Motion Picture Rating System - Italy

Italy

It was enforced since 1963 and all films aimed to be shown in Italy are classified into one of the following categories by the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities:

• T (Tutti – All): All ages admitted. The mark is a circle with a huge T inside on a green background.

• V.M.14 (Vietato ai minori di 14 anni - Restricted to 14 and over): Nobody under the age of 14 years is allowed, parental guidance is strongly advised. The movie is likely to contain either sexual content, violence and some drug use. The mark is a circle with a 14 inside on an orange background.

• V.M.18 (Vietato ai minori di 18 anni - Restricted to 18 and over): Nobody under the age of 18 years is allowed, for older audiences only. The movie is likely to contain very explicit and strong sexual content, strong and/or extreme violence and gore or really explicit drug use. The mark is a circle with an 18 inside on a red or bordeaux background.

In the past, pornographic or disturbing movies like Deep Throat and Last Summer were given a special X rating, but this rating does not take part of the official censorship and is used today only for pornographic videos. Some films were even banned for their extreme pornographic contents, disturbing violence, or for depictions of opposing political views. Movies banned for these reasons include Freaks, Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom and Cannibal Holocaust, although these bans were lifted after. Few films like Last Tango in Paris were even sentenced to be burnt at the stake. The laws which allow such bans are still in force today, although have fallen into disuse.