10 controversial movies that are actually worth watching
You can please some people all of the time, and you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time. This classic saying from John Lydgate likely didn’t relate to the movie industry seeing as the monk lived from c. 1370 – c. 1451, but you never know, maybe some divine intervention allowed him to foresee a future world where Willem Dafoe played Jesus Christ in the controversial Martin Scorsese movie, The Last Temptation of Christ.
Whether you’re not attempting to make a controversial film or you’re being purposefully provocative, ever since the dawn of the 20th century, cinema has had the ability to ruffle the feathers of good taste. When Hollywood hit the mainstream, it was sex and violence that was heavily censored, but as cinema innovated further and audience’s tastes changed, new ideas and styles became controversial.
Indeed, there are controversial films, and there are controversial films, with some people making a big deal over a pretty innocuous movie. But just because something’s divisive doesn’t mean it isn’t worth watching. In our list of ten controversial movies that are actually worth watching, we’ll be highlighting a collection of films that are a lot better than the dramatic furore around their release.
Take a look at our list below, which includes movies from such directors as Martin Scorsese, John Waters, Martin Scorsese and Lars von Trier.
10 brilliant controversial movies:
10. Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1975)
Telling the story of fascists who round up nine adolescent boys and girls to put them through over a hundred days of physical, mental, and sexual torture, Pier Paolo Pasolini’s disturbing drama has haunted audiences for generations. Inspired by the Dante Alighieri poem Divine Comedy, Pasolini explores the darkest side of nihilism through reprehensible acts captured with cinematic frigidity.
Due to its multiple depictions of murder, torture and rape to young characters, the remains one of the most difficult arthouse movies to stomach, but look past its visceral horror, and there’s plenty of quality to be found here.
9. Pink Flamingos (John Waters, 1972)
The American filmmaker John Waters, also known as the ‘Pope of Trash’, has made some of the most idiosyncratic movies of independent American cinema, including Hairspray, Cry-Baby and the iconic 1972 film Pink Flamingos. Criticised for its obscenity, the movie follows a notorious Baltimore criminal and ‘The Filthiest Person Alive’, Divine, who go up against a sleazy married couple.
Featuring a scene where Divine eats genuine dog shit, it’s not surprising that Waters’ movie is considered so controversial, but beneath all its sleaze, there’s an innovative, creative treat to be found.
8. Cannibal Holocaust (Ruggero Deodato, 1980)
There are several different reasons why Ruggero Deodato’s Cannibal Holocaust is considered a controversial horror classic, with shocking scenes of graphic gore, sexual violence and real-life animal cruelty. Banned in 50 countries, the film is an early example of found footage, following the story of a professor who discovers a lost film in the Amazon rainforest, with the tape revealing some disturbing truths.
As well as having an unreasonably great original score by Riz Ortolani, Cannibal Holocaust is a great, camp ride of exploitation cinema that has long been appreciated by lovers of horror.
7. The Last Temptation of Christ (Martin Scorsese, 1988)
If there’s one sure way to ruffle a few feathers, it’s by making a movie about Catholicism. In 1988, the iconic filmmaker Martin Scorsese did just this, making The Last Temptation of Christ, starring Willem Dafoe, which tells the story of Jesus Christ through to his final death. Among the many things that drew controversy was one scene that departs from the Holy Bible, showing Jesus and Mary Magdalene getting married.
The protests against the film were unsurprisingly fierce, with one Integralist Catholic group even setting fire to a Parisian theatre that was playing the movie, whilst Scorsese also received death threats following the making of the movie.
6. Antichrist (Lars von Trier, 2009)
Whatever you think about the Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier, there’s no denying that he is a fierce provocateur, constantly making films that challenge the status quo. Antichrist may be the most difficult of his movies to get through, with the movie being a sinister poem to the brutal horrors of nature, telling the story of a man and wife who retreat to a cabin in the woods after the tragic death of their son.
Starring Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg, the movie is a tough watch, even for hardened horror fans, but even underneath all that grime, there is a strangely elegant movie to be found.
5. Kids (Larry Clark, 1995)
Coming-of-age movies don’t always have to be sunny days and frivolous bike rides, such is the case in Larry Clark’s Kids, a dark movie following New York teenagers who spend their days skating, smoking, drinking and having sex. Written by indie film favourite Harmony Korine when he was just 19, the film attracted plenty of controversy for its ‘glamourisation’ of drug use and general disorderliness.
Some of the cast members have since come out to say that they felt “exploited” whilst making the movie, yet, despite this, there’s no doubt that Clark’s film is an iconic film of 1990s American cinema.
4. The Devils (Ken Russell, 1971)
Considered to be one of the most iconic British horror films of all time, Ken Russell’s 1971 movie The Devils tells the story of Father Urbain Grandier, played by Oliver Reed, the protector of the city of Loudun in 17th-century France, who becomes undermined by a sexually repressed nun. Another Catholic movie that drew heavy controversy, Russell’s film was criticised for its abundance of sexual and violent content.
Although it’s pretty divisive, The Devils is also a gem of a horror flick, featuring some beautiful set design by Derek Jarman and terrific performances by Reed, Vanessa Redgrave, Max Adrian and Gemma Jones.
3. Irréversible (Gaspar Noé, 2002)
Just like the Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier, Gaspar Noé is one of the most provocative directors of contemporary cinema, creating such divisive movies as I Stand Alone, Enter the Void and the 2002 film Irréversible which was booed at Cannes upon its release. Notorious for its graphic rape scene that magnetised considerable controversy, Irréversible is a tricky watch, but there’s so much idiosyncratic artistry on display too.
Told in reverse chronological order, Noé’s film is a complex film that follows a traumatic night in the life of a young woman, starring the likes of Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel, Albert Dupontel and Philippe Nahon.
2. Happiness (Todd Solondz, 1998)
Fans of the American filmmaker Todd Solondz will likely never stop going on about the unique black comedy mind of one of the country’s most underrated directors. In 1998 he brought together a mighty ensemble cast for his movie Happiness, which follows the lives of several interconnecting characters desperate to find human connection, no matter how disturbing the source of this happiness is.
Refused by The Sundance Film Festival, the film was deemed highly controversial due to its depiction of a paedophile character, played by Dylan Baker, the source of bleak, pitch-black comedy in one notorious scene.
1. A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick, 1971)
Perhaps the greatest controversial movie of all time, Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange tells the story of the leader of a sadistic gang in futuristic England who is imprisoned and forced to undergo a dramatic new therapy. So controversial that Kubrick himself pulled the film from cinemas in fear of a copycat attack, the film attracted so much public outcry due to its scenes of sexual violence.
Kubrick received multiple death threats for making the movie, and the press had a field day criticising the film any chance they could. Of course, it should almost go without saying that the film itself is an iconic classic of the 1970s that explores the nature of free will, morality and social expectations.
