MovieChat Forums > The Panic in Needle Park (1971) Discussion > Forget R, how is this rated PG even now?

Forget R, how is this rated PG even now?

posted 16 years ago by GCD1
16 replies | jump to latest

The print of the movie I watched had a PG rating. In the film, there is explicit drug use, explicit language (I recall that one use of the word that starts with 'f' is an automatic PG-13 rating), nudity, and very mature content -- prostitution, drug use in general, etc.

I would think the extended shots of needles being inserted into veins is enough for PG-13 by itself, let alone the above.

I mean, "Midnight Cowboy" was rated X on release and a few years reduced down to R, and that was almost entirely for the subject matter alone. I think that the subject matter in this film is just as intense.

Am I alone in this or are others confused? For what it's worth, I'm not railing against the movie in any way. I think it is a very good film and that the content of the film is important in a way as it shows the audience what drug addiction can do.

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] GCD1 16 years ago

I should have specified that the version I watched was broadcast on a premium cable channel, so it wasn't a DVD.

Pacino does scream out the word in question, though, in the version I saw (again, can't imagine how a PG movie could have that word!).

[–] SaulGoodman 16 years ago

Just watched the DVD and he does scream "C-nt!" However, it was a Region 2 disk.

I'm surprised it's got a PG rating. Here in the UK it's an 18 certificate which I guess is the equivalent of your R.

The drug use scenes are probably the most explicit I have ever seen. The only scene I can think of that out does it is in 'The Fearless Freaks' where Stephen Drodz shoots up, and that's not really as explicit, but he is a genuine addict which makes it a bit harder to watch.

I can't see how they could cut that film down to a PG, there'd be nothing left!

[–] blackcauldron 16 years ago

Al Pacino's character yells out the "c" word in the Region 1, US DVD release. It still states a "PG" rating. Is it possible this is the original "R" rated version, or was even more cut for the "PG" rating?

[–] Kompressor_Fan 9 years ago

I can't figure it out. I remember specifically seeing the ads in the newspaper for the movie when I was a kid with an R rating listed. Then....about 20 years ago or so, they started running it on cable with a PG rating. Same thing happened with The Last Picture Show (which, I again remember the ads listing it as rated R. Neither movie....even by today's standards....should be rated PG. Both are great films, but I think that most parents would not want their little kids watching these movies....especially The Panic in Needle Park.

[–] Falconeer 9 years ago

If you think the injection scenes in this were explicit you should see "Christiane F." or Andy Warhol's "Trash." The latter was directly inspired by "Panic In Needle Park," and the injection scenes in film are almost fetishistic in their detail. All of these are great films by the way, that capture a time period that is no more..

Fabio Testi is GOD

[–] smoke_banshee 16 years ago

I just watched this and was surprised, too, at the PG rating that flashed up before the film (via Cinemax HD, sometimes they throw some gems in amongst the other fare). But this is by no means a PG-rated movie by today's standards. If you're even watching films from the early 70s films to begin with, I doubt it will shock your sensibilities. Why even retro-rate such a film? You should have a good idea of what it's about going in.
<p>
I have not seen any other cut, so cannot compare. But this was definitely not a compromised movie when it comes to the content. Great performances, gritty reality, good flick. A great feel-good movie with the likes of 'Bad Lieutenant' or 'Requiem for a Dream,' but with a slightly more ambiguous ending. Enjoy!

[–] cesarat37 12 years ago

This is obviously an anti-drugs film, so they probably rated it PG so that a younger audience (teenagers) could watch it. But honestly, it deserved an R rating because it's quite crude and it has some disturbing images.

[–] bronzescag 11 years ago

It's astounding - by today's standards - what passed for PG in the 70s. Films like Sam Peckinpah's THE GETAWAY (violence and sexual abuse), ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN (several uses of the F word) and KRAMER VS. KRAMER (with the F word and frontal nudity) were routinely rated PG. BURNT OFFERINGS, a very creepy horror film from the 70s was also rated PG. I wish we could go back to a 70s sensibility; the PG-13 rating has caused so much damage to studio films. They studios are all trying to shove R rated content into the PG-13 rating and adult films are either being cut down or not made all. On top of that, the PG-13 rating has become the equivalent of a soft R.

[–] griffinesq 11 years ago

Well stated. I agree with you, btw.

"...the dick swagger you roll with; I'd think you could spot crazy pussy".

[–] flippp 11 years ago

Definitely the hardest PG I've ever seen.

[–] pandora8 11 years ago

In 1971 PG replace the previous M rating for "Mature Audiences". PG was to signify that Parental Guidance was suggested and "some material May Not be Suitable for Pre-Teenagers", basically our PG-13. At the beginning the PG rating was very loose, and the movies that were rated PG in the 70s are not at all what we'd think of PG today.

Still it seems logical due to language and especially content that Panic in Needle Park should have gotten the R rating which did exist back then. Perhaps because it doesn't glamorize Heroin use the MPAA gave it the looser rating.

X was a self-inflicted rating. If you felt that your movie would not pass the MPAA restrictions you could rate it X and theaters could play it but weren't allowed to let anyone under 17 see it.

~If you say "I had everything under control" one more time I'm going to slap you with my guitar.~

[–] griffinesq 11 years ago

@pandora. Wasn't there a semi-acclaimed documentary a few years ago re: the MPAA and what a ridiculous scam it is? Any info is appreciated in advance. I saw it at a screening but don't recall much.

"...the dick swagger you roll with; I'd think you could spot crazy pussy". Rust

[–] activista 10 years ago

It was a documentary called THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED, and yeah, it's definitely worth watching.

[–] Falconeer 9 years ago

A 'PG' rating for THIS film is ridiculous. the version i saw even has male nudity, (prison shower scene.) I thought showing male genitalia would be an automatic 'R.' Also those graphic injection scenes were so graphic because they were real. Some minor players in the film were actual addicts. I think the rating was some kind of error, like a mix-up of the 2 different versions.

Fabio Testi is GOD

[–] tnsprin-2 8 years ago

The full version is rated R. Some cut versions shown on TV are rated PG, but I think still deserve an R.