Most Controversial Films of All Time

[L.A.P.]

http://www.filmsite.org/controversialfilms1.html

The Crime of Father Amaro really interests me, the plot of Lolita creeps me out and reminds me of a girl I once knew whom was like that in 5th grade, Antichrist scares the shit out of me. I have yet to seen any of these movies though.

[El Chuncho]

I have seen a great deal of them. Many are good films.;)

[NoOneIsIllegal]

Apparently rape and murder is controversial. 24 pages of the same stuff... excluding the random religious ones, although one of them managed to fuse religion and sex together. Awesome.

[L.A.P.]

Apparently rape and murder is controversial. 24 pages of the same stuff... excluding the random religious ones, although one of them managed to fuse religion and sex together. Awesome.

It started to get redundant after a while but a lot of them seemed like essentials on my movies to watch list and the rest seemed like "another film with rape".

[Rakhmetov]

http://www.filmsite.org/controversialfilms1.html

The Crime of Father Amaro really interests me, the plot of Lolita creeps me out and reminds me of a girl I once knew whom was like that in 5th grade, Antichrist scares the shit out of me. I have yet to seen any of these movies though.


Here's a hilarious & satirical review of one of those films. Must see.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OJbp5b4jGM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmoRcg_WxSM&feature=related

[Pirate Utopian]

I've seen about half of them.

[x359594]

Historically these films have been among the most controversial:

The Birth of a Nation (1914; USA. D.W. Griffith). Thousands of African Anmericans protested this movie, and the NAACP sponsored a counter film called The Birth of a Race.

Je vous salue, Marie (Hail Mary) (France. 1985. Jean-Luc Godard.) Right wing Roman Catholics around the world protested this movie with boycotts, threats and vandalization of some theaters that screened it.

The Last Temptation of Christ (USA; 1987. Martin Scosese.) Fundamenatlist Christians in the US demonstrated against this, sometimes throwing paint on the screen, blocked access to theaters showing it and phoning in bomb threats. They also picketed the private residence of the film's producer Lew Wasserman, claiming that Jews like Wasserman would suffer if they continued to denigrate Christ.

The Passion of the Christ (2004; USA. Mel Gibson.) Jewish organizations protested against this movie for its Jew hating sub-text (in one scene, the chief rabbi Caiphas is equated with Satan.)

[#FF0000]

The Last Temptation of Christ (USA; 1987. Martin Scosese.) Fundamenatlist Christians in the US demonstrated against this, sometimes throwing paint on the screen, blocked access to theaters showing it and phoning in bomb threats. They also picketed the private residence of the film's producer Lew Wasserman, claiming that Jews like Wasserman would suffer if they continued to denigrate Christ.

I like how christian fundamentalists don't understand how projectors work.

[praxis1966]

If The Passion of the Christ qualifies then Dogma (Smith, 1999) and Brokeback Mountain (Lee, 1999) certainly do as well. They both had the shit picketed out of them by the Catholic League and various fundamentalist groups, respectively. Personally, though, I think one of the most offensive movies of all time has to arguably be I Spit On Your Grave (Zarchi, 1978). I suppose that it could be argued that, like all exploitation movies, it's just intended as bawdy fun but I fail to see the appeal.

[Fieldmouse]

I'd have to say that "Cannibal Holocaust" is probably one of the most mentioned when it comes to controversial films. The reasoning being that the effects looked so real that the film bosses actually assumed it was. The producers of the film had to prove that it was not. Figured I'd share this so anyone that hasn't seen it can see it.

[Yazman]

I'd have to say that "Cannibal Holocaust" is probably one of the most mentioned when it comes to controversial films. The reasoning being that the effects looked so real that the film bosses actually assumed it was. The producers of the film had to prove that it was not. Figured I'd share this so anyone that hasn't seen it can see it.

Yeah I've actually seen Cannibal Holocaust and although its actually not that good of a movie, the FX really are absolutely outstanding for a movie of its era. Some of them (like the famous impaled woman) are really great in execution.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Roger Ebert's review of I Spit On Your Grave (which he dubs the worst film of all time) is hilarious. He really mounts the ol' high horse for that review (which he subsequently mounts for other films such as Blue Velvet and Wolf Creek).

Personally one of my favs as far as "controversial" films go is Tinto Brass's atrocity called Caligola. Michael Weldon mentions in The Psychotronic Video Guide To Film that it was the only film he's ever seen (back when it was released in 1979, in New York City) where grown men, undoubtedly under the influence of one or more substances, just stood up in the theater and started screaming at the screen and the images that were unfolding. Just screamed.

That would be one of the perks of living in that era (mid to late 70's) for me: going to see movies like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Caligola when they were initially released, in trashy run-down theaters.

[Os Cangaceiros]

I disagree about Cannibal Holocaust being poor, too...that's probably one of my favorite films. There's a lot more to it than initially meets the eye...I love it's twisted morality, although the last line is a little to obvious. But more than that, the film's production was very impressive...I have the two-disc Grindhouse DVD, and some of the interviews are crazy. They really filmed that in the Amazon jungle, with real native people, and some of the participants feared that they might actually be killed off by Ruggero Deodato for the film, LOL. I know someone who met Ruggero, though, and supposedly he's a very nice Italian gentleman.

[hatzel]

I'm going to redefine the word 'controversial' and suggest...Birdemic. As far as I'm concerned, it's controversial that it would ever be possible to make such a shit film...but yeah, also it's hella scary! :lol:

[El Chuncho]

'Soldier Blue' was quite controversial. It starts off as a fun film about a man and a woman getting lost in the wilderness of America after a battle between the cavalry and Indians, getting into humorous adventures...and then the end comes...

[GallowsBird]

'Django' was unfairly banned in various countries. 'Django Kill! If You Live Shoot' is also a controversial film and was considered a video nasty.

Both films should be watched. The first is by the Communist director Sergio Corbucci who did a lot of great films such as 'The Great Silence' (which is slightly shocking and I would suggest not reading reviews about it until you have seen it).

[Fieldmouse]

I disagree about Cannibal Holocaust being poor, too...that's probably one of my favorite films. There's a lot more to it than initially meets the eye...I love it's twisted morality, although the last line is a little to obvious. But more than that, the film's production was very impressive...I have the two-disc Grindhouse DVD, and some of the interviews are crazy. They really filmed that in the Amazon jungle, with real native people, and some of the participants feared that they might actually be killed off by Ruggero Deodato for the film, LOL. I know someone who met Ruggero, though, and supposedly he's a very nice Italian gentleman.

Not to mention that movie inspired many many young directors that have gotten quite big such as Eli Roth (the guy that made the Hostel films).

[Philosopher Jay]

I would vote for Ken Russell's "The Devils": Here is the description:



Ken Russell directed this blasphemous, shocking and excessive depiction of the repressive 17th century when sexuality was equated with Satanism - a loose adaptation of Aldous Huxley’s "The Devils Of Loudon". The film's setting was the fortified city of Loudon, 150 miles southwest of Paris, in the year 1634.
The film was vilified and met with outrage in its story of a womanizing (non-celibate), vain, libertine, rebellious activist renegade-priest Father Urbain Grandier (Oliver Reed) who faced questioning and persecution for his "diabolic possession" of the local, repressed Ursuline nuns. It included Vanessa Redgrave as tormented hunchbacked Sister Jeanne, who had unfulfilled, warped sexual desires for Grandier and expressed them through self-mutilation and self-flagellation. The only way the monarchy of Inquistion-obsessed France (including Cardinal Richelieu (Christopher Logue) and King Louis XIII’s (Graham Armitage) establishment) could destroy the Protestant-leaning French town of Loudon was to attack the liberal religious leader as a sorcerer and practitioner of witchcraft.
When the priest impregnated nobleman's cousin Philippe (Georgina Hale), married wealthy heiress Madeleine Dubroux (Gemma Jones) in secret, and then refused to remove the city walls around his fortified town, fanatical witch-hunter and exorcist Father Barre (Michael Gothard) was quickly dispatched to question, torture (headscrews, nails into hands, etc), tie up, and execute the profligate priest. During the proceedings, possessed nuns, led by Sister Jeanne's denunciations, performed orgiastic rituals publicly in Church to bolster claims against him. In the controversial staged mock exorcism scene, dubbed the orgiastic "rape of Christ" sequence, the sexually-hysterical nuns acted as if they were possessed, due to threats of execution from one of the church's accusers; the crazed nuns displayed full-frontal nudity, and masturbated with (or raped) a large-sized crucifix or effigy of Jesus, while Father Mignon (Murray Melvin) watched from afar and committed self-abuse under his robe. As a result, Grandier was convicted of obscenity, blasphemy, and sacrilege, and burned alive at the stake.
Prior to the film's release, the "rape of Christ" sequence was excised. And the scene of Grandier's burning-at-the-stake torture as a heretic was shortened. The film contained graphic depictions of open sores and medieval medicine treatments for the plague (with hornets). It provoked protest and outrage from Christian groups and viewing audiences everywhere. It was banned outright in Italy and its stars (Redgrave and Reed) were threatened with three years' jail time if they entered the country.



The excised footage is contained in the latest DVD version of the film.

It is one of the most anti-Catholic films ever made.

[GPDP]

How has no one mentioned Salo yet? It's quite possibly one of the most filthy, grotesque, disgusting films ever made. It has Fascist libertines making teenagers eat their own shit. Goddamn.

[x359594]

Two Japanese films that generated controversy in Japan and the rest of the world are Ai no Korrida (In the Realm of the Senses) (1976) and Okasareta Hakui (Violated Women in White) (1967). The first was directed by Oshima Nagisa and the second by Wakamatsu Koji, both leftist filmmakers. Wakamatsu was denied a visa by the US State Department for his association with the Nihon Sekigun (Japanese Red Army) when he tried to enter the country in 1995 at the invitation of the American Cinematheque.

Ai no Korrida was seized by US Customs when it was exhibited at the New York Film Festival in 1997 and was banned in Japan until 2004. Okasareta Hakui, based on the Richard Speck nurse killings in Chicago was prohibited from being screened at the American Cinematheque in 1997.

[Triple A]

http://www.filmsite.org/controversialfilms1.html

The Crime of Father Amaro really interests me,

The guy who wrote it is a famous writer here, it is teached in high school so I wouldnt rate it as controversial.

[praxis1966]

Two Japanese films that generated controversy in Japan and the rest of the world are Ai no Korrida (In the Realm of the Senses) (1976) and Okasareta Hakui (Violated Women in White) (1967). The first was directed by Oshima Nagisa and the second by Wakamatsu Koji, both leftist filmmakers. Wakamatsu was denied a visa by the US State Department for his association with the Nihon Sekigun (Japanese Red Army) when he tried to enter the country in 1995 at the invitation of the American Cinematheque.

Ai no Korrida was seized by US Customs when it was exhibited at the New York Film Festival in 1997 and was banned in Japan until 2004. Okasareta Hakui, based on the Richard Speck nurse killings in Chicago was prohibited from being screened at the American Cinematheque in 1997.

I've actually seen Ai no Korrida and have done some research on it as well. To go a little further in depth for the benefit of other readers as I'm sure you're aware of the following: That one was actually based on a true story as well. It's a fictionalized telling of the story Sada Abe, a woman who, in the '30s, according to legend murdered her lover and castrated him. She then proceeded to carry his "member" around in her purse for several days... Somehow, this led to her achieving the status as a folk hero, and her story has been told and retold in various media ever since.

Anyway, it's not so much that the film was banned in Japan (as that would imply that it simply wasn't shown) but was shown heavily censored. Further, it's pretty fair to say that Oshima knew exactly what he was getting himself into as he falsely had it branded a French production and went so far as to basically smuggle the film stock to France for post as the Japanese government probably wouldn't have allowed it to be made in the first place otherwise.

It's also worth mentioning that the film is currently available completely uncut as a re-release by Criterion... And that includes one of the films most notorious scenes, though I ain't gonna say which as folks will know it when (and if) they see it. Suffice to say the whole damned thing is, well, not particularly sexy despite all the unsimulated sex. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've felt that I had somehow "gone through the looking glass" upon viewing a film. This was one of those times.

[L.A.P.]

The guy who wrote it is a famous writer here, it is teached in high school so I wouldnt rate it as controversial.

I didn't really see what was so controversial about it either, The Hunchback of Notre Dame was made into a Disney movie and that involved a priest being sexually attracted to a woman. It doesn't seem as controversial as it seems like just a good movie.

[Devrim]

The Last Temptation of Christ (USA; 1987. Martin Scosese.) Fundamenatlist Christians in the US demonstrated against this, sometimes throwing paint on the screen, blocked access to theaters showing it and phoning in bomb threats. They also picketed the private residence of the film's producer Lew Wasserman, claiming that Jews like Wasserman would suffer if they continued to denigrate Christ.

It is quite strange as both the film and the book are deeply religious. It was also banned in ıreland and well as some Latin American countries. When it was released in Istanbul Islamicists protested about it until the Turkish state banned it too.

Devrim

[Triple A]

I didn't really see what was so controversial about it either, The Hunchback of Notre Dame was made into a Disney movie and that involved a priest being sexually attracted to a woman. It doesn't seem as controversial as it seems like just a good movie.

It is a movie I would recomend, but I would recomend you to see the portuguese version because the actres is hotter and is more faithfull to the book.

[x359594]

...it's not so much that the film was banned in Japan (as that would imply that it simply wasn't shown) but was shown heavily censored. Further, it's pretty fair to say that Oshima knew exactly what he was getting himself into as he falsely had it branded a French production and went so far as to basically smuggle the film stock to France for post as the Japanese government probably wouldn't have allowed it to be made in the first place otherwise...It's also worth mentioning that the film is currently available completely uncut as a re-release by Criterion...

It was initially banned in Japan before its censored release. Anatole Dauman co-produced with Oshima and the picture was an Argos Production, so it was indeed at least a French co-production.

According to Audie Bock the dailies were sent to Hong Kong where Oshima traveled to view them, so the story about sending the film stock to France seems apocryphal in as much as it was Oshima's practice to view what he'd shot each day.

As for the Criterion Edition being completely uncensored, I haven't seen it, but I know that since child pornography laws were strengthened in the US it hasn't been screened in the Los Angeles market in years (but before the movie was revived once or twice a year.) The laser disc version I saw was missing the scene of Sada playing with the little boy's penis; somewhere Donald Ritchie notes that this short scene has been removed from many prints and doesn't appear in the Fox-Lorber home video release.

[Agent Ducky]

If we're on the subject of films that made fundamentalist Christians rage... Monty Python's Life of Brian. They didn't seem to understand that Brian is not Jesus.... That's why he's named Brian....

[9]

^to be honest, if "made fundamentalist Christians rage" is the criteria for being 'controversial', then this is gonna be a pretty boring thread. :P

[Das war einmal]

Since when is controversial the same as revolting?

Seriously more then half of these movies are f-rated trash portraying nothing more then bad taste.

[synthesis]

^to be honest, if "made fundamentalist Christians rage" is the criteria for being 'controversial', then this is gonna be a pretty boring thread. :P

Fundamentalist Christians are the go-to for free publicity in the U.S., period.

[x359594]

...more then half of these movies are f-rated trash portraying nothing more then bad taste.

Probably true. We didn't start with an acceptable definition of "controversial", but I took it to mean heated public debate of long duration. Some examples, such as The Birth of a Nation (1914), have had a manifest effect on society. In the case of the latter film there was both debate in the press and protest in the streets, and The Birth of a Nation has been credibly accused of reviving the Ku Klux Klan in the months and years after its release. The debate over the movie continues down to the present.

[praxis1966]

It was initially banned in Japan before its censored release. Anatole Dauman co-produced with Oshima and the picture was an Argos Production, so it was indeed at least a French co-production.

According to Audie Bock the dailies were sent to Hong Kong where Oshima traveled to view them, so the story about sending the film stock to France seems apocryphal in as much as it was Oshima's practice to view what he'd shot each day.

Right on... That clears some things up then. Upon reading what I'd stated in my initial post, I did have some questions as to the logistics of doing something like that. Apparently, what I've read wasn't entirely accurate.


As for the Criterion Edition being completely uncensored, I haven't seen it, but I know that since child pornography laws were strengthened in the US it hasn't been screened in the Los Angeles market in years (but before the movie was revived once or twice a year.) The laser disc version I saw was missing the scene of Sada playing with the little boy's penis; somewhere Donald Ritchie notes that this short scene has been removed from many prints and doesn't appear in the Fox-Lorber home video release.

Oh, that scene is definitely in the Criterion release... And it's the one to which I was referring in my initial post. If you have a decent indie video store nearby or a Netflix account (which was where I got hold of it) you can see for yourself. Also, I wouldn't characterize that scene as sexual per se (ie 'playing' with it), despite it's content. It's kinda difficult to describe the dynamics unless you've seen it, but she was actually punishing the boy. At any rate, the scene basically said to me that Sada (and perhaps Oshima as well) saw sex and violence as practically the same thing as well as a means to assert a controlling position in the power dynamics of her relationships. However, just about the whole movie makes that point, so I'm not entirely sure how integral that sequence is to the furtherance of the plot. Of course, I suppose there's an argument to be made in favor of it in terms of retention of the structural integrity of Oshima's artistic vision if one were so inclined...


Probably true. We didn't start with an acceptable definition of "controversial", but I took it to mean heated public debate of long duration. Some examples, such as The Birth of a Nation (1914), have had a manifest effect on society. In the case of the latter film there was both debate in the press and protest in the streets, and The Birth of a Nation has been credibly accused of reviving the Ku Klux Klan in the months and years after its release. The debate over the movie continues down to the present.

The unfortunate irony is that it's next to impossible just to let Birth of a Nation be forgotten. From what I understand, it was basically the first film made that would be recognizable to a modern movie audience as a movie. Therefore, first year film students still have to study the damned thing.

[Rakhmetov]

Roger Ebert's review of I Spit On Your Grave (which he dubs the worst film of all time) is hilarious. He really mounts the ol' high horse for that review (which he subsequently mounts for other films such as Blue Velvet and Wolf Creek).

I Spit on Your Grave


http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19800716/REVIEWS/7160301/1023

I Spit on Your Grave


<DIV class=text>

[Os Cangaceiros]

A vile bag of garbage named "I Spit on Your Grave (http://www.revleft.com/apps/pbcs.dll/classifieds?category=REVIEWS01&TITLESearch=I%20Spit%20on%20Your%20Grave&ToDate=20111231)" is playing in Chicago theaters this week. It is a movie so sick, reprehensible and contemptible that I can hardly believe it's playing in respectable theaters, such as Plitt's United Artists. But it is. Attending it was one of the most depressing experiences of my life.

lolz

[AfricanAztecSamurai]

has anyone considered the silent films ecstasy,triumph of the will,chil bride,the kiss,or the freaks.glad you mentioned birth of a nation

[AfricanAztecSamurai]

kevin smiths red state is racking up some contraversy with the christians.rosewood was & rootsalso made headlines.then there's mike moore's movies.and does deep throat count?