hard R

See also: hard r

English

Alternative forms

• hard-R

Noun

hard R (plural hard Rs)

1. (US, film) a movie that is intentionally written to be R-rated ("Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.") by the Motion Picture Association (MPA), typically due to having multiple scenes of violence or nudity.
   • 1979 January 11, Berkeley Art Museum, Pacific Film Archive, “Sugar Cookies”, in Program archive‎^[1]:

     Sugar Cookies would probably rate a 'hard-R' today, but six years ago it got an X, made a brief appearance on the 42nd Street porno circuit, and disappeared without a trace.

   • 1996 February 18, Trip Gabriel, “The Ratings Game At the Cineplex”, in The New York Times‎^[2], page Section 2, Page 1:

     For a "soft R" like "Four Weddings and a Funeral," which features a smattering of profanity, a theater might check identifications only lightly. But it will turn tough for a "hard R" like Oliver Stone's "Natural Born Killers," one of the most violent movies of recent years.

   • 2003, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Marketing Violence to Children: Hearing Before the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate, One Hundred Sixth Congress, Second Session, September 13, 2000‎^[3], page 51:

     I believe we'll hear later from the movie industry's lobbyist, Mr. Valenti, that not all "R"s are really "R"s. More specifically, and I quote from Mr. Valenti's written testimony: "Some R-rated are hard "R"s and some are soft "R"s."

   • 2018 July 28, Caitlin Lovinger, “Three in One; Will Nediger’s puzzle breaks it down for us, in a funny way.”, in DAILY CROSSWORD COLUMN‎^[4], The New York Times:

     A HARD R rating would seem to be between “R” — which has meant restricted to adults, because of various elements — and “NC-17.”

2. Alternative letter-case form of hard r.