One of the most popular Hollywood musicals of all time, its vivid dance sequences and catchy song lyrics are ingrained into the consciousness of generations.
But now West Side Story, once considered a family classic, has been reclassified as a 12 certificate after 40 years of being a PG.
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) identified a number of themes and scenes which it considers triggering for younger viewers, and so raised the age rating for the home entertainment release.
One warning is for sexism and ‘occasional transphobic remarks’ – thought to centre around ‘tomboy’ Anybodys, a character who is now accepted as being transgender and is told to ‘go wear a skirt’.
Another warns of ‘moderate violence, sexual threat [and] discrimination’. It also notes that ‘characters occasionally smoke cigarettes and there are verbal references to alcohol addiction’, as well as people being ‘stabbed with clear sight of knife impact, though there is no blood’, and somebody being shot.
Released in cinemas in 1961, the retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is the tragic love story of Maria and Tony, members of rival gangs who rule the Upper West Side of New York. Originally a Broadway musical, the film was directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, with music and lyrics by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim.
According to the BBFC, it was first classified as a PG – which stands for parental guidance and means that viewers of any age can watch – in 1986. It was given the same classification in 1994, and again in 2003 and in 2005.
It was only this year that it was upped to a 12. The BBFC recently slapped the Wicked sequel, Wicked: For Good, with a number of obvious trigger warnings, including one alerting viewers to characters who ‘cast magical spells on one another’.
Actress Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer in a scene from the movie ‘West Side Story’
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) identified a number of themes and scenes which it considers triggering for younger viewers in West Side Story
The UK’s film classification body also highlighted some plot points to be wary of, most of which will be well known to anyone who is aware of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz or the 1900 novel it was based on.
Wicked, a spin-off of the Oz story, tells the backstory of Wicked Witch Elphaba, played by Cynthia Erivo, and Glinda the Good (Ariana Grande).
‘Occasional threatening scenes include people caught by falling debris in a cyclone and fantastical creatures rampaging through a crowd,’ the BBFC states in reference to when Dorothy is famously transported from Kansas to Oz.
The BBFC updates its classification guidelines every four or five years after public consultation.
