The R-rated movie discussion has been hashed out in so many forums over the years that I am not going to get into that in this post. My own personal opinion, if you must know, is that it's not my business what movies anyone else (aside from my children) does or does not choose to watch. As for myself, there are plenty of PG-13 movies I stay away from because I tend to be sensitive to certain kinds of objectionable content in media, so you can guess how many R-rated movies I see.
Or can you? I got to thinking about it, and here are all the R-rated movies I can remember seeing. I'll start with the earliest and work forward. There are more of them than I thought.
Broken Arrow. I saw this movie at a (Mormon!) friend's house when I was in high school. Of course I'd had about a dozen lessons at church about having the courage to walk out of situations where friends were watching something I didn't want to, but those lessons never included the twist where it was the friend's (Mormon!) parents who put the video on in the first place. In any case, I remain unscarred by this experience. On the other hand, this was a stupid movie, so I'm sad that it has a place on this list. If an R-rated movie can ever be worth it, this one definitely was not, you know what I mean?
A Few Good Men. We watched this in high school civics class, though I can't say for sure that it was an unedited version. I still love that courtroom scene, by the way. Again, if an R-rated movie can ever be worth it, I think this one maybe kind of was.
Gosford Park & Mulholland Drive. Just kidding! These don't count. The story is that I did accidentally see a few minutes of each on separate occasions in Moscow when the Russian movie theaters printed erroneous showing schedules.
Kingdom of Heaven. I went to see this in Damascus, Syria. Wouldn't you? I believe that certain parts were edited out (you've got to love state-sponsored censorship) so maybe this one doesn't count as being R-rated after all. (Also in the Edited by Syria category: Shakespeare in Love, which is totally a PG movie at heart.)
Vera Drake. Good movie. I don't regret it.
United 93. I think everyone should consider watching this movie. This is another one I don't regret.
3.10 to Yuma. I recognized that this was a good movie, but the violence freaked me right the heck out. Just watch the old one, people. It's just as good if not quite as stylish and flashy (AND VIOLENT).
I've seen two R-rated documentaries, Touching the Void and One Day in September.
The only R-rated movie that I've seen twice is Slumdog Millionaire. As I write this, I am amazed to realize that movie even IS rated R.
The most recent R-rated movie that I've seen is 127 Hours. I was lucky enough to watch it with someone who knew just which parts to skip, or, as was more often the case, mute.
The funny thing is, if you talk to a Mormon who is conservative on the R-rated movie issue, if they allow for any R-rated movies, those "exceptions" will most likely be Schindler's List and The Passion of the Christ. Both of these are missing from my list. Interesting.
Are you all ready to judge me for my choices? Bring it on.
Or, you can tell me which R-rated movies you've seen, or which ones you regret, or which ones were worth it, or which ones call out to you every time you see them on the library shelf but no matter how hard you try you just can't justify the watching of it (Atonement, I'm talking to YOU).