History

• In the 1960s, the MPAA employed an X-rating to classify films more mature than an R-rating warranted. Their failure to copyright this rating, however, led to its adoption by pornographic establishments. X-rated films became synonymous with adult entertainment, and many cinema owners refused to showcase them. In September 1990, the MPAA inaugurated the NC-17 rating. "Henry & June," a film about the love affair between writers Henry Miller and Anais Nin, was the first movie released with an NC-17 rating.
  
  

Significance

• Just as an X-rating was a difficult obstacle for a film to overcome in the box office, so has the NC-17 rating proved. The majority of movies the MPAA deems worthy of an NC-17 rating are edited by their producers and director to attain an R rating. Newspapers that denied advertising space to X-rated films largely transferred the policy to NC-17 films, and major video chains including Hollywood Video and Blockbuster do not stock them.
  
  

Misconceptions

• An NC-17 rating does not automatically indicate the presence of obscenity. Aberrant behavior, drug abuse, adult language and themes and graphic violence are all criteria that might lead the MPAA to make an NC-17 rating. The terms "obscene" and "pornographic" are legally ambiguous, and the MPAA is legally restrained from applying those terms in judgment of films. According to their website, the MPAA classifies films as NC-17 that "most parents would consider patently too adult for their children 17 and under."
  
  

Examples

• Popular movies that were originally rated NC-17 before edited versions achieved R-ratings include 1990's "The Godfather: Part III," 1992's "Bram Stoker's Dracula," 1999's "American Pie" and "The Boondock Saints," and 2003's "Kill Bill: Vol. I."
  
  Warner Bros. was surprised when Sam Peckinpah's 1969 film "The Wild Bunch," originally rated R, was resubmitted to the MPAA prior to a planned re-release. It was given an NC-17 rating, though nothing in the film had been changed. Warner Bros. appealed the decision.
  
  

Ratings

• A "G" rating means General Audiences: All Ages Admitted.
  
  "PG" means Parental Guidance Suggested: Some Material May Not Be Suitable For Children.
  
  PG-13 means Parents Strongly Cautioned: Some Material May Be Inappropriate for Children Under 13.
  
  R means Restricted: Under 17 Requires Accompanying Parent or Adult Guardian.
  
  NC-17 means No One 17 and Under Admitted.