why is this movie rated R??
it should've had a lesser rating than that
shareThe criteria for ratings have changed over the years. For example, when the movie M*A*S*H was originally released, it was rated R. Now it carries a PG rating. And, if I recall, the same holds true for THE GRADUATE. You can either view this as progress, or view it as a shift in values. The amount of nudity and violence that can now be given a PG or PG-13 rating today would have carried an R rating back in the 1970s. And the same applies to the use of profanity. (Not just in the movies, but TV as well; more swearing can currently be broadcast on the airwaves today than the 1980s. I recall, when M*A*S*H first aired as a TV series in the early '70s, it was constantly at odds over censorship issues. Today you look at it in reruns and think, "What was the big deal?")
shareyea I know, thanks for answering thoughtfully though.. I meant this could have been a GP (or PG) easily
shareTrue, it really does play as a PG (or GP as they used to use). Compared to some of Hammer's other product from that era, or even earlier (VAMPIRE LOVERS, LUST FOR A VAMPIRE), the film is pretty tame in terms of sexual content, and even the amount of blood onscreen is pretty restrained.
sharei thought the films gore was tame even compared to some of Hammer's G and PG Dracula films from several years past. For instance, Dracula Has Risen From The Grave and Taste The Blood Of Dracula in their original incarnations neither was rated R... if they ever get around to re-rating Captain Kronos, I'm sure it will get a PG rating, PG-13 at the most
sharePerhaps it was the implied drug content, combined with the gore and the violence that tipped it to an R rating.
shareI've also heard speculation that the possibly implied incest in the relationship between the brother and sister caused concerns with the ratings board.
shareI'm really surprised this got an R because, despite what some people have been saying, the ratings system was very lenient in the 1960s-70s. For instance, "Dracula Has Risen From the Grave" got a G rating! Also "MASH" was R rated because of blood--some was cut to get a PG. "The Graduate" was always PG. Maybe it was just the Ratings Board over reacting. They gave "The Exorcist" an R rating around the same time and were really attacked for that.
shareI think Dracula Has Risen From The Grave was cut in order to get its G rating. The G rating was originally conceived as being equivalent to the old Hays Office seal of approval, with PG and R allowing for material that would have been rejected under the Hays Code. That idea didn't last very long, though!
share"I think Dracula Has Risen From The Grave was cut in order to get its G rating."
Sorry but nope. It was uncut. Horror films were considered kiddie fare back then and anyways it would have passed under the Hays Code. There was lots of blood but it was hard to take the film seriously. The previous Hammer films were bloody too but they got through. It wasn't until "Scars of Dracula" in 1970 that Hammer films started getting slapped with Rs.