How do they rate movies?

Question

I understand what age group is appropriate for which rating but how do the they choose which movies are "R" and which are "PG-13" is it based on content?

Answer 1

They have a group of average citizens watch the movie and use their input to determine the rating, from what I understand.

Answer 2

A board of people decide based on content, language, and other things. There is also a bit of politics involved, if you have enough pull in the industry, your film that should be rated "R" can be rated "PG-13" if you play the game right. Spielberg was notorious for doing this in the 80s, fighting to get his movies that were to be rated "R" to "PG", because of him and movies like Gremlins, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Poltergeist, etc, they had to come up with PG-13 rating.
Often times when a movie that is PG-13 and comes to DVD as "Unrated" this is nothing more than a marketing tool, it just means the new cut wasn't submitted for a rating, not that it's "too hot for the theaters". They know kids will buy more copies if it's listed as unrated rather than PG-13

Answer 3

Depending on your country, movies are either rated voluntarily (such as by the Motion Picture Association of America), or by a local governmental organization. Most of these ratings are based on content.

A group of people are selected and they sit through the entire movie looking for scenes that may be offensive to some viewers, or may be inappropriate for younger viewers. Nudity, violence or graphic violence, sexual themes, and coarse language are all items that are used to evaluate a movie's qualifications for a certain rating system.

For example, if a movie contains brief nudity, it might get rated as 14+, or a full frontal might adjust the rating higher. An actual sexual act in the movie would push it to the "R" or NC-17 ratings.

That is why some directories and movie producers will actually edit their movies to "tone them down". They will remove portions so they can achieve a certain rating.

The movie "Basic Instinct" is a good example. It was released with an R rating, but when the director's cut came out, it was listed as "unrated" because the additional scenes would have probably resulted in an NC-17 rating.

Answer 4

It is based on actual criteria, however it sometimes seems like it is arbitray. If you go to the MPAA web site and look at their rating criteria. Compare it with some films, and you will wonder how they came to that conclusion. Good way to see how bizarre and randomn these ratings are is to compare a theatrical release version with an unrated DVD. You will be very surprise. Sometimes the most slight things are enough to take it from one lower category to another. Maybe they roll a dice sometimes ??

Answer 5

PG-13 strongly advised adult supervision May be inappropriate for children. R under 17 must have an adult in attendance to see in a theaters. Could be because of nudity, violence or sex

Answer 6

Yes it is based on content. Sometimes on the back of the movie you will often see things such as "one use of strong language" or "moderate use of strong language", etc. It can also be based on the story line too, such as, if it were quite violent or there were sexual scenes in the movie.

Answer 7

"Is it based on content?"

No, it's based on colors.. of course it is!!!

There is specific criteria for each rating... the number of times they swear is a factor

Answer 8

They have a panel that watches it and then rates it. I believe it's made up of people from the motion picture industry.

Answer 9

it has to be very, very, violent for it to be rated "R". or for too much romance it could be rated "R" or "PG-13"

Answer 10

well it depends,,...if the movie is scary and rated R then ,most likely it is REALY scary or sex may be involved...but PG13 movies are like the Ring where sex isnt involved