The New York Times-20080128-A -PG-13- Rating- Despite the Haze

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A 'PG-13' Rating, Despite the Haze

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Has Hollywood's get-tough stance on cigarettes gone up in smoke?

Last May, the Motion Picture Association of America said that all portrayals of smoking would for the first time be considered alongside sex and violence in assessing the suitability of movies for young viewers. The organization did not guarantee an automatic R rating for films featuring cigarette use, but did say that pervasive smoking would lead to a more restrictive rating.

How, then, to explain the PG-13 given to Woody Allen's latest film? The cast of Cassandra's Dream burns through so many cigarettes on screen that some patrons have exited theaters feeling like they just paid $12 to sit in the ashtray of an 18-wheeler.

As it turns out, Mr. Allen's oevre is one of a handful of films that dodged the new, uh, filter because the Motion Picture Association's ratings board evaluated it before the smoking rules went into effect. In doling out the PG-13 rating, the board cited thematic elements, some sexual material and brief violence.

'Cassandra's Dream' was rated in March, long before this new approach took place, a spokeswoman for the association said in an e-mail message. Therefore, it would not have been looked at in the same way. Mr. Allen was not available and a spokesman for the Weinstein Company, which holds distribution rights to the film, declined to comment.

However, the Weinstein Company spokesman did note that his was the first motion picture company to include antismoking public service announcements on DVDs of movies that depict smoking. In announcing the move, in October 2006, Harvey Weinstein remarked in a news release, As a former smoker, I feel like it's my responsibility to do everything I can to educate young people about the dangers of smoking.

[Illustration]PHOTO: Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell puff away in Cassandra's Dream, Woody Allen's latest movie. (PHOTOGRAPH BY KEITH HAMSHERE/WEINSTEIN COMPANY)