# Movies - Re-rated for re-release?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-re-rated-for-re-release/246413>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 21, 2004, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-re-rated-for-re-release/246413 "2004-05-21T19:28:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kel_Varnsen_Latex_Division)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-re-rated-for-re-release/246413/1 "2004-05-21T19:28:27Z")

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When a movie is re-released to theaters does it have to go through the ratings process again? Would _Logan’s Run_ still automatically still be rated PG despite the nudity? Or would it have to be re-rated? If movies don’t have to be re-rated do special editions have to be re-rated like \*Star Wars[/i[ which had additional material?

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**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-re-rated-for-re-release/246413/2 "2004-05-21T19:42:59Z")

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[The ratings system](http://www.mpaa.org/movieratings/about/index.htm) is entirely voluntary. No film is required to go through the ratings process and no film upon re-release is required to be re-rated. Films go through the ratings process because many theatres won’t book unrated films and many newspapers won’t advertise them. There have been a few films released unrated which got some distribution but none of the names are coming to me off the top of my head.

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**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-re-rated-for-re-release/246413/3 "2004-05-21T19:55:20Z")

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You can’t use the MPAA ratings (other than X) without going through the rating process. If you rereleased a version of a film that was different from the original, you’d have to get a new rating.

You can rerelease a film with its original rating if it’s unchanged. Still, you may still want to ask for a rerating (For instace, **Midnight Cowboy** was originally rated X, but later rereleased with an R rating simply because the definition had changed).

If you change the film, you probably have to get MPAA approval to list its rating. They don’t want you to put a hot Sex scene in “The Muppet Movie,” for instance.