The creation of the NC-17 rating (meaning that no person under the age of 18 is permitted in the theatre) which replaced the former rating - X - is largely attributed to 1990’s Henry & June, based on the erotic-leaning memoirs of Anais Nin. In the opening credits, Nin (played by Maria de Medeiros, perhaps best known for her work in Pulp FIction) finds a series of erotic postcards which includes a rather startling image of a cartoon cephalopod performing sexual congress with a human woman.

While MPAA censors deemed the remainder of the film “tantalizing,” “sexually laced,” and - according to one member - “not so offensive,” they were unable to overlook what they called “promotion of bestiality.” MPAA president Herman Falsifer said that they would have allowed the film to be rated “R” if the character had become “utterly mentally disrupted” by the image, but de Medeiros’ character did not, and the NC-17 rating remained.

Director Philip Kaufman thought the decision to be “hilarious” and personally attended as many screenings as he could, bursting in after the aforementioned scene was displayed and shouting “OOO YEAH! DID YOU SEE THAT SHIT?! I MADE YOU LOOK AT THAT! CAN YOU HANDLE IT? CAN YOU HANDLE WHAT PHILIP KAUFMAN JUST THREW AT YOU?!”