MPAA and Unrated DVDs?

[setarip_old]

I was under the impression that all movies/DVDs shown and/or for sale in the U.S. were subject to rating by the MPAA.

Perhaps someone has specific knowledge and can explain why, with the MPAA perceived as being near-omnipotent, there are occasional commercial DVDs (including some made in the U.S.) that are indicated to be "Unrated".

[CWR03]

Perhaps it has to do with theatrical release. TV show DVDs are also unrated, as are some of Disney's "straight-to-video" sequels.

[johnhamler1]

why ?it is a legal requirement in the USA?

[setarip_old]

Perhaps it has to do with theatrical release.It's those that I'm talking about - DVDs of theatrical releases, such as "unrated" versions of "Wedding Crashers", etc., primarily indicative of "raunchier or morre gory than the original" versions...

[CWR03]

Perhaps your confusion lies in the fact that the MPAA rating system is a voluntary one. Movies or differing versions of them aren't required to fit within any guidelines in order to be approved for sale. In the case of Wedding Crashers, "unrated" is to let us know that there are scenes included that may have given it a more restricted audience at the theaters - in other cases it's simply that we'll know that it isn't the same version as the theatrical release, i. e. extra scenes as in Aliens SE.

[setarip_old]

Perhaps your confusion lies in the fact that the MPAA rating system is a voluntary one.If that is the case, then that would be the explanation.

Thanks ;>}

**EDIT** Just did a Googlesearch (Don't know why I didn't do so in the first place) - www.mpaa.org The movie ratings system is a voluntary system operated by the MPAA and the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO).

[tribexa]

Remember....less government = more freedoms. Period.

More Government=less freedoms, and if you have enough money, you can lobby for even less freedoms and even more restrictive laws, regulations and fines. Even more money will get the "injustice" department in both your left and right back pockets.

Even more money, food, airline tickets, and an occasional golf game will get almost all politicians, local media, and local law enforcement to unzip your pants and forever assume the position.

Y'know...for a moment there I actually compared america to a thirld world country thats always in need of money, but nahhh...thats just my imagination....It's America and thats why it's beautiful!

So I take it that you now want the government to rate movies etc.?

Think of this scenario...in 3 years they will pass a law requiring all citizens be "chipped" because money is no more and as citizens you can be positively identified thus preventing crime, fraud, terrorism, etc, etc.

Now, your child is 12 years old and both of you are on your way to see a PG-13 movie. As you enter the movie theatre, your implanted chips are scanned, but because your son is only 12 years, an alarm goes off notifying security and law enforcement. Now, not only can your son NOT see the movie, but Child Protection Services are now notified of your attempt to corrupt a minor, thus labeling you a criminal and potential sex offender. Off to prison with you now and by-the-way, not only are you not refunded your credits, but your address will now be listed in the sex offenders database, your wife will now be a known sex offender associate, your son will now forever be state property and the list can go on and on. Ofcourse, I realize this is a wet dream for some of us who are working ever so hard to see to it that such a reality will someday exist.

The rest of us will and do reply to such far fetched accusations with the pre-programmed "Get Real!!" response.

[unskinnyboy]

This (http://www.familymediaguide.com/features/articles/Unrated_DVDs_Parents_Beware-215.html) article should help. The bottom line is that Unrated DVDs are money making machines, just like the numerous other "editions" and "cuts". I must add that I prefer the unrated versions myself.

[setarip_old]

@tribexa

Hi!So I take it that you now want the government to rate movies etc.? Whatever in these posts makes you think that???

[Mug Funky]

one thing i find quite funny is all those discs with "UNRATED!!1!" stamped on them in that ugly fashion need to be changed to make sense in my country - rating is compulsory here (and very expensive, and for promotional purposes it's extremely biased toward major studios/distributors, but that's another matter), and so "unrated" usually gets changed to "uncensored" on the slick here.

[mahsah]

one thing i find quite funny is all those discs with "UNRATED!!1!" stamped on them in that ugly fashion need to be changed to make sense in my country - rating is compulsory here (and very expensive, and for promotional purposes it's extremely biased toward major studios/distributors, but that's another matter), and so "unrated" usually gets changed to "uncensored" on the slick here.

Wow, really? Thats got to kill the indie film market...

[Mug Funky]

not too bad, just means it's harder to promote local films if they're not rated. the OFLC has a set number of films they allow to be advertised prior to classification, and they give most of these to the big guys. smaller outfits (who do almost all of the local films), only get about 5 to share between them, vs about 30 for the big companies. the process for allocating these is very opaque.

also, it takes a good month for the OFLC to rate something. this potentially means big delays for DVD releases compared to other regions - the disc must be complete (extras, commentaries, subtitles, even menus) so every part can be rated - even the jacket pictures. you can pay extra to get it done "express", but it'll still be up to 2 weeks or even more for a title that involves graffiti (don't ask... the game "Contents Under Pressure" was banned here purely because it involved graffiti and councils complained).

[Doobie]

Ratings are voluntary. "Unrated version" DVDs is a sales gimmick for raunchy, usually lousy, movies. Many theaters refuse to show unrated movies.

[tribexa]

setarip_old in reply...

I don't know. I'm sorry. I over-reacted and didn't get any pu-nah-nee the night before.

I'm good now.

[Mug Funky]

@ tribexa:

lol, the rest of us seem to handle that just fine you know... imagine what the internet would be like if we all posted like that during a dry spell :D

[johnhamler1]

the movie "gorky romano" have you seen it? (iI like it and i like the caractere).
in the vet building, gorky has a snake in his pant coming out from his zip.(ok, I dont find very funny).

in the theater all this part has been cut and the story doesn't make sens...

conclusion: I prefer the DVD movie with the snake, but I don't mind if there is no snake, because it is not funny anyway.
they should at least keep the story in a logical way.

[zambelli]

the movie "gorky romano" have you seen it? (iI like it and i like the caractere).
Gorky Romano? Is that like a cross between Maxim Gorky and Corky Romano? An SNL spinoff about Russian literature and political activism at the turn of the 20th century? :D

Anyway... The reason why movie producers voluntarily submit their movies to the MPAA for ratings is because ratings boost ticket sales. Many theaters refuse to show movies that are unrated or NC-17 rated, so that's the virtual penalty for not submitting a movie to the MPAA. A film that's rated R or lower can open on more screens across the country. The real "gold mines" are PG-13 and lower rated movies because they can be marketed as "family friendly" movies, thus once again increasing profits.

Most foreign movies that play in American theaters don't get rated at all because they will only play on a limited number of screens - so going through the MPAA rating process would be a huge waste of time. Also, many times movies that would get rated NC-17 choose to go unrated because NC-17 is seen as less marketable than unrated. Some movies go with the risky NC-17 anyway; in recent years NC-17 was stamped on Bernardo Bertolucci's "The Dreamers" and David Mackenzie's "Young Adam", for example. It's debatable whether that hurt their profits. I highly doubt many more people would've seen them if they had gone unrated or R-rated.