what's it rated?
I keep hearing sources saying it's PG and also that it's R. Which is it?
sharePG
Judy Judy Judy.
Theres only a few swear words in the movie, so the PG fits.
share
MovieChat Forums > The Front (1977) Discussion > what's it rated?
I saw in regular TV in the 70s and was completely blown away that they left that last line in!!!
shareYou saw it on network TV in the '70s, and they left the F-bomb in? I think the censors must have been asleep at the switches. It's pretty rare to hear that word in a PG-rated film from the '70s. The only other one I can think of is "Same Time, Next Year" -- and there it's even used in the sexual sense.
shareAll the President's Men uses the f-word A LOT (more than in some R and even NC-17s), and it got a PG (it was rated R before it was released, though). A Bridge Too Far has a couple f-bombs and quite a bit of gore and got a PG on appeal (from R), while a number of films from the 1980s (Big, Spaceballs, Tootsie, Reds, The Right Stuff) had it and got PG as well, and I know I'm missing quite a lot here.
shareSo, as you said, "All the President's Men" actually got an R; the PG was apparently a pre-release rating? Maybe the initial PG was because the subject matter was considered important for a wider audience? I haven't seen "A Bridge Too Far," but I have seen the other films you've mentioned.
My impression is that one or two F-bombs can be dropped in a PG-13 film today (or, in the '70s, occasionally a PG film would have them), as long as it's used as an expletive instead of a sexual reference: "F you" is OK, but "F me" is not. Kind of twisted thinking, but that's the MPAA.
BEFORE All the President's Men was released, it was rated R because of its profanity. A huge appeal was made, and it was determined that because its only vice was profanity (otherwise it could be rated G), it should be PG since it was also educational. After the re-rating, the movie was released to theaters.
Also, even after the PG-13 rating was introduced in 1984, a few movies got rated PG with the f-word (Big, Spaceballs, and Eight Men Out among them). Let's also not forget that, before the PG-13 introduction, the rule varied wildly, with some movies initially getting PG yet including the word (such as Tootsie, this film, and Same Time, Next Year), while others having to appeal it (A Bridge Too Far, All the President's Men, Sixteen Candles, etc.) And, technically, you still COULD get away with the f-word in a PG movie today, since the MPAA has to give any movie with a single usage a PG-13 INITIALLY (meaning that it could technically be lowered).
Sorry, I misunderstood you on "All the President's Men." It does seem like the type of film that everyone should see regardless of age because it is important historically along with titles like "Schindler's List," "The Grapes of Wrath" and "Booty Call" (just kidding on that last one).
I remember the (mini) controversy over the f-word in "Sixteen Candles." It's very much a teens' film (well, for teens of all ages). The use of it in movies like "Big" and "Spaceballs" just seems weird to me. And even though a PG-13 could become a PG upon appeal, I doubt that would happen today. PG is really the new G, and G means it's for very young kids.
I wonder how relevant the ratings system is today, and whether it's even enforced at the multiplexes? The times I've seen R-rated films recently, there have been plenty of unaccompanied minors in the audience. I assume minors buy a ticket to a PG-13 film, then sneak into a R film -- or theater owners just don't care. The Internet and video streaming pretty much bypass the ratings system.
Really, ratings were designed to help parents, but I wonder if they're even doing their jobs? Seems like the theaters are used as babysitters. And it seems like the ratings are used more for adults to gauge how graphic a film they want to see (do they want PG-13 violence or R violence in this action flick?), rather than for parents to make responsible decisions. That's just my impression, and I'd love to be proved wrong.
The thing with All the President's Men was that it was considered very relevant at the time (what with Watergate being just a few years before), and it contained no violence, gore, sex, or nudity, so the ratings board decided to lower the rating. And with PG being the new G, that seems to be quite the opposite of what's actually happening, since I've been hearing stronger language (such as ass, g-ddamn, and the s-word) in PG movies lately (which I believe is not a bad thing at all). And G ratings do not mean (according to the MPAA) that a movie is for children (indeed, in the early days of the rating system, G rated movies could get away with nudity that today would automatically get you a PG or PG-13, if not an R).
shareYou've heard those words in PG films? I haven't noticed that, but it seems like most of the films I seek out are PG-13 or R. I've seen a handful of PG films lately, mostly animal films like "Marley & Me" that might contain a "caca" joke or an adult reference but didn't have any words or scenes you couldn't have on television.
G-rated movies certainly used to get away with a lot more than they do now. "The Odd Couple" (1968) had an attempted suicide and some ribald humor, and "Airport" (1970) had adultery and discussion of abortion. Neither of these was "offensive" to most people (including me), but they wouldn't have been rated G today.
And PG films in the '70s had a lot more nudity than you see in PG-13 today. On the other hand, PG-13 films today have a lot more violence than you'd ever see in PG films in the '70s. Then there are real head-scratchers like "Midnight Cowboy" initially being rated X, presumably because of the gay subject matter. That of course was re-rated R, which sees right.
On the other hand, I recently saw "Hounddog," which was notorious for featuring a rape scene involving Dakota Fanning. It was very controversial, and I was bracing for the worst, but instead I found it a very mild film that really seemed geared to teenage girls for its empowerment story.
But back to "All the President's Men," I think the social relevance of the topic justified the exception for the language there. So anyone who could handle the nightly news should be able to see that one.
Actually, I heard several bad words in Marley and Me (including at least one audible s-word). Also, Andromeda Strain was (and still is) rated G, and it features bare breasts and buttocks, mild profanity, and blood (although it does feature a little content warning). And PG films back in the 70s could get away with just as much (if not more) than today's PG-13s (although when PG-13 was introduced, they tended to get away with more in that rating than in PG).
shareI must have missed the s-worth in "Marley and Me." I guess I was distracted by all the cuteness. But thanks for mentioning "The Andromeda Strain"; I've seen that at the library but have passed it by until now because the G-rating was a drawback.
shareI worked on "The Front" as the Unit Publicist. I had become friends with the director Martin Ritt two years before on "Conrack", and worked with him on several more movies after "The Front". Originally, the MPAA gave the film a "R" rating simply because of Woody's use of the "f" word at the end of the movie. Marty could have changed the word to "screw" and gotten a PG rating. But he insisted the use of the "f" word was, for once, absolutely necessary (he was right!) So he appealed the rating to the MPAA and "The Front" was re-rated PG, the "f" word intact. However, several years ago, "The Front" was being shown on Turner Classic Movies the same week it was also being shown (with commercial breaks) on the cable channel MeTV. TCM showed the movie intact, the "f" word included. But the version shown on MeTV replaced the "f" word with "screw"! Go figure!. . .
Several years later, while I was working as a staff publicist at MGM/UA, we were shown the upcoming "Victor/Victoria", which was subsequently slammed with the "R" rating by the MPAA. I figured this was because of the film's (implicit) approval of the homosexual lifestyle (remember, this was the beginning of 1982 and AIDS was just around the corner). But no, the reason for the 'R' rating was because one of the characters used the word *beep* as he and some friends were entering a nightclub (as I recall, the line went something like "where's our *beep* table?") So Blake Edwards had the actor who uttered this obscenity re-dub the word, *beep* was replaced by "frigging", and "Victor/Victoria" was re-rated PG.
Such is the basis of artistic decisions!!!