drcigg

Wanted to start a list of nc 17 movies. I can't think of any at the top of my head.

Groucho

The first NC-17 movie was Henry and June.

conscience

Showgirls

Bad Leutinant

Goat3001

How can you forget Showgirls

joeydaninja

what is NC-17 again?

Mondo Kane

LAST TANGO IN PARIS
MAN BITES DOG
THE STORY OF RICKY
IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES (Ai no Corrida)
PINK FLAMINGOS
SANTA SANGRE (I don't see why this film deserved this rating)
BASE MOI'
TERROR FIRMER
SALO

JonTurner

search by rating on the imdb... pretty simple way to get THE full list.

Goat3001

No one under 17 permitted.

RichC2

Actually it's no one 17 and under. You have to be 18 to be admitted (equivilant of mainstream porn.)

joeydaninja

and how is it different from Rated R?

Amadeus

With the R rating someone under 17 can see the film a long as someone over 17 is with them.For NC-17 no one 17 or under can see the film,even if their with someone over 17.

Giles

NC-17: "No Children under 17"

lesterlong

No one makes NC-17 movies anymore though. Just release R in theatre and unrated on DVD. The last was Showgirls and will most likely stay that way.

Rypro 525

actually, requem for a dream and y tu mama tambien were what are equivilant of an NC-17 since most theaters didnt let anyone under 17 into these movies even though they were consitered "unrated"

mcarver

Not true, many NC-17 films are still being made (or end up being labeled as such) because directors or distributors refuse to make cuts dictated by th MPAA - or refuse to submit them at all for various reasons (usually independent films).

Acutally even more NC-17 films are made, but are released after editing to receive an R rating or less.

rabbit77

I totally disagree. NC-17 is dead as dead. Most studios withdraw their film from the MPAA if word comes back they're getting an NC-17 and simply release their film unrated. If they edit the film to get an R rating, it then becomes an R movie.

Recent films like Requiem For a Dream and Bully and Baise Moi were all released to the theaters as Unrated. They were never released with as NC-17.

monkeyboy

wasn't The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover rated NC-17? i think that's the first film i remember getting released with that rating.....

kefrank

i don't know, but henry and june was the first. it was basically the reason that the NC-17 rating was made. the rating was supposed to signify a serious film that contained extreme mature content that only adults should ever be allowed to see, but without the negative connotation of the "X" rating (due to the porn industry). didn't really do much good though, because mainstream theaters generally refuse to show NC-17 films, which pretty much defeats the purpose of the rating.

mcarver

First, yes, The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover was released as an NC-17 film (was released the year before Henry & June).

In the Realm of the Senses (1996) NC-17.

Artemisia (1997) intially received an NC-17, but got it knocked down to an R after an appeal.

Happiness (1998) received an NC-17 rating, but surrendered its rating and was released Un-Rated.

Tokyo Decadence (1993) received an NC-17 rating.

Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1990) NC-17.

Bad Lieutenant (1992) Theatrical release NC-17, but cut down to an R for video release.

Basically, the major Hollywood studios are in collusion with each other and the theater chains (of which they own a majority of) to prevent films from being released that can't pass the R-Rating standard.

That is why NC-17 films are so few and far between... The odds of getting the finances to distribute a film outside the Hollywood controlled channels are almost nil. If one can find the finances, the theaters either won't carry the film and/or the newspapers refuse to carry ads for NC-17 films (which is why Happiness surrendered its NC-17 rating and went out Un-Rated).
It's not the theaters themselves that won't carry the films, but the studios that own the theaters or because studios will refuse to distribute their films to independent theaters that show an NC-17 film.

nolanpb

But is also some newspaper and tv outlet wont run ads for NC-17 movies ( i believe the NY Times is one of them, I'm not sure though), but they will run ads for unrated movies. It is just a rating that people wont allow to work in this country.

Nolan

mcarver

I haven't read any evidence that this is due to advertising dollar$ pressure put on the newspapers from the major studios (refusal to run ads if they carry NC-17 ads). But knowing the power the studios wield over distribution, I wouldn't put it past them.

kefrank

apparently a discrepancy. The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover was released before Henry and June (with the rating?), but Henry and June was the impetus for the creation of the rating. i heard this directly from Philip Kaufman's (director of H&J) mouth at a public appearance a couple years back. not that IMDB is accurate, but they also mention it in the the triva for H&J.

bboisvert

http://www.mpaa.org/movieratings/

And, yes, because of economic realities, the rating does not work. Major newspaper chains won't carry the ads, some major theater chains won't carry the film, major rental chains won't carry the video. Basically, a NC-17 film has practically no chance of making money in the U.S.

So, most times they'll cut it down to an R and then just release it unrated on DVD.


It is incredibly silly that we don't have a workable rating for adult (non-porn) films in the U.S., but there you go...

wendersfan

That's because films usually get the NC-17 rating due to sexual content, which is naturally far, far, worse than any violence imaginable. God forbid directors show such disgusting, unnatural acts such as people actually having sex, when instead they could show normal, everyday acts like people mowing down dozens of terrorists with a machine gun...

mcarver

And Clerks originally received an NC-17 for what? Certainly not for visual sexual or violent content, just plain foul language...