This Film Is Not Yet Rated
Kirby Dick's provocative documentary investigates the secretive and inconsistent process by which the Motion Picture Association of America rates films. Dick questions whether certain studios get preferential treatment, exposes the discrepancies in how the MPAA views sex and violence, and reveals the association's efforts to control culture. Interviewees include John Waters, Darren Aronofsky, Maria Bello, Atom Egoyan, Kevin Smith and more.
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» Reviewed by 12 people
Anyone whos followed the MPAAs record (with the failed X rating, the coming of PG-13, the not-so-subtle censorship moves) will not be surprised at this indictment of the organization... but you will be shocked at just how much it does lie to the American public.- ecgriffith
This is a must see. It shows how much the film industry is a monopoly. If you believe that there is too much violence and sex is censored in america than this movie is for you.
- SC 167951
Interesting insight into how the MPAA rating system actually works. Not an objective documentary by any standard, but it doesn't claim to be.
- DR 957275
This is a must see for any movie-lover. Smart, creative, and funny This Film Is Not Yet Rated presents the MPAA for what it truly is; a corrupt monopoly that has a tight stranglehold on the film industry.
- C. Eng
I was very interested in the subject of the MPAA and how they go about what they do. I thought that the use of compare and contrast of actual film clips was excellent. It remains to be seen if there is any positive outcome from this.
- Rogertick
This is quite interesting. I never realized that the people who sit on the board of the MPAA were kept secret. Nor did I realize that they were allegedly normal people. But based upon what I saw, they are not middle-America but either the ultra-right or the ultra-rich that want-to-keep-their-money. Apparently the MPAA has ties to some of the big studios and essentially there is collusion between them. The raters are allegedly people with children between the ages of 5 to 17-years-old but that is only a fallacy put out by the MPAA. One of the things that came across to me is that the European way of rating is much better. The Europeans are less concerned with sexuality than they are with violence and I agree with them. Maybe that is why I am beginning to develop a great appreciation for foreign films. This was interesting. 4 1/2 stars. (10/27/08)
- VIP Club
Worth seeing-- although much of the basic info of the film I'd gotten from various interviews and reviews. The deleted scenes on the disc are worth watching as there are great anecdotes and some pieces of informaiton I wasn't aware of. I found it an effective documentary in that even when it did move off topic a little, it managed to bring those issues back in later.
- nyb 392045
Like any documentary this one explores an often looked-over aspect of our lives. Deliciously ironic because it was rated NC-17 but amazingly in-depth as far as the research done to shed some light on one of the most unfair things in the media industry.
- devinreams
Not a thrillride by any means. I was excited at the beginning, when a private investigator gets hired to help with the documentary (Spies are always cool), but my excitement waned throughout the movie. At times, it is tragically boring, but for the most part, you are simply bewildered when you find out what the MPAA is doing. I will never look at movie ratings the same again after seeing this, and I am certainly disappointed in the MPAA for their actions. Many thanks to Kirby Dick for exposing the mindlessness behind their stranglehold operation. This is a film that needs to be seen by movie fans of all kinds, just keep in mind that you will be mad at a lot of people after seeing it.
- MCWHAMMER
It has long been assumed that Jack Valenti treated the MPAA film rating board as his own personal theocracy. Endorsed by a few major studios who dominate the industry and benefit from the heavy handed control, an anonymous 'board' under Valenti's leadership exercises the only mass censorship in America to which our government turns a blind eye. Enter Kirby Dick. He noticed that similar pictures often received different MPAA ratings and decided to rip the anonymity from the board to find out who, exactly, determines what ratings go to what films. Why is this important? Ratings determine who will be allowed to see a film. This, in turn, affects whether or not the movie will attract a distributor. Without distribution, a film can not appear in theaters. Dick hired Becky Altringer and her team of relentless investigators and they employ every trick of the trade including stakeouts, stalking, digging through trash, hidden cameras and other undercover work. The process is sometimes funny but the way Dick put it together it stays interesting as well as informative. I won't spoil it but I will say that at the time of the filming, a Catholic and an Episcopalian priest was on the board. Add Valenti and it's easy to understand the board's Puritanical leanings. Jack Valenti died in April, 2007. His last film credit was in a documentary entitled, "Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood." The MPAA has since changed its policy to allow filmmakers to cite other film ratings as comparison and to also provide information about it's board members. I hope my thoughts are Helpful ~~~Wingz
- Wingz
Thirty minutes into this movie, I felt this movie should have been more appropriately named, This Country Is Sexually Repressed And Overwhelmed By Guilt. Why? Well, to me, that seemed to be the focus of the documentary. It seemed, from the opening credits to a full 30+ minutes later, that the viewer was preached upon for allowing, as a society, nudity to be censored. Fortunately, the film gradually (and I do mean gradually) moved beyond that into more relevant (and interesting) concepts. The assertion here apparently is that the judgment of what is appropriate for everyone is actually based on a perceived majority (sexually straight Republican men apparently). Examples are given to support this thinking and I will admit that its a persuasive argument. Lastly the documentary did a pretty good job at pulling back the curtain on what is supposed to be a secret society of raters. The public is told that the raters are all of a certain age range, financial background and with a certain number of kids. Unfortunately no names are given so its supposed to be impossible to prove these numbers. Once exposed, its obvious that the stated standards arent being followed too closely. And in fact, the rating process is dominated by big studio interests. I came to the conclusion that the film maker wasnt in favor of abandoning a rating system. Rather, he felt we should either shed some light on the current system (and therefore all have an equal say in what should be censored) or come up with a new system that wont favor big studio interests quite so much. Anyway, it was an interesting watch even if I didnt agree with everything said. I didnt get the feeling there was some largely one-sided agenda being pushed. But it was clear that the film maker didnt think the current system was fair in any way. Ultimately, this is was pretty interesting.
- Creeper
This was a great documentary. It was amusing as well as informative. Kirby presents an interesting view of how the MPAA ratings are done and how flawed they are. Double standards are exposed, Kirby hires a PI to identify the members of the MPAA and presents clips of movies and compares and contrasts the clips and their MPAA rating.
- Goddess