Saturday, March 12, 2011

Cinematic Observations

I went to the movies again today! I saw The King's Speech, and it is truly a work of art. The script was great, the cinematography was beautiful, and of course the acting was brilliant, right down to the little girls who played Elizabeth and Margaret. It made me cry, but it was also surprisingly funny. It's a great film and you should definitely see it if it's still around you!

The English cinema experience is a little different than the American one, though not incredibly so. First of all, the cinema near us has a student price. I don't know if this is in all cinemas, but it's great. Instead of ripping your ticket, they hole-punch it. Along with selling the usual popcorn and soda behind the counter, they also have smoothies, alcohol, and on a wall across from the counter, a row of self-serve candy.


The cinema I go to has a curtain that adjusts to the screen, I guess so a full screen picture doesn't have empty space on the sides. There are a ton of trailers- I don't think we show that many trailers, but I could be wrong. The funny thing is that almost every trailer was American. Obviously, this is because of how huge Hollywood is, but I wonder if it's weird to the English to hear 80% American accents in the trailers.



Something I've always taken for granted is when the green (or sometimes blue? I can't remember) MPAA rating screen appears before a trailer, but since the films here don't need to be approved by an American company, that screen isn't seen. They do have a British equivalent, the British Board of Film Classification, and their ratings are as follows:

U: Suitable for all.
PG: Parental guidance, general viewing.
12/12A: The 12A classification is only used in cinemas (as opposed to on TV), but both mean that it is suitable fore ages 12 and up.
15: Suitable for ages 15 and up.
18: Suited for adults only.
R18: Films only to be shown in specially licensed cinemas of sex shops (it actually says this on the site.)

I think the British are more lenient with their ratings. The King's Speech was rated 12, which I would agree with; because of the swearing, I think it would have gotten a PG13 rating at home (anyone at home know what it did get?) And Black Swan, if you can believe it, was rated 15!

That's all I've got for you today. Tomorrow, I'm going to a thrift sale to see if I can get part of my costume for my Adaptations performance (denim shorts and a "vest top", a.k.a. tank top. I had to ask my classmates what this was, as while I knew we were portraying... women of less than reputable nature, I didn't really want to go onstage wearing only a vest on the top. Here, American vests are called "waistcoats.") Then I have to get cracking on my essays- I at least want to plan one or two of them out.

2 comments:

Mrs. Flury said...

The King's Speech is rated R in the US. What a shame, as I believe every adolescent in the country would benefit from seeing this uplifting and true story of someone who faced obstacles. The language was the issue.

I saw it in Lititz, and the audience applauded when it was over! I can't remember the last time that happened.

Rachel said...

Oh, no! I guess there was a good bit of language in the few scenes it was used in, but you're right- the story is too important to be kept from everyone just because of that.

I applauded when it was over, too! It's definitely one of the best movies I've seen in awhile.

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