There are quite a few documentaries that are either out or coming out that look pretty fascinating to me. I saw Wordplay, the film about crossword puzzle players in America and, more specifically, Will Shortz, the puzzle master for the New York Times. It was great. There is the documentary about the New York Cosmos soccer club, Who Killed the Electric Car (you can figure it out from the title) and now “This Film is Not Yet Rated,” a scathing documentary of the film industry’s secret board that sets the ratings for all films.
From the website…
Filmmaker Kirby Dick launches an investigation into the MPAA ratings board. In his documentary, “This Film Is Not Yet Rated,” Dick demands that the MPAA take responsibility regarding their treatment of independent films compared to major studio releases, the disparity between violence and sex in films, and their bias against gay-themed movies. His search for answers includes interviews with filmmakers, critics, lawyers, and authors – not to mention a private investigator’s quest to discover the top-secret identities of the members of the ratings board.
I’ve always wondered why realistic sex garners an NC-17, but the disembowling of people or movies like Saw and Hostel, both of which feature graphic depictions of torture, only make it to rated R. Obviously, this film sets out to show us all why.
What looks fascinating and funny, beyond the interviews with industry insiders, directors and actors, is the fact that they actually hired a private detective to spy on the MPAA members, whose identities are kept a BIG secret for some reason.
After the MPAA reviewed the film, they were apparently not very happy and slapped the film with an NC-17 rating, despite the apparent lack of nudity or violence. IFilm decided to release it independently and go with no rating, a pretty brave thing to do considering how it could effect their future releases.
I love stuff like this, so I’ll definitely be watching for it in theaters.