Ban Them All! 10 Infamously Controversial Movies
Lars von Trier?s latest descent into hell -- Antichrist -- is just the latest in a long line of stomach-wrenching shockers.
Death, despair and genital mutilation: only a great Dane could fuse all three into one brilliantly bleak, guaranteed nausea-inducing piece of cinema... which seems to blame all the evil in the world on women, though Lars von Trier begs to differ.
Antichrist is definitely out there, but shock and awe in cinema are hardly anything new. Think back to Luis Buñuel's queasy, eyeball-slicing Un Chien Andalou (1929) -- arguably the birth of the movie 'shocker' -- Tod Browning's grotesque Freaks (1933), or any number of early films whose now-tame titilations terrified the censors of the time. Since then, movies have been an ongoing magnet for controversy, from Deep Throat (1972) to The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) to Kids (1995), while some -- such as Cannibal Holocaust (1980) -- resulted in the trial of their directors before the courts. Here, then, are 10 of the most controversial....
Straw Dogs (1971)
Booze-swilling, drug-toting maverick misogynist Sam Peckinpah's lurid tale of a newlywed couple's (Dustin Hoffman and Susan George) trip to the woman's remote home town sparked outrage in England, where it was subsequently banned for nearly 20 years. Hoffman's professor-type isn't a match for his wife's former lover and his henchmen, who descend on the couple's home and wreak havoc. Amy (George) is raped by two of the local meatheads, in typically seedy Peckinpah style (it's suggested she's lured the men in) before Andy (Hoffman) fights back.
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Stanley Kubrick's vision of a dystopian society and the corruption of power in near-future England was banned by its own director, after copycat killings with gangs of thugs dressed up as Alexander DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell) and his 'droogs'. The "ultra violent" journey of madness (based on Anthony Burgess' novel) involves daily, ritualistic beatings -- plus there's the rape and clubbing to death of a yuppie housewife (with a giant phallus, no less) and some equally grim brainwashing techniques. So disturbed was Kubrick by the film's potentially catastrophic content that he never allowed the theatrical ban to be lifted in England.
Cocksucker Blues (1972)
Banned by the band before its release, Robert Frank's unpleasant, warts 'n' all doco on the Rolling Stones' 1972 US tour contains some of the best live footage ever shot of the Stones, when the group were at their height. Alarmed by footage of the group's posse shooting up, roadies having orgies with groupies (it's dubious whether it's consensual, too) and Keith being in a general state of intoxication, the Stones threatened legal action. Instead, the pedestrian, concert-only Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones was eventually released, two years later.
Last Tango in Paris (1973)
Bernardo Bertolucci's bleak shag fest (said to be based on his own fantasies) provided another milestone for screen icon Marlon Brando, who thrived on the 'less is more' logic of the script (he's said to have improvised much of his dialogue). Brando's middle-aged businessman Paul is mourning the loss of his wife, when he encounters saucy young Parisian lass Jeanne (Maria Schneider). They meet daily and shag like rabbits -- without ever exchanging names or numbers. Paul insists on anonymity -- then utters the immortal line: "Go, get the butter." The infamous anal sex scene (improvised by Brando and the director at the last minute) meant that Bertolucci's film was slapped with an 'X' rating, and he was tried in Italy for obscenity. Despite all this, it was nominated for two Oscars.
The Baby of Macon (1993)
Typically barmy, perverse tale of corruption and small-mindedness from writer-director Peter Greenaway that focuses on a supposed virgin birth -- and a community's frenzied response to it. It was banned in many territories, due to its horrific climax: the systematic, relentless rape (and subsequent death) of The Daughter (Julia Ormond) -- as sanctioned by the Church. Power does indeed corrupt -- but was this really necessary? We think not.
Wall E. on 11-26-2009 07:07 PM
Then there's this film: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/salo/
paskunia on 11-27-2009 04:31 PM
Barnaby, you are right. Pasolini's film, "Salo," about the Marquis de Sade, was waaaay over the top. When I saw people's private parts being set on fire, I said, "Check, please," and turned off my media player. BTW, Pasolini was killed around the time of the film's release. I don't think they ever found the culprit, but it wasn't due to a lack of suspects. It might have been the film's producers, or perhaps the filmgoers who paid money to see this dreck, or maybe it was the ultimate film criticism- kill the director who made that horrid piece of tripe some movie reviewer just witnessed. No matter; "Salo" most definitely belongs on this list.
Ed G. on 11-27-2009 04:43 PM
It does indeed, paskunia - as does Baise-Moi, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, Natural Born Killers and many others already noted. The only problem with wittling down a list of dozens to a modest 10: the worthy stuff that ends up on the cutting room floor...