Last week we profiled two films featured at the Philadelphia Film Festival that have struggled with NC–17 ratings, known to be box office poison. While the Weinstein Company is appealing Blue Valentine’s questionable rating, the version to be released in December will likely be different from what the director intended to be seen. Likewise, I Love You Phillip Morris was another example of studios flinching over same–sex sexuality, and its release has been delayed for years. Filmmakers and critics continue to question the MPAA’s secretive methods and unchallenged power, as directors are often forced to cut vital scenes. Kirby Dick’s provocative documentary, This Film Is Not Yet Rated, argued that ratings were often inconsistent, arbitrary and influenced by socially conservative organizations. For example, using a split screen he compared gay sex scenes to straight ones and demonstrated that queer–themed films are more likely to receive NC-17 ratings, even if their sex scenes are less explicit. Ironically, Dick’s documentary was rated NC–17, but it was ultimately released without a rating. The tension between the ratings board and directors is by no means a recent phenomenon. Alfred Hitchcock was especially outspoken, and his tactics to bypass censorship were notorious. In order to get Psycho released, he deliberately inserted extraneous, controversial material into the cut he showed to censors. When the board objected, he agreed to cut those scenes as long as he could keep others, the ones he actually wanted. In the end, the version that screened in theaters was exactly as he intended; he didn’t have to change a single shot. Whether or not a film deserves an NC–17 rating is of course subjective, but the real problem lies in distribution. An NC–17 rating is the contemporary equivalent to censorship, as most studios and theater chains refuse to invest in such films, even if they are brilliant.
Some great recent films that have struggled with ratings and distribution:
Boys Don’t Cry (1998) The film that gave Hilary Swank her first Oscar initially received an NC–17 rating not for its brutal rape, but for a sex scene between two women.
Storytelling (2001) Todd Solondz avoided an NC–17 rating by placing an orange box over the genitalia of his actors during a racially–charged sex scene.
The Cooler (2003) A glimpse of Maria Bello’s pubic hair led to a dreaded NC–17. The film was edited down, but not before Bello fiercely fought for her pubes.
The Dreamers (2003) Legendary director Bernardo Bertolucci refused to compromise his vision centering around a three–way romance among two siblings and an American student, leading to a final NC–17 rating.
Mysterious Skin (2004) Gregg Araki’s little–seen NC–17 masterpiece stars Joseph Gordon–Levitt as a gay hustler, sexually abused by his childhood baseball coach.
Lust, Caution (2007) Focus Features challenged the MPAA and bravely released what is arguably Ang Lee’s best film with an NC–17 rating, leading to minimal box office returns.
FILM CENSORSHIP: A TIMELINE 1896: The first films arrive in the United States. Many critics fear they will lead to widespread immorality. 1915: The Supreme Court rules that the First Amendment doesn’t protect movies. The Birth of a Nation becomes the most banned film in U.S. history. 1922: To avoid government censorship, film studios form a self–regulating censorship board called the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA). 1930: The Hays Code is implemented and enforced until 1968. It prevents moviegoers from seeing such horrors as illegal drugs, nudity, homosexuality and adultery, but filmmakers try to find ways to circumvent it. 1952: The Supreme Court rules that films are entitled to First Amendment protection. 1968: Instead of censorship, the MPAA's original system of voluntary ratings is instituted (G, M, R and X). 1969: Midnight Cowboy, starring Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, becomes the first and only X–rated film to win Best Picture. 1970s: Films such as Pink Flamingos and A Clockwork Orange get probably–deserved X ratings. 1990: The X rating is replaced by the NC–17 so adult art house films aren’t associated with porn. But large video chains and WalMart refuse to carry them. 1991: Todd Haynes’s queer masterpiece, Poison, received an NC–17 rating and led many conservative senators to protest the National Endowment for the Arts’s funding of gay–themed movies. Present: While voluntary, nearly all studios submit their films for MPAA ratings, and many theater chains still refuse to show non–rated or NC–17 rated films.
