MovieChat Forums > Desperate Living (1977) Discussion > Trivia says it was the first R rated fil...

Trivia says it was the first R rated film by Waters but DVD says unrated

posted 16 years ago by captainsensable
6 replies | jump to latest

Was there stuff added to the DVD or something? I'm just curious if anyone knows.

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] captainsensable 16 years ago

That's what I figured.

*Spoilers*

I mean, one of the main lesbian characters gets a sex change then later cuts her new penis off with a pair of scissors and tosses it outside for a dog to start chewing on. If that doesn't garner an NC-17 I don't know what would!

[–] hippie_on_strike 16 years ago

The film originally got an R rating and JW rejected it, seeing it as his career going down hill, especially since Female Trouble got an X and he made this to get back to his filthy roots of Pink Flamingos. (Female Trouble flopped b/c fans were expecting him to top PF). Female Trouble later got an R rating in the 80's and finally NC-17.

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] hippie_on_strike 16 years ago

Some fansite.... probably not 100% accurate. But it makes a lot of sense and I believe it. Plus IMDB isn't the only place that shows this as being rated R. And the rating part of what I originally posted is the only thing questionable. The rest JW has talked about himself in many commentaries and docs.

[–] g_monte 16 years ago

That's not true. "Desperate Living" has never been submitted for an MPAA rating. It would most likely get an NC-17. "Female Trouble" did and that was probably less extreme than "Desperate Living". As someone said I believe "Polyester" was Waters' first R-rated film.