I loved this movie and remember seeing it when it came out in the late 80's. I have this movie as part of my personal collection, but I am curious about something. Why is it rated R? There are only 2 profanity words, no sexual scenes, and only mild violence. Can someone please explain this?
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I would guess politics. At the time it was filmed, themes like racism and classism were still considered hot button issues. I dont think the American public wanted their children to see a film in which big business buys out the government and is eventually overcame by a impovrished racial minority. It happens all the time, but truth hurts. Maybe some disagree with my interpretation, but that's the only thing my wife, my mother and I can think of. Great film. The music was absolutely fabulous also.
shareWell, I lived in the village where they filmed this movie, and I remember that there was a scene that had "partial nudity" that was filmed but never made it into the finished product. As I recall, it was far less than what Kate Winslet bared for Titanic and for a shorter duration, but it was the 1980s, so that might have been part of why. (Maybe the MPAA saw the extended version?)
The other thing is that you had different standards for an R rating then as opposed to now. Now you can get away with a few gunshots and some blood (think "Mission Impossible" or "The Bourne Supremacy") and partial nudity or some gunplay whereas back then the PG-13 rating was still very new and you could either have an "F-bomb" or brief nudity, but not both. (In the movie nearly everyone had a gun and someone did get shot - along with a few that got shot at - so they probably couldn't have all three and yet have a PG-13.)
If this were released today it would probably be a "mild" PG-13 (or even PG if they substituted the harsher form of darn for the F-bomb).
They actually showed this to us in high school and I found nothing wrong with it. It was fairly tame.
Pat
I was shown this movie in high school and nobody cared about the language. The movie was quite good actually.
sharewhat cracks me up is this "language" thing that they (MPAA) were so hung up on. Clearly no one at the MPAA ever hung around an elementary schoolyard, let alone a high school. Kids are far more foul-mouthed than adults, and don't seem to give a flying *beep* who hears them. Matter of fact, the more people that here them, it seems, the happier they are about it. And if they don't use it, they sure as hell hear it all day long. Matter of fact, seeing a movie like this probably exposes them to far less profanity during the couple hourse they watch, than they'd have been exposed to outside the theater. There's a paradox for you.
shareI used to remember that regardless of what the content of the movie was, the f-bomb would always get the movie R-rating. I have watched countless movies that in which this is the case, this being no exception. I am not sure if the MPAA still adheres to this, but up until the early 90's it did. I know this because as a kid, I would try to watch R-rated movies for the sake of watching (interpret accordingly) and being disappointed because all that categorized them as such was 'cussing.'
shareI cant think of any off the top of my head, but Ive seen a lot of PG-13 movies where the F word is used. And Im sure there were a few from the 80's. It seems to me that if there is no real hard sexual content, no nudity and relatively little other curse-words, a heated *beep* can be used.
THOUGHT OF ONE! DTMTBID, better known as Dont Tell Mom the Babysitter is Dead. I remember my friend brought it over in 1st or 2nd grade and we watched it, my dad was in the room, and before the scene came up my friend got the mute button ready so he could self-censor it. Not in a high-and-mighty kinda way, but just out of childhood innocence. Its not even a heated usage of the word. The oldest son, the grungy one, is trying to fix something, it breaks in his hands and, in a stoner, apathetic way says it.
I wondered the same thing when I saw it back in 1988. I heard it was given an R because the "f" word was used once too often. Of course it was only used TWICE but that's the MPAA for u. I think if it were rerated it would get by with a PG-13 today.
shareexcessive water usage is my guess.
A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.
I suspect that the use of the word "cajones" and it explantion to Melanie Griffith may have rated the R along with the F word. It may hve been consides as "sexually explicit"
sharewow it's been about six years since you posted this but it has 7 f words and you can have at max 5 in pg-13. but most can only have 1.
shareAt that time the movies that seemed to gather the most award nominations were R rated movies. I'm sure this pleased the producers or they would have protested it.
share