Since When Did Rated 'R' Movies Become As Bad As Rated 'NC-17' Movies? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Brian Damage · 05-08-2009, 10:51 AM

I just don't get it. Movie Studios seem to fear Rated 'R' movies. Most horror films nowadays are rated 'PG-13' and Warner Brothers came out recently and said they will no longer produce rated 'R' super hero flicks. Why is that?

There was a time when 'NC-17' movies were taboo, now it looks like rated 'R' movies are just as offensive to people.

TJL · 05-08-2009, 10:56 AM

My guess is they want to get as many butts in the theater as possible, and that's easier with a PG-13 movie than an R rated one.

JamesG · 05-08-2009, 03:14 PM

NC-17 films hardly make any money and the filmmaking industry is there to make money.

Most major theaters simply will not screen NC-17 movies. Also, most DVD retailers will not stock them. Some filmmakers go out of their way to edit the footage to get an R rating as the NC-17 rating is a potential death sentence to make profit.

Even some R rated films get hassle when it comes to being screened; I remember the fiasco when Howard Stern's Private Parts came out and more recently for Zak and Miri Make A Porno.

A lot of people will agree that most of the money in the movie-making industry come from teenagers. They want to get as much money as possible so they get a PG-13 rating with mediocre storylines.

As for R-rated Superhero flicks, I am sure they are talking about Watchmen. I think a lof of people, aka the popcorn action crowd, were totally letdown by this one because they went in expecting to see something like a 3 hour balls-to-the-wall film like 300 when this is not what it was. Watchmen was a different kind of superhero flick that the average crowd is not used to and it didn't perform well.

Horror still does release R rated horror flicks, recent being Last House on the Left which got blasted by mainstream critics and the upcoming Halloween sequel.

Even Rob Zombie's The Devil's Rejects, which was R-rated, got critical praise from mainstream critics so the R-rated horror market is totally not dead yet.

Essentially it comes down to making money and that is much easier with a PG-13 rating than an R-rated one; unless the market is huge for the R-rated one that it will carry it well.

MickeyMac · 05-08-2009, 08:02 PM

It rarely happens but there has been a time or two when an NC-17 can make some money. Back when it was still X rated Beyond The Valley of the Dolls was one of the top grossing films for 1970.

Thats a rare occasion though.

JamesG · 05-08-2009, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MickeyMac

It rarely happens but there has been a time or two when an NC-17 can make some money. Back when it was still X rated Beyond The Valley of the Dolls was one of the top grossing films for 1970.

Thats a rare occasion though.

Yes, that's one of the few times that's happened.

In recent years, the only NC-17 film I know of that got wide notice was Showgirls. Though it didn't perform well it still got a lot of notice and many at least know of this one.

There have been NC-17 movies since but the majority of them don't get any real recognition and you have to "look for them".

Mr. Television · 05-08-2009, 10:09 PM

Marlon Brando starred in Last Tango in Paris in 1972 and that did pretty well. Brando was even nominated for an Oscar for it. It shows up on tv every so often but it's usually the R rated version.

catlover79 · 05-08-2009, 10:18 PM

Wasn't Caligula rated X?

browneyes106 · 05-09-2009, 12:46 AM

I think money is a big reason a lot of horror films get rated PG13. They just want to make money through ticket sales by teenagers. The only good recent PG13 horror thriller movie I have seen is The Uninvited.

comedyfreak · 05-09-2009, 08:41 AM

That's it more kids can see PG13 movies which is where the money is right now, they can see it without the accompanyment of a parent.

MickeyMac · 05-09-2009, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

Wasn't Caligula rated X?

I think so, I know it featured several Penthouse centerfolds. I have a buddy who used to work at a video store and the told me they always kept Caligula in the back room with the pornos, so this flick must be pretty risque.

JamesG · 05-10-2009, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

Wasn't Caligula rated X?

I'm not really all that familiar with this movie but I believe in its native Italy it was rated with their equivalent of the X/NC-17 rating.

Also, this movie was also very heavily edited and cut when it started to get passed around to other countries so some theaters either screened the whole thing or the edited R-rated version.

catlover79 · 05-10-2009, 09:16 AM

^ Thanks, guys. I heard that it not only had some really heavy sex scenes, but stuff like bestiality and (EWWW) disembowelment. You know, the good old family films everyone loves.

JamesG · 05-10-2009, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

^ Thanks, guys. I heard that it not only had some really heavy sex scenes, but stuff like bestiality and (EWWW) disembowelment. You know, the good old family films everyone loves.

The bestiality I am not sure of but I know this film contained castration, oral sex, people being urinated on, incest, rape, fisting, orgies...

God, can't believe Helen Mirren was in this but then again she was in some pretty other off-the-wall films back then; another one being The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover.

catlover79 · 05-10-2009, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesG

The bestiality I am not sure of but I know this film contained castration, oral sex, people being urinated on, incest, rape, fisting, orgies...

God, can't believe Helen Mirren was in this but then again she was in some pretty other off-the-wall films back then; another one being The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover.

She was? I never knew that.

JamesG · 05-10-2009, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catlover79

She was? I never knew that.

This was actually, I believe, the first major motion picture to contain big stars involving the graphic/explicit nature of a film.

It starred John Gielgud, Peter O'Toole, Helen Mirren, and Malcolm McDowell as "Caligula".

05-08-2009, 10:51 AM	#1
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,107	Since When Did Rated 'R' Movies Become As Bad As Rated 'NC-17' Movies? I just don't get it. Movie Studios seem to fear Rated 'R' movies. Most horror films nowadays are rated 'PG-13' and Warner Brothers came out recently and said they will no longer produce rated 'R' super hero flicks. Why is that? There was a time when 'NC-17' movies were taboo, now it looks like rated 'R' movies are just as offensive to people.
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05-08-2009, 10:56 AM	#2
TJL Suburbanite Extrordinaire Forum Star Join Date: Dec 29, 2001 Location: New Jersey - the cradle of civilization Posts: 16,588	My guess is they want to get as many butts in the theater as possible, and that's easier with a PG-13 movie than an R rated one.
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05-08-2009, 10:09 PM	#6
Mr. Television 23 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,132	Marlon Brando starred in Last Tango in Paris in 1972 and that did pretty well. Brando was even nominated for an Oscar for it. It shows up on tv every so often but it's usually the R rated version.
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05-08-2009, 10:18 PM	#7
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,382	Wasn't Caligula rated X?
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05-09-2009, 08:41 AM	#9
comedyfreak Cheers! Forum Fanatic Join Date: Dec 14, 2005 Location: Sunny California Posts: 11,060	That's it more kids can see PG13 movies which is where the money is right now, they can see it without the accompanyment of a parent.
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05-08-2009, 03:14 PM	#3
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,136	NC-17 films hardly make any money and the filmmaking industry is there to make money. Most major theaters simply will not screen NC-17 movies. Also, most DVD retailers will not stock them. Some filmmakers go out of their way to edit the footage to get an R rating as the NC-17 rating is a potential death sentence to make profit. Even some R rated films get hassle when it comes to being screened; I remember the fiasco when Howard Stern's Private Parts came out and more recently for Zak and Miri Make A Porno. A lot of people will agree that most of the money in the movie-making industry come from teenagers. They want to get as much money as possible so they get a PG-13 rating with mediocre storylines. As for R-rated Superhero flicks, I am sure they are talking about Watchmen. I think a lof of people, aka the popcorn action crowd, were totally letdown by this one because they went in expecting to see something like a 3 hour balls-to-the-wall film like 300 when this is not what it was. Watchmen was a different kind of superhero flick that the average crowd is not used to and it didn't perform well. Horror still does release R rated horror flicks, recent being Last House on the Left which got blasted by mainstream critics and the upcoming Halloween sequel. Even Rob Zombie's The Devil's Rejects, which was R-rated, got critical praise from mainstream critics so the R-rated horror market is totally not dead yet. Essentially it comes down to making money and that is much easier with a PG-13 rating than an R-rated one; unless the market is huge for the R-rated one that it will carry it well.

05-08-2009, 08:02 PM	#4
MickeyMac Member Forum Star Join Date: Jun 18, 2008 Location: Kalamazoo, Michigan Posts: 19,006	It rarely happens but there has been a time or two when an NC-17 can make some money. Back when it was still X rated Beyond The Valley of the Dolls was one of the top grossing films for 1970. Thats a rare occasion though.

05-09-2009, 12:46 AM	#8
browneyes106 Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Apr 01, 2008 Posts: 6,094	I think money is a big reason a lot of horror films get rated PG13. They just want to make money through ticket sales by teenagers. The only good recent PG13 horror thriller movie I have seen is The Uninvited.

05-10-2009, 09:16 AM	#12
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,382	^ Thanks, guys. I heard that it not only had some really heavy sex scenes, but stuff like bestiality and (EWWW) disembowelment. You know, the good old family films everyone loves.