R-version on DVD
Anyone know what was cut for the R-version, that is coming to DVD in March?
shareMy guess is that absolutely nothing was changed. It's just that what was X in 1970 is now R in 2005. "Midnight Cowboy" was X. Now it's PG, and nothing has changed, except ourselves.
share[deleted]
Very true. Just look at 2005 TV vs 1970 TV. The Brady's in bed (and I don't think they were the first) was a giant leap.
share[deleted]
[deleted]
[deleted]
There is both an "R" rated and a "PG" rated version of MASH.
shareOK--let's clear this up
"MASH" was R rated originally. Some blood and gore was cut to make it a PG--the one on DVD is uncut.
"Midnight Cowboy" was X rated. The rating was lowered to an R with no cuts when it was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Picture.
"Myra..." was X and (as far as I know) there are no cuts in the DVD. And, as some people have said--an X in 1970 is an R today. Not always though--"Beyond The Valley of the Dolls" has an NC-17. The MPAA requested a lesbian sex scene (which wasn't much) be cut to get an R rating. The studio refused so it has an NC-17 today
I believe MYRA got her "R" from the earlier X when Fox tried to market the movie as a "midnight movie" in the late 70's ala ROCKY HORROR SHOW. They reapplied the film to the ratings board and it received an "R". Most people would agree that the ratings board gave out "X" ratings a little too freely in the early 1970's when it should have been limited to just pornography not mainstream films with adult themes.
shareNow just to clear THIS up: X was a regular MPAA rating for mainstream films, just like R, PG, and G. It had nothing to do with pornography. Porn is not and never was rated by the MPAA. Movies that were judged to have "adult only" themes were given the X rating. It could have been for any number of reasons - sex, nudity, violence, taboo subjects - basically pushing the envelope like it had never been before. This is fairy common in movies today, but back then it was daring film making.
However, because the X-rating was not trademarked, anybody could apply it to their films, including pornographers who began to advertise their movies as "X-rated" in order to emphasize their adult nature. Because the X rating then became associated with pornography, studios were forced to make whatever cuts were necessary in order to avoid an X rating, or release it unrated. Either way, distributors knew that these films would not have been allowed in most theaters. Eventually the X rating was replaced with "NC-17" by the MPAA.
The big difference between X and NC-17 is that the latter rating - introduced in 1990 to relieve the stigma of X - is a registered trademark and cannot be self-applied.
share[deleted]
"...the ratings board gave out "X" ratings a little too freely in the early 1970's when it should have been limited to just pornography not mainstream films with adult themes." That was the whole idea behind the "X". The plan was not to censor films, but to guide parents. The "X" indicated the film as a whole, or in part contained themes, which most parents would consider too adult for children. The MPAA was adamant that an "X" did not indicate a film was pornographic, though pornographers were free to slap an "X" on their product, as the "X" was the only rating symbol which was not trademarked.
The concept of an "X" was to allow filmmakers to pursue adult themes in mainstream pictures, without fear of local jurisdictions raising hell when minors went to see their movies, because now, minors were prohibited. It was only when sanctimonious politicians nosed in, hypocritical newspaper publishers and broadcasters refused ads for "X"-rated pictures and shopping malls prohibited "X"-rated movies to be shown in their theaters, that an "X" proved to be box office poison. Should a major star, in a major picture slapped with an NC-17 today, stick to his/her guns and demand the film be released as rated, and publicize the film per the norm, I would guess said movie would gross well, and remove the stigma of an NC-17. "Showgirls" almost pulled off the feat, but was just too over the top for a mainstream audience--and BTW, when I saw, "Showgirls", I encountered an irate father, angry because the management would not allow his 14-year old kid into the theater. Idiots like that guy, are one reason the "X" and NC-17 were devised.
The word "mother" was bleeped in original X-rated version,too. Was supposedly "funny" (but it wasn't)--that they could say F word but not "mother." Haha! No difference between original X version and one that plays on TV all the time. Times change.
sharean interesting footnote: I have the original 1-sheet movie poster from "Myra" with the year 1970 at the very bottom. It has an R-rated sticker which somebody half-pulled off, revealing the original 'X' underneath.
share[deleted]