Sex, politics, race, religion: they all have the power to ruffle people’s feathers. Films that are seen as pushing the boundaries of such subjects have the ability to anger, divide, and even enrage us. Some cause picketing, boycotting and banning, and they can spark important debates about censorship. Inevitably, controversy helps to publicize these films and fuel the box-office receipts. Sometimes it works in their favor, and sometimes they are spectacular failures.

There is no shortage of controversial films out there, and any list will certainly leave room for debate. While this list is far from exhaustive, here are ten films that inspired controversy at the time of their production and release (whether it seems warranted now or not).

Birth of a Nation (1915)

The Plot
One of the most reviled movies ever made, D.W Griffith’s epic follows the troubles of two families during the Civil War and Reconstruction.

The Controversy
Due to it’s technical innovations, Birth of a Nation is still taught in film schools and is a very highly regarded film. Its subject matter is another story. The film’s outlandish and horrific depiction of African Americans and view of the Ku Klux Klan as heroes, sparked nationwide protests by the burgeoning NAACP. (It also became a KKK recruiting tool.) Riots, protests, and lawsuits, plagued the movie upon its release and censorship debates and protests have dogged the film in re-releases (including when it was added to the National Film Registry and voted one of the top 100 American films in 1993).

Freaks (1932)

The Plot
For his super-creepy circus horror about love and revenge, Todd Browning used real sideshow performers, something audiences were definitely not used to.

The Controversy
Freaks was met with disgust and audiences fled screenings in swarms. One woman even claimed that the film caused her to miscarry. Even with a castration scene cut (pun intended), the film was considered offensive and obscene. Boycotts were urged. A genuinely disturbing film, Freaks was banned in some countries for over 30 years. The chilling depiction of circus performers out for revenge was scandalous, both for its candid look into circus culture and its dark subject matter.

Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

The Plot
Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty play Bonnie and Clyde. The former is a bored Texas girl looking for a little excitement, the latter a gun-totting, charming ex-con. They fall in love and kick off an infamous Depression-era crime spree.

The Controversy
Director Arthur Penn’s bloody finale, where the young lovers meet their maker, sparked an outcry. While it may seem tame today, the fury was intense. The combination of sex and violence, not to mention the mix of humor and murder was seen as glorifying violence, and many people were none too happy about it. The likable and sympathetic characters also appealed to young people, which sparked a lot of fear in anti-violence groups. Campaigns against violence in film erupted, and the film was heavily criticized.

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

The Plot
Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell) is a psychopathic, ultra-violent, rapist who gets brainwashed by a futuristic English government so that he becomes deathly ill every time he encounters violence, thus becoming a target for his old gang.

The Controversy
The violent and sexually obscene movie first landed an X rating and was deemed pornographic across the U.S. Stanley Kubrick eventually replaced about 30 seconds of sexually explicit footage in order to get it re-released with an R-rating. In the U.K., social uproar and reports of copycat crimes led Kubrick to withdraw Clockwork from distribution (or at least that’s what was believed until after his death when his widow said it was due to police advice after threats to his family had been received). It wasn’t officially available there again, in theaters or on video, until 2000, a year after his death.

The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)

The Plot
In Martin Scorsese’s biblical tale, Jesus (Willem Dafoe), pursues his calling but is tempted by a myriad of human desires which includes imagining himself engaged in sexual activities.

The Controversy
Jesus having sex? Do we need to explain? Religious fundamentalists picketed and threatened boycotts before the movie was even finished production. One group offered to buy the $7 million film in order to destroy it. Some theaters, and later video stores, refused to carry it. And one French Christian fundamentalist group launched Molotov cocktails into a theater in protest and injured over a dozen people. The film was banned in many, and is still banned in some, countries.

JFK (1991)

The Plot
Examines the events leading to the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the alleged subsequent cover-up, as suspected by a New Orleans District Attorney (Kevin Costner).

The Controversy
Oliver Stone’s JFK suggested that Kennedy’s assassination was not the act of a troubled Marxist loner but the result of a right-wing government conspiracy. It includes a lot of speculation about the misconduct of the administration and the testimonies of many questionable individuals. The movie became immersed in controversy during filming. Stone was criticized by the Media for dishing out unverifiable assumptions. Newspapers ran several editorials that criticized the liberties taken with historical facts, including the implication that President Lyndon B. Johnson was involved in the conspiracy. While it was known to be a work of fiction, the fear was that moviegoers would construe it as factual historical evidence.

Basic Instinct (1992)

The Plot
A hard-boiled detective (Michael Douglas) falls for a provocative, bisexual author (Sharon Stone) who may have murdered her male lover with an ice pick.

The Controversy
Controversy surrounded this film long before it even opened. Gay-rights activists objected to the portrayal of homosexuals in the film (particularly lesbians as psychopaths) before a frame of film was ever shot, and protested vocally through to the film’s opening. Basic Instinct also drew controversy due to the graphic sex and violence depicted. And of course there’s the infamous shot of Sharon Stone in that little white dress, which didn’t help calm people’s nerves. It was initially given an NC-17 rating, but the filmmakers cut out about a minute in order to get a more audience-friendly ‘R’ rating.

Natural Born Killers (1994)

The Plot
Bonnie and Clyde on crack. Homicidal lovers (Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis) wreak havoc through America: murdering not for love, not for money, but just for good times.

The Controversy
This film examines our immoral society that heralds serial killers as media celebrities and cultural icons. The scenes in the film are graphic, extremely violent and disturbing. Natural Born Killers was denounced as abhorrent and evil upon its release. Though intended as a satire on the media, the film actually inspired several copycat killers to seek their own 15 minutes of fame, some even using imagery and dialogue from the film. Over 12 murders in the U.S. and abroad have been linked to Killers.

Kids (1995)

The Plot
A group of teenagers prowl the streets of NYC on a hot summer night in search of sex, alcohol, drugs, and other high-risk activities.

The Controversy
Kids was embroiled in a major controversy due to the disturbing and graphic depiction of teenagers’ attitudes towards sex, alcohol, tobacco, and drugs. Date rape, physical violence and explicit language were also things that caused offense. Some people considered the gritty depictions to be a much-needed wake-up call, while others saw it as exploitation and borderline child pornography. Needless to say, it caused much debate about its artistic merit. The Weinstein Company actually had to create a new company in order to release the film, due to the Disney (who owned their company Miramax) policy of forbidding the release of NC-17 rated movies. It was eventually released without a rating.

The Passion of the Christ (2004)

The Plot
Depicts the last 12 hours of Jesus’ life, as he was viciously tortured. That’s it.

The Controversy
A devout Catholic (or so he claimed), Mel Gibson’s intention was to create a steadfast depiction of Christ’s suffering on behalf of mankind. For months prior to its release, The Passion was both condemned and championed sight unseen amid reports that the film wasn’t just brutal (and brutal it was), but compromised by dubious biblical interpretations and anti-Semitic sentiments. The film ignited a firestorm of controversy that hadn’t been seen in Hollywood in a long time. Despite the controversy, it went on to gross over $370 million.

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