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Fifty Shades Of Grey Granted UK Equivalent Of NC-17; Contains Over 20 Minutes Of Sex Scenes

The adaptation of E.L. James' best-selling worldwide phenomenon, Fifty Shades Of Grey, arrives in cinemas shortly, and that means several things. First off, the quantity of trailers, clips and teasers released has escalated. It's nigh on impossible to switch on a TV, turn on the radio or browse the web without either hearing or seeing the words "Mr. Grey will see you now," as if that dominant expression is somehow expected to make the population quiver. Second of all, it means that before the impressionable public can fork out their hard-earned cash to see it, the film must first be granted a ratings certificate.

fifty shades of grey

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The adaptation of E.L. James’ best-selling worldwide phenomenon, Fifty Shades Of Grey, arrives in cinemas shortly, and that means several things. First off, the quantity of trailers, clips and teasers released has escalated. It’s nigh on impossible to switch on a TV, turn on the radio or browse the web without either hearing or seeing the words “Mr. Grey will see you now,” as if that dominant expression is somehow expected to make the population quiver. Second of all, it means that before the impressionable public can fork out their hard-earned cash to see it, the film must first be granted a ratings certificate.

Drawing from several sources – The Wrap and Yahoo! Movies in particular – it appears that Fifty Shades is the sexiest film in the last decade. Literally. There’s 12 sex scenes in the film that, when combined, equal a total of 20 minutes. After a bit of fancy mathematics, that equals a fifth of the movie’s 100-minute running time. This is the most sex in any movie in the last ten years, and might go some way to explaining why the British Board Of Film Classification (the BBFC) has branded it with the dreaded ’18’ certificate.

Unlike the U.S. censorship body, the MPAA, who granted the sexually-adventurous film an R rating, their UK counterpart deemed the film too explicit. For Americans aged 17 and under, they can see the movie providing an adult accompanies them. For Britons, they must be 18 or over. Doesn’t matter if your mum or dad are there to shield your eyes – rather embarrassingly – during the naughty bits. It’s interesting that Universal has yet to respond to the BBFC’s decision, as this will surely have an affect on the movie’s UK box office. Hopefully we’ll hear from them soon on what they plan to do.

Before Fifty Shades Of Grey arrives in U.S. and U.K. cinemas on February 13th, why not check out the first clip from the movie below and let us know your thoughts. Does the sexual chemistry between Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson exhibit such steamy conviction that it should be banned for the under-18s? Sound off, folks.

Fifty Shades of Grey is the hotly anticipated film adaptation of the bestselling book that has become a global phenomenon. Since its release, the “Fifty Shades” trilogy has been translated into 51 languages worldwide and sold more than 100 million copies in e-book and print—making it one of the biggest and fastest-selling book series ever.

Stepping into the roles of Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele, who have become iconic to millions of readers, are Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson. Joining Dornan and Johnson in the cast are Luke Grimes as Elliot, Christian’s brother; Victor Rasuk as José, Anastasia’s close friend; Eloise Mumford as Kate, Anastasia’s best friend and roommate; Marcia Gay Harden as Dr. Grace Trevelyan Grey, Christian’s mother; Rita Ora as Mia, Christian’s sister; Max Martini as Taylor, Christian’s bodyguard; Callum Keith Rennie as Ray, Anastasia’s stepfather; Jennifer Ehle as Carla, Anastasia’s mother; and Dylan Neal as Bob, Carla’s husband. Fifty Shades of Grey is directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson and produced by Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti alongside E L James, the creator of the series. The screenplay for the film is by Kelly Marcel.