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on 9 Apr 2012 09:09

 
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The 101 Most Controversial Films of All-Time

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People who added this item 17  Average listal rating (13 ratings) 6.5  IMDB Rating 5.5 
1. The Kiss (1900)

When Broadway sensations May Irwin and John Rice's notorious lip lock was immortalized on film, people were shocked!

People who added this item 350  Average listal rating (167 ratings) 6.5  IMDB Rating
2. The Birth of a Nation (1915)

Even in 1915, D.W. Griffith's Civil War epic caused a stir for its stereotypical depiction of African-Americans.

People who added this item 426  Average listal rating (240 ratings) 7.8  IMDB Rating
3. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

The scars of WWI were still fresh when this Oscar-winning anti-war movie drew fire for portraying young German soldiers in a sympathetic light.

People who added this item 722  Average listal rating (423 ratings) 8  IMDB Rating 7.9 
4. Freaks (1932)

Though its sympathies were with the sideshow performers, this circus drama was criticized for casting real-life "human oddities.

People who added this item 356  Average listal rating (195 ratings) 7.8  IMDB Rating 7.8 
5. Scarface (1932)

Howard Hawks' classic was banned in several states despite pre-release changes designed to counter claims that it glorified gangsters.

People who added this item 90  Average listal rating (21 ratings) 6.8  IMDB Rating 6.8 
6. Ecstasy (1933)

Americans were shocked by the nudity and sexual frankness of this Czech drama about an unhappy wife searching for fulfillment.

People who added this item 213  Average listal rating (104 ratings) 7.4  IMDB Rating 7.5 
7. Triumph of the Will (1935)

Often called the most powerful propaganda movie of all time, Leni Riefenstahl's gorgeous documentary glorified Nazi ideals and iconography.

People who added this item 7  Average listal rating (3 ratings) 5.3  IMDB Rating 4.6 
8. Child Bride (1938)

This exploitation 'road-show' shocker was promoted as educational, although its underage nude swimming scene was considered offensive.

People who added this item 2032  Average listal rating (1197 ratings) 8.1  IMDB Rating 8.5 
9. Citizen Kane (1941)

Critics loved it, but media mogul W. R. Hearst -- the inspiration for Kane -- used his influence to discredit Orson Welles' groundbreaking movie.

People who added this item 63  Average listal rating (31 ratings) 6.7  IMDB Rating 5.6 
10. The Outlaw (1943)

Busty starlet Jane Russell's breasts cast a long shadow over this erotically-charged Western, outraging guardians of public decency.

People who added this item 131  Average listal rating (65 ratings) 6.9  IMDB Rating 7.2 
11. Song of the South (1946)

Never available on video or DVD in the US, Disney's charming animated take on Southern folklore was tainted by its live-action sequences depicting happy slaves.

People who added this item 39  Average listal rating (20 ratings) 6.8  IMDB Rating 6.7 
12. The Moon Is Blue (1953)

Well-bred people in the 1950s didn't use words like "virgin," "seduce" and "mistress" in public, but this mild sex farce did and became a cause celebre.

People who added this item 103  Average listal rating (46 ratings) 7.9  IMDB Rating 7.3 
13. Baby Doll (1956)

The Catholic Legion of Decency condemned Tennessee Williams' lurid tale of a thumb-sucking child bride and the men who lusted for her.

People who added this item 453  Average listal rating (249 ratings) 7.8  IMDB Rating 7.7 
14. Peeping Tom (1960)

British critics called Michael Powell's disturbing thriller about a tormented murderer perverted, necrophilic and trashy; his career never recovered.

People who added this item 3100  Average listal rating (1998 ratings) 8.3  IMDB Rating 8.6 
15. Psycho (1960)

Viewers accustomed to Hitchcock's polished Technicolor thrillers were stunned by this B&W shocker that dared to kill star Janet Leigh before the halfway mark.

People who added this item 101  Average listal rating (40 ratings) 7.8  IMDB Rating 7.7 
16. Victim (1961)

Homosexuality was still a criminal offense in England when this thriller dared to take the side of gay men victimized by ruthless blackmailers.

People who added this item 299  Average listal rating (146 ratings) 8.3  IMDB Rating 8.1 
17. Viridiana (1961)

Luis Bunuel's surreal masterpiece was widely condemned for its suggestions of incest, rape and necrophilia.

People who added this item 1595  Average listal rating (787 ratings) 7.3  IMDB Rating 7.7 
18. Lolita (1962)

Stanley Kubrick played up the dark humor in Nabokov's novel about a middle-aged man infatuated with a pubescent girl, but the subject was still a shocker.

People who added this item 78  Average listal rating (36 ratings) 6.5  IMDB Rating 6.2 
19. Mondo Cane (1962)

This Italian shockumentary was castigated for exploiting footage of lurid cultural practices from around the world.

People who added this item 1148  Average listal rating (650 ratings) 7.8  IMDB Rating
20. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

One of the most stylistically influential movies of the '70s was accused of glamorizing Depression-era bank robbers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow.

People who added this item 107  Average listal rating (39 ratings) 6.7  IMDB Rating 6.1 
21. I Am Curious (Yellow)

This avant-garde mockumentary about '60s youth was condemned as pornographic, even though it's more about political protests than free love.

People who added this item 62  Average listal rating (24 ratings) 7.9  IMDB Rating 7.8 
22. Titicut Follies (1967)

Frederick Wiseman's disturbing documentary exposed abuse in mental institutions, but its unflinching footage of patients was called insensitive.

People who added this item 1911  Average listal rating (1151 ratings) 7.8  IMDB Rating
23. Rosemary's Baby (1968)

The National Catholic Office for Motion Pictures reviled Polanski's dark horror classic for mocking religion and making "perverted use" of Christian beliefs.

People who added this item 724  Average listal rating (439 ratings) 7.8  IMDB Rating 7.9 
24. Midnight Cowboy (1969)

The only X-rated Best-Picture winner, this gritty movie discomfited some viewers with its frank, non-judgmental depiction of homosexuality.

People who added this item 587  Average listal rating (364 ratings) 8.1  IMDB Rating 8.1 
25. The Wild Bunch (1969)

Sam Peckinpah's movie was both praised for its realistic vision of the dying West and lambasted for its graphic portrayal of savagely explicit violence.

People who added this item 101  Average listal rating (50 ratings) 6.6  IMDB Rating 6.9 
26. Carnal Knowledge (1971)

Moviegoers expecting to be titillated were taken aback by this drama's raw, taboo-breaking examination of misogyny and dysfunctional relationships.

People who added this item 4855  Average listal rating (3147 ratings) 8.2  IMDB Rating 8.4 
27. A Clockwork Orange (1971)

The second (and last) X-rated Best-Picture nominee, Stanley Kubrick's evocation of a dystopian future appalled some viewers with its ultra-violence.

People who added this item 163  Average listal rating (62 ratings) 7.7  IMDB Rating 7.6 
28. The Devils (1971)

Ken Russell's historical drama about womanizing priests, sex-crazed nuns, hypocrisy and hysteria in 17th-century France was banned in deeply Catholic Italy.

People who added this item 1145  Average listal rating (737 ratings) 7.7  IMDB Rating 7.8 
29. Dirty Harry (1971)

Was San Francisco cop Harry Callahan's contempt for modern criminal-justice protocols a liberal critique of vigilantism or reactionary propaganda? Debate raged.

People who added this item 398  Average listal rating (218 ratings) 8.1  IMDB Rating
30. The Last Picture Show (1971)

Obscene or mature? Peter Bogdanovich's melancholy look at adultery, alcoholism and promiscuity in 1950s Texas divided moviegoers and critics.

People who added this item 651  Average listal rating (367 ratings) 7.7  IMDB Rating 7.6 
31. Straw Dogs (1971)

A graphic double rape and its aftermath made Sam Peckinpah's movie about a mild-mannered mathematician driven to explosive violence a hot-button topic.

People who added this item 111  Average listal rating (39 ratings) 6.3  IMDB Rating 5.5 
32. Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971)

Violent, politically radical and sexually transgressive, Melvin Van Peebles' indie movie reflected the simmering rage of disillusioned African-Americans.

People who added this item 150  Average listal rating (62 ratings) 4.9  IMDB Rating 5.1 
33. Deep Throat (1972)

The dirty movie that ushered in "porno chic," Deep Throat sparked heated debate and precedent-setting court cases that challenged assumptions about obscenity.

People who added this item 458  Average listal rating (258 ratings) 6.6  IMDB Rating 5.9 
34. The Last House on the Left (1972)

Wes Craven transformed Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring, a fable about rape, revenge and redemption, into a crude, taboo-breaking shocker.

People who added this item 794  Average listal rating (420 ratings) 7.2  IMDB Rating 7.1 
35. Last Tango in Paris (1972)

Art or pornography: That was the question raised by Bernardo Bertolucci's juxtaposition of lust and despair, starring Hollywood icon Marlon Brando.

People who added this item 406  Average listal rating (199 ratings) 6.9  IMDB Rating 5.9 
36. Pink Flamingos (1972)

Cult provocateur John Waters used bizarre, crude, tasteless and sexually grotesque images to challenge cultural mores in his first feature.

People who added this item 3155  Average listal rating (2064 ratings) 7.4  IMDB Rating
37. The Exorcist (1973)

The sight of 13-year-old Linda Blair vomiting, swearing and abusing herself with a crucifix horrified a broad swath of moviegoers and critics.

People who added this item 1321  Average listal rating (825 ratings) 7.3  IMDB Rating 7.5 
38. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

Disenfranchised rural cannibals slaughter soft city folks in the first "meat movie," a horror tale rooted in realistic violence and social malaise.

People who added this item 150  Average listal rating (70 ratings) 6.9  IMDB Rating 6.4 
39. Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1973)

A US distributor added hardcore inserts to Bo Vibenius' grim rape-revenge movie, and the combination of porn and violence confused and angered moviegoers.

People who added this item 148  Average listal rating (74 ratings) 5.8  IMDB Rating 5.1 
40. Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS (1975)

Inspired both by art-house sensation The Night Porter (1974) and real-life "Bitch of Buchenwald" Ilse Koch, this sex/torture movie spawned a wave of "nasty Nazi" movies.

People who added this item 66  Average listal rating (25 ratings) 5.7  IMDB Rating 5.5 
41. A Real Young Girl (1976)

Hired to make a soft-focus, sexy-teen movie, French filmmaker Catherine Breillat instead delivered an explicit evocation of disturbing desires.

People who added this item 543  Average listal rating (305 ratings) 6.6  IMDB Rating
42. Salò or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)

Radical Italian artist Pier Paolo Pasolini's movie equated fascism and sexual torture, and its graphic images aroused outrage and disgust.

People who added this item 46  Average listal rating (23 ratings) 6.1  IMDB Rating 4.3 
43. Bloodsucking Freaks (1976)

Women Against Pornography unwittingly raised this ugly horror movie's profile by denouncing its relentless, misogynistic violence.

People who added this item 256  Average listal rating (124 ratings) 6.3  IMDB Rating 6.6 
44. In the Realm of the Senses (1976)

Nagisa Oshima's graphic examination of all-consuming sexual obsession was seized by US Customs and cut before being released.

People who added this item 50  Average listal rating (31 ratings) 6.8  IMDB Rating
45. The Message (1977)

Though this epic biopic deferred to Islamic law by never showing Mohammed, it was still condemned as sacrilegious and banned in many Arab countries.

People who added this item 27  Average listal rating (9 ratings) 4  IMDB Rating 2.6 
46. Snuff (1976)

Tacking a cynical "real" murder sequence onto a ho-hum exploitation movie generated enough media outrage to make Snuff a lucrative hit.

People who added this item 1517  Average listal rating (955 ratings) 8  IMDB Rating 8.2 
47. The Deer Hunter (1978)

Michael Cimino's depiction of friendships tested by the horrors of Vietnam won a Best-Picture Oscar, despite accusations of historical inaccuracy and racism.

People who added this item 86  Average listal rating (51 ratings) 5  IMDB Rating 3.7 
48. Faces of Death (1978)

The fact that it was "banned in 40+ countries" was a selling point for this morbid collection of death scenes, some real and some fake.

People who added this item 302  Average listal rating (181 ratings) 5.8  IMDB Rating 5.5 
49. I Spit on Your Grave (1978)

Vilified as a misogynistic wolf in faux-feminist clothing, this rape-revenge movie so incensed critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel that they tried to have it pulled from theaters.

People who added this item 129  Average listal rating (61 ratings) 6.4  IMDB Rating 6.6 
50. Pretty Baby (1978)

Louis Malle's decision to cast 12-year-old Brooke Shields as an underage New Orleans prostitute struck many as verging on child exploitation.



These are the films that caused uproars around communities during the time of their release. Whether a film be a documentary, a western, a thriller, a drama, a horror, a comedy, or an animated feature film; any film has the potential to shock and anger the world. Those film makers who pushed against the norm either intentional or by total accident should be remembered for their films and the affect they had on the time period. *Add on note plot summaries credit goes to AMC movie site*

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Comments

Posted: 1 year, 2 months ago at Apr 13 21:22
saw a few
Posted: 1 year, 2 months ago at Apr 15 6:11
very gud list...added to my favorites :)
Posted: 1 year, 1 month ago at Apr 27 13:08
Very extensive list, thanks!

If anyone wants to read a good book about these types of disturbing and controversial/provocative films check out BEYOND THE DARKNESS: Cult, Horror, And Extreme Cinema by Phil Russell. Essential read!

Find it at Amazon US [Link removed - login to see]

or Amazon UK[Link removed - login to see]
Posted: 12 months ago at Jun 18 9:21
LOL - alist of controversial films is not complete without A Serbian Film
Posted: 12 months ago at Jun 18 9:21
Posted: 10 months, 2 weeks ago at Aug 1 7:46
I've seen 95% of these lol...
Posted: 9 months, 3 weeks ago at Aug 26 22:33
wanna watch thias
Posted: 9 months, 3 weeks ago at Aug 26 23:02
What about Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
Posted: 9 months, 3 weeks ago at Aug 27 11:54
I don't get why people would give NBK a free pass regardless of the fact that it killed about 100 people. Okay, I've never even seen it, but the premise is stupid, and this will be among the list of the last movies I would ever see.

Aladdin and the South Park movie, on the other hand, they were okay. Not much of either of the two to bother favoring, but okay, and that's ironic because I like South Park.
Posted: 9 months, 2 weeks ago at Sep 4 8:48
Dogtooth or Taxi Driver??
Posted: 7 months, 3 weeks ago at Oct 25 5:52
Martyrs should be on this list.
Posted: 1 month ago at May 12 15:51
A Serbian Film?
Posted: 1 week, 1 day ago at Jun 9 20:48
Although it is not made that clear in the movie, Song of the South, (accused of presenting Happy Slaves) The movie takes place after the Civil War. The "slaves" portrayed are actually free share-croppers, which was just a Jim Crow form of slavery. There were complaints of portraying the slaves as happy and content, when they were acutally free men, share-cropping for a living. It may still contain some racial stereotypes, but it does not show any slaves.

"Bonnie and Clyde" was one of the most influentual movies of the 60's, not the 70's. The movie was released in 1967.

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