MovieChat Forums > Átame! (1990) Discussion > X-rated films

X-rated films

posted 12 years ago by ath-11
3 replies | jump to latest

This one was going to be X before Almodovar pushed for the NC-17 rating. That got me wondering about other mainstream films before this one that were released with the "X" rating.

"Groove Tube"
"Midnight Cowboy"
"Fritz the Cat"
"A Clockwork Orange" (?)

These films are now all R-rated and arguably they are no "worse" than "Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!" In terms of graphic horror, "Clockwork" with its dystopian future is more all-around disturbing than this, which comes off as a comedy. And yet, the NC-17 here still stands.

All for the toy diver scene?

- - -

"...and that, my liege, is how we know the Earth to be banana shaped."

[–] A.P. 11 years ago

I think one thing you have to remember is that X predates R. At one time, movies were either G or PG. Yes, even movies that had some nudity. Then X was used for the harder, grindhouse movies. Movies like Midnight Cowboy wasn't nearly as bad as an exploitation movie but a bit harder than what they allowed in PG movies of the day but they went with X anyway. Later, R and PG-13 ratings were created while X was given to porn titles. NC-17 came later since they were not porn but (according to the MPAA) contained material that went beyond R.

I reccomend the documentary "This Film Is Not Yet Rated" to see how arbitrary the MPAA is.

[–] skay_baltimore 11 years ago

Yep. All for that little toy diver scene.

"Love isn't what you say or how you feel, it's what you DO". (The Last Kiss)

[–] starseed062 8 years ago

I think it's odd to have x or nc-17 at all. R is sufficient. The idea is that all three are 'not for children'. Beyond that, the difference is really based on genre, which doesn't need to be differentiated by a rating. You can read reviews or notes ahead of time to see if it's to your taste. All you really need to know is how approriate a movie is expected to be for a child. And adult can make their own decisions.