This Film Is Not Yet Rated
An irreverent investigation pulls back the curtain on the secretive MPAA ratings system and its influence over American filmmaking.
Overview
A revealing exploration of the hidden forces shaping American cinema and its ratings system.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- incisive
- witty
- provocative
- film club discussion
- media literacy viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly found the documentary fascinating, entertaining, and revealing in its challenge to the MPAA's opaque and inconsistent ratings practices.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Kirby Dick hires a private investigator to stake out MPAA headquarters and pursue the identities of ratings-board members.
Filmmakers and critics describe inconsistent, sexuality-focused judgments that dispute longstanding MPAA statements about its ratings system.
The documentary examines how MPAA ratings affect which films reach multiplexes and how filmmakers' careers are shaped by those decisions.
The reversal of roles, private-investigator stakeout, and pointed interviews turn a serious censorship inquiry into an entertaining exposé.
Films like This Film Is Not Yet Rated, and why
The Corporation
investigative documentary treatment of institutional power, censorship, and media regulation
Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media
incisive documentary examination of cultural gatekeeping and political influence
The Celluloid Closet
provocative documentary critique of Hollywood systems, commercial pressures, and industry hypocrisy
Movie Details
- Director
- Kirby Dick
- Release Date
- 2006-09-01
- Runtime
- 98 min
- Rating
- 7.1 / 10 (392)
Cast
- Kimberly Peirce
- Jon Lewis
- David Ansen
- Martin Garbus
- Wayne Kramer
- Paul Dergarabedian
- Kevin Smith
- John Waters
- Matt Stone
- Richard Heffner
Common questions
- What is This Film Is Not Yet Rated about?
- An irreverent investigation pulls back the curtain on the secretive MPAA ratings system and its influence over American filmmaking.
- What is This Film Is Not Yet Rated like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of This Film Is Not Yet Rated as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is This Film Is Not Yet Rated violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in This Film Is Not Yet Rated.
- What did critics think of This Film Is Not Yet Rated?
- Critics broadly found the documentary fascinating, entertaining, and revealing in its challenge to the MPAA's opaque and inconsistent ratings practices.
- Which films are like This Film Is Not Yet Rated?
- Films with a similar feel include The Corporation, Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media, and The Celluloid Closet.
- How long is This Film Is Not Yet Rated?
- This Film Is Not Yet Rated runs 98 minutes.
