An 18 rated Bond film?

MilleniumForce · May 2015

(For those in America, 18 is the highest rating a film can get)

Would you like to see one? The only problem it would have is it would never make as much money as others, as a huge percentage of the audience would be excluded.

If there was one though, the violence should be used to its full potential in an 18 film, but anything like sex scenes shouldnt be included. The art of an ending to a Bond film is that we never see it - which makes it more satisfying IMO.

Matt S · May 2015

I certainly don't want to see this. They're already too violent. I don't really love any of the Bond films after TLD, since the violence and action escalated.

Absolutely_Cart · May 2015

I wouldn't be opposed to it, because I'd be able to view it.

However, I'd see no reason for the series to need to suddenly shift to an adult rating when PG/PG-13 has worked fine for all of the movies thus far.

Thunderpussy · May 2015

They got a 15 cert with LTK, and it really hit their box office takings.

hehadlotsofguts · May 2015

Plus if the violence was gory and excessive, the Bond film in theory would look like any other action film.

AlphaOmegaSin · May 2015

LTK was the first to receive a 15 Certificate, and as TP said, it effected the Films Box Office Reaction.

I personally can't see a Bond Outing being given an 18 Rated Certificate by the BBFC.

Thunderpussy · May 2015

For my taste, I thought they did a great job with CR. -{ violent enough
to show how nasty,Bond's job has to be at times, but keeping it well
within the bounds of a family film. {[]

Absolutely_Cart · May 2015

Thunderpussy wrote:

For my taste, I thought they did a great job with CR. -{ violent enough
to show how nasty,Bond's job has to be at times, but keeping it well
within the bounds of a family film. {[]

exactly. if cr '06 can do just fine with a 13 rating, then so can any other potential bond film

AlphaOmegaSin · May 2015

Agreed -{

UnderwaterBattle007 · May 2015

I would have no problem with a "harder Cut" version perhaps when it came to releasing the film on DVD or blueray, they did that with the "Taken" films.

But as I said in my introduction as a new member of the board I first went to see Bond aged 8 or 9 years of age and I'd hate them to deprive the new generation of Bond fan of that opportunity.

Having said that I saw Dirty Harry aged 13, and all the Bruce Lee films underage as well. Unit 4 cinemas in the UK were great for getting into underage, now the Odeon was a different kettle of fish altogether.

Silhouette Man · May 2015

No, I would never wish to see an 18 rated Bond film for the reasons already mentioned - it certainly harmed LTK to have the 15 rating so dear only knows what an 18 rating would do to a Bond film! I don't think Eon will ever make that rating mistake again! -{

Absolutely_Cart · May 2015

license to kill was one of my favorite bond movies. it was going to be rated 18 before it edited out a few scenes. i wouldn't have minded a few more scenes to be edited to get to that 13 rating.

AlphaOmegaSin · May 2015

Silhouette Man wrote:

No, I would never wish to see an 18 rated Bond film for the reasons already mentioned - it certainly harmed LTK to have the 15 rating so dear only knows what an 18 rating would do to a Bond film! I don't think Eon will ever make that rating mistake again! -{

Yes, I doubt EON would take the Risk of making a fully fledged 18 Rated Bond Film -{

Gassy Man · May 2015

I tend to think that films have to be more creative when they have more restrictions on what they show. Occasionally, something is made that justifies its violence, such as the first few Die Hard films, but that character and the universe he is in are very different than Bond. Rather than focus on elements that would lead to such a rating, I'd rather they focus on what works in films that can't rely on adult spectacle for their story -- writing.

Thunderbird 2 · May 2015

There are certain things the Bond films have tried to maintain, and keeping the gore and brutality of the violence in the minds of the audience by implication is one of those strengths. QoS came dangerously close with Slate's murder, and LTK pushed the envelope as far as it should.
An 18 / Adults only cert would be dreadful for a Bond film. A large portion of the audience would be denied access to the said film, and as others have noted, would ruin the family entertainment aspect when they reach the tv audience. Either that, or it would be scissors galore with constant censorship cuts. Bond rises above its competitors by not having to lower itself to their standards.

Matt S · May 2015

Does anyone feel that the Bond films are held back by aiming for a lower rating? I don't think that Bond films need any more violence and sex to be better.

UnderwaterBattle007 · May 2015

Matt S wrote:

Does anyone feel that the Bond films are held back by aiming for a lower rating? I don't think that Bond films need any more violence and sex to be better.

I know a head butt was one scene removed from Goldeneye to acheive a lower rating at the Cinema, and I have no problem with that, as I took both my sons to see it when it came out and they were 9 and 7 year old.

However when the dvd comes out it would have been great to have a "directors cut" where all such scenes could be reinstated. Otherwise why did they even bother filming that particular scene if they knew beforehand it would never be used.

Silhouette Man · May 2015

UnderwaterBattle007 wrote:

Matt S wrote:

Does anyone feel that the Bond films are held back by aiming for a lower rating? I don't think that Bond films need any more violence and sex to be better.

I know a head butt was one scene removed from Goldeneye to acheive a lower rating at the Cinema, and I have no problem with that, as I took both my sons to see it when it came out and they were 9 and 7 year old.

However when the dvd comes out it would have been great to have a "directors cut" where all such scenes could be reinstated. Otherwise why did they even bother filming that particular scene if they knew beforehand it would never be used.

Well of course the Xenia head butt scene was restored to the GoldenEye DVD release where it garnered a 15 certificate here in the UK.

Gassy Man · May 2015

Matt S wrote:

Does anyone feel that the Bond films are held back by aiming for a lower rating? I don't think that Bond films need any more violence and sex to be better.

The only thing holding the Bond films back is the quality of the writing. A good writer can figure out how to achieve the same effect without resorting to blatant sex and gore, at least with this genre. In other genres, that may not be the case. It would be hard to imagine, say, Last Tango in Paris being as effective without the sex scenes or even Die Hard, which functions in some ways as a satire of the action genre, without the overdone violence. But the spy genre is mostly about strategy and counterstrategy, even the Bond films. Classic Bond films are still effective today because the writing was so good.

Markyb64 · May 2015

I haven't got the Blu-ray boxset of Bond but didn't they re-certificate Goldeneye to a 15 cert?

AlphaOmegaSin · May 2015

Yes, they added in the Headbutt Scene.

The Wicker Man · May 2015

I wouldn't like to see an 18 rated Bond film.
For me growing up I used to love the fact that three generations of my family could sit down and watch a Sunday afternoon Bond film together.
Watching these films from such an early age has made me the nerd - I mean fan - that I am today

Blackleiter · May 2015

Gassy Man wrote:

Matt S wrote:

Does anyone feel that the Bond films are held back by aiming for a lower rating? I don't think that Bond films need any more violence and sex to be better.

The only thing holding the Bond films back is the quality of the writing. A good writer can figure out how to achieve the same effect without resorting to blatant sex and gore, at least with this genre. In other genres, that may not be the case. It would be hard to imagine, say, Last Tango in Paris being as effective without the sex scenes or even Die Hard, which functions in some ways as a satire of the action genre, without the overdone violence. But the spy genre is mostly about strategy and counterstrategy, even the Bond films. Classic Bond films are still effective today because the writing was so good.

Yes indeed. Good writing is the key - the harder rating is unnecessary. {[]

Gassy Man · May 2015

Absolutely! My observation is the vast majority of "R" rated films are only so because they substitute spectacle -- sex, nudity, violence, language -- for meaningful writing. I used to ask students as an exercise to watch an R-rated film and take out all the profanity in a chunk of dialogue they liked. The result was almost always the most stilted and unimaginative lines, dressed up with foul words to disguise their emptiness. Once in a while, that's not the case, but most of the time, the writer is just relying on an overused crutch.

Absolutely_Cart · May 2015

Interesting that Dr. No back in 1962 was considered tantamount to what we consider an R rating today.

I wonder if all of the PG-13 movies nowadays would be considered PG years from now.

An 18 rated Bond film?

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