The 51 Most Controversial Movies Ever Made
Jonathan Majors has entered the list of Hollywood’s top actors thanks to his lauded performances in The Last Black Man in San Francisco , Da 5 Bloods and The Heavier They Come , as well as his starring role in the HBO series Lovecraft Country . Starring in Creed III , his role as Marvel villain Kang the Conqueror made him an influential player just a few years into his career.
Then came 2023, a series of abuse charges , and an eventual conviction for 3rd degree reckless assault and stalking. News of the charges comes months after Majors was praised for his performance in Dreams magazine , which received acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival. Because of the scandal, Searchlight Pictures, which acquired the film outside the festival, canceled plans to release it. But when there’s money, few films stay dead forever. This month, Magazine Dreams is finally released into the wild – an event that is further complicated by the release of audio recordings in which Majors allegedly admits to an attack he previously denied.
Majors is undoubtedly talented, but the allegations and his actions raise an age-old question: Does he even deserve to come back? The answer to the magazine “Dreams” may provide a clue. What about other films that managed to avoid controversy?
Hateful, stubborn, scandalous, dirty, nasty – the next 50 films were called all these things, and much worse. Some of them provoked death threats and physical attacks, while others spawned bitter wars of words that lasted for decades. For some of these films, the controversy has been helpful—after all, they say all publicity is good publicity. But this is not always the case. Sometimes cunning directors and distributors can turn a scandal around, but the noise is just as likely to bury a film. That’s why while some of the most controversial films ever have become classics, others may be new to you.
Cruise (1980)
Just ten years earlier, director William Friedkin marked a milestone in queer cinema with his adaptation of Matt Crowley’s play The Boys in the Band . Although his vision features a sometimes campy, often self-loathing gay man, it is filled with a compassion that mainstream American cinema has never before shown toward queer people. Among the usual suspects, it caused controversy for its portrayal of gay men and drew some criticism for its stereotypes, but overall it moved cinema forward. Not for long. The Boys in the Band opened the door to queer 1970s classics ( Dog Day Afternoon , Death in Venice , The Lad’s Cage , Pink Flamingos , etc.), but was hardly a floodgate. By 1980, the decade of boundary-pushing was about to give way to the Reagan era, and the undercover cop movie set in the world of New York’s gay S&M scene ended up feeling more exploitative than insightful (the use of the “weird serial killer” trope doesn’t help). It sounds a little better in modern terms, if only because increased representation means gay sex killers are more of a novelty now than they were in 1980; it also feels less like a screed and more like a misguided attempt by vanilla straights to engage with something beyond their experience. It also serves as something of a time capsule, although the authenticity of its portrait of New York’s 1980s sadomasochistic scene is questionable. You can rent Cruising on Prime Video .
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
One of our ugliest and most powerful cultural memories occurred when one of our greatest and most beloved directors, himself a devout Catholic, attempted to make a biblical film in his own style. Based on Nikos Kazantzakis’ equally controversial 1955 novel, Scorsese’s film, in addition to conflicting with tenets of the Catholic faith that are beyond my understanding, includes a sequence during which Jesus (Willem Dafoe) is tempted by Satan with the promise of a normal human life, including marriage and (gasp!) sex.
In America, as a result of nationwide protests, several cinemas refused to show the film, and a terrorist attack in a French theater injured more than a dozen people. The film was banned in several countries (and remains banned in the Philippines and Singapore). EWTN’s comely founder Mother Angelica described the film as a “holocaust,” a particularly ugly hyperbole at a time when Christian conservatives were literally setting buildings on fire. You can rent The Last Temptation of Christ from Prime Video .
Birth of a Nation (1915)
For decades, The Birth of a Nation has been presented to film students as a slightly problematic classic, an inevitable milestone in film history (which: maybe) that single-handedly invented a language of cinema that is greatly exaggerated. From around 1907, directors such as Reginald Barker, Eugene Bauer and Lois Weber laid the groundwork for everything that D. W. Griffith achieved in The Birth of a Nation , and often used new cinematic techniques with more nuance. The film was, of course, a hit, the most successful film of its time, but that had as much to do with the reinvention of the post-Reconstruction era as it did with the triumph of the treacherous, wily Northern whites who managed to trick the film’s drunken, gullible, and relentlessly horny black characters into thinking that slavery was bad. It’s rude .
But this isn’t a new controversy either: time has effectively dulled the (rather justifiable vitriol) towards a film that was widely protested before, during and after its release; Prominent civil rights activists, social reformers, and religious groups condemned the film, and its release was met with riots in major cities, although reviews were generally positive, but not nearly as enthusiastic as its contemporary reputation would have you believe. The controversy was so great that President Woodrow Wilson spoke out of both sides of his mouth when discussing the film, praising it in some circles and condemning it in others. It’s revisionist history to suggest that the film is only troubling to our modern eyes when we at least temper it with a veneer of academic respectability. You can stream The Birth of a Nation on Kanopy and Hoopla.
Citizen Kane (1941)
Often called (perhaps, but not unreasonably) the greatest film ever made, Orson Welles’s debut is now an integral part of the American cinematic canon. There was some controversy over RKO giving boy wonder Welles carte blanche for his first picture, prompting some members of the press to cheer for his failure, but the real problems arose from growing rumors that the film was based on the life of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. Despite Welles and RKO’s semi-denial, this is clearly a look at Hearst, who deserved to be taken off the peg, and at actress Marion Davies, Hart’s longtime companion and lover… who didn’t.
Soon Hearst’s entire media empire was after Welles and RKO as a whole; The studio didn’t even blink, but the lack of advertising in Hearst newspapers hurt, as did the vague threats of lawsuits that discouraged local theater owners from showing the film. Additionally, the film’s non-linear storytelling and innovative style made it a difficult sell to audiences outside of major cities; the film still did decent business and received excellent reviews, but it’s hard to say what a release without controversy might have looked like. This sight haunted Wells for the rest of his career. You can rent Citizen Kane from Prime Video .
The Apprentice (2024)
In this independent biopic, released just a month before the 2024 presidential election, Sebastian Stan plays a young Donald Trump interacting with professional fixer, blackmailer and forger Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong) shortly before the latter is disbarred. The film charts Trump’s rise as a real estate developer in the 1980s, as well as his amphetamine use and (I believe) alleged rape of his wife, Ivana (Maria Bakalova), which she revealed during her divorce proceedings. This is perhaps the most controversial moment in the film. Although the divorce was granted on the grounds of “cruel and inhumane treatment”, Ivana later retracted her claims while under a ban. Trump’s lawyer defended him, saying, “You can’t rape your spouse.” (For her troubles, Ivana was buried next to the first hole on Trump’s main golf course.)
Needless to say, President Trump was not impressed (though it is unclear whether he has ever seen the film). On his Truth Social account, he described the film and its creators as fake, classless, cheap and disgusting human scum, complaining that artists are “allowed to say and do whatever they want to hurt a political movement.” Trump and his team have vowed to file lawsuits on the grounds that the film’s release constitutes election interference, but they appear to have lost interest given the lukewarm (to say the least) box office reception. It was likely a victim of poor timing ( the release had already been delayed while searching for a distributor ). Trump voters are unlikely to stand up to what the president called a good job, and those less enthusiastic about his prospects for a second term will have seen more than enough of the guy by the end of 2024 . You can rent The Apprentice on Prime Video .
The Andalusian Dog (1929)
This is a rather shockingly modern collaboration between Spanish-Mexican director Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí. This 17-minute short film combines a series of dreamlike and sometimes shocking scenes and images, without any obvious narrative structure. Ants crawl out of the severed hand; there is a juxtaposition of naked female breasts and butts; a decaying donkey sits at the piano. The most memorable and still nauseating is the image of a living woman’s eye being cut in half by a razor blade. The film was intended to be a snapshot of the artsy French film scene, which, to Buñuel’s deep disappointment , instead embraced it and brought him success. There were months of attempts to have the film banned in France, but controversy never quite overcome the film’s appeal as something new and different. There are stories of miscarriages at screenings, destroyed cinemas and papal bulls revolving around the film, although much of the discussion seems exaggerated and it’s hard to know what’s actually true – sources can’t even agree on whether the film was ever banned in the first place. You can stream Un Chien Andalou on Philo and YouTube .
Viridiana (1961)
More than 30 years after his unforgettable debut in Un Chien Andalou, Luis Buñuel has retained his ability to shock and outrage, and attacks on Viridiana have come from all sides. (Given the director’s disappointment that his 1929 provocation was unexpectedly received, he must have been delighted.) The story of the titular nun’s hard-fought faith sees Viridiana as a true believer in a world (and a Roman Catholic religious community) that fails her at every turn. Scenes suggest rape and incest, but it was mainly because of the accusations against the church that the film was banned by the dictatorship of Francisco Franco in Spain and condemned by the Pope as outright blasphemous. However, it won the Palme d’Or at Cannes that same year, which must have either pleased or angered Buñuel. You can stream Viridiana on The Criterion Channel and Kanopy, or rent it from Prime Video .
Victim (1961)
Although actor Dirk Bogarde never performed publicly in his lifetime (homosexual acts were a crime in Britain for much of his career, and he worked under moral standards that would have meant immediate dismissal), these days there is little doubt that his 40-year relationship with Anthony Norwood was more than just a roommate situation. With that in mind, director Basil Dearden’s The Victim takes on extra poignancy, with Dirk Bogarde’s closeted lawyer Melville Farr emerging as mainstream cinema’s first major gay character, and a thoroughly likable one at that.
Until 1967, consensual homosexual acts were punishable by imprisonment. Although obscenity laws are sometimes difficult to enforce, obscenity laws have made people easy targets for blackmailers, as in the case of Victim’s successful lawyer. Although corny by modern standards (or even at the time), the very mention of homosexuality prompted the British Board of Film Censors to give the film an X rating, which meant in Britain much the same as it meant in the United States: a guarantee that most cinemas would not show it. American censors refused to give the film any classification, given that Hays Code restrictions specifically prohibit references to homosexuality. Distributors in both countries released it anyway to modest success; The film was ultimately seen as influencing legal changes in Britain that occurred five years later. You can stream Victim on Max and The Criterion Channel or rent it from Prime Video .
Deep Throat (1972)
1972 was the year smut went mainstream, although whether that was good or bad depended on your desire to watch porn with your friends in the cinema. Although Deep Throat was banned in many states, it became a cultural landmark for reasons that were never entirely clear, at least to me; I think the sexual revolution has brought big city audiences to the idea that what might have been a boy’s movie in the past can now be seen and discussed in cinema. It ushered in the era of “porn chic,” which included less gay films, and earned itself an even greater place in the zeitgeist after being mentioned at the height of the Watergate scandal. It was hated by anti-sex slurs, but it also became a flashpoint in discussions revolving around pornography and feminism (liberation? or objectification?), which became even more complex in later years when star/Born Again Christian Linda Lovelace denounced the film and pornography in general, claiming that she was literally forced to appear in the film. “Pornography” may be more popular than it was in the early 1970s (even though we don’t go to see it in major theaters), but discussing depictions of sex in movies is no less complex.
Despite its vintage feel, none of the major streamers have it, but look for it on some of the more adult video services (though obviously not while you’re at work).
Ecstasy (1933)
Public condemnation by the Pope (in this case Pius XI) might be a modern badge of honor, but in 1933 it was one of several shots fired at this Czech drama starring Hedy Lamarr. There are moments in the film where Lamar swims naked, but the most wildly disturbing moment involves implied oral sex, during which we see only the actress’s thoroughly approving face. The Catholic Legion of Decency, then an important arbiter of cinematic morality, found the film objectionable, which was more than enough to prevent the Hays production code office from giving its approval. A couple of years later, the film was shown in art-house cinemas without approval, but it still faced resistance from local censors. You can watch “Ecstasy” for free at the Internet Archive .
Last House on the Left (1972)
The same year that Deep Throat was shocking and titillating audiences, Wes Craven made a name for himself with The Last House on the Left, a remake (to some extent) of Ingmar Bergman’s 1960 film The Virgin Spring. With snuff-film verisimilitude, Craven tells the story of a young woman who is brutally raped and tortured on her 17th birthday, only to find the perpetrators face equally brutal retribution from the girl’s family. It was rated R in the US, but British censors refused to give the film a certification, limiting its release. A growing wave of concern over the unregulated home video release in the UK, called “video nastiness”, led to the film being banned outright in that country in the mid-1990s.
Unsavory subject matter aside, Wes Craven’s talents are on full display here, and the director has claimed that he made it to reflect the social violence at the height of the Vietnam War – but this film seems designed purely to shock, despite its artistic pretensions. You can stream The Last House on the Left on MGM+ and Hoopla, or rent it on Prime Video .
Last Tango in Paris (1972)
Bernardo Bertolucci’s art-house hit Last Tango in Paris opens up two eras of contradictions. The film initially caused controversy for its explicit depiction of sexuality and sexual power dynamics, especially in a film starring a Hollywood star of the stature of Marlon Brando. Some scenes alarmed sanctimonious audiences, but feminist critics had a big problem with the film’s central rape scene. The moment became a new flashpoint for the film decades later when Maria Schneider (19 at the time of filming) revealed that the scene was not in the script as it was filmed and that she was largely forced to perform a sequence improvised by Bertolucci and Brando (who was almost 50). For all these reasons, a film that was once seen as the height of sexual maturity in cinema only becomes more disturbing with each passing year. You can stream Last Tango in Paris on MGM+ and Pluto TV, or rent it on Prime Video .
Brown Rabbit (2003)
Following its initial press screening, Roger Ebert called Vincent Gallo’s road movie “the worst movie ever shown at Cannes,” sparking a war of words (including fat jokes and cancer incantations) between critic and director that was more talked about than the film itself…except for the climactic, unsimulated oral sex scene between Gallo and star Chloë Sevigny, which was referenced in publicity for the film, including shields that caused complaints. An over-the-top movie where nothing much happens for hours followed by a sad blowjob was always going to sell poorly, and mixed reviews didn’t help that. The film’s focus on explicit sex and public feuds may have given it a small place in the early 2000s zeitgeist, but it didn’t convince anyone that The Brown Bunny or Gallo himself should be taken seriously. You can stream The Brown Bunny for free on archive.org on Vincent Gallo’s stream.
Life of Brian (1979)
Attacks on religious extremism inspired much of this when the Monty Python crew took on the story of Brian Cohen, who was born on the same day as Jesus Christ and was mistaken for him. Despite being a critical and box office success, the film was shelved or given an X rating in much of the UK, and was banned outright in Ireland, Norway and Italy (where the ban lasted almost four decades). The team made extensive use of the controversy, the slogan: “So funny, it was banned in Norway!” This is a special masterstroke. You can stream Life of Brian on Prime Video , The Roku Channel, Pluto TV and Shout Factory TV.
The Passion of the Christ (2004)
Mel Gibson’s hugely successful film The Passion of the Christ was the subject of complex discussions over potential anti-Semitism, with organizations such as the ADL raising concerns about the script and the sources from which it was drawn, all tending to lean more towards the idea that Jews were (and, by extension, remain) responsible for the death of Jesus ( research suggests that audiences were indeed more likely to see things through Gibson’s eyes). In retrospect, it’s not all that shocking to see charges of anti-Semitism leveled against a man who just two years later blamed “the Jews” for all the world’s problems during a drunk driving arrest – just one of several documented incidents of racism and homophobia by the actor/director. It may not be entirely fair to blame Mel for the views of his father Hutton, one of the most ardent and prominent Holocaust deniers in the world for decades, but it is much more fair than blaming an entire religion and cultural community for the possible events of two thousand years ago. The film has also been criticized for its level of violence, which puts it on par with torture porn films of the time, although this is more of a criticism than a real controversy. A sequel has supposedly been in development for some time. You can rent The Passion of the Christ from Prime Video .
Faces of Death (1978)
A mixture of archival footage of deaths and new scenes that look real, this “deadly” film became a rite of passage for teenagers at sleepovers (I myself refused such an invitation, and I’m not sad about it). Banned in several countries, it became a hot topic in Britain in the 1980s when watchdog group the National Viewers’ and Listeners’ Association classified it as one of its “video nasties”: films freely available on VHS that were more closely regulated in cinemas. “Think about the children!” The reaction was overwhelming, but Faces of Death became a very effective poster child for the censorship crusade. You can stream Faces of Death on AMC+ and Shudder .
Friday the 13th (1980)
It wasn’t the first slasher film, but it was a hugely successful opening salvo among an endless stream of imitators – not that even First Friday was particularly original. Inspired by the more elevated horror films Black Christmas and Halloween , director and producer Sean S. Cunningham set out to reprise these early works, creating the highly profitable “horny teens getting killed in the woods” formula in the process. Critics have generally been harsh, but while the original Friday seems almost quaint compared to what was to come, some have gone much further, calling it cruel, exploitative, misogynistic—not just a cinematic failure, but a moral one. Gene Siskel (of Siskel and Ebert fame) was offended by the film’s very existence ; his review spoiled the ending to disappoint viewers, but also included a call out to Charles Bluedorn, the chairman of the company that owned distributor Paramount. “Get your pens and/or pitchforks ready,” he seemed to say. Moreover, he published the address of the small town home of actress Betsy Palmer (Mrs. Voorhees in the film), inviting angry film fans to send her hate mail for having the audacity to agree to work in such a film. If I were to guess, I doubt the vitriol of the disdainful critics will do any harm to ticket sales. You can stream Friday the 13th on Pluto TV or rent it on Prime Video .
Scarface (1932)
Based on the life of Al Capone (who had just been jailed in 1932), the original Scarface pushed Hollywood’s pre-Code era of voluntary self-censorship to a tipping point, and the Hays Production Code soon had teeth it would follow for decades to come. Directed by the great Howard Hawks and produced by the sensation-loving Howard Hughes, Scarface presented potential censors with all sorts of problems: the violence was some of the most dramatic ever seen in a Hollywood film at the time, there were clear hints of incest between main character Tony Camonte (Paul Muni) and his sister Seska (Anne Dvorak), and the violent ending made it feel more like a eulogy. than Tony condemns. Although Hawks and Hughes resisted the changes, the ensuing uproar led to some changes to calm the invective, including a new opening condemning gang violence, changing the film’s title to Scarface: The Shame of a Nation, and adding a rather awkward scene in which a newspaper editor appears to directly address the audience about the problem of crime. Most importantly, a new ending was filmed in which Tony faces legal consequences for his actions instead of walking away (sorry, spoiler alert) into a hail of gunfire. Luckily, much of the film’s grit remained, and the ending was changed after its initial theatrical release. You can rent Scarface from Prime Video .
Titicut Follies (1967)
An unflinching look at the Bridgewater State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, a correctional facility in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, and the generally appalling conditions there: patients are forced to strip and abused by staff, force-fed, drugged beyond medical necessity, etc. Despite director Frederick Wiseman obtaining permission from the patients and/or their guardians, the State of Massachusetts immediately went to court to block the film’s release, arguing, that prisoners may not have given meaningful consent. Many, including Wiseman, believe it was more a matter of ensuring that the horrific conditions described were never revealed publicly. The courts almost completely blocked the film’s release until 1991, after the families of several prisoners sued the state, arguing, among other things, that the film’s release back in the 1960s could have led to better conditions and potentially saved the lives of their families. You can stream Titicut Follies on Kanopy .
The Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
The debate here was very much a matter of life and death. While filming one of the four segments of the anthology film, actor Vic Morrow and child actors Micah Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Yi Chen (aged seven and six, respectively) were killed in an on-set accident involving a helicopter. Director John Landis hired the children in violation of California labor laws and they were paid secretly to avoid scrutiny. Landis and company were later acquitted of manslaughter charges, but others involved in the film , including Steven Spielberg and George Miller, were publicly outraged by Landis’s handling of both the filming conditions that led to the deaths and the way he behaved in the aftermath. As Spielberg said of the incident, “No movie is worth dying for.” You can watch The Twilight Zone: The Movie on Kanopy or rent it on Prime Video.
Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
The shock of Cannibal Holocaust’s proto-found footage style was so great that its director, Ruggero Deodato, was charged with obscenity just days after its release, and was eventually charged with murder. The film’s true style was such that some viewers believed it was a document of real-life cannibal-related deaths, and the quasi-viral marketing campaign fueled this belief, keeping the film’s actors out of the spotlight (until they needed to clear Deodato of having made a real snuff film). However, the film was banned due to real-life animal cruelty (seven animals were killed on screen), which continues to be a sticking point for both audiences and censors. You can stream Cannibal Holocaust on Peacock and Kanopy.
Necromantic (1987)
What’s wrong with a little necrophilia when the two people involved actually love each other? West German director Jörg Buttgereit’s film is almost pure shock, featuring endlessly gross (if inventive) scenes of splatter and sex with corpses. It was banned in various countries, but still earned praise for its outright boldness. You can stream Necromantic on AMC+ and Shudder .
Serbian film (2010)
As is often the case in controversial films, especially those involving sex and/or violence, some debate revolves around questions of whether explicit images are an important storytelling tool or simply gratuitous. A Serbian Film quickly earned a reputation as an incredibly violent, extremely unpleasant film, with a narrative about a man forced to commit increasingly crazed and sadistic acts against strangers and family members, which may or may not be an allegorical depiction of the suffering of the Serbian people under a corrupt government. I’ll leave the decision to others as I’ve never been able to get through this. You can watch Serbian film on Fandango at home .
Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
Anti-war themes are always controversial in certain circles, and the greatest opposition to Lewis Milestone’s film has come from Germany, home of the original novel’s author, Erich Maria Remarque. Based on his experiences serving in the Imperial German Army during World War I, the book and subsequent film were perceived as anti-German in their depiction of the inhumanity and general pointlessness of that war. Joseph Goebbels led a coordinated campaign against the film at the time of its release in early 1930, with brownshirted Nazis disrupting screenings and literally attacking audiences before the film was explicitly outlawed a few months later. Italy and Austria soon followed suit, and parts of Australia banned the film (as well as the book ) for promoting pacifism.
On the other hand, the reaction in the United States was almost universally acclaimed, although the film paints a sympathetic portrait of German soldiers during the Great War. Perhaps in 1930 we were simply in an unusually peaceful mood. Star Lew Ayres caused further controversy just over a decade later when he was drafted during World War II, but refused to serve in combat as a conscientious objector, a fact some have linked to his role in the film. His attitude nearly ruined his film career, but he ended up performing with distinction in his medical position, unfreezing public opinion. You can stream Quiet on the Western Front on Hoopla or rent it on Prime Video .
The Testament of Dr Mabuse (1933)
Fritz Lang’s 1922 sequel Dr. Mabuse the Gambler was also his final collaboration with his then-wife Thea von Harbu, who lacked his deep antipathy toward the growing power of the Nazi Party in Germany. Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels tried to persuade Lang to make films for the regime, apparently not realizing that Lang’s last film had put Nazi themes into the mouths of criminals and thugs. Lang refused and immediately fled Germany (von Harbu remained there). Covenant was banned in Germany, but Lang’s career continued in Hollywood for decades; he even directed a third Mabuse film in 1960, which itself started a franchise. You can stream The Testament of Dr. Mabuse on Max and The Criterion Channel.
Psycho (1960)
Inspired by a new wave of (often French) filmmakers working in a less polished and more realistic style, Alfred Hitchcock moved from his biggest and most spectacular film, 1959’s North by Northwest, to a film that felt worlds apart. If Hitchcock had not been so closely associated with both films, it would be difficult to believe that they were made by the same director, and not even a year apart. Impressed by films such as Henri-Georges Clouzot’s thriller Le Diaboliques, Hitch decided to make the film better and shot the film on a shoestring budget in black and white, against the wishes of his studio (his creative financing of the film ended up making him millions). Early reviews were often dismal, with many considering the film to be the end of Hitchcock’s career. However, the audience had no doubts. The cheaply made film became an instant blockbuster, and the critics eventually came around to it – although it didn’t win anything, the film received four Oscar nominations, including for Hitchcock’s direction and Janet Leigh’s performance. You can rent Psycho from Prime Video .
Peeping Tom (1960)
Released a few months after Psycho , Peeping Tom shares many similarities with Hitch’s thriller, but was much less warmly received. What the two have in common is respected directors: while Michael Powell wasn’t on Hitchcock’s level in terms of name recognition, he was nonetheless one of the most acclaimed directors of his generation, contributing to a number of classics including The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp , A Matter of Life and Death , Black Narcissus and The Red Shoes . This proto-slasher film was an attempt at career reinvention, the story of a voyeuristic serial killer who uses a camera to record his murders from a first-person perspective. Censors struggled with this, and critical viewers felt there was too much depiction of sexual violence. Critics were damning, and the film nearly ended Powell’s long career. It took a while, but people have changed: it is now considered a groundbreaking horror film that addresses our fixation with on-screen violence. You can stream Peeping Tom on the Roku Channel or rent it on Prime Video .
I’m Curious (Yellow) (1967)
Moviegoers in the late 1960s didn’t expect nudity or explicit sexuality, and I’m Curious (Yellow) even included (gasp!) an on-screen penis, which I can only assume no American had seen in any context until Vilgot Sjöman’s film. Although the film was ultimately a success in American theaters, Boston authorities confiscated prints of the film as soon as it entered the country, resulting in an obscenity case that reached the Supreme Court. You can stream I’m Curious (Yellow) on The Criterion Channel .
Freaks (1932)
From the wildly successful Dracula in 1931 to almost certainly the biggest box office disappointment of his career, director Tod Browning treated Freaks as something of a passion project that did irreparable damage to his reputation – with dozens of films under his belt, he only made four more films after it before finally retiring after finding his services no longer in demand. “The Freaks” discover a wily trapeze artist who has joined a carnival pageant and is plotting to seduce and then kill one of the show’s dwarf performers for his inheritance. The film combines horror movie beats with genuine empathy for the performers; Browning’s desire for verisimilitude led him to hire disabled actors to play the roles of carnival “freaks,” an innovation then and for many decades after.
The film’s villain is a hunky athlete, and that’s a credit to Browning, but the horror film atmosphere can’t help but feel exploitative. The disabled characters are treated unfairly, but their revenge (though well deserved) is terrible: in the castration scene, among other things, people walk out of test screenings. The film was cut before release, apparently to its detriment (the missing scenes were left lost), but moviegoers and critics still hated it for various reasons. Some found it too annoying, some felt it was an abuse of the cast, and others simply didn’t want to see people with disabilities on screen. The film was pulled from distribution after its New York screening, an extreme rarity. Its reputation has certainly grown over the decades, but debate about its merits continues. You can rent Freaks from Prime Video .
Criminal (1943)
“What are the two main reasons for Jane Russell’s rise to fame?” was one of the taglines of The Criminal , Russell’s debut film. Another read: “How would you like to fight Russell?” Skywriters wrote the film’s title next to an image of a pair of boobs . Director Howard Hughes invented a new type of bra solely to further accentuate the actress’s cleavage, which should provide plenty of clues as to the reasons for the film’s controversy. The Hollywood Production Code Administration hated the advertising and ordered the finished film to be cut, which did not stop 20th Century Fox from deciding to greenlight its release. Hughes tried to use bad publicity to benefit the film, with some success; the film was released in theaters for one week in 1943, two years after its completion. Wide release finally came in 1946, when the film did well financially, but mostly for all the wrong reasons. Although it launched Russell’s career, there is nothing but contradictions in this dull picture. You can stream The Outlaw on Prime Video , Kanopy, MGM+ and Pluto TV.
John Kennedy (1991)
Did Lyndon Johnson assassinate John F. Kennedy along with the FBI, CIA and US military? Part-time director and full-time conspiracy theorist Oliver Stone certainly thinks so, and has crafted an impressively compelling film out of the kind of material that would make QAnon types think twice. The film has received a lot of criticism for its conclusions, but it’s hard to deny that it’s a hard-boiled detective film in the tradition of the great paranoid thrillers of the 1970s. However, the film had a positive impact, contributing to the creation of the Assassination Records Review Board, which over the next few years declassified and published most of the records related to the Kennedy assassination. This has had a negative impact on the popularization of conspiracy thinking, which has really gotten to us over the last ten years or so, and it’s no surprise that RFK Jr.’s pal Oliver Stone has delved into Putin apology and general Trumpism . You can rent JFK from Prime Video .
Children (1995)
Larry Clark’s directorial debut has a chillingly voyeuristic feel, presenting a few days in the lives of New York teenagers with nothing but sex and drugs on their minds. The performances (including debut performances from Chloë Sevigny and Rosario Dawson) are mostly superb, but the film has an odd tone that vacillates between a tongue-in-cheek look at sexually active teenagers and a moralistic sense that we should be alarmed by what kids are doing these days – it feels both gratuitous and reactionary.
Conceived as a Miramax film, it ran into trouble because at the time the company was owned by Disney, which was determined not to be involved in releasing a film that contained allegations of child pornography. The Weinsteins bought the distribution rights for themselves and made a tidy profit from it, although the film is hard to find these days.
Where to stream: Nowhere legal.
I love you daddy (2017)
Louis C.K.’s unreleased second feature has a lot to unpack: the story of a prominent director (John Malkovich) accused of pedophilia who nevertheless tries to start a relationship with 17-year-old China (Chloë Grace Moretz). The director hoped to cast Woody Allen in a leading role that would echo the director’s earliest and most uncomfortable films (while also paralleling Allen’s own life). That didn’t happen, but CK had its own scandal: the film’s New York premiere was canceled hours before a New York Times article was released detailing CK’s history of sexual harassment. His career eventually showed signs of recovery, but the film remains unwatchable.
Where to stream: Nowhere.
Lolita (1962)
Although director Stanley Kubrick moderated his adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov’s novel (even to the point of rejecting Nabokov’s own script), Lolita—the story (in part) of a middle-aged man’s sexual obsession with a young teenage girl—was never going to be released without controversy. The film’s pedigree (Kubrick, as well as stars James Mason, Shelley Winters and Peter Sellers) likely saved it from outright condemnation in the United States, where the film did decent business. In the UK, the film was given an X rating, which prevented underage lead actress Sue Lyon from attending the premiere. You can rent Lolita from Prime Video .
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Malcolm McDowell plays Alex DeLarge, the leader of a gang of “junkies” who, on one particularly dirty night, among many others, resort to old-fashioned ultra-violence, including gang fights, beatings and particularly brutal rape. It explores themes of juvenile delinquency and government control, questioning how far we are willing to go to live in a “safe” society; in doing so, it makes (murderer and rapist) Alex DeLarge something of an anti-hero, and the moral issue lies at the heart of the film’s divisiveness.
Prior to subsequent revisions, the film was rated X in the United States and was banned to Catholics by the National Catholic Film Board. It was shown in UK cinemas uncut until Kubrick himself directed it a couple of years later, by which time a series of (possible) copycat incidents had tarnished the film’s reputation rather dramatically. I’m not sure the battle lines surrounding A Clockwork Orange have changed much: if anything, the film’s depiction of sexual violence is harder to analyze now than it was in 1971. You can rent A Clockwork Orange on Prime Video .
Caligula (1979)
A completely unexpected collaboration between Gore Vidal and PenthouseMagazine founder Bob Guccione. The film, starring Helen Mirren, has been described as “an irresistible mixture of art and genitalia.” The production was filled with behind-the-scenes wrangling over the appropriate level of pornography, but with Penthouse putting up most of the money, Gore Vidal (whose script seemed too gay) was kicked off the set, and the film became positively filled with orgies, rape, and even a little fisting for good measure. American authorities did not attempt to ban the film, but various cities (including Boston) and morality groups did. Various cuts were made to appeal to (or at least not horrify) various sections of the population, but none of them were particularly good. However, the top-notch cast (Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren, Peter O’Toole, John Gielgud, etc.) makes the film a real novelty. You can rent Caligula on Apple TV .
Pink Flamingos (1972)
Pink Flamingos was not John Waters’ debut film, but its celebration of Babs Johnson, “the dirtiest man alive” (“Divine”) announced the director to an unsuspecting world after it was picked up from the Baltimore Film Festival to screen as a major midnight film in New York. Anticipating the reception that would eventually turn The Rocky Horror Picture Show into midnight, audiences soon began memorizing the film and shouting lines back at the screen. Scandalous moments abound, including full frontal nudity of all kinds, the appearance of a literal singing asshole, the actual death of a chicken during a rape scene, and, of course, the eating of actual dog shit. Since it was never widely released in the United States, it was shown primarily to audiences who knew what was in store for them, and after that there were a few lines left to cross. However, it has been banned in some parts of Europe and Canada.
Where to stream: Nowhere.
Poison (1991)
New queer cinema pioneer Todd Haynes burst onto the scene with his feature debut , Poison . The very mildly sexually explicit film (queer films are always judged much more harshly in this regard) became a flashpoint largely because of its funding: the National Endowment for the Arts provided most of the budget, and NEA Chairman John E. Frohnmayer was criticized for wasting taxpayer money on gay smut (which the film’s critics didn’t see, or at least didn’t admit to seeing). Soon after, under pressure from religious conservatives, Frohnmayer resigned. You can stream Poison on Kanopy or rent it on Prime Video .
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985)
Queer coding in horror films was nothing new, and the same was true for slasher films, but Freddy’s Revenge , the sequel to Wes Craven’s slasher masterpiece, was something completely different. Mark Patton plays Jesse (already a standout male lead in a genre known for its latest girls), a sensitive new kid in town who runs into his gym teacher at a leather bar, escapes a make-out session with the girl next door by sneaking into his best friend’s bedroom, and shows off some memorable moves in a penis-exploding dance sequence. Mark Patton, an actor with a promising career at the time (his film debut was opposite Cher in Robert Altman’s Return to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean ) blamed the gay subtext of the film (and more) for classifying him as a gay actor who could not play straight (he was closeted in his career, like almost every other gay actor of the era). The film suffered at the box office, partly because it was very different from its predecessor, and partly because it was too gay for the general slasher film audience. As detailed by Patton in his documentary Scream, Queen! “My Nightmare on Elm Street” – the gay material in writer David Chaskin’s script was intended to exploit homophobic fears; Patton’s performance turned the situation on its head, but it would be years before slasher fans would undertake a real re-evaluation of the film, now considered a classic of weird scares. You can rent Freddy’s Revenge on Prime Video .
Interview (2014)
Seth Rogan and James Franco’s screwball comedy revolves around a pair of bumbling journalists who interview North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (Randall Park). Naturally, the North Korean government was not happy with this premise and threatened vague retaliation if the film was released, essentially calling it an act of war. Sony delayed the film’s release to make changes, but to no avail: a North Korean cyberterrorist group calling itself Guardians of Peace hacked Sony and published a trove of personal and/or incriminating information, leading to lawsuits and resignations. The group also threatened theaters showing the film, which effectively reduced bookings. After all, it was released primarily digitally (a new thing at the time) rather than in a wide theatrical release, a strategy that worked well enough considering all the publicity, but the film still didn’t do much better than break even. You can rent the interview on Prime Video .
In the kingdom of feelings (1976)
This truly sensual Japanese film, directed by Nagisa Oshima, explores sexual obsession through an artistic interpretation of a real-life murder that became a tabloid sensation decades earlier. The film goes beyond its explicit depiction of sexuality (and sexual experimentation) and includes moments of non-simulated sex that would not only get it banned from release in Japan, but banned from being made. Oshima got around this ban by listing the film as being produced in France and processing the footage in that country. The film’s more explicit sexual scenes were blurred out before the film’s release in Japan, and it was banned and unblocked in various countries (including the US) for decades afterwards. You can stream In the Realm of the Senses on The Criterion Channel l.
Love (2015)
Gaspar Noe’s most famous film, Irreversible , contains a rape scene so brutal that the film is almost unwatchable; Compared to this, love is a cakewalk. The relationship film features a fair amount of screen time in unsimulated sex scenes and was shot in 3D ; all his pretentious pretensions fall away as we watch the main character (played by Karl Glusman) ejaculate directly into the audience. Americans didn’t seem to have much of a problem with the film (it was on Netflix for a while), but it was banned outright in Russia (maybe because one threesome involved two women?) and became a hot topic in an increasingly prudish France, where conservative groups succeeded in pushing for a stricter rating for the film. You can rent Love from Fandango at home .
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Roman Polanski’s very name in the film is controversial (and with good reason, considering he was convicted of child rape), but Rosemary’s Baby was before his own actions tarnished his name. Instead, upon release, the film was perceived as an insult to religious sentiments. The National Catholic Film Board, the 1960s version of the various religious organizations that have monitored film content for decades, took offense at what it called the film’s “perverse use of fundamental Christian beliefs, especially in events surrounding the birth of Christ, and mockery of religious people and practices.” The film was given a “C” rating for “condemned”, effectively barring Catholics from seeing it. Unlike similar accusations in earlier films, this accusation had little impact and the film was a box office success and earned Ruth Gordon an Oscar. You can stream Rosemary’s Baby on Paramount+ or rent it on Prime Video .
Dogma (1999)
Kevin Smith’s story of fallen angels searching for a way back to heaven after being banished was delayed nearly a year and changed distributors (after Disney-owned Miramax got cold feet) due to controversy over its satirical religious themes. Catholic groups in particular found the film either offensive or downright blasphemous. Organized protests in several countries slowed or stopped the release, and Smith himself received death threats. Controversy could help as a form of free publicity; The film performed well at the box office, especially compared to much of the rest of Smith’s filmography. However, with its distribution a new, more recent problem has arisen: the rights belong to Bob and Harvey Weinstein, who do nothing with them. The film is not streamed or printed on any physical media; Referring to previous copyright holder Harvey Weinstein, Smith’s said : “My film about angels belongs to the devil himself.” Apparently the situation has changed as Smith announced that he has those rights again. Apparently there will be a release soon.
Possession (1981)
A horror film about a difficult divorce written during the director’s real-life marital rift, Andrzej Zulawski’s Whiplash tells an allegory of a failed marriage in the form of a literal monster. While her marriage to Sam Neill’s Mark disintegrates, Isabelle Adjani’s Anna raises a creature who seems to have taken Mark’s place in her affections; The film features a sex scene with the shapeless mass of the monster, as well as several scenes of violence, which attracted the attention of anti-video crusaders in Britain, where it was banned. American distributors were given a heavily edited, almost nonsensical version, and it was only recently restored to its full, terrifying length in this country. You can stream Possession on Kanopy and Shudder, or rent it on Prime Video .
The Human Centipede 2 (Complete Part) (2011)
Writer-director Tom Six’s first film , The Human Centipede , about a German surgeon who unites unsuspecting tourists by sewing one’s mouth to another’s ass, was a strange, shocking novelty that didn’t make much money but still earned a brief place in the zeitgeist for anyone brave enough to talk about it. As is usually the case, the sequel (about a wannabe seamstress) had to up the ante to justify its existence… and if you start with a premise about people pooping in other people’s mouths, that’s a question. An ambulance was placed outside the US premiere in Austin as a William Castle-style stunt, and at least one person actually got sick and required medical attention (that’s the kind of advertising you can’t buy). The British Board of Film Classification initially rejected the film outright – eventually, reluctantly, clearing the film after some cuts and a four-month appeal process. You can stream The Human Centipede 2 on AMC+ and Shudder, or rent it on Prime Video .
Basic Instinct (1992)
Ace provocateur Paul Verhoeven ( Starship Troopers , Showgirls ) achieved one of his biggest successes with this thriller, generating controversy on several fronts. His overt sexual violence was a sticking point for some viewers, and the portrayal of a bisexual serial killer rightfully sparked outrage from LGBT groups, some of whom were at least as bored by the now-tired image as they were offended by it; At a time when most gay protagonists in films were deranged killers, it was significant to see another one. There’s also an interrogation scene during which Sharon Stone spreads her leg, revealing a little more than 1992 theater audiences were used to seeing the lead actress. As for what viewers will see, Sharon Stone stated that she was misled while filming the episode, which wasn’t a good thing , although she was ultimately pleased with the finished product. The film was originally rated NC-17, but a few seconds of cutting brought it down to a hard R (of course, you’ll be able to see the whole thing now if you find the right DVD version). You can stream Basic Instinct on Paramount+ or rent it from Prime Video .
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Seriously… An accident ? And Lee’s Brokeback Mountain, the acclaimed film about closeted gay cowboys played by two straight actors, became a surprise box office hit upon its release, despite the many obstacles thrown in its way, both before and after its release. Italian state television showed a version of the film with all the gay material cut out, which of course caused confusion; the film was not released at all in China and much of the Middle East; and the usual suspects in America saw its existence as a direct attack on Mom, Jesus and the flag. Fox News, along with various Christian groups, spent months denouncing the film (attention spans were slightly longer at the time), as did critics such as Michael Medved and Gene Shalit . While the film pushed mainstream queer cinema a little further, it also opened the floodgates to anti-LGBTQ sentiment and some truly embarrassingly terrible jokes. And then there was the Oscars: Brokeback Hero was a big winner for Best Picture, but instead lost to Crash , a film that was largely forgotten if not reviled. Disparaging comments from actors (and voting Academy members) such as Tony Curtis and Ernest Borgnine led many to believe that the old guard among Hollywood’s elite would simply never vote for a gay-themed film (the need for the 2015 #OscarsSoWhite movement likely stemmed from the same reason). You can stream Brokeback Mountain on Peacock or rent it on Prime Video .
Blue is the Warmest Color (2013)
While there’s little debate when it comes to the stunning performances of leads Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos, almost everything else about Abdellatif Kechiche’s Blue Is the Warmest Color was up for debate. The film received overwhelming critical acclaim from early audiences and the Cannes jury, but controversy quickly emerged: gay and feminist critics noted that the extensive, seemingly gratuitous and not always realistic sex scenes were indicative of the traditional straight male gaze; Source graphic novel author Jule Maroh praised the film in some respects, but also suggested that the integrity of the cast and crew was an issue , stating, “I think that’s what was missing on set: lesbians.” Seydoux and Exarchopoulos, as well as various cast and crew members, complained of harsh working conditions under the direction of the director, who was later accused of sexual assault in an unrelated incident. It all paints a very complex picture of what seemed like a groundbreaking, weird film from the start. You can stream Blue Is the Warmest Color on AMC+ and Kanopy or rent it on Prime Video .
Fritz the Cat (1972)
A little more boring by modern standards, mainly because we’ve become completely accustomed to the idea that cartoons aren’t necessarily exclusively for children, Ralph Bakshi’s adaptation of R. Crumb’s comic strip is rated X for its depiction of cartoon cat debauchery. Although the swearers denied it, none of it mattered much (and the notoriety may have helped) as it became one of the most successful independent films of all time. You can watch Fritz the Cat for free at the Internet Archive .
Water (2005)
Writer-director Deepa Mehta’s entire (conceptual) Elements trilogy was extremely controversial: Fire, released in 1996, was one of the first mainstream Bollywood films to tackle lesbian relationships, while Earth dealt with the 1947 partition. These films were successful, but sometimes met with violent backlash, and it was all down the drain when word spread that the director’s final film, dealing with child marriage and ashrams, was being made in the late 1930s. Believing, based entirely on rumors, that the film would offend conservative sensibilities, protesters stormed filming locations and destroyed sets. As a result, filming was not completed for years; production was forced to move to Sri Lanka, and filming also took place under the strictest secrecy. The final product wasn’t as scintillating as some expected, although it ranks among the director’s best films. You can rent Voda from Prime Video .
Salo, or 120 days of Sodom (1975)
Pier Paolo Pasolini’s most infamous film transports the works of the Marquis de Sade to Fascist Italy in the early 1940s and has become a rite of passage for art film buffs with strong stomachs. Four rich, corrupt lechers kidnap 18 teenagers and subject them to months of beautifully filmed violence and sexual torture. Pasolini (who was murdered shortly before the film’s premiere) certainly deals with themes of political corruption, capitalism and fascism, although whether his film would succeed more as an attack on human cruelty or simply wallow in it has been debated for decades. The film is banned in many countries, and in the United States it became a hot topic when an undercover cop arrested the owner of a gay bookstore in Ohio for renting out a copy – Martin Scorsese was among the film luminaries who came to the store’s defense. It can’t be streamed anywhere, but is available on DVD and Blu-ray directly from The Criterion Collection.
Song Baadasssss Sweet Sweetback (1971)
It is often called a blaxploitation film, but unlike many other films made for black audiences in the 1970s, Sweetback was not made primarily by white people. Writer-director-producer Melvin Van Peebles’ extended chase scene in the film was a huge box office success, earning millions of dollars on a budget of about $150,000. It is often, and not unreasonably, called the first true black power film, which of course made some white viewers squeamish. The MPAA gave the film an X rating for scenes of sex and violence, which the film’s director, Van Peebles, cleverly took advantage of : “Rated X by an all-white jury,” the advertisement said. You can stream Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss on the Criterion Channel or rent it on Prime Video .