# Movie ratings labeled "NR" and "UR". Does this difference mean anything? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 7, 2014, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-ratings-labeled-nr-and-ur-does-this-difference-mean-anything/678084 "2014-01-07T00:16:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-ratings-labeled-nr-and-ur-does-this-difference-mean-anything/678084/1 "2014-01-07T00:16:24Z")
On Netflix, and perhaps other places, some movies are described as “UR” and others as “NR”. Do both of these just mean not rated or is there some fine distinction? ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-ratings-labeled-nr-and-ur-does-this-difference-mean-anything/678084/2 "2014-01-07T00:19:50Z")
NR is Not Rated, UR is Unrated; it’s just different ways of saying the MPAA never assigned a rating to that particular cut. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-ratings-labeled-nr-and-ur-does-this-difference-mean-anything/678084/3 "2014-01-07T00:24:13Z")
I may be talking out of my ass, and I don’t think there’s any standard controlling when to use UR or NR. However, IME the **typical** usage is that NR is used when a movie was never submitted for rating (or may have been rejected by the MPAA for a rating for whatever reason), while UR is a recut version of a rated movie that has not been independently rated. So the indie film I made in my basement is NR, while Disney’s The Lion King: Special Hardcore Porn Director’s Cut Edition is UR. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-ratings-labeled-nr-and-ur-does-this-difference-mean-anything/678084/4 "2014-01-07T00:26:53Z")
> [@](#): > > Some people confuse “Not Rated” movies to “Unrated” ones. They are two different categories. As mentioned above, “Not Rated” films are the ones that were not submitted to the MPAA for ratings. Films that the filmmakers completed are submitted to the MPAA to undergo reviews and get their ratings before they are shown in the theaters. Sometimes these movies are rated “NC-17.” In such circumstances, some filmmakers will make some changes to the film so that the MPAA will rate their film differently. Some scenes may have been altered or even deleted. They do this so that even younger possible viewers can see the film. This will give the filmmakers more opportunities to market their movie,thus selling more tickets. After the films are shown in theaters, the deleted and edited scenes are put back into the movie. This version of the film is now what we call the “Unrated” version or sometimes called the “Director’s Cut.” This edition of the movie is often sold as DVDs. > **[Difference Between Theatrical and Unrated Versions](https://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/difference-between-theatrical-and-unrated-versions/)** > > In the film industry, movies are rated so that parents are given advance knowledge and an idea of the nature of the film’s content. It helps them decided whether the movie is appropriate for their ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-ratings-labeled-nr-and-ur-does-this-difference-mean-anything/678084/5 "2014-01-07T02:08:21Z")
The above link gives a good explanation. Just to clarify, the MPAA \*\*\*owns \*\*\*their official ratings (G, PG, PG-13, R, NC-17). They are trademarked terms just like the names Coca-Cola™ or Nike™. Infamously they didn’t trademark X because they though it would make things easier (it did until there were enough non-porn ‘adult’ themed films to make NC-17 useful). So NR or UR are just abbreviations, they’re not anything official (yet)…