Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: DVD: This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006)

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 03-24-2007, 02:33 AM:

I didn't get to see Kirby Dick's documentary, This Film Is Not Yet Rated when it played in theaters, because no theaters near where I live played it. A significant number of movie theater chains will not carry movies tagged with a NC-17 rating or left "unrated" and still in NC-17 judged form.

This is an awesome documentary. I already had a pretty negative opinion of the MPAA and its long history of strange contradiction and inconsistency in its ratings on movies. This Film Is Not Yet Rated really deepened those negative feelings past the level of disgust.

I think the MPAA's methods in how it rates movies needs to be absolutely gutted and restructured. This documentary not only shows what the MPAA is doing to be unconstitutional in a number of respects, but one can also make a very solid case of monopolist violations of anti-trust laws. It's very revealing to find how the MPAA is in collusion with major Hollywood studios and that their films are often treated very differently than those from independent studios.

It's probably just as anger inspiring to see how the folks who rate the movies have little criteria or precedent from which to operate. Basically they're just issuing snap judgments on movies based on their gut feeling and little more. Worst of all, they don't require any expert qualification. All they have to be are parents (and not all are even that).

One of the most embarrassing aspects of American popular culture is our fascination and glorification of violence. We don't seem to have much of a problem with it. But sex is BAD! Gay sex is really really BAD! I laughed at the part where Kimberly Pierce, director of Boys Don't Cry, talked about why the MPAA slapped her film with a NC-17 rating. Certain bits of lesbian sex is what did it. Not the part with Brandon getting shot in the head with his/her brains splattering on the wall.

Probably the most fuck-tarded practice exposed in this documentary is how the MPAA flat out refuses to allow any filmmaker to bring up similar scenes in other movies as part of the appeals process. Basically, it sounds like the MPAA deliberately doesn't care about maintaining any consistency on the ratings it provides. And that makes me suspicious of their intentions in that. It makes me wonder if they're not using that as a tool to keep independent studios held at a disadvantage.

Independent films often explore more controversial material than what major studios are willing to market. However the majors don't want some low budget cultural sensation to be gobbling up lots of available theater screens if they can do anything about it. If the show gets slapped with a NC-17, it's a marketing death sentence. Major theater chains like Carmike Cinemas will not carry any NC-17 rated movies. Many TV stations and newspapers will not run ads for NC-17 rated movies. If those broad policy bans were not in place the NC-17 wouldn't be such a bad deal. Right now, especially after seeing this documentary, the NC-17 rating and how it is treated demands serious change.

Now, I'm sure this DVD probably looks a good bit different than it did in movie theaters. The documentary maintains a video look (for once) on its own footage. Audio is Dolby Digital 2.0, with much of it being dialog just coming from the center channel. No one's going to watch this movie looking for home theater demo material. That's not the point.

Posted by Michael Coate (Member # 757) on 03-24-2007, 04:09 AM:

An excerpt from: Schindler's List: My 2006 Top Ten

quote:
7. THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED by Kirby Dick

In this documentary, Dick reveals that the Motion Picture Association of America is even more evil than it appears to be. It’s very informative and loads of fun as the filmmaker infiltrates the all-powerful cultish entity and uses its ridiculous system to his advantage.

Posted by Chad M Calpito (Member # 3736) on 03-24-2007, 10:59 AM:

I agree with you completely on this movie, Bobby. I most certainly enjoyed this film as well.

Posted by Joseph L. Kleiman (Member # 3097) on 03-30-2007, 06:09 PM:

[QUOTE Bobby Henderson] It's very revealing to find how the MPAA is in collusion with major Hollywood studios and that their films are often treated very differently than those from independent studios. [/QUOTE]

Could that be because the MPAA is a trade organization whose members are the six major studios? Of course it can.