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The Best R-Rated Movies With 100% Rotten Tomatoes Scores

The Best R-Rated Movies With 100% Rotten Tomatoes Scores

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The Best R-Rated Movies With 100% Rotten Tomatoes Scores
The Sadist (1963)

Source: Courtesy of Fairway International Pictures

Heat (1972)

Source: Courtesy of Levitt-Pickman

The Big Bird Cage (1972)

Source: Courtesy of New World Pictures

Smithereens (1982)

Source: Courtesy of New Line Cinema

Fanny and Alexander (1982)

Source: Courtesy of Embassy Pictures

The Terminator (1984)

Source: Courtesy of Orion Pictures

Hamburger Hill (1987)

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Swimming to Cambodia (1987)

Source: Gabe Palacio / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

Deadly Pursuit (1988)

Source: Courtesy of Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

Passion Fish (1992)

Source: Courtesy of Miramax

The Music of Chance (1993)

Source: Courtesy of IRS Media

Three Colors: Red (1994)

Source: Courtesy of Miramax

Before Sunrise (1995)

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

Bastard Out of Carolina (1996)

Source: Courtesy of Showtime Networks

Things Behind the Sun (2001)

Source: Courtesy of Showtime Networks

Melvin Goes to Dinner (2003)

Source: Courtesy of Arrival Pictures

The Boys & Girls Guide to Getting Down (2006)

Source: Fer Gregory / Shutterstock

Taxi to the Dark Side (2007)

Source: Courtesy of THINKFilm

Gloria (2013)

Source: Courtesy of Roadside Attractions

Mickey and the Bear (2019)

Source: Courtesy of Utopia

Crip Camp (2020)

Source: Courtesy of Netflix

Is That Black Enough For You?!? (2022)

Source: Getty Images / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

The Best R-Rated Movies With 100% Rotten Tomatoes Scores
The Sadist (1963)
Heat (1972)
The Big Bird Cage (1972)
Smithereens (1982)
Fanny and Alexander (1982)
The Terminator (1984)
Hamburger Hill (1987)
Swimming to Cambodia (1987)
Deadly Pursuit (1988)
Passion Fish (1992)
The Music of Chance (1993)
Three Colors: Red (1994)
Before Sunrise (1995)
Bastard Out of Carolina (1996)
Things Behind the Sun (2001)
Melvin Goes to Dinner (2003)
The Boys & Girls Guide to Getting Down (2006)
Taxi to the Dark Side (2007)
Gloria (2013)
Mickey and the Bear (2019)
Crip Camp (2020)
Is That Black Enough For You?!? (2022)

The Best R-Rated Movies With 100% Rotten Tomatoes Scores

The Motion Picture Association of America introduced a film rating system in 1968. The system was intended to help parents determine what was appropriate for their children to watch, assigning an R (restricted) rating to over half the films evaluated. R-rated movies typically have mature content that includes nudity, profanity, violence, gore, and drug or alcohol use. And while some explicit films may feature gratuitous sex or violence, the best R-rated movies use the creative freedom of the rating to explore interesting ideas and themes not found in films rated G, PG, or PG-13. Many of these movies have received critical acclaim, and some have even won Academy Awards.

One indicator of a movie's exceptional quality, irrespective of its rating, is scoring a 100% approval rating on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer, which reflects the collective opinion of a wide range of critics. After reviewing Tomatometer ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, an online movie and TV review aggregator, 24/7 Tempo identified 22 films with a Tomatometer score of 100% and a Rotten Tomatoes audience score of at least 60% as of July 2024. These films, excluding documentaries, are listed in chronological order by their release date. Cast and director credits are sourced from IMDb, an online database of movies and TV shows owned by Amazon.

Apart from "The Terminator," most of these films are neither blockbusters nor Best Picture winners. Instead, they belong to niche genres with cult followings or are smaller-budget indie films that appealed to audiences and critics because of their insightful view of humanity.

Several exploitation films from the 1970s made the list, along with war movies, coming-of-age stories, and crime films. A few comedies and action adventures have earned perfect scores, as well as some award-winning independent films that debuted at festivals. These include Allison Anders' "Things Behind the Sun," which examines the aftermath of rape on both perpetrators and survivors, and Richard Linklater's European romance "Before Sunrise." (Overall, these are the top-rated R-rated movies of all time.)

Here are the best R-rated movies with 100% Rotten Tomatoes scores:

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