NC-17

[Johann]

That notorious little rating is back in the news this week, and I'm glad.

Bernardo Bertolucci is back with The Dreamers, a film that was just slapped with an NC-17 rating for full-frontal male nudity and other nasty little perversions.
Knowing Bertolucci's previous work tells me that I will enjoy every frame because he is one of the giants of cinema history- GO BERNARDO!

Why is the NC-17 rating a death knell for films? Eyes Wide Shut nearly got one, Showgirls had it, and frankly it pisses me off.
I would see every single NC-17 rated film (with either nudity or excessive violence) if they were shown in multi-plexes but, alas, they are doomed to limited release in art houses and repertory theatres.

Why is it this way?

[oscar jubis]

I read that studios don't like to release NC-17 movies because some papers and tv stations refuse to run ads for them. To what extent this is true, I do not know. Are films rated NC-17 not shown in multi-plexes? I know many films have been cut to achieve an R rating. I hate this as much as I hate watching kids under 13 at R rated movies, often brought by parents.

[Johann]

I completely agree.

I often wonder why there isn't a "chain" of art house theatres.
How come we don't have theatres that regularly run classics?
That would be one of the greatest things the studios could do:
build a Famous Players or Cineplex Odeon "Art House Multi-Plex"

Why leave it to repertory houses and cinematheques? A rotation of Eisenstein, Welles, Hitchcock, Kubrick in a chain-like cinema would be both educational and exciting:

What are we going to see tonight, Bob?
"How about A Clockwork Orange"?
Nah, we saw that last month. I think I'm in the mood for Citizen Kane or Touch of Evil...

[oscar jubis]

We share a dream. Just this past weekend Cristi and I had the opportunity to attend a theatre screening of the restored Modern Times. This is an extremely rare occurrence in my town. Chaplin was a genius. He and Keaton. Chaplin and Paulette Godard make a lovely pair. Has there ever been an American director so concerned with the plight of the poor and disenfranchised? BTW, Cristi had a blast, to her surprise (she likes film-noir and docs, avoids silents, westerns, musicals). Kids asked to get dropped off at the multi-plex (51 First Dates). Fools!

Regarding censorship, what the hell happened to Larry Clark's Ken Park? All Europe has seen it. It's already out on dvd in Hong Kong and Russia! I simply cannot afford to buy every dvd I want to watch. I'm going to have to sell many dvds I planned on keeping. Yes, including Criterions.

[pmw]

I've often wondered why there isn't a repertory chain of some kind. I guess it doesnt speak to the bottom line? My guess is that if marketted well, it could be a big hit. When George W hits the road, film culture should enjoy profound popularity! Maybe then...

[tabuno]

I don't think one can necessarily equate NC-17 films with art movies. A art film chain thus would not necessarily address the problem of NC-17 films. These two issues are sufficient different that the discussion over the availability of NC-17 films will not be resolved by efforts to broaden and consolidate how art films are distributed and shown in the United States. Currently, in Utah the availability of art movies increased dramatically with the introduction of a second multi-plex in Trolley Square complex in Salt Lake City together with the purchase of the Broadway multi-plex also in Salt Lake City by the Tower Theater company. The introduction of these art film theaters while making the showing of NC-17 a better possibility still doesn't ensure that they will be. The Deseret News, a Mormon owned newspaper, and Utah's second general circulation newspaper prohibits the advertising of NC-17 rated movies in its paper.

[Johann]

I see your point, and no, it doesn't necessarily equate art-house fare.

The films are obviously rated for adults. No kids are getting into these films. I agree with pmw- it's gotta be the dollar (bottom line). NC-17 means "less of an audience" which means "less revenue".

But even that reasoning seems retarded to me: if the porn industry is raking in billions and billions, surely there's a market for NC-17?

[JustaFied]

There are chains of art house theaters. In fact, all three of the "art house" movie theaters in Houston are chains. Two are owned by Landmark and the other by Angelica. Go to the web sites, there are Landmark theaters in many US cities, and there are Angelicas in New York, Houston, and Dallas at least.

These theaters in Houston do show NC-17 films. One of them will be showing The Dreamers . I'm not sure the megaplex theaters around town will be showing this movie, not because it's NC-17 but because there's probably not a mainstream audience for it, sadly.

Blockbuster Video won't stock many NC-17 films, I believe. Try finding Happiness at any Blockbuster. You can't.

[JustaFied]

Correction: Angelika, not Angelica

http://www.angelikafilmcenter.com/

I love the idea of theaters showing classic movies. Particularly in art house theaters with multiple screens, one screen should be showing classics full time.

A few years ago, the Angelika here had a run of classic film screenings. Got to see Dr. Strangelove on the big screen. The "war room" was larger than life...

[Johann]

Yeah, the small screen can't do justice to Strangelove or any other Kubrick film. I saw it last month for the first time on the big screen with Anatomy of a Murder (A George C. Scott double feature!). The Ridge Theatre in Vancouver is awesome. A double feature is only five bucks. (However the seats are the same seats from 1950! your ass hurts like a mofo if you stay for both films...)




Maj. King Kong:We're goin' toe to toe with the Rooskies!

[Johann]

Since NC-17's inception, there have only been 69 films released with the rating. 4 of those since the year 2000.
Here are some important films with the rating you shouldn't ignore:

The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover
Last Tango in Paris
Henry and June
Crash
Santa Sangre
Tie me up! Tie me down!
Tropic of Cancer
Man Bites Dog
The Canterbury Tales
In The Realm of the Senses
La Grande Bouffe
Pink Flamingos
Bad Lieutenant
The Loves of Lady Chatterly
Emmanuelle
Whore
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
Evil Dead