The History of the X/NC-17 Rating

I look at the MPAA's harshest rating, its evolution from the X to the NC-17 and the headaches it has caused directors and studios.
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[@tavvyprods1275]

The NC-17 rating is very fascinating for me in terms of movies.

[@AdvancedGaming4444]

It’s like extreme level of intensity for movies

[@cradica]

the high rating is always rare(NC-17, AO) except TV-MA is common!

[@coletrain583]

Someone how most theaters don’t play NC-17.

[@pleaseenteraname1103]

Me to.

[@DJones476]

@@AdvancedGaming4444 Actually, it's not. Kevin Sandler wrote that Showgirls was just a glorified R, but this is disingenuous, since _all_ X/NC-17 films (with a tiny handful of extreme exceptions) are no more than glorified R films. Snip a few frames here & there, and poof! You have an R. The boundary between R and NC-17 is very clear, and has three criteria: sexuality, dialogue (tied into sexuality), and blood. All that having been said, Kevin S. Sandler's book _The Naked Truth_ is THE BIBLE when it comes to taking a deep dive into the R/NC-17 boundary. If you are going to read, let me make one more correction. Kevin Sandler discusses the "anal" armrest sex scene in Basic Instinct, and it being a reason for the movie's NC-17 rating. It is never stated, nor even implied anywhere in Basic Instinct that the sex was anal. The real reason for the NC-17 classification was the fact that Jeanne Tripplehorn's labia majora were visible from behind. Automatic NC-17! And indeed, this shot is not in the tamer R-rated version. This shot is also omitted from the R-rated as well as all TV adaptations of Showgirls. I highly recommend the book though, along with the Scream interviews. Here, the boundary is discussed when it comes to blood & gore. I hope that this is of some value to you, Sir Gamer. Game on, Buddy!🕹🎮

[@cetrata1993]

There's going to be a marylin Monroe biopic called blonde. The film was delayed until 2022 due to the conflicts between Netflix and the director over its proposed nc 17 rating (director appears to have won out)

[@eddieibarra356]

It should be rated R

[@elijahhill6602]

@@eddieibarra356 Too late! Blonde is officially rated NC-17 for “some sexual content”. I can’t wait until the trailer comes by.

[@eddieibarra356]

@@elijahhill6602 Shame 2011 was way more graphic

[@cetrata1993]

@@elijahhill6602 kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJ-sY4CviJuZndE

[@elijahhill6602]

@@eddieibarra356 “A Serbian Film” says hello.

[@animationrainritewolf8388]

Another film that had trouble with the rating is "South Park: Bigger Longer and Uncut" which that film was hell hole to release. Paramount wanted the movie to be PG-13 (which was a terrible idea in my opinion) so it could Garner more at the box office and be more appealable, which Matt and Trey refused (because they like they're raunchy humor and it's South Park, there no way you can make it kid friendly, even if you tried [looking at you Comedy Central with that TV-14 rating]), but the MPAA wanted to release it as an NC-17 because it's South Park and they don't shy away from going over the line. It goes to show that the MPAA can screw up not just movies and box office returns, but how it can screw up filmmakers who just want their movie to get the proper rating.

[@elijahhill6602]

Remember that Uncle F-er song? The song was originally going to be with Mother F-er. But if that happened, the movie will be smacked with the NC-17 rating.

[@kevinwong6588]

@@elijahhill6602 The "boner biting f--gots" line still is over the top though.

[@giantsr1eva]

@animationrainritewolf8388 The same thing happened with Team America World Police, that also got an NC-17 rating at the first screening and Trey and Matt were shocked.

[@brandonespinoza9279]

Yeah, South Park DOES technically have the dreaded TV-14 rating, OUTSIDE of Comedy Cental, through syndication.

[@fromthehaven94]

​@@brandonespinoza9279Neither the TV 14 or TV MA ratings for television are necessarily dreaded.

[@petercdowney]

The following Saw movies were originally rated NC-17 before being cut to get an R rating: 🔴 Saw 🔴 Saw III 🔴 Saw 3D 🔴 Spiral In both the UK and Ireland, all of the Saw movies are rated 18.

[@thecinematicbandicoot7280]

Kimberly Pierce faced the same problem with Boys Don't Cry bringing it up in the documentary This Film is Not Yet Rated: She argued that the MPAA had no problems with the violence directed towards the main character and yet they were more disgusted at the sex scenes that secured the NC-17 rating.

[@DJones476]

If in medium or closeup, one actor's face is in frame with another actor's you-know-what... That's an automatic NC-17.

[@ghostsurfer23]

This was incredibly comprehensive and educational!

[@SketchBud]

I remember when South Park: Bigger, Long and Uncut almost got that rating with all the strong language it had.

[@MrCoat]

Team America also had to go through the MPAA several times before it got a R. And Trey Parker and Matt Stone's independent film "Orgazmo" also got a NC-17, but they refused to give them specific reasons why (as opposed to when they started making movies for Paramount and only then did they get a list of parts to cut). Parker and Stone once joked that they could make something family-friendly like "Rugrats" and the MPAA would still slap them with a NC-17.

[@cradica]

There is also an equivalent of NC-17 for manga called M but I don’t know how rare it is.

[@jorge._pr]

@@cradica it’s pretty rare but not more rare than nc 17

[@cradica]

@@jorge._pr this was written a year ago I now know M rated Manga are coming in book stores. What's Interesting is Interspecies Reviewers. The Manga was rated the NC-17 equivalent (M) but the anime surpassed even that! Since it was picked up by a hentai company. Yet it was rated TV-MA originally. I remember someone saying TV-MA has the potential to reach NC-17 levels and even exceed them. I think he's right! Granted the TV-MA version was censored but it still came close to surpassing them!!!

[@jorge._pr]

@@cradica what anime do you mean?

[@joshuagiraffe]

I remember finding out that Steven Spielberg was prepared to accept an NC-17 rating for "Saving Private Ryan". It's also my understanding that "The Passion of the Christ" came close to getting the rating as well.

[@joshuagiraffe]

@Russell Hunter Because of the brutal/graphic violence (especially in the Omaha Beach sequence). I've noticed that some people have felt that "The Passion of the Christ" should have gotten the NC-17 rating, also because of how brutal/graphic the violence is.

[@brandonespinoza9279]

@@joshuagiraffe It felt more like PG-13, as blood and gore, teens can handle all that!

[@missbleach8767]

Warner bros shield logo pfp

[@elijahhill6602]

The Evil Dead, Showgirls, Henry & June, and A Dirty Shame are the ONLY movies to go to theatres in the US. Sausage Party, Mortal Kombat, and Midsommar were so damn close to get slapped with the rating recently. Swearnet and Blue is the Warmest Color are the movies to be on Netflix. The new Monroe movie Blonde is going to be the first Netflix original movie with the rating. A Serbian Film is the only most dangerous film ever and banned half everywhere.

[@NYUMIR]

Dangerous film???

[@generalrygy4532]

@@NYUMIR you dont want to know the kinda stuff happening in that movie

[@awesomeness-uj9qq]

​@@generalrygy4532bruh I've seen it and don't wanna talk about it

[@cradica]

I was telling somebody about NC-17 and she didn’t even believe it was a rating in America

[@thewenik6876]

To C Radica, I own a few of that rated films. I live in the u.s., also.

[@cradica]

@@thewenik6876 I just saw one. I got it from the public library.They have real p*** comic over there no joke!

[@thewenik6876]

@@cradica amazing. Wow, too. ☺️🤭

[@cradica]

@@thewenik6876 I have been rating my favorite M(NC-17) magna called Bre@sts Are My Favorite Things In the World.

[@thewenik6876]

@@cradica very true. Yes.

[@ryandt2623]

The Orgy scene in Eyes Wide Shut is my favorite scene in the movie. And not only that, but I think it's one of the best scenes that Stanley Kubrick has ever directed.

[@thewenik6876]

I have to agree with RYAN DT. Those were very well done on the uncensored version. Stanley Kubrick was a very talented director. 👏

[@jjgillmen]

"Saturday Night Fever," directed by John Badham, was originally released with a R rating in 1977. The soundtrack was so popular, however, that a PG version of the film was eventually released in time for 1979. The latter version was heavily panned and didn't fare so well at the box office.

[@treadman28]

I recall Ebert once saying that the asinine reason why the MPAA didn't copyright the X rating was because they felt the ratings system had to remain open-ended so it didn't seem like a censorship board. But by not copyrighting the X, they wound up becoming the very thing they claimed they wouldn't.

[@thewenik6876]

Very nice hearing on these movies. Also on retiring the X rating for the less NC-17 rating.

[@thomasmoby4010]

The film "But I'm A Cheerleader", made in 1999, and given a wide release in 2000, originally received this rating due to a line of dialogue and a particular scene involving the main character. However, it had to get cut for an R-rating. The director explained in the 2006 film This Film is Not Yet Rated how she was frustrated with the MPAA's double standards for films with gay and lesbian content, or LGBTQ+ content in general.

[@DVDandFilmBloke]

This seems to only be a problem in America. The UK for instance has an 18 certificate (which means you have to be 18 or over to watch or buy a film carrying the rating), and yet it is not considered the kiss of death as the NC-17 rating is (although most films released in the UK are the cut MPAA versions and the BBFC used to cut a lot of 18 rated films in the 80s and 90s). Surprisingly the UK was the most relaxed when it came to South Park: Bigger Longer and Uncut, it was given a 15 certificate with no BBFC sanctioned cuts (however the version submitted to the BBFC was the R rated version and to this day the unrated version hasn't seen the light of day). Other countries heavily cut or even banned the movie.

[@MrCoat]

In Canada, each province has its own individual ratings system and in the case of Ontario, I find they do a good job of rating films accordingly. The equivalent of a NC-17 is, funnily enough, labelled R and it's very rarely given out. The last film I remember that received it was Hardcore Henry. Then there's 18A, which requires having a parent or guardian to be able to see it, and even that one isn't given out too much. You have to be something on the level of a Quentin Tarantino movie in order to get it. When a movie is released on video, a different federal ratings board watches the film and awards it a new classification. South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut got a 18A in Ontario for its theatrical release, but the DVD/video is rated 14A (the equivalent of PG-13).

[@cradica]

@@MrCoat 14a is the equivalent of PG-13 weird because a lot of R-rated movies are rated 14 a

[@cradica]

I don't think it's America since a lot on 18 + manga can be found at Barns and Noble.

[@DVDandFilmBloke]

@@cradica Possibly, I don't know, I'm not into Manga plus I'm not from America. Also god it took KZbin long enough to give me any notifications on this comment.

[@cradica]

@@DVDandFilmBloke I mean manga have the same rating systems all across the English speaking world however each publisher has their own systems.

[@sorenthefilmbrony]

Most recently, Netflix's Blonde got an NC-17.

[@marko-gj1uj]

Serbian Film had to be edited in order to be shown and Got NC-17. Even the uncut version wouldn't have... Survived?

[@cradica]

Like how Redo of Healer had to be censored to be on streaming and it got a TV-MA but the are pretty strict about it they put a warning at the start of the show "for mature audiences only" and on top of that the blu-ray says "18+-DSV"

[@Memethatnoonetalksaboutman]

Japan was one of the countries that shown the film uncensored but with a 20+ rating but most countries have either banned or heavily edited the film.

[@johnnyd3158]

In your opinion, do you believe that the G film rating has gone extinct considering how pretty much every family and kids film nowadays, particularly animated films, are all rated PG?

[@littlekingtrashmouth9219]

I heard that 15 years ago, the kids movie because of Winn-Dixie had to add a few derogatory references here and there in order to get a PG because nobody was going to G rated movies anymore

[@giantsr1eva]

@johnnyd3158 It’s certainly going away, but I found 1 g rated movie called Luck that was released in 2022.

[@johnnyd3158]

@@giantsr1eva Well, I guess it goes to show that John Lasseter cares more about the G film rating than all of Hollywood.

[@Sandlot1992]

Very Interesting Episode you have there!

[@racheljackson4428]

there has been a argument between Bob Iger and Bob Chapek when it comes to the content that Disney plus provides but it's still up for debate.

[@royalgarden18]

If fritz the cat were to be rated again I think it would probably get an R rating. Its not tame by any means but I don't really think its NC17 material. I'm surprised they didn't rerate it for the bluray release a few years ago

[@nobod2567]

1:12 especially when the droogs we're used in Space Jam: A New Legacy instead of Pepe le Pew

[@mikemartin354]

I believe the movie Hardware got an NC 17 rating and had to be cut to get an R rating in order to have a wide release and be able to show previews on tv...I believe it came out in 1990 around the time Henry and June came out.

[@ibnkhaldoun4319]

hardware tho was MUCH less violent than the finished version of total recall, which passed with an r.

[@johns123]

Great video! Engaging and informative

[@johanestilaar1445]

Request: Top 10 Best PhantomStrider Videos

[@jamesmoss3424]

NC-17 movies kick ass. 😀👍

[@smcauley600]

disney+ does show fox movies for adults in the uk so i wonder if it does any NC-17 movies

[@DowinTheDasher]

Have u ever heard of kids (1995) If yes can u do a review if it?

[@NYUMIR]

Have you ever seen this movie is not yet rated

[@MrCoat]

Yes, I have. Great documentary. I even included it in my video on my top 10 documentaries about movies.

[@Kate-ct9ys]

Are you also doing homework?

[@gabegreen1744]

@@Kate-ct9ys who?

[@ama-ri_vox]

2:36 I love how casually he says this sentence

[@EvanMcFadden-th1xf]

Nc 17 rating like mary rose which are surviverse killer is death sentence

[@nathanforester5993]

From Dusk Till Dawn almost got this rating because of one of two things..one being one of the people being killed had long hair and obviously they thought the person with long hair was a woman (I think it was the biker played by Greg Nicotero), and the other is the blood. Now horror movies have shown quite a lot of blood in them before and since and the MPAA never complained about the use of blood in any of the horror movies of the 80s, yet for some reason they disapproved of it in that movie because...the blood is red, no reason, it's just they really hate red being used despite you know, it's the color of actual blood, and because of this Tarantino opted to make the blood green. Nightmare on Elm Street 5 allegedly has an R-Rated cut which includes the motorcycle transformation scene being a lot more graphic.

[@TommyPezMaster]

Ya going to review Extinct next week? Also, how will this movie effect Adam Devine's film career since Jexi already killed it?

[@MrGabeanator]

I still can’t believe John waters and Howard Ashman were friends

[@Father_of_Death]

Howard Ashman adapted "God Bless You Mr. Rosewater" and while the book is very profane and pornographic the musical is tame.

[@MrGabeanator]

aggain crazy@@Father_of_Death

[@QuandaleGames]

What does the Rated X and NC-17 Film does it refrequently used for?

[@SamC_182]

I can think of so many movies that are R rated that really should be NC-17 regardless of the edits they've gone through. At this point, should there really be an NC-17 rating at all?

[@emmayoung736]

The South Park movie originally got an NC-17 rating. Trey Parker and Matt Stone had to cut out one F bomb for the film to get an R. Sausage Party also initially got an NC-17. I guess too many sex scenes and too much violence. It was toned down a bit (key word, A BIT) to get the R rating.

[@Father_of_Death]

"Showgirls" deserves its NC-17 rating. I can't believe people like that movie, it glorified sexual assault and romanticized the Las Vegas showgirl hierarchy.

[@NYUMIR]

Are the there more than a few movies that get the NC-17 rating strictly for violence.

[@Jace-qp8ej]

A word of advice don’t do nc-17 unlwise your film is a box office bomb

[@willienation1651]

Have you ever seen the documentary inside deep throat from 2005

[@MrCoat]

I have not, sorry to say.

[@Wtahc]

0:51 no lol

[@JTC2227]

Ages 18+

[@kamsandwich6990]

Showgirls was actually a terrible movie

[@fromthehaven94]

Get rid of it.