Australia's chief censor today defended a controversial MA rating allowing accompanied under-15s to see the grisly Hannibal Lecter sequel, which depicts a living man's brain being removed and eaten by another human. Des Clark said he probably would not like the movie Hannibal himself, and admitted it contained some "high impact" scenes of violence.

But he added: "I have confidence the (classification) board has made a good decision. "Some of the depictions are high impact but they're infrequent, they're not prolonged or gratuitous," he told ABC radio

Mr Clark said the Silence Of The Lambs sequel, showing in Australia next week and starring Anthony Hopkins as a cannibalistic serial killer, fitted guidelines allowing children under 15 to see the film if accompanied by a parent or guardian.

"It carries a consumer warning of high level violence," he said.

"That's a clear statement about what you're likely to come across in the movie.

"A parent taking a child to a film like that would have to make a very, very considered decision and probably see the film before they would take a child."

Mr Clark said one classification board member thought the film should have an R rating but the majority did not. Lynden Barber, film critic for The Australian newspaper, said the climax was "so nauseating that I blinked in disbelief before walking out of the cinema - the first time in my career that I have been literally unable to stomach a film".

AAP reporter Karen Michelmore said: "I felt physically ill afterwards. In some ways the acting was just too good, because you felt sick watching it.

"There's lots of other violence in the movie - a big shoot-out for example - but you're used to that sort of violence. "You're not used to seeing people eating other people."

The film also made American showbiz notables squeamish, according to the New York Post.

A theatre of "grossed-out celebs" groaned their way through a screening at New York's Ziegfeld theatre, the paper reported.
Regis Philbin covered wife Joy's eyes during a scene in which Anthony Hopkins slices out pieces of a brain. "Everybody Loves Raymond" co-star Peter Boyle shuddered and shook his head during a disemboweling scene. But Julianne Moore, who replaced Jodie Foster as FBI agent Clarice Starling in the movie, said she thought the grislier sequences were handled well.

"There's a fantasy element to it," she said. "You're never going to confuse this film with a documentary." The film's distributor, United International Pictures, defended the gruesome scenes, which also include a drugged man peeling his face off with a piece of glass.

"What you see is quite shocking," said Australian marketing manager Jon Anderson, "but it's handled with great taste.

"A master film-maker like Ridley Scott probably makes you imagine you're seeing more than you really are seeing. Ironically when this kind of furore erupts it does more for the film than if everyone keeps their opinions to themselves."

"I imagine interest in the film will shoot through the roof after today."