The 25 most controversial movies of all time

[jaymckee74]

Entertainment Weekly has just named the 25 most controversial movies of all time....i haven't found the full list yet but here's the link to the news story

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060609/ap_en_mo/film_most_controversial

[lunatic]

There was a reason I cancelled EW. It's WTF quality magazine now.
Deep Throat on that list? Wow. The only controversy back there was about if porn flicks could be mainstream or porno inserts were o.k. in Hollywood movies. But DT itself? I don't know - seems not...

[ilovemovies]

Here is the entire list:

1. The Passion of the Christ
2. A Clockwork Orange
3. Fahrenheit 9/11
4. Deep Throat
5. JFK
6. The Last Temptation of Christ
7. The Birth of a Nation
8. Natural Born Killers
9. Last Tango in Paris
10. Baby Doll
11. The Message
12. The Deer Hunter
13. The DaVinci Code
14. The Warriors
15. The Triumph of the Will
16. United 93
17. Freaks
18. I Am Curious (Yellow)
19. Basic Instinct
20. Cannibal Holocaust
21. Bonnie & Clyde
22. Do the Right Thing
23. Kids
24. Caligula
25. Aladdin


Aladdin? WTF?!

[Backstabba]

Originally posted by ilovemovies
25. Aladdin

...Wait...
WHAT?

[Brando @$$ Fat]

I'm surprised they didn't include The Wild Bunch.

[Lazy Boy]

Um, Aladdin? What, were the portrayals of Arabian characters too offensive? Did it have to do with the "Princess, take off your clothes" urban legend? Strange choice, unless I missed something.

I just saw Baby Doll a few weeks ago, and the DVD got into the whole controversy over its (for that time) sexualized material.

Everything else on the list seems pretty much expected.

[ChemicalRomance]

Straight from Entertainment Weekly:

THE CONTROVERSY: The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee balked at a lyric describing the film's Arabian setting as a land "where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face." Result? The studio dubbed out the lyric for subsequent releases.

[Lazy Boy]

Ah, thanks for that. I don't have the current EW, so I was a little confused as to the reason.

[blk_flower]

aladan, ha ha,

a few of those haven't even stired about anything yet, united 93 has been on the news, but not much more than that

[FilmKing2000]

I am very surprised they did not include The Graduate.

[APzombie]

Passion wasn't controversial enough for the number one spot. Besides, what the hell are they thinking putting the Warriors on the list? Sure some gang members faught during a few screenings but I dont think that deemed it top 25 most controversial.

they should have put

Midnight Cowboy first X rated picture to win Best Picture, pretty loud uproar.
Irriversable more people left during the screening at Cannes than any other film in the festivals history.
Blow Up huge deal was made for showing bush during a threesome. raised more controversy when it became popular with the youth.
The Wild Bunch crazy violent for its time and unapoligetic behavior from the 'protagonists'.
Deliverence at least more so than aladdin.
then you have films like Frozen that were pretty damn controversial because it was illigal to produce indie films in China, the director and writer had to hide their names from it so they wouldn't get caught.
Like you said, The Graduate as well.

[Bonham]

Anybody else happy that Crash didn't make the list?

Also, I'm surprised both South Park/Team America were left off the list. I would think one of them would have made it.

[floydtheater07]

Yeah, I'm surprised that "Midnight Cowboy" was excluded.

[Brando @$$ Fat]

Originally posted by Bonham
Anybody else happy that Crash didn't make the list?

Um, there are two Crash movies, both of them fairly controversial.

[TylerDurden182]

Irreversible should be on the list somwhere.

[Deckard]

It surprises me that there is no mention of -

Passolini's SALO: 120 days of Sodom.

[Cronos]

Originally posted by Deckard
It surprises me that there is no mention of -

Passolini's SALO: 120 days of Sodom.

so am i, i was certain that film would be on the list

[sarah1980]

Originally posted by ilovemovies
14. The Warriors

huh :confused: :confused:

[chinton]

What about Fight Club.

[zeppelin]

I was also surprised that they didn't include Salo, Fight Club, Midnight Cowboy, The Wild Bunch, and The Graduate. I also thought they might have included Pulp Fiction, since it caused a bit of an uproar when it first came out.

Of all the movies that didn't make the list though, the one I'm probably most surprised about is Straw Dogs. It was probably even more controversial than Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch, as it was condemned for its brutal violence and realistic rape scene.

[Monotreme]

Thing is, just because a film is disturbing, doesn't mean it caused an uproar. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I never got the impression that either 120 Days of Sodom nor Irreversible actually left a lasting affect or caused much controversy, simply because not so many people had seen them. Neither did Fight Club (remember, it was a box office failure and only became popular and well-known in retrospect). The controversy that the films on the list caused was very publicised and usually involved a wide public uproar: Perhaps these other films mentioned that weren't on the list were controversial among those who saw them, but since the general public mostly didn't watch them, I think it makes perfect sense that they didn't make the list.

Despite this, it is quite strange that Midnight Cowboy and The Graduate didn't make the list.

[dalomini]

Originally posted by ilovemovies
12. The Deer Hunter

I'm only 17, so maybe this is just my ignorance and my not being around when this came out. But why is Deer Hunter so controversial?

[ilovemovies]

There were some controversy surrounding the russian roullette scenes. Some say that the movie totally fabricated that or something. Some say it never happened and there is no evidence that it happened. Or something like that.

[dalomini]

Well, then the whole idea of movies is ruined if THAT's controversial. It's not like Deer Hunter was supposed to be telling the story of a real guy named Michael that existed and went through those experiences, if I recall correctly. It was a, well, a movie. That's what they are. Fabrications. If Deer Hunter is controversial for that reason, then every war movie that isn't told from a primary source perspective should be considered controversial.

[Shockwave]

The Passion at number 1???????


Is anyone else wonder WHERE THE FUCK is Citizen Kane on that list? :confused:

[ilovemovies]

I totally forgot about that one. Yeah, it probably should be on the list. There has even been movies made about the controversy and making of Citizen Kane.

I've never seen it but have always wanted to watch RKO-281!

[Deckard]

Originally posted by dalomini
Well, then the whole idea of movies is ruined if THAT's controversial. It's not like Deer Hunter was supposed to be telling the story of a real guy named Michael that existed and went through those experiences, if I recall correctly. It was a, well, a movie. That's what they are. Fabrications. If Deer Hunter is controversial for that reason, then every war movie that isn't told from a primary source perspective should be considered controversial.


DEER HUNTER was controversial because it was the first film about what happened to soldiers in Vietnam. The protests were pretty verbal.

As for Walter Hill's THE WARRIORS it deserves to be in there because on its first day two rival gangs got all fired up by the movie and cut loose in the cinema. 6 people died. A similar thing happened at screenings of dennis Hopper's COLORS

Totally agree Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs was a notable omission.

Some others that spring straight to mind-

Modern-
Tod Solondz Happiness
John McNaughtons Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
Eric Stanze's Scrapbook
Alex de Lagasi's Perdita Durango


Classic-
Fritz Lang's M - Sympathetic tale of a pedophile killer that examines the mob justice mantality.
Hitchcock's Psycho- talk about contoversy
Tarzan and His Mate- This is the film that caused the US to form a censorship board. If you see it uncut on DVd its not hard to see why.
John Boorman's Deliverance- squeel like a pig

[Shockwave]

totally forgot about that one. Yeah, it probably should be on the list. There has even been movies made about the controversy and making of Citizen Kane.

Exactly. To me its easily one of the most controversial movies ever made. Thats what got me to sit down and watch it from the beginning.

[Cronos]

Originally posted by ilovemovies
I've never seen it but have always wanted to watch RKO-281!

ive only ever had the chance to see this once (and that was a hell of a long time ago) but as i remember it was a very good and interesting film

[BadCoverVersion]

It's a decent enough list...all the obvious choices are there.

There was a HUGE public outcry over Childs Play 3 in Britain in the early 90's when it allegedly 'inspired' two 10 year old boys to kidnap, torture and murder a 2 year old.

http://img.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/0601/04/NYHETER-04s14-venables-17.jpghttp://img.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/0601/04/NYHETER-04s14-thompson-41.jpg

They threw stones at him, punched and kicked him, put batteries in his mouth, hit him with iron bars, molested him, threw paint on him, forced him onto railroad tracks, covered him in rubble and then a train quite literally sliced him in two...just like that infamous scene in Childs Play 3 of course!!!

The Sun demanded the BBFC ban the film immediately...I think The Daily Mail also did their 'bit', it was never banned...however many video chains actually removed the title from their shelves and people felt pretty uneasy about it all.

[Monotreme]

Originally posted by BadCoverVersion
They threw stones at him, punched and kicked him, put batteries in his mouth, hit him with iron bars, molested him, threw paint on him, forced him onto railroad tracks, covered him in rubble and then a train quite literally sliced him in two...just like that infamous scene in Childs Play 3 of course!!!
What the hell is that shit doing in a movie in the first place?

[SIREN30]

In the song Arabian Nights at the beginning of Aladdin, the line went

'I come from a land from a far away place where the caravan camels roam/where they cut off your ears if they don't like your face; it's barbaric but hey, it's home.'

I watched my video yesterday. Now the line goes...'where it's large and immense and the heat is intense; it's barbaric but hey, it's home.'

I definitintely feel that the independant film,Crash ,' in which couples become sexually aroused at accident sites was a more controversial film. But it may not have been as vocalized of an uproar as the Aladdin thing, being a kids movie and all.

I saw Freaks and Triumph of the Will fairly recently also. The first was completely politically incorrect by today's standards and quite frightening. The second was probably the most disturbing film I've ever seen as it was a completely unbiased documentation of Hitler's line of thought. There is a scene where he gives a long speech to a group of very blonde children that was particulary unsettling.

[Monotreme]

Originally posted by SIREN30
I definitintely feel that the independant film,Crash ,' in which couples become sexually aroused at accident sites was a more controversial film. But it may not have been as vocalized of an uproar as the Aladdin thing, being a kids movie and all.

Disturbing? Perhaps. But controversial? Not at all. When the book came out in the 1970's it caused quite some controversy, but remember that the film was released in 1996, and rather obscurely might I add (not many people saw it...). Thus, saying that it caused a "controversy" is a bit of an exaggeration. Besides, lately films such as The Dreamers have been much more sexual and Saving Private Ryan much more violent than Crash.

[thedudeman69]

What the fuck is United 93 doing on that list? It had no contversy or anything that I have heard about.

[BadCoverVersion]

Originally posted by Monotreme
What the hell is that shit doing in a movie in the first place?

I was being sarcastic in my "just like that infamous scene in Childs Play 3" retort.

My point was...IT WASN'T!

They killed because they were mixed-up, sadistic little fuckers...probably bored, probably abused themselves - but evil little boys no less!

And Childs Play 3 had FUCK ALL to do with it.

[APzombie]

I think The Deer Hunter was also controversial because the number of deaths related to Rouletes across the world like trippled too. People were upset with the ratio and in turn blamed the film.

Flight 97 is just the wrong film at the right time. Its the first movie to depict events of 9/11, aside from the fact that it was done in taste and with the familis blessing, this didn't stop a worried crowd. In my opinion World Trade Center is a bit more controversial, with a director like Oliver Stone who was born with controvery pumping in his blood and the ultra-melodramatic trailer, I would suspect it will stir more of a crowd.

[Gian-Sergio]

Originally posted by BadCoverVersion
It's a decent enough list...all the obvious choices are there.

There was a HUGE public outcry over Childs Play 3 in Britain in the early 90's when it allegedly 'inspired' two 10 year old boys to kidnap, torture and murder a 2 year old.

http://img.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/0601/04/NYHETER-04s14-venables-17.jpghttp://img.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/0601/04/NYHETER-04s14-thompson-41.jpg

They threw stones at him, punched and kicked him, put batteries in his mouth, hit him with iron bars, molested him, threw paint on him, forced him onto railroad tracks, covered him in rubble and then a train quite literally sliced him in two...just like that infamous scene in Childs Play 3 of course!!!

The Sun demanded the BBFC ban the film immediately...I think The Daily Mail also did their 'bit', it was never banned...however many video chains actually removed the title from their shelves and people felt pretty uneasy about it all.

::tries not to cry::

[dman476]

Man those two kids are fucking crazy to do that.

Anyway, I agree. The list is rubbish.
How can you not have any of the Tennessee Williams films on the list?
And no Graduate? Citizen Kane would probably be in the top ten if it were a fair list. They don't have masterminds like Hearst watching over us with that much power anymore - back then yes.
And Aladdin, really?
The Wild Bunch was okay, but how can you not have Salo on that list?
Palindromes and Happiness is pretty bad in regards to that, but I don't remember either causing a stir.
And what is up with the Da Vinci Code on the list?

[chinton]

Im also surprised Peckinpahs masterpiece Straw Dogs isnt on that list.

[Monotreme]

Originally posted by dman476
And what is up with the Da Vinci Code on the list?
Are you kidding me? Have you not noticed the VERY public uproar the film has very recently caused among religious groups and public opinion in general? The Vatican and catholic church condemning, the banning in Asian countries soccumbing to pressure from the Christian groups?

Honestly, I think it's a pretty accurate list. Aside from a few prominent omissions (Graduate, Kane), I'd pretty much leave the list as it is.

[Badbird]

Originally posted by APzombie

Flight 97 is just the wrong film at the right time. Its the first movie to depict events of 9/11, aside from the fact that it was done in taste and with the familis blessing, this didn't stop a worried crowd.

You mean United 93, right? It amazes me (but it shouldn't) how many people mistakenly call United 93 "Flight 93." But then again, wasn't in the first teaser it still called Flight 93? Not to mention the TV movie of the same name.

As with most EW lists, which is to say every week or so, this one has some good picks, while others make you go "whaaa?" Like Aladin. Yeah, yeah, cut off your ear. What about Disney's most controversial movie of all time The Song of the South? That thing hasn't seen the light of day in years.

The article that went with the list did make an interesting point that many of us are quick to use as a defense. The old "If you don't like it, don't watch it" line. But the article asks: Does buying a ticket mean we give up our right to protest? Meaning we must automatically agree with what we see (IE, not get offended)?

Something to think about.

[bigred760]

It's a pretty good list in my opinion - sure there are more movies that probably should be on there, but EW does give their reasons for including the movies on the list.

[APzombie]

Originally posted by Badbird
You mean United 93, right? It amazes me (but it shouldn't) how many people mistakenly call United 93 "Flight 93." But then again, wasn't in the first teaser it still called Flight 93? Not to mention the TV movie of the same name.

As with most EW lists, which is to say every week or so, this one has some good picks, while others make you go "whaaa?" Like Aladin. Yeah, yeah, cut off your ear. What about Disney's most controversial movie of all time The Song of the South? That thing hasn't seen the light of day in years.

The article that went with the list did make an interesting point that many of us are quick to use as a defense. The old "If you don't like it, don't watch it" line. But the article asks: Does buying a ticket mean we give up our right to protest? Meaning we must automatically agree with what we see (IE, not get offended)?

Something to think about.


Hahaha, my bad. I keep on checking out the made for tv film about it and got confused. Good call on Songs of the South, without a doubt 100 times more controversial than Aladdin.