A. The first film to sport the new category is The Bourne Identity.

Drugs
Trainspotting is passed uncut for DVD release. Corman's The Trip is finally passed as suitable for adults to view.

Sex
French drama The Pornographer rated 18 on film with cuts to sight of ejaculation. It is rated R18 without cuts on video.

Sexual Violence
Video Appeals Committee upholds BBFC decision to cut The Last House on the Left. Irreversible is rated 18 uncut. Its depiction of rape is judged to be aversive. BBFC rates Straw Dogs 18 for DVD in its original cinema version.

Violence and Weapons
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret of the Ooze is rated PG uncut.

Drugs
City By The Sea, which contains an anti-drug message, was passed 15 on film in 2002. Expert advice was sought and the work is raised to 18 on video due to concerns that one particular scene could provide instructive detail about drug use.

Sex
French film Maitresse is rated 18 uncut after being rejected in 1976 and cut in 1981 on the basis of a number of sadomasochistic scenes.

Sexual Violence
Sexual violence cuts on film for Ichi the Killer are replicated in full when the video is submitted.

Violence and Weapons
Secondhand Lions is cut for PG on film (at the distributor's request) for sight of a flick-knife and instructions on how to hold such a weapon. The film was raised to 12 without cuts for its video and DVD release.

Drugs
Andy Warhol's Trash is passed 18 uncut for DVD release. Cannabis is legally reclassified from a Class B to a Class C drug.

Sex
British film Nine Songs rated 18 without cuts for cinema release. It contains extended scenes of real sex.

Sexual Violence
Women in Cellblock 9, Jess Franco's 1977 film, is rejected in accordance with the BBFC's policy on sexual violence.

Violence and Weapons
The Passion of the Christ is rated 18 for extended scenes of strong violence. Complaints are received saying that it should have a received a lower rating.

Drugs
Magic Roundabout is passed U after the oblique drug references were deemed innocuous and unlikely to be understood by children.

Sex
Closer was rated 15, resulting in complaints about the sexually explicit language used in the film.

Sexual Violence
Derailed and Cinque Fois Deux are both rated 15 despite containing scenes of sexual violence. Context was taken into account in both cases.

Violence and Weapons
Sin City, based on a series of graphic novels by Frank Miller, is rated 18 for strong vigilante violence.

Drugs
Harsh Times and Kidulthood are passed 15 because the portrayal of drug use in both films was thought to be aversive.

Sex
US comedy drama Shortbus is rated 18 uncut despite its scenes of real sex, thought to be contextually justified. Destricted - a collection of short art films - is also rated 18 uncut despite frequent images of sexual activity.

Sexual Violence
The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael, a British independent feature which includes a violent but aversive rape sequence, is rated 18 uncut.

Violence and Weapons
Casino Royale is rated 12A and 12 despite some scenes of violence and torture. Complaints are received saying that it should have been 15.

Drugs
Things We Lost In The Fire contains scenes of heroin preparation and use, however the film as a whole has a strong anti-drug message and is passed 15.

Sex
The Heartbreak Kid comedy remake contains a scene in which a donkey is about to penetrate a woman from behind, with sight of an erect penis. The film is rated 15 with a black rectangle obscuring the erection, as the distributor wanted the 15 category.

Sexual Violence
The Kite Runner, rated 12, features a discreetly shot and implied rape scene of a young boy. Emmanuelle is finally rated 18 uncut.

Violence and Weapons
Horror film 30 Days of Night is rated 15 on film for scenes of strong bloody violence, but the category is raised to 18 for DVD release.

Drugs
Pineapple Express is cut to achieve the requested 15 category. A scene showing drug dealing to schoolchildren and cannabis smoking between them and the sellers was reduced. The uncut video version is raised to 18.

Sex
Zoo, a documentary about a man who had sex with a horse and died from his injuries, is rated 18 uncut with visuals of a horse penetrating a man.

Sexual Violence
Caligula, which has a long and complicated classification history, is rated 18 uncut after much consideration. The Last House On The Left is finally rated 18 uncut with previous cuts restored.

Sex
Lars von Trier's controversial art-house horror film Antichrist is rated 18 uncut. It includes unsimulated sex scenes and close up detail of genital injury.

Sexual Violence
The Killer Inside Me is rated 18 uncut by the BBFC. The film contains some very realistic portrayals of violence against women.