While some countries restrict movies with age ratings, the US is surprisingly spacious by comparison. No one under 15 could have seen it Terminator 2: Judgment Day in UK cinemas in 1991 or on reruns. In the US, they could see it in all its glory as long as they had a parent, guardian, or cool older sibling. Still, there’s an age-restricted US rating, and it’s seen as one such box office poison.
The NC-17 rating rarely sticks to a film as it limits its range. Most movie theaters won’t show NC-17 movies, and most stores won’t stock them because they’re either a little too violent or (probably) too sexual. Some come to their defense, like the 2011 movie Shame, and critics’ hopes that it would legitimize the review. Others use them as a promotional tool, such as Marilyn Monroe’s biopic blond. But most either appeal the rating or cut the movie down to an R rating, like these eight movies.
8 Robocop
The NC-17 was a replacement for the old X classification, but the standards remained the same with Paul Verhoeven’s film about identity, resurrection and commerce. There is also a cyborg police officer who shoots criminals there. Robocop has become a classic icon, appearing in cartoons, TV shows, video games and more, which is quite an achievement for such a graphically violent movie.
The final product isn’t prude-friendly either, but the original version earned it an X rating. The MPAA was particularly bummed about two scenes: Alex Murphy had his arm shot off by a shotgun, and the ED-209 emptied its weapons into an innocent businessman. These were shortened for the theatrical release, but a director’s cut is available on DVD for the curious.
7 bad lieutenant
In 1990, the NC-17 classification came into effect, just in time for Abel Ferrara’s 1992 police drama about a cop investigating a rape case while dealing with a drug and gambling addiction. The rating was supposed to be more respectable than the X rating, but it still meant: bad lieutenant could not be stored in Blockbuster or advertised in newspapers. Eight minutes of adult footage had to be cut to get the R rating.
The film also ran into legal trouble when it used Schoolly D’s “Signifying Rapper,” which Led Zeppelin sued for using a riff similar to “Kashmir.” The song was eventually removed from every subsequent home release, including the still NC17 Artisan DVD release, but it is still present in the rare but censored US Laserdisc version. So no matter what movie buffs do, there’s no real ‘unattractive’ version of it bad lieutenant Outside.
6 Casino
Martin Scorsese’s 1995 movie Casino still stuck in the shadow of his earlier movie Goodfellas. Both were films that followed the lives of notorious gangsters, both were based on true stories, and both involved Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and writer Nicolas Pileggi. Except for, Casino was based in Las Vegas and was only inspired by the life story of a mobster (Frank ‘Lefty’ Rosenthal) rather than adapting one like Goodfellas.
This is mainly because it was subject to many legally mandated rewrites. Sure, the city looks a lot like Las Vegas, and “Back Home” looks like Chicago, but the movie couldn’t say that for sure. Once that was out of the way, the MPAA was not happy with the film’s violence. The infamous vice torture scene surprisingly didn’t get their rage, but Scorsese cut it short, along with other shooting and torture scenes to get an R rating.
5 Team America: World Police
Since their porn themed superhero movie Orgazmo Trey Parker and Matt Stone, despite being quite tame, have earned an NC-17 rating, but have found ways to get around rating boards — albeit not always successfully. One of their victories was replacing the South Park original subtitle of the movie All hell is breaking loose with the less infernal yet more suggestive Bigger, longer and uncut. But their most famous example was their funny pro-war puppet comedy Team America: World Police.
It had a sex scene between lead character Gary and love interest Sarah, which Parker & Stone were sure would get the ire of the MPAA. So they deliberately made it profane, throwing in more positions and fetishes. That way, the MPAA would be happy and give it an R rating, once Parker & Stone narrowed it down to their intended vision. It worked, because the doll’s sex scene was the only scene that was cut short in the end.
4 clerks
Anyone remember the hardcore sexual and gory content in Kevin Smith’s 1994 classic? clerks? That’s because it doesn’t exist. Smith wouldn’t have been able to afford it at the time anyway, as the film had a budget of less than $28,000. It was just a simple, cheap movie about two store clerks, Dante and Randal, and the people around them, but the movie is still referenced today for its funny scenes and dialogue.
That dialogue was worth an NC-17, though. The film never shows Dante’s friend Veronica giving lip service to 37 men throughout her life, but she, Dante and Randal talking about it (“In a row?!”), was enough for the MPAA to knock the hammer down. Miramax Films hired attorney Alan Dershowitz to appeal the decision. They succeeded, and clerks got its R rating without having to cut anything.
3 Difficult goal
Jean-Claude Van Damme seemed to be taking over the action scene in the early 1990s. Instead, he got stuck in the Direct-to-DVD market. Yet he was the leader in 1993 Difficult goal, the first American film made by legendary action director John Woo. It follows Van Damme’s ex-Marine as he helps a young girl discover what happened to her father, while he is chased by evil businessmen who hunt people for sport.
The MPAA thought it was too violent and gave it an NC-17 rating. So, Woo trimmed it down and resubmitted, getting a new NC-17 rating. He had to make 20 cuts across 5 additional entries before it was finally R-rated, cutting off the opening chase and the blazing warehouse finale. The fully uncut version has never seen a home release in the US, but can be found abroad. However, the best scene, in which Van Damme slaps a snake, can be found in every version.
2 Inside deepthroat
The title is probably reason enough why it got the rating. This 2005 documentary looked at the creation, legacy and people behind the infamous 1972 porn film deep throat, how it received the largest return on investment for any film ($600 million on a $25,000 budget), where that money went, and the sad story of lead actor Linda Lovelace.
Shockingly, it got the NC-17 rating for sexual content. So the creators replaced the hardcore scenes with softer equivalents to keep the run time and get an R rating. Surprisingly, the uncut edition made it to US cinemas. It was also released in Germany with an FSK 16 rating (for those aged 16 and over), so German teens could see the titular act in this documentary, but would have to wait another 2 years before buying the FSK 18 rated Yakuza 0 from stores.
1 This movie has not been rated yet
Germany notoriously cracks down on violent and gory content, while more spicy stuff is treated more cautiously. Conversely, the MPAA is more likely to give an R-rating to violent action movies than to movies featuring sex or nudity, especially if it’s “unconventional.” Kirby Dick documentary from 2006 This movie has not been rated yet interviewed filmmakers like Matt Stone, Kevin Smith, John Waters and more about the MPAA’s prejudice and censorship in general.
It also showed cut content from: Team America: World Police, Boys do not Cry, and others, and it got the NC-17 character as a result. Dick appealed, claiming that the latest edition contained additional footage that rendered the early draft they reviewed obsolete. Although it was released, it was never resubmitted for a new review. This is why, even now, this movie still hasn’t been rated.
0 Comments