Da Vinci Code music - not the killing - is too scary for children, say censors

[Izzy]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/05/07/ncode07.xml

It opens with a mutilated body, features a series of bloody murders and even portrays a monk flagellating himself with a rope.

But the most disturbing thing about the Hollywood adaptation of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code is its musical score and sound effects, according to the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).
The producers of the new ?40 million film, which stars Tom Hanks, Sir Ian McKellen and Audrey Tautou, were told that their request for a 12A certificate was inappropriate because the film's score was too tense for young children, and its sound levels accentuated the violence.

The BBFC told executives at Sony, who are distributing the film in Britain, that unless significant changes were made to the film's audio content they would end up with a restrictive 15 certificate, which would have had a serious impact on the film's box office prospects.

A move to turn down a film's certification on the basis of its soundtrack is virtually unheard of. Normally, film producers have to cut only visual scenes to get the certification they require.

The Da Vinci Code tells the story of a conspiracy to suppress the truth about Christ's marriage to Mary Magdalene and the fathering of a royal blood-line, and is littered with violent episodes. All of these have found their way from the book into the finished film.

The Sunday Telegraph understands that the board viewed two different rough cuts of the film at the beginning of last month.

David Cooke, the BBFC's director, saw a version that contained hardly any soundtrack and is believed not to have raised any concerns.

Difficulties ensued, however, when two of the board's examiners viewed a version complete with the full soundtrack the following week.

"It was when the movie was viewed again with the soundtrack that the problems emerged," a studio source said. "Everyone was full of praise for the score but the BBFC felt that the way it was being used to build up the tension was simply too much for very young children.

"The BBFC also thought that the film had a very high 'crunch factor'. You didn't just see the fight scenes, you heard the bones break."

The film's score is by Hans Zimmer, the 49-year-old German composer who has produced a string of film soundtracks, including Batman Begins and Gladiator.

Aware that anything other than a 12A certificate would have undermined the film's commercial prospects, Sony was forced to moderate the audio content for the finished version of the film. Last week, it was finally granted the desired 12A certificate by the board.

A BBFC spokesman said: "We advised Sony that, as things stood, the film would receive a 15 certificate unless changes were made. A good score is obviously there to build up the tension. But in this case, we felt it was making things too tense for a very young audience.

''The sound mix was also accentuating the violence to a degree which was unacceptable for a young audience."

The BBFC's decision to raise objections about the film's soundtrack provoked astonishment last night.

John Beyer, the director of Media Watch UK, the organisation that monitors television and films, questioned whether adjusting the sound was the right way to protect young people.

"You do have to wonder if just turning down the sound is going to help matters that much," he said. "Even after the sound has been adjusted, you are still left with the problem of the violent imagery and it's this kind of imagery which really worries people."

Sue Palmer, an expert on child development and the author of Toxic Childhood, said: "It is an interesting response by the BBFC. The soundtrack is another dimension which reinforces what we see without us being very aware of it. However, children will still be seeing scenes of violence that they cannot deal with.

"We seem to assume that children mature at a faster rate and can handle more explicit material, but they can't. They are as emotionally vulnerable as they ever were."

? The Da Vinci Code opens in Britain on Friday May 19.

Just....absurd

[Nighteyes]

that sucks
I don't think a younger audience would understand so much of the movie (maybe I'm wrong)I think you need to know a little about Christianity , and how many 12 year olds do that?
so I don't understand why they want 12 year olds to watch it?
maybe I'm just thinking in a weird way..

[Elrothiel]

What the fuck? I'm sorry, but MUSIC does not scare people.

In a horror movie, occasionally they put silly screaming noises in to make people jump, and it works... unless of course you watch so many horror movies you become desensitized to it, like me!

But screaming noises and music are completely different things. Screaming noises do make people jump. Music just adds to the feel of the movie! It isn't made to scare people!!

And besides, how the hell could a twelve year old understand the Da Vinci Code anyway!!? Why would a twelve year old want to see it!!?

This whole thing with saying that the music is "too scary for children" is just LUDICROUS!!!



Bloody fucking political correctness and protecting children from their own shadows because everyone's petrified of getting sued by deranged parents!!

[Nighteyes]

I agree?

I want music in movies, and now it's gonna be almost no music at all in it?

[Elrothiel]

Yea... MUSIC... at least an unlyrical score does NOT count as "explicit material".

Maybe it does to the fucked up lawsuit-petrified assholes who ... as I said before... want to protect children from everything including the kitchen sink and their own shadows because "ooooh, it might be scaaaary"



Stupid fuckers!! QUIT TREATIN' KIDS LIKE THEY'RE MADE OF FUCKING GLASS!!! It DOESN'T help, and it just turns them into pussies when they get older!!

[Axls Locomotive]

yes music and sound does accentuate tension...every one of the senses can increase tension...why do you think they put the music in the film at certain moments in time, why do you think it takes so long in creating and synching these scores?...

Bloody fucking political correctness and protecting children from their own shadows because everyone's petrified of getting sued by deranged parents!!

such drama, nobody gets sued for that....

and whats wrong with protecting children? maybe the world would be a better place if we protected a bit more

[Evolution]

I've never heard of a score being the deciding factor 


I say they should accept the certificate and release it as it's meant to be.

[Elrothiel]

yes music and sound does accentuate tension...every one of the senses can increase tension...why do you think they put the music in the film at certain moments in time, why do you think it takes so long in creating and synching these scores?...

Bloody fucking political correctness and protecting children from their own shadows because everyone's petrified of getting sued by deranged parents!!

such drama, nobody gets sued for that....

and whats wrong with protecting children? maybe the world would be a better place if we protected a bit more

I'm not saying don't protect children, I'm just saying, TURN IT DOWN a bit because its getting ridiculous!!

Same with the political correctness... here in england shops aren't even allowed to put up christmas decorations because it might offend people from other religions living in our country...

AND THAT IS TOTALLY FUCKED!!! We don't get offended by.... I dunno... Ramadan if we were to go to Dubai or Abu Dhabi!!

Jeeeez... Its not like we're forcing it down everyone's throats!

[Axls Locomotive]

I'm not saying don't protect children, I'm just saying, TURN IT DOWN a bit because its getting ridiculous!!

Same with the political correctness... here in england shops aren't even allowed to put up christmas decorations because it might offend people from other religions living in our country...

AND THAT IS TOTALLY FUCKED!!! We don't get offended by.... I dunno... Ramadan if we were to go to Dubai or Abu Dhabi!!

Jeeeez... Its not like we're forcing it down everyone's throats!

i understand what youre saying...i think there are some areas that parents can be far too protective about...i think its healthy for kids to see scary scenes, but there is a limit...the censors have to set some sort of rules, because you dont want 8 year old looking at movies like Reservoir Dogs...they arent mature enough to deal with it...its not easy to set rules for something thats so subjective...some kids will lose out, but you will end up seeing it sooner or later...

Ive heard about the christmas decorations thing...yea its sad isnt it...you think that immigrants would have to integrate with us, rather than us having to change for them...one day we will be cenebrating ramadan rather than christmas eh...ach well

[Jim]

Ode to an Activist,

it has nothing to do with political correctness.

In the book, there is a scene where Silas (the albino monk?) kills a nun (I think). If that is included in the final cut of the film, I would not be suprised at all to find out that it is one of the scenes that forced the move; the intensity of the scene can be hugely affected by the score, and that is what is going to determine the rating: intensity.

I'm sorry, but MUSIC does not scare people.

In a horror movie, occasionally they put silly screaming noises in to make people jump, and it works... unless of course you watch so many horror movies you become desensitized to it, like me!

But screaming noises and music are completely different things. Screaming noises do make people jump. Music just adds to the feel of the movie! It isn't made to scare people!!

(you should be) Well, yes, but only the bad movies. Oh, and maybe some Troma. Music does scare you, at the very least it heightens the reaction, and does so with just about every emotion. It can make you cry, laugh, empathise, despise... And it will invest fear in you if used correctly.

The issue isn't with what the score is, I highly doubt that the OST is going to come with an explicit label. It is with what you are hearing and what you are seeing in conjunction with each other.

Any move that may seem radical can be written up by, what make seem like, an outspoken media as 'society gone mad', and, yes!, censorship and "political correctness" are in abundance, at times in the wrong place. But you have to read between the lines, you have to search for the motive behind the action before condeming it... You cannot simply read the artical (every artical has a slant) and form a judgement by the words "outrageous!," "ridiculous," or "... Gone mad!"

... My opinion is based on an assumption. It may be wrong, but that's the risk you take if you want to think for yourself. But that article is not exhaustive, and the writer clearly has not seen the film. Based on what I know of film convention, it does not come as that much of a shock to me: intensity, espeically with a mind to younger kids (remember, a 12A means that anybody has the opportunity to see it, so you have to bear the youngest of children in mind) is what determines the classifcation of film, of which music has a huge influence on.

I say they should accept the certificate and release it as it's meant to be.

They should. But that would show that they had more of an interest in the movie than in opening weekend. It would be verging on integrity. Yuk yuk yuk.

Ive heard about the christmas decorations thing...yea its sad isnt it...you think that immigrants would have to integrate with us, rather than us having to change for them...one day we will be cenebrating ramadan rather than christmas eh...ach well

Well, it isn't universal, it's not on a country-wide scale. If I ever own a shop (touch wood), I'll decorate it to shit, of that I'm certain..................

[godiva]

I think children should be allowed to see whatever they want to see. It's your job as a parent to sit next to them and talk to them about it. That's far better than sensorship. They don't get 'the wrong idea' whatever that means from movies, but by lack of explanation. My little girl can watch whatever she likes when she is older (of course, there is something called 'bed time'). I don't believe in telling children there are things they are not allowed to see. Will just make them more curious.

Music can add to the tension of a scene, but this really is taking it too far.  I remember reading Harry Potter was banned from school libraries somewhere in the States because there is witchcraft in it and that's not in line with Christianity. Geez, just be glad kids like to read. I do this with my younger pupils. I tell them I will get into trouble with the school board for allowing them to read a book they marked as 'unacceptable'. I tell them a bit about the story, and would they please not tell anybody I allowed them to read it? Works wonders.!

[Sterlingdog]

I think children should be allowed to see whatever they want to see. It's your job as a parent to sit next to them and talk to them about it. That's far better than sensorship. They don't get 'the wrong idea' whatever that means from movies, but by lack of explanation. My little girl can watch whatever she likes when she is older (of course, there is something called 'bed time'). I don't believe in telling children there are things they are not allowed to see. Will just make them more curious.

Music can add to the tension of a scene, but this really is taking it too far.  I remember reading Harry Potter was banned from school libraries somewhere in the States because there is witchcraft in it and that's not in line with Christianity. Geez, just be glad kids like to read. I do this with my younger pupils. I tell them I will get into trouble with the school board for allowing them to read a book they marked as 'unacceptable'. I tell them a bit about the story, and would they please not tell anybody I allowed them to read it? Works wonders.!

Wow, you sound like someone right out of Berkley.  I hope I'm misunderstanding you.  How old does your child have to be before you allow her to watch whatever she wants?  No limits?  Seriously? 

And do you really let your students read things they aren't supposed to, or do you just tell them that to get them to read?  Because as a parent, I would pretty much freak out if I found out some teacher was telling my kid to ignore the rules and do what they want. 

As for the topic, music can definitely add to how scary a movie is.  When I was a kid, I reacted more to the music than anything else.  But I don't know that it could really justify a certain movie rating, if its really just based on the music and nothing else.

[godiva]

No of course I don?t allow these student to read anything against the rules. I need my job.  It gets them to read though. I just don?t believe in censorship. My parents never prohibited me from watching anything I wanted. They would talk to me about it, saying, well, it?s not very realistic, it doesn?t really work that way in real life. That way they installed values. Saying, well, do you think this is a good way to handle that situation? What would you do? But I was always allowed to watch things other children weren?t allowed to watch at school. Thing is, kids aren?t really interested in that kind of stuff, if it?s not appropriate for their age they don?t understand it, so no fun in watching that movie. I was only interested in watching scary movies because the other kids in my class weren?t allowed to. I remember I wanted to see Basic Instinct, because the big kids at school were talking about it and no one in my class was allowed to. Didn?t even like it, cause I didn?t understand the story. I was too young. But because my parents didn?t make a big deal out of it, it was no big deal for me. I think I even turned it off and told all my friends the movie sucked. 

Point I was trying to make is that television doesn?t raise children, people do. You won?t get a screwed up view of the world just by watching inappropriate movies. You get them when they are not explained to you properly and you have to make up your own mind about them, which is incredibly difficult if you don?t have a lot of life experience.

Maybe I had a strange childhood with these hippy parents of mine, but I think they did a pretty good job raising me.

[Sakib]

scary music? wot the hell?

[Sakib]

well i do have nightmares about chav music i suppose 

[Elrothiel]

Well everyone has nightmares about chav music Sakib!!

If they'd made the Da Vinci Code with chav music, I would wait until it came out on DVD, buy it, and watch it with the sound off and the subtitles on.

Back on topic, I think when it does come out on DVD, there will be the option of watching it with the original music. It would be silly if they didn't have that option. Unless if it means that having a 12A rating means that every single thing on the DVD has to be suitable for a 12A audience... or perhaps they'll release it with a 15 rating as WELL... with the original music.

That would be the best thing I think.