Top 20 Most Controversial Movies Ever
#20: “The Interview” (2014)
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Nobody would’ve guessed that a James Franco and Seth Rogen comedy was going to attract so much controversy. The duo play journalists that try to interview North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, later being courted to assassinate the leader. While it’s unsurprising that the non-fiction target took offense, it was unprecedented that the dictator’s government directly threatened the US. A North Korean group named “Guardians of Peace” hacked Sony in response and later prompted theaters to decide against a full rollout. In the chaos of the moment, the studio put the film out for digital release instead. This marks one of the first and hopefully last times that a foreign nation influenced a movie’s fate.
#19: “Reservoir Dogs” (1992)
In 1992, Quentin Tarantino released his first film and the industry was never the same. “Reservoir Dogs” started a grand tradition of highly-referential dialogue and graphic violence. His colorful team of robbers botch their heist, leading to some gritty escape scenes and a tense standoff in a warehouse. The sequence that attracted the most controversy featured Michael Madsen’s Mr. Blonde torturing a police officer to the tune of Stealers Wheel. Prompting walkouts for its sometimes bloody and grisly moments, the movie also conquered the Sundance Film Festival and ushered in a new era of American cinema.
#18: “American Sniper” (2014)
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Among the most successful releases of its year, Clint Eastwood’s “American Sniper” tells the story of Navy SEAL marksman Chris Kyle. His life and military service are explored through various episodes in Iraq. Owing to the controversy surrounding US foreign policy, some critics pointed out the film’s use of negative stereotypes for Iraqi citizens. Others felt that the film didn’t do enough to take a clear point-of-view on the war or Kyle’s more controversial aspects. This doesn’t include other questionable elements of the movie, such as its use of a noticeable prop baby. At a certain point, the film’s box office success took on a more political meaning as conservatives rallied behind it and liberals decried it.
#17: “Crash” (1996)
No stranger to dark and twisted stories, David Cronenberg’s “Crash” explores a controversial subculture with an intriguing premise. The central story follows a film producer that gets into a car accident, later starting an affair with the woman he hit in the collision. This leads the characters into the world of symphorophilia, or the sexual attraction to disasters, including car crashes. Given the plot details and other sequences of explicit sex, the movie was released to divisive reactions at the Cannes Film Festival. Plenty of attempts were made to ban it from distribution in both the UK and the US. Some even worried that the piece would inspire similar behavior, which only deepened the rift between its supporters and detractors.
#16: “Apocalypse Now” (1979)
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Francis Ford Coppola’s film transforms “Heart of Darkness” into a tale set during the Vietnam War. The project went over budget and suffered countless setbacks in its multi-year production in the Philippines, including the heart attack of star Martin Sheen. On top of all the additional bad press, there was a contentious moment of a real animal sacrifice happening on camera. Real corpses were almost used for another scene, but it was soon discovered that they’d been supplied by a grave robber. Given that the war was still fresh, the film was already preparing for controversy for its showcase of American action during the war. Coppola’s final product received various reactions in 1979, setting the foundation for its status as a mythical and controversial creation.
#15: “The Last Temptation of Christ” (1988)
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Many stories about Jesus attract a certain amount of controversy. With Martin Scorsese’s “The Last Temptation of Christ,” the reaction went far beyond the usual critiques. The movie adapted Nikos Kazantzakis’ novel, which had already stirred up religious groups for its exploration of Christ’s struggle with earthly provocations. One scene in particular still riles up certain audience members as it shows him coming down off the cross in a fantasy and living out his life as a married man. Protests and picket lines incited more interest in the film, but a terrorist attack on a Parisian theater showed a much more radical and reprehensible response. Several countries banned the movie for an extended period as the director endured apparent death threats.
#14: “Borat” (2006)
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Sacha Baron Cohen made a movie with one of his trademark characters from “Da Ali G Show,” taking his Kazakh journalist Borat on a discovery of America. His comedic style encourages real people to unwittingly join him in bits that often mock their ignorance. Cohen’s depiction of Kazakhstan didn’t please the actual country, but that was the least of his worries. Several people ended up suing the filmmakers for tricking them into starring in the project, showing them in an unflattering light or claiming defamation as a result. Luckily for the studio and the star, most of these lawsuits were dismissed and the comedy went on to become a pop culture phenomenon.
#13: “Last Tango in Paris” (1972)
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Whether it’s controversial or erotic, “Last Tango in Paris” captures two wayward souls meeting at a Parisian apartment for an intense affair. Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider play the central couple, who participate in explicit sequences that go well beyond the standard Hollywood love scenes. It was later revealed by Schneider that director Bernardo Bertolucci and Brando made the production worse for the young actress. One infamous moment came when a sexual act was portrayed on screen that the performer was deeply uncomfortable filming. Along with objections from the cast, the Italian government proclaimed it to be obscene and destroyed copies of the movie. While some consider it too explicit, other critics champion the project in endless debates.
#12: “Antichrist” (2009)
Lars von Trier’s films fly in the face of convention and his psychological horror piece “Antichrist” is yet another example of his singular vision. Playing a married couple, Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg reel from the awful tragedy of losing their child by heading to a cabin in the woods. Their stay takes a dramatic turn as hostile forces seem to haunt their characters and eventually push Gainsbourg into a violent rage. Next to several sex scenes, realistic sequences of mutilation also raised calls for potential censorship. The movie was met with a polarizing reaction at festivals and was released uncut without a proper rating in multiple countries.
#11: “Monty Python's Life of Brian” (1979)
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Monty Python’s second feature focuses on a contemporary of Jesus who accidentally finds himself living a parallel life with the prophet. The comedy troupe questions and ridicules religion in one of their finest efforts, but it wasn’t greeted with all laughs. Accusations of blasphemy encouraged protests and a few countries to even ban screenings altogether, with few people misunderstanding the ultimate message of the story. They also found moments like the final crucifixion sequence to be in poor taste, ending the film with a musical number on crosses. Various attempts to deter viewership only increased interest in the movie over time.
#10: “Kids” (1995)
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“Kids” is far from a typical coming-of-age film in its relentless quest for gritty authenticity. Harmony Korine wrote the script as a teenager, wanting to dive into the grim reality of young life in New York. The movie upset viewers for its realistic and sometimes aggressive portrayal of 90s youth, featuring a loose plot that concerns one character unknowingly spreading HIV to others. The raw and unflinching depictions of sex and drugs drew everything from concerned responses to accusations of indecency. Director Larry Clark didn’t care about MPAA ratings, however, creating a cautionary tale like no other as a result.
#9: “Pink Flamingos” (1972)
Some refer to filmmaker John Waters as the “Pope of Trash,” with “Pink Flamingos” serving as arguably his boldest cinematic statement. Waters casts his muse Divine as the insane Babs in a role for the ages. While others attempt to steal away her title of “the filthiest person alive,” she retorts with a series of vile acts that are delivered without a hint of shame. The director and his cast left no stone unturned in their merciless journey into every taboo subject imaginable. Screenings were banned in several countries for its content, which includes unsimulated sex, but its status as a midnight movie made it a cult favorite. After all, the apt tagline famously reads that it’s “an exercise in poor taste.”
#8: “Irréversible” (2002)
Some movies are only meant to be seen once, if at all. Gaspar Noé's "Irréversible" might very well be among that list with some of the more disturbing sequences in cinema history. After a woman is brutally assaulted, two men seek out vengeance by any means necessary. Noé's unorthodox structure makes the already painful experience all the more difficult to watch. Given that the scene where Monica Bellucci is attacked runs at nine minutes, some people could not stomach sitting through the experience at all. The filmmaker firmly asserts his chaotic narratives and directorial choices, making this a controversial release with plenty of staunch critics.
#7: “The Passion of the Christ” (2004)
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"The Passion of the Christ" intentionally tries to reveal the violent reality of Jesus Christ's final moments. Given an R-rating, Mel Gibson pulls no punches with the crucifixion in a sequence that drew debate about the extent of its gruesome effects. The director was also questioned for his treatment of Jewish characters in the story and even his accuracy to the Bible. In fact, there are few aspects of the movie that didn't attract some amount of controversy. These points of contention did not hinder the project's success as it went on to earn well over half a billion at the box office.
#6: “The Birth of a Nation” (1915)
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"The Birth of a Nation" is one of a handful of cinematic artifacts that altered the course of American history. D.W. Griffith provided a template for early filmmaking, but his feature also inspired a new wave of the Ku Klux Klan. It's impossible to examine the film's technical innovations without acknowledging the widespread, negative effects that it had on African-Americans. Griffith's work galvanized racists with its bigoted narrative about the Civil War and Reconstruction era. Representing a deeply unsettling and hateful period in US history, this controversial movie did much more harm than it ever did good.
#5: “Cannibal Holocaust” (1980)
“Cannibal Holocaust” is the story of a group trying to find missing filmmakers in the Amazon. All that remains of the documentary crew is a collection of footage, which slowly reveals their disturbing fates at the hands of a remote tribe of cannibals. Just from the title alone, nobody should go into this movie without expecting various killings and eating to take place. The director was arrested in his home country of Italy and accused of obscenity in connection with the production. All these decades later, the film still packs a punch and remains a clear influence for a number of modern horror directors.
#4: “Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom” (1975)
"Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom" is among world cinema's most feared and notorious releases. Channeling the Marquis De Sade, director Pier Paolo Pasolini reinvents the story for fascist Italy during World War II. The gross-out film shows a group of sadistic men that subject young victims to a number of torturous and obscene acts. Needless to say, this isn't the kind of movie you want to watch on a first date. Pasolini's dark vision of perversion and excess is not for the faint of heart, widely rejected, and the target of many worldwide bans.
#3: “A Serbian Film” (2010)
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"A Serbian Film" definitely ranks among the most scandalous creations of the 21st century. When an adult film star finds himself in dire financial straits, he stoops to any level in order to make ends meet. He even participates in a series of video projects that go well past the point of common decency. Most of the violence and depravity is too intense to describe here, but take it from us that it is among the more extreme movies of its kind. Few watchers were willing to look past the surface-level content and the release faced international bans. Some consider it to be merely an attempt at shock value, while others see it as a disturbing masterpiece.
#2: “The Exorcist” (1973)
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It’s not hard to see why a movie about a child being possessed would create some controversy. For its time, "The Exorcist" was among the most successful and controversial horror films ever made. It wasn't just religious groups that were taken aback by the exorcisms, vomit, and a demonic child's questionable vocabulary. A debate raged about the film's deserved rating, with some arguing it should have gotten an X or be completely censored for the good of the public. Hysterical reactions to “The Exorcist” only made the release even more notable as ambulances were called to theaters. In the UK, the home video was even discontinued for a decade.
#1: “A Clockwork Orange” (1971)
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Stanley Kubrick's feature "A Clockwork Orange" stands the test of time for its scathing exploration of violence. Based on the Anthony Burgess novel, the project attracted a host of harsh critiques for its main character's relentless and heinous criminal activities. It was initially rated X in the US, declared obscene by the Catholic Church, and outright banned in several other countries. Due in part to this extreme reaction, Kubrick asked for the film to be taken out of cinemas. It was not widely available again until the 21st century, at which point it was reappraised as a stunning achievement. While the filmmaker engineered other subversive movies such as “Lolita,” it’s “A Clockwork Orange” that remains a vital and controversial statement.
