NR and Unrated

How to read it

MPA ratings are voluntary. The MPA’s own members agree to submit every film they release in theaters, but independent studios and filmmakers are not required to, and many do so only because most theaters prefer to show rated films. A producer outside the MPA can also refuse the rating the board gives, or surrender it, and then release the film in the United States without a rating. Not Rated says nothing about the film’s content, only that it carries no rating from the board.

Also searched as: not rated, nr rating, unrated, unrated version.

Unrated versions of rated films

A rating belongs to one version of a film. The MPA’s rules say a rating may not be used with any different version, so a longer or recut version released without going back to the board is unrated. The MPA’s advertising rules require its packaging to say: “This motion picture previously was released in a version rated __ for __________. This unrated version contains material different from the original __-rated version.” The cover has to carry a changed title, such as “Unrated Version”, “Extended Edition” or “Director’s Cut”. Deleted scenes, interviews and other bonus material sold with a rated film must be marked Not Rated.

If a film has been shown in theaters and a different, unrated version is to be released, the rules require the original version to be withdrawn from theaters first; a withdrawal of 90 days or more counts as long enough.

Why most theatrical films are rated

In 1970 the producer of Tropic of Cancer sued to release its film unrated rather than as an X, arguing that most theaters and newspapers would not show or advertise X-rated films. The court ruled against it. The Federal Trade Commission’s 2000 history of the ratings describes the case.

Unrated programs on TV

Uncut theatrical films on premium cable channels such as HBO and Showtime carry their original MPA rating; films edited for broadcast or basic cable get a TV rating instead. Under the FCC’s rules for the V-chip, a television as sold should not block unrated programs.