Oh damn, you are right. It was released as an R. I originally meant that Hitman was filmed as a "Hard R." 20th Century Fox weren't having that, and cut the film so it could be standard R (the end result ended up being a basic PG-13 film with a bit more blood than usual and two scenes with ****).
You're right. The R rating did make them truly special. When a film is thought of, written, and directed with the purpose of being rated R, it should be rated R, or else many of the visions during the production of the film are in vain. However, some people out there (and on these boards) seem to want films to be rated R for the sake of them being rated R. Some people here wanted Spider-Man 3 to be rated R because Venom was in it. That's what I meant by the R rating never being necessary for a film to be quality. When necessary and apart of the original craft, the R rating is essential. The studio executives are always eying for what will bring out the most profit. It will always take a strong director and/or writer (etc.) to push for the final product to be rated R given the circumstances. When an R rated film becomes a surprise hit (The Terminator or Alien for example), the studio is more lenient to giving the sequel the same rating.