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-{{Redirect|Rated X}}
-{{refimprove|date=October 2010}}
-{{Multiple image
- | direction = horizontal
- | align = right
- | image1 = BBFC_X_1951-1970.png
- | width1 = 55
- | alt1 = BBFC X symbol 1951-1970
- | image2 = BBFC X 1970-1982.png
- | width2 = 75
- | alt2 = BBFC X symbol 1970-1982
- | footer = Two "X" symbols used by the [[British Board of Film Classification]] (1951–1970 and 1970-1982, respectively)
-}}
-In some countries, '''X''' or '''XXX''' is or has been a [[Motion picture rating system|motion picture rating]] reserved for the most explicit films. Films  rated X are intended only for viewing by adults, usually legally defined as people over the age of 18 or 21.
-==Australia==
-The [[Australian Classification Board]] (ACB), a government institution, issues ratings for all movies and television shows exhibited, televised, sold or hired in Australia. Material showing explicit, non-simulated consensual sex that is pornographic in nature is rated '''X18+'''.
-People under 18 may not buy, rent, exhibit or view these films. The exhibition or sale of these films to people under the age of 18 years is a criminal offence carrying a maximum fine of $5,500.
-Films classified as X18+ are banned from being sold or rented in most [[Australian states]]. They are legally available to be sold or hired in the [[Australian Capital Territory]] and the [[Northern Territory]].
-Importing X18+ material from these territories to any of the Australian states is legal, as the [[Constitution of Australia|constitution]] forbids any restrictions on trade between the states and territories.
-The X18+ rating does not exist for video games.
-==France==
-Films may be shown in theaters in France only after classification by an administrative commission of the ministry of Culture. In 1975, the '''X classification''' (officially: "pornographic or violence-inciting movies") was created for pornographic movies, or movies with successions of scenes of graphic violence. The commission has some leeway in classification, it may for instance take into account the artistic qualities of a movie not to count it pornographic.
-Movies with an X rating may only be shown in specific theaters (which hardly exist nowadays in France); they bear special taxes and tax rates, including a 33% tax on revenue.
-In 2000, some conservative associations sued the government for granting the movie ''[[Baise-moi]]'', which contained graphic, realistic scenes of sex and violence, a non-X classification. The ''[[Council of State (France)|Conseil d'État]]'' at litigation ruled that the movie should have been rated X. The decision was highly controversial, and some suggested changing the law under which it was rated 18.
-==United Kingdom==
-{{main|History of British film certificates}}
-The original '''X certificate''', replacing the [[H certificate]], was issued between 1951 and 1982 by the [[British Board of Film Censors]] in the [[United Kingdom]]. It was introduced as a result of the [[Wheare Report]] on film censorship. From 1951 to 1970, it meant "Suitable for those aged 16 and over," and from 1970 to 1982 it was redefined as meaning "Suitable for those aged 18 and over". The X certificate was replaced in November 1982 by the [[18 certificate]].
-Sometimes the rating of a film has changed significantly over time. For example, the French film  ''[[Jules and Jim]]'' received an X rating in 1962 that was changed to a [[Rated PG|PG]] rating in 1991.<ref>[http://www.bbfc.co.uk/search/releases/Jules%2Band%2BJim "Jules and Jim"], British Board of Film Classification</ref> In some early cases, films politically motivated received an X rating. ''[[The Battleship Potemkin]]'' was rejected for "inflammatory subtitles and [[Bolshevist|Bolshevik]] propaganda" in 1926, rated X in 1954, and finally rated PG in 1987.<ref>[http://www.sbbfc.co.uk/CaseStudies/Battleship_Potemkin Case Study:Battleship Potemkin] {{wayback|url=http://www.sbbfc.co.uk/CaseStudies/Battleship_Potemkin |date=20120301233439 }}</ref>
-==United States==
-In the [[United States]], the '''X rating''' was applied to a film that contained content judged unsuitable for [[children]], such as extreme violence, strongly implied sex, and graphic language. When the [[MPAA film rating system]] began in the US on November 1, 1968, the X rating was given to a film by the [[MPAA]] if submitted to it or, due to its non-trademarked status, it could be self-applied to a film by a distributor that knew beforehand that its film contained content unsuitable for minors. From the [[New Hollywood|late 1960s]] to about the [[1980s in film|mid-1980s]], many mainstream films were released with an X rating such as ''[[Midnight Cowboy]]'', ''[[Last of the Mobile Hot Shots]]'', ''[[Beyond the Valley of the Dolls]]'', ''[[A Clockwork Orange (film)|A Clockwork Orange]]'', ''[[Fritz the Cat (film)|Fritz the Cat]]'', ''[[Last Tango in Paris]]'' and ''[[The Evil Dead (1981 film)|The Evil Dead]]''. (Films that achieved critical and commercial success were later re-rated R after minor cuts, including ''Midnight Cowboy'' and ''A Clockwork Orange.'') The threat of an X rating also encouraged filmmakers to re-edit their films to achieve an R rating. Certain films, such as ''[[Cruising (film)|Cruising]]'' (1980), received an R rating that some theatre owners felt should have been an X (''Cruising'' was withdrawn from distribution after it was clear that required cuts to obtain the R rating had not been made).
-Because the X rating was not trademarked, anybody could apply it to their films, including pornographers, as many began to do in the 1970s. As [[pornography]] began to become chic and more legally tolerated, pornographers placed an X rating on their films to emphasize the adult content. Some even started using multiple X's (i.e. XX, XXX, etc.) to give the impression that their film contained more graphic sexual content than the simple X rating. In some cases, the X ratings were applied by reviewers or film scholars, e.g. [[William Rotsler]], who wrote "The XXX-rating means [[Hardcore pornography|hard-core]], the XX-rating is for [[Softcore pornography|simulation]], and an X-rating is for comparatively cool films."<ref>Rotslter, William. ''Contemporary Erotic Cinema''. New York: [[Penthouse (magazine)|Penthouse]]/[[Ballantine Books]], 1973. page 251.</ref> Nothing beyond the simple X rating has ever been officially recognized by the MPAA. Because of the heavy use of the X rating by pornographers, it became associated largely with pornographic films, so that non-pornographic films given an X rating would have fewer theaters willing to book them and fewer venues for advertising. Moreover, many newspapers refused to advertise X rated films. This led to a number of films being released unrated sometimes with a warning that the film contained content for adults only. In response, the MPAA eventually agreed in 1990 to a new [[NC-17#X is replaced by NC-17|NC-17]] rating that would be trademarked, and could only be applied by the MPAA itself. By [[Trademark|trademarking]] the rating, the MPAA committed to defending a NC-17 film charged with violating obscenity laws.
-==See also==
-* [[Censorship]]
-* [[Production Code]]
-* [[Re-edited film]]
-* [[Strong language]]
-* [[Television rating system]]
-* [[.xxx]], top-level Internet domain
-==References==
-{{reflist|2}}
-== External links ==
-* [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/591679/index.html ''Screen Online'' article about the X certificate]
-* [http://www.refused-classification.com/ Refused Classification] Website covering in varying detail many films that have run foul of the Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification, with separate sections for hardcore films and video games
-* [http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-adelphia2feb02,0,7840216.story?coll=la-home-headlines Explanation of X-ratings in the US]
-* [http://www.comstockfilms.com/blog/tony/2007/08/07/how-x-rated-came-to-mean-porn-and-the-death-of-movies-for-grown-ups/ How “X-rated” Came to Mean “Porn” and the Death of Movies for Grown-ups A brief history of the social and legal forces that drove adult themes out of the legitimate cinema, by film director Tony Comstock]
-* [http://www.news.com.au/technology/gaming/ban-lifted-it-only-took-10-years-but-government-gives-r18-video-games-the-go-ahead/story-e6frfrt9-1226271652456 Australian government says yes to R18+ video games bill]
-{{Pornography}}
-{{DEFAULTSORT:X Rating}}
-[[Category:Motion picture rating systems]]
-[[Category:British Board of Film Classification]]
-[[Category:Motion Picture Association of America]]
-[[Category:Self-censorship]]
-[[Category:Film censorship]]