Depression

Isn't this thread backwards?

I've always thought if anything the ratings are becoming MORE lenient. I think a lot of PG-13 movies coming out today would have gotten an R rating 15 years ago.

Groucho

That's awesome. I'll have to check my DVDs and see that trailer is on it.

dom56

Yeah, I was surprised to see one of the victim a woman appearing topless when I first saw it in theater years ago. Sure it was shot in the dark but you can clearly see the woman's breasts.

Rypro 525

For the opposite, anyone think that by todays standards, the original Psycho would probably get a PG-13 today? Also think that the Good the Bad and the Ugly would be a PG-13 uncut.

Duh Vuh Duh

Watched Sixteen Candles last night and couldn't believe it was PG, probably be PG-13 these days, maybe R, nuditiy and language.

chris_sc77

I dont know I think it just depends on the movie.
No way would There Will Be Blood or The Hammer have gotten R ratings if they came out 20 years. They would both probably be rated PG.

tylergfoster

Most 80's comedies, I think, like Ghostbusters and Fletch and whatnot, would have garnered PG-13s today. But I can't think of any PGs that would have become Rs in my mind, except for the few that have nudity.

Jacoby Ellsbury

Little girl who lives down the lane - fully nude 13 year old jodie foster, body double or not.
Child molester trying to act out his desires.
Implied Sex

Yeah that would get a PG rating nowadays.

inri222

Walkabout

toddly6666

Isn't 2001 rated G? I always thought that 2001 was a bit disturbing to at least merit a PG-13.

dx23

Logan's Run


Most of the movies that today would get an R rating that were PG or PG-13 in the past would be because of nudity. It is incredible that the American system goes all bonkers is a tit is shown (Janet Jackson/SB fiasco) but they don't care about graphic violence. As you can see there are many action films that were R in the 80's and today they are only considered PG-13.

Rogue588

Exactly.

DarthMarino

I think Sixteen Candles could get an R (originally rated PG). An F-bomb, a close up of breasts, plenty of sexual stuff, minors getting drunk.

PopcornTreeCt

That may be the truth when it comes to violence but certainly not nudity.

RichC2

Uncle Buck would be PG-13 these days (was PG). Watching it now, forgot how raunchy some of it was ("Are you waiting for your sex?"). Not to mention the sheer number of times they say "shit".

chriscooling

Not sure I agree with Big. They could've rated it 13 when it was released and did not; it still seems rather tame. The other 3 I agree with; automatic 13s on all of them; even if just for 'thematic elements' [The Graduate.]
The MPAA rating system is weird and inconsistent. In some ways it seems film ratings have become more lenient, in other ways they definately have become more harsh.
Different people have staffed the ratings board at different times, producers have appealed ratings of certain films, and additional ratings rules come into play as society changes.
For a number of years I have looked at some films that used to get a G or PG and think it would get a harsher rating today. Original Andromeda Strain and Planet of the Apes immediately come to mind.
Today's PG13 films get to include a lot of violence for that rating, though. Show some boobies [or god forbid a nude man] even in a non-sexual context and the film gets an R today. Titanic is a notable modern day exception, and one that shows how big studio films are treated differently by the ratings board than independent films.
As most on this board know, many films initially get an R, then shave content until a 13 is obtained, most of the time revolving around violent content, with the ratings board even volunteering what needs to be cut to get the desired rating.
Everyone should watch This Film Is Not Yet Rated if they are interested in this topic.

kristina

never heard of that one, I'll add it to my NetFlix queue if possible.

cranberries fan

This one should be Rated-R (All the President's Men (1976) the F-bomb goes off 5 times in this so called PG Rated Flim?

Rainet

First thing that comes to mind is Just One Of The Guys. Rated PG-13, but the entire movie just oozes sexual overtones especially that titty money shot at the end. I think it could garner a rated R today. Great flick!

chriscooling

PG13 movies in the 80s often had a topless shot to qualify for the rating before it became utterly meaningless.
All the President's Men was originally rated R but was given a PG on appeal. Terms Of Endearment and Tootsie also did this.
If you want a modern day example of extreme language in a PG13 film, watch Gunner Palace, which uses the F word unbelievably more than 40 times.

Robert

Red Dawn - What was the MPAA smoking when they picked this to be the first PG-13 movie? The opening scene where the teacher gets gunned down in cold blood would be an instant R rating today. Not to mention the scene where the kids are forced to execute one of their own; They shoot him at point blank range!

Rypro 525

in between flipping between the olympics, Grease happend to be on cinemax. i forgot about all the sexual content, that would easily get this a PG-13 now.

whoopdido

Plus the walls of the brother's room is covered in Playboy centerfolds that clearly show full frontal. I know they're just pictures, but still.

SterlingBen

None.
Except for maybe on language.

I find this whole thread slightly ridiculous.

CertifiedTHX

* * * BE WARNED, JUST IN CASE: SPOILERS AHEAD * * *

None of the Star Wars films (save Sith) would be anything more than PG.

Raiders of the Lost Ark might get PG-13, mainly for what the Ark does to the Nazis at the end, but nothing would warrant an R. Temple of Doom was PG, but in my estimation, it's the most intense of the original three. And, as most of us know, it's the movie that prompted the creation of the PG-13 rating. Watching flame engulf a man's body, burning him alive, is too much for the fairly tame PG.

Jaws today might be PG-13 for severed limbs and the fright fest that is Quint's death. All you have to do is put yourself in his place as he slips ever closer to that mouth. Genuinely scary.

Haven't seen Batman Returns in a while, nor am I particularly familiar with it, but mild sexual innuendo would be tolerated for PG-13. I don't think you cross over into restricted territory until explicit sexual dialog is used or you have lingering shots of nudity.

Now, Kate Winslet's nudity in Titanic is extensive, but is meant for artistic purposes, not sexual. As such, PG-13 works.

Spaceballs would still be PG. One F-bomb is thrown out, possibly adlib, but last I heard, that's acceptable for the rating.

I kept wondering why the Matrix films had earned an R, but I was thinking in terms of profanity, which was relatively light. Then I realized it was due to excessive violence.

As another poster mentioned, the documentary This Film Is Not Yet Rated, shown from time to time on IFC, is a great piece on how the MPAA determines ratings.

--THX