A nice list. You have some films that were very controversial in there day. I can give reasons for the films I am familiar with on this list:
Birth Of A Nation - This film chronicles the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in the post-civil war south. It depicts the newly-freed slaves running amok and the newly-formed Klan as the heroes who came in and saved the south from them.
An Andalusian Dog - An early surrealistic movie that the famous Surrealist, Salvidor Dali was associated with. The most shocking scene is a very realistic depiction of a man slicing a woman's eyeball with a razor blade.
Bonnie and Clyde - This was the first movie to show realistic violence and the effects of it. Movies up to this point never showed the effects of bullets hitting the victim. They usually showed ther gun firing and the person falling blood-lessly to the ground, or off camera. This movie showed the blood and the wound at the time of attack. It was also kind of frank (for the time) about the sexual relationship between the couple and Clyde's implied impotency.
I Am Curious (Yellow) - This was a foreign film famous for its nudity and sexual situations.
A Clockwork Orange - Again, graphic (for its time) depiction of sex and violence in a futuristic society.
Straw Dogs - Violence.
Deep Throat - A porno from the 70s that broke new ground for oral sex. I will leave it at that.
Last Tango in Paris - Very explicit sex scenes and situations for a mainstream movie from a legitimate Hollywood studio. It was rated X.
Pink Flamingos - An early John Waters movie that pitts 2 families competing for the title of Filthiest People Alive. Needless to say, they are plenty of gross-outs depicted. Its climax involves the drag queen, Divine and some dog doo-doo. Nuff sed.
The Exoricist - The special effects of the demon possession are almost laugh-able today, but back then they were considered very scary and cutting edge.
Life of Brian - Was a Biblical era comdey about a man mistaken for the Messiah. Some people considered it blasphemous and making fun of religion.
Caligula - This was a movie made by Penthouse. It was basically an excuse to show the decadent orgies that the Roman emperor conducted. Very explicit and deserving of its X rating.
Cruising - This movie caused a big stir in the gay community. It depicted a cop going undercover in the leather bars of New York to find a killer that is targeting gay men. It was said by some to be an un-flattering and one-sided portrayal of homosexuals.
Temptation of Christ - Another movie the church didn't like because it portrayed Christ (in a dream sequence) as a mortal man married to Mary Magdalene.
The Passion of The Christ - Mel Gibson's version of the last days of Christ portrayed Jews as the villians that killed Jesus. It is often considered anti-semetic.
I haven't seen 'The Arrival of a Train at Station' but, judging from the date, I would guess this was one of the first films made. Just watching a moving picture was probably shocking in those days.
Also, 'The Kiss' was from 1896. I am not sure what the moral codes were back then, but I might guess this could have been considered pretty risque'.
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Birth Of A Nation - This film chronicles the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in the post-civil war south. It depicts the newly-freed slaves running amok and the newly-formed Klan as the heroes who came in and saved the south from them.
An Andalusian Dog - An early surrealistic movie that the famous Surrealist, Salvidor Dali was associated with. The most shocking scene is a very realistic depiction of a man slicing a woman's eyeball with a razor blade.
Bonnie and Clyde - This was the first movie to show realistic violence and the effects of it. Movies up to this point never showed the effects of bullets hitting the victim. They usually showed ther gun firing and the person falling blood-lessly to the ground, or off camera. This movie showed the blood and the wound at the time of attack. It was also kind of frank (for the time) about the sexual relationship between the couple and Clyde's implied impotency.
I Am Curious (Yellow) - This was a foreign film famous for its nudity and sexual situations.
A Clockwork Orange - Again, graphic (for its time) depiction of sex and violence in a futuristic society.
Straw Dogs - Violence.
Deep Throat - A porno from the 70s that broke new ground for oral sex. I will leave it at that.
Last Tango in Paris - Very explicit sex scenes and situations for a mainstream movie from a legitimate Hollywood studio. It was rated X.
Pink Flamingos - An early John Waters movie that pitts 2 families competing for the title of Filthiest People Alive. Needless to say, they are plenty of gross-outs depicted. Its climax involves the drag queen, Divine and some dog doo-doo. Nuff sed.
The Exoricist - The special effects of the demon possession are almost laugh-able today, but back then they were considered very scary and cutting edge.
Life of Brian - Was a Biblical era comdey about a man mistaken for the Messiah. Some people considered it blasphemous and making fun of religion.
Caligula - This was a movie made by Penthouse. It was basically an excuse to show the decadent orgies that the Roman emperor conducted. Very explicit and deserving of its X rating.
Cruising - This movie caused a big stir in the gay community. It depicted a cop going undercover in the leather bars of New York to find a killer that is targeting gay men. It was said by some to be an un-flattering and one-sided portrayal of homosexuals.
Temptation of Christ - Another movie the church didn't like because it portrayed Christ (in a dream sequence) as a mortal man married to Mary Magdalene.
The Passion of The Christ - Mel Gibson's version of the last days of Christ portrayed Jews as the villians that killed Jesus. It is often considered anti-semetic.
I haven't seen the other films on the list.
Also, 'The Kiss' was from 1896. I am not sure what the moral codes were back then, but I might guess this could have been considered pretty risque'.
just a guess