On Sunday morning I caught a midnight screening of Robert Rodriguez's _From Dusk Till Dawn_ (at General Cinema's ScareFest 98) which again reiterated the worthlessness of the MPAA. Yes, Tarantino can write witty dialogue. (I think he also admits to being a foot fetishist.) It was certainly as violent if not more violent as _Demoni_, one of the worst excuses for graphic violence that I have ever seen, which had to be released unrated to avoid an X... but we can go more recent than that. _La Chiesa_ (_The Church_) has its U.S. release only a couple of years before FDTD. The second sequel to _Demoni_ was actually a good film, inspired in part by the work of Godfrey Reggio, with a wonderful performance by Hugh Quarshie, a black actor, who, judging from his role in this film, ought to rank as high as Denzel Washington, Danny Glover, or Ernie Hudson. It exists in a 102 minute uncut, unrated version and a 98 minute R-rated version. I've seen only the uncut version, and I must say it could not be said to be more violent than _FDTD_. Equally violent, perhaps, but if we're going by screen time occupied by violence, far less. The level of sex was pretty much the same. _FDTD_, however, was one of the most sadistic films I've ever seen, something which the other films don't compare to. It's still furhter proof that the MPAA caters to money, and is more willing to give Dimension/Miramax an R than independants like Renaissance/Rosebud (THe Evil Dead films had to be released unrate, and they're tamer than this, and _Army of Darkness_ desreved a PG-13 that Sam Raimi fought for, but never got) or Cecchi Gori/Shapiro-Glickenhous. Wes Craven always said the MPAA was always after him saying stuff like "What if a child should see it?" To which he would reply that his films are not for children and if theatres would enforce the R rating parents could only blame themselves if their child saw it. I think it's sad that quality films get slapped with the stigma (which appeals to a certain small sector, but not to the mainstream) of "uncut, unrated" or NC-17, while worse films with harsher content get the R. It seems strange that a group whose goal is to give people, especially parents, a guide, could be so influenced by money, but alas, it is. In truth, the rating system says a lot by putting films in a category, but means almost nothing as to the film's content. =============================================================================== Scott Andrew Hutchins http://php.iupui.edu/~sahutchi Oz, Monsters, Kamillions, and More! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frances: I've led a pretty boring life compared to yours. Freddy [the neighbor]: Mine was pretty boring, too. I've just got a knack for picking out the interesting bits. --David Williamson _Travelling North_ Act Two Scene Three ---- Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite http://www.tcf.ua.edu/screensite