When R-rated franchises go PG-13 ...
There's a rumour going around that Live Free or Die Hard, known overseas as Die Hard 4.0, will be rated PG-13.
This might mean that John McClane's trademark "Yippie-ki-yay" line will have to be cut, or trimmed down a little. The MPAA allows one or two f-words in a PG-13 movie, but never if they are used to indicate actual sexual behaviour; then again, I don't know where a word like "motherf---er" -- which, like the f-word itself, is rarely used with a specific sexual intent -- would fall on that spectrum.
But never mind all that. I'm just wondering if it has ever happened that a PG-13 installment in an otherwise R-rated franchise turned out to be any good. Thus, naturally, I must make another list.
I have not seen all the films listed below, so it may be that some of the PG-13 films were better than their R-rated forebears. Certainly some of the R-rated sequels were huge letdowns. But I'll let you guess which of these films I have seen and which I have not.
Oh, and speaking of Bruce Willis and MPAA ratings, there are a few exceptions to the rule that PG-13 movies can never have more than one or two f-words: The MPAA recently ruled that The Hip Hop Project, a documentary executive-produced by Willis, would get a PG-13 instead of an R, despite having 17 f-words. The MPAA previously made a similar allowance for Gunner Palace, a documentary about the Iraq War that has about 30 f-words.
This might mean that John McClane's trademark "Yippie-ki-yay" line will have to be cut, or trimmed down a little. The MPAA allows one or two f-words in a PG-13 movie, but never if they are used to indicate actual sexual behaviour; then again, I don't know where a word like "motherf---er" -- which, like the f-word itself, is rarely used with a specific sexual intent -- would fall on that spectrum.
But never mind all that. I'm just wondering if it has ever happened that a PG-13 installment in an otherwise R-rated franchise turned out to be any good. Thus, naturally, I must make another list.
I have not seen all the films listed below, so it may be that some of the PG-13 films were better than their R-rated forebears. Certainly some of the R-rated sequels were huge letdowns. But I'll let you guess which of these films I have seen and which I have not.
- Alien (1979; R)
- Aliens (1986; R)
- Predator (1987; R)
- Predator 2 (1990; R)
- Alien3 (1992; R)
- Alien Resurrection (1997; R)
- Alien Vs. Predator (2004; PG-13)
- The Amityville Horror (1979; R)
- Amityville II: The Possession (1982; R)
- Amityville 3-D (1983; PG)
- Mad Max (1979; R)
- Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981; R)
- Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985; PG-13)
- Conan the Barbarian (1982; R)
- Conan the Destroyer (1984; PG)
- Red Sonja (1985; PG-13)
- Police Academy (1984; R)
- Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1985; PG-13)
- Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986; PG)
- Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987; PG)
- Police Academy 5: Assignment: Miami Beach (1988; PG)
- Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1989; PG)
- Police Academy: Mission to Moscow (1994; PG)
- The Terminator (1984; R)
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991; R)
- Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003; R)
- Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins (2009; PG-13)
- Highlander (1986; R)
- Highlander II: The Quickening (1991; R)
- Highlander III: The Sorcerer (1994; PG-13, re-edited R)
- Highlander: Endgame (2000; R)
- Robocop (1987; X, re-edited R)
- Robocop 2 (1990; R)
- Robocop 3 (1992; PG-13)
- Speed (1994; R)
- Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997; PG-13)
- Elizabeth (1998; R)
- Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007; PG-13)
- Pitch Black (2000; R)
- The Chronicles of Riddick (2004; R, re-edited PG-13)
- Scary Movie (2000; R)
- Scary Movie 2 (2001; R)
- Scary Movie 3 (2003; PG-13)
- Scary Movie 4 (2006; PG-13)
Oh, and speaking of Bruce Willis and MPAA ratings, there are a few exceptions to the rule that PG-13 movies can never have more than one or two f-words: The MPAA recently ruled that The Hip Hop Project, a documentary executive-produced by Willis, would get a PG-13 instead of an R, despite having 17 f-words. The MPAA previously made a similar allowance for Gunner Palace, a documentary about the Iraq War that has about 30 f-words.
posted by Peter T Chattaway at 10:07 AM
11 Comments:
Incidentally, I have checked all the films in the Dirty Harry (1971-1988), Exorcist (1973-2005), Omen (1976-1981), Friday the 13th (1980-2003), Rambo (1982-1988), Nightmare on Elm Street (1984-2003), Terminator (1984-2003), Lethal Weapon (1987-1998), Under Siege (1992-1995), Crow (1994-2005), Blade (1998-2004) and Matrix (1999-2003) franchises, and each of those series was consistently R-rated from start to finish.
An interesting corollary question, BTW, might be whether franchises have ever gone in the other direction -- from PG or PG-13 movies to R-rated movies -- and whether this has had any noticeable effect on the quality of the films themselves.
The only definite example that comes to mind at the moment is the Monty Python series of films: And Now for Something Completely Different (1971) and Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) were rated PG, but then Life of Brian (1979), Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl (1982) and The Meaning of Life (1983) were all rated R.
Another possible example is the Psycho series, although things are complicated somewhat there by the fact that the first film was produced in 1960, when the ratings system did not yet exist. It was eventually rated M, the equivalent of PG, in 1968 -- and then it was re-rated R in 1984! At any rate, both of the theatrical sequels, produced in 1983 and 1986, were rated R from the get-go.
pdDoes Riddick Count? - RTD
What about Sam Raimi's Evil Dead franchise? Seems like it started off at least R and went PG-13. In that case I personally think the movies go better or standards changed enough that yesterday's plausibly gory special effects are today's joke.
Well, the first movie in the Jack Ryan series, The Hunt for Red October, was rated PG. Movie #2, Patriot Games, was R (albeit with a different actor in the lead role, Harrison Ford replacing Alec Baldwin). Movie #3, Clear and Present Danger (also with Ford), was PG-13.
As for The Evil Dead, the first movie in that franchise was rated X, and re-rated NC-17 after that rating was introduced, according to IMDB. Evil Dead II was also originally rated X (and then released with no rating) but was later re-cut for an R. Army of Darkness is rated R.
Does Riddick Count?
Good call! I've added it to the list.
Well, the first movie in the Jack Ryan series, The Hunt for Red October, was rated PG. Movie #2, Patriot Games, was R (albeit with a different actor in the lead role, Harrison Ford replacing Alec Baldwin). Movie #3, Clear and Present Danger (also with Ford), was PG-13.
Interesting -- so that's a case of a franchise moving from PG to R and then back to PG-13. And yeah, the lead actors changed, but those three films are linked to one another by the presence of James Earl Jones as Admiral James Greer.
I forgot to check this earlier, but for what it's worth, all of the films in the Halloween (1978-2002) series were R-rated, too.
Oh, and all three Beverly Hills Cops (1984-1994) were rated R, too.
I have added the two Elizabeth (1998-2007) films to the list.
I have added the Terminator (1984-2009) franchise to the list.
Post a Comment
<< Home