Let's do the MPAA time warp againnnnnnnn

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I was at the store today and saw a copy of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and thought Mo would probably like it what with all the singing and dancing but then I noticed that it is rated "R".

I know it features a transvestite who makes himself a beautiful monster boy but I really don't recall it being overly racy.

This got me thinking: is a 1975 "R" movie still an "R" movie in 2008? Does the MPAA reevaluate the rating of a film every once in a while?

Thanks!

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The R is probably for the axe murder, even today that's still pretty violent...Frank is odd but, he would probably only garner a PG rating himself.

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Oh. I'd forgotten about that.

Is it anything worse than you see in "Shawn of the Dead"?

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And there's the relationship between Riff Raff and his sister Magenta.

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I'm not just talking about this movie in particular - but any movie. Does the rating ever change?

I really don't remember much about TRHPS other than the music. Would a kid pick up on the brother/sister relationship?

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I haven't seen "Shawn" if that is one of the new zombie type movies {sounds like one} then I would say no.

The question of the ratings being updated, I've thought about that before, and I looked around myself, but I don't remember finding anything...at least before I got bored searching about it....I'm sure someone has written something about it somewhere.

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Whatever Happened To Randolph Scott
The Statler Brothers

Everybody knows when you go to the show,
You can't take the kids along.
You've gotta read the paper and know the codes
Of G, PG and R and X.
And you gotta know what the movie's about
Before you even go.
Tex Ritter's gone and Disney's dead
And the screen is filled with sex.

Whatever happened to Randolph Scott,
Ridin' the Trail alone?
Whatever happened to Gene and Tex
And Roy and Rex the Durango Kid?
Oh, whatever happened to Randolph Scott,
His horse plain as could be?
Whatever happened to Randolph Scott
Has happened to the best of me.

Everybody's tryin' to make a comment
About our doubts and fears.
True Grit's the only movie I've really
Understood in years
You gotta take your analyst along
To see if it's fit to see.
Whatever happened to Randolph Scott
Has happened to the industry.

Whatever happened to Johnny Mack Brown
And Alan Rocky Lane?
Whatever happened to Lash LaRue?
I'd love to see them again.
Whatever happened to Smiley Burnette,
Tim Holt, and Gene Autry?
Whatever happened to all of these
Has happened to the best of me.
Whatever happened to Randolph Scott
Has happened to the industry.

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Whatever happened to Randolph Scott?

I think he died of a heroin overdose in a bordello.

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Yes, a movie's rating can change.

For instance, when it was initially released in 1969, Midnight Cowboy was rated X. It was re-released in 1970 with an R rating, after United Artists, the film's distributor, petitioned the MPAA ratings board for reconsideration.

Of course, if an X-rated film were re-released today, it would have to be re-rated anyway, because that rating doesn't exist anymore.

According to the MPAA, A film can get an R-rating for the following reasons: adult themes, adult activity, hard language, intense or persistent violence, sexually-oriented nudity, drug abuse or other elements. I think The Rocky Horror Picture Show still falls under a couple of those categories.

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I was just kidding about Randolph Scott. Sorry, djjd. Here's what really happened to him:

Quote:

Following the making of Ride the High Country, Scott retired from film making at the age of 64. Having made shrewd investments throughout his life, he eventually accumulated a fortune worth a reputed US$100 million.[4]

During his retirement years he remained friends with Fred Astaire and also became friends with the Reverend Billy Graham. Scott was described by his son Christopher as being a deeply religious man.[4] He was a Freemason and active in the York Rite. He was also an Episcopalian and a member of St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Charlotte, NC, where he was buried.

Scott died of heart and lung ailments at the age of 89 in Beverly Hills, California. He was interred in the Elmwood Cemetery in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Thanks joefc!

Do you know if Midnight Cowboy was newly edited before the change or did they just change it after being asked to do so?

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boomerang wrote:

Do you know if Midnight Cowboy was newly edited before the change or did they just change it after being asked to do so?

According to IMDb:

The film was rated "X" (no one under 17 admitted) upon its original release in 1969, but the unrestricted use of that rating by pornographic filmmakers caused the rating to quickly become associated with hardcore sex films. Because of the stigma that developed around the "X" rating in the ratings system's early years, many theaters refused to run "X" films and many newspapers would not run ads for them. The film was given a new "R" (children under 16 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian) rating in 1971, [b]without having anything changed or removed[/b].The lack of any "Director's Cut" or "Uncensored" DVD versions of Midnight Cowboy tends to confirm that there were no changes made in the film when it went from an X to an R-rating.

I'd add that the MPAA doesn't routinely review old movies on its own to see if the ratings should be changed. It would take the producer or distributor to petition the MPAA for a rating change. No doubt there are some movies that, upon further consideration, would have their ratings changed, but they have never been re-released in the theaters, so there has been no action by the MPAA.

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joefromchicago wrote:

boomerang wrote:
Do you know if Midnight Cowboy was newly edited before the change or did they just change it after being asked to do so?

According to IMDb:
The film was rated "X" (no one under 17 admitted) upon its original release in 1969, but the unrestricted use of that rating by pornographic filmmakers caused the rating to quickly become associated with hardcore sex films. Because of the stigma that developed around the "X" rating in the ratings system's early years, many theaters refused to run "X" films and many newspapers would not run ads for them. The film was given a new "R" (children under 16 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian) rating in 1971, [b]without having anything changed or removed[/b].
The lack of any "Director's Cut" or "Uncensored" DVD versions of Midnight Cowboy tends to confirm that there were no changes made in the film when it went from an X to an R-rating.

I'd add that the MPAA doesn't routinely review old movies on its own to see if the ratings should be changed. It would take the producer or distributor to petition the MPAA for a rating change. No doubt there are some movies that, upon further consideration, would have their ratings changed, but they have never been re-released in the theaters, so there has been no action by the MPAA.

Wasn't Fritz the Cat also x rated when first released?

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edgarblythe wrote:

Wasn't Fritz the Cat also x rated when first released?

Yes. According to Wikipedia, the producer appealed the initial X-rating to the MPAA but was turned down. Nevertheless, according to IMDb, it was subsequently re-rated and received an R-rating. Not sure when that happened or if there were any changes in the film.

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That movie is sooo tame.

It's one of my favourites.

Even the violence isn't that bad. PG/12 at the most

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Let's do the MPAA time warp againnnnnnnn

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