# Controversial Movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 9, 2006, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-movies/363735 "2006-07-09T14:34:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Seymour\_Gams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Seymour\_Gams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seymour_Gams)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2006, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-movies/363735/1 "2006-07-09T14:34:47Z")
A month or so back Entertainment Weekly published a list of the top controversial movies of all time. The list included Caligula, JFK, A Clockwork Orange, and The Passion of the Christ. Some listed like Kids I was shocked by how completely unshocked I was when I saw it. The same applies for Happiness, I was underwhelmed (although I enjoyed it) because of how much people had talked it up. My question to you is, what supposedly controversial or shocking film have you seen and were suprised at how unshocking the movie was or why it got so much attention? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2006, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-movies/363735/2 "2006-07-09T14:46:22Z")
[_The Last Temptation of Christ._](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Temptation_of_Christ) I had to drive past **picketers** when I saw that film! Only two of them, but still! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2006, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-movies/363735/3 "2006-07-09T14:48:12Z")
BTW: Willem Dafoe! **Best. Jesus. Ever.** ---
**Author:** ![Seymour\_Gams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Seymour\_Gams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seymour_Gams)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2006, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-movies/363735/4 "2006-07-09T14:50:26Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > BTW: Willem Dafoe! **Best. Jesus. Ever.** That is one of those movies that have been banned from discussion between my sister and I in public areas. The discussion always ends on the “God damn Jesus was hot!” area and that makes a lot of people uncomfortable. ---
**Author:** ![ASAKMOTSD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@ASAKMOTSD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASAKMOTSD)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2006, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-movies/363735/5 "2006-07-09T15:15:14Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > BTW: Willem Dafoe! **Best. Jesus. Ever.** Including the original? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2006, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-movies/363735/6 "2006-07-09T17:49:55Z")
The OP reminds me of that episode of _M_A_S_H\* where Hawkeye’s virtually salivating at the prospect of having **The Moon is Blue** (“Banned in Boston”) screened at the camp. When it finally arrives, he’s sorely disappointed because the only thing racy in the film is the word “virgin” (to which he responds–“Because everyone in the movie is one!”) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2006, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-movies/363735/7 "2006-07-09T22:30:24Z")
> [@ASAKMOTSD](#): > > Including the original? 😉 So far as we can tell from the Gospels, definitely. No comparison. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-movies/363735/8 "2006-07-10T02:26:44Z")
People tend to forget, but **Monty Python’s Life of Brian** was highly controversial when it came out. The Pythons had trouble getting financing until bailed out by George Harrison and his Hand Made Films. And when it opened, it was picketed for being disrespectful of Christ. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-movies/363735/9 "2006-07-10T02:55:05Z")
> [@Seymour Gams](#): > > That is one of those movies that have been banned from discussion between my sister and I in public areas. The discussion always ends on the “God damn Jesus was hot!” area and that makes a lot of people uncomfortable. Excuse me, but are we related? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-movies/363735/10 "2006-07-10T07:44:10Z")
I tried to take a friend of mine to see _Last Temptation of Christ_ when it came out, but she had been in a play with Willem Dafoe years earlier, and she was too embarrassed to see him naked. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-movies/363735/11 "2006-07-10T13:35:17Z")
An EW letter-writer this week whaled on them for picking ALADDIN over SONG OF THE SOUTH. I thought BIRTH OF A NATION should have been #1. An 80+yo film that STILL gets protests at even the mention of a public showing! Btw, it’s great to give the MST3K treatment! RE- The Last Temptation- I’m an evangelical & while I understood the fuss over it, I’d actually read the book a couple years before release (when Aidan Quinn & Sting were said to have been cast as JC & Pilate) & knew what to expect- a doctrinally-heretical but thought-provoking eccentrically-devout semi-hallucinagenic meditation on the Dual Nature of our L&SJC. On first viewing (on video) I was somewhat disappointed but with later viewings, it grew on me - and the soundtrack still gives me shivers. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-movies/363735/12 "2006-07-10T13:43:42Z")
JFK wasn’t just completely uncontroversial when I watched it first, when I saw the BBC debunk of the Kennedy assassination, it then seemed completely and utterly ludicrous. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-movies/363735/13 "2006-07-10T13:57:16Z")
> [@Seymour Gams](#): > > Some listed like Kids I was shocked by how completely unshocked I was when I saw it. The same applies for Happiness, I was underwhelmed (although I enjoyed it) because of how much people had talked it up. What part of slipping a 10 year boy sleeping pills on a sleepover and raping him didn’t shock you? Or, the teenager shooting his wad onto a railing, having his dog lick it up, and then go in the other room and lick the mom’s face? I just heard about this Japanese movie called “Battle Royale” (in English) about a bunch of school kids that get kidnapped on an Island and have to murder each other. They tried to get it banned in Japan. Apparently New Line Cinema has bought the rights to remake it. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-movies/363735/14 "2006-07-10T13:58:49Z")
If anyone wants the [EW list](http://www.ew.com/ew/article/commentary/0,6115,1202224_1_0_,00.html), it’s 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. 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 ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-movies/363735/15 "2006-07-10T15:40:35Z")
> [@Pushkin](#): > > JFK wasn’t just completely uncontroversial when I watched it first, when I saw the BBC debunk of the Kennedy assassination, it then seemed completely and utterly ludicrous. I’m a little confused here. Are you saying that the movie _JFK_ was not controversial when it was released? Because it was controversial here in the U.S., where many critics called it inaccurate and misleading. When you refer to the “BBC debunk of the Kennedy assassination,” what were they debunking: The findings of the Warren Commission (that Oswald acted alone), the beliefs of the conspiracy theorists, or the movie _JFK_? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-movies/363735/16 "2006-07-10T16:24:37Z")
_Patton_ was supposed to be controversial because Patton slapped a wounded solder who was breaking down, and he also shot a horse that got in his way. I saw it when I was a little kid and both made perfect sense to me at the time. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-movies/363735/17 "2006-07-10T17:33:59Z")
That would’ve made Patton the man controversial, not the movie (since an increased fidelity to “realism” was in vogue by then). > [@](#): > > An EW letter-writer this week whaled on them for picking ALADDIN over SONG OF THE SOUTH. Which is a bit idiotic because _SotS_ is controversial now, but wasn’t then. The inclusion of _Aladdin_ is even dumber, though. I can think of plenty of much more controversial films, starting with **Il Miracolo** , which infuriated the Catholic Church by depicting a woman (Anna Magnani) who believes she’s carrying a holy child because she’s seduced by someone claiming to be a Saint. Godard’s **Hail Mary** and any number of Luis Bunuel films would also be much better choices. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-movies/363735/18 "2006-07-10T18:01:33Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > Which is a bit idiotic because _SotS_ is controversial now, but wasn’t then. I dunno–was their standard controversy at the time of release? Was _Birth of a Nation_ more controversial when it was released than _SotS_ was? It certainly seems to me as though _SotS_ is Disney’s most controversial movie, and therefore would be a good pick. When _Robocop_ was first released, it was nearly rated X for violence (IIRC). I’m not supersqueamish, but I figured the movie must be pretty horrific in order to flirt with such a rating, so I avoided seeing it for a long time. Finally I steeled myself up for it and watched it. That movie _might_ earn a PG-13 today, but certainly wouldn’t be rated R for violence. (Not saying it shoulda made the list, just that I was surprised at there being any initial controversy over its violence). Daniel ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-movies/363735/19 "2006-07-10T18:42:12Z")
Though _Birth_ was an enormous box office success, it’s overt racism and romanticism of the Klan was not without significant detractors even upon its original release. From Wikipedia: > [@](#): > > Though lucrative, and also popular among some white movie critics and white movie-goers, the film drew significant protest from blacks upon its release. Premieres of the film were widely protested by the newly founded National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Griffith said he was surprised by the harsh criticism. The Birth of a Nation has been linked to the second emergence of the Ku Klux Klan, which was revived the year of the film’s release after a period of non-existence. Conversely, _Song of the South_ was part of Disney’s normal theatrical re-release cycle for decades, and was even released on home video early on before finally being rendered unavailable. It was originally released just a few years after GWTW and whatever offensive material it had could reasonably be considered more “benign” (a sugar-coating of history) and not as overt as the Griffith film, which is significantly more incendiary. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-movies/363735/20 "2006-07-10T19:59:22Z")
I didn’t find anything controversial about **Fahrenheit 9/11,** but then I’m a member of the reality-based coalition. 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/controversial-movies/363735.md?page=2)