CONTROVERSIAL MOVIE CLUB
By: jordaan mason
http://whatcmcwhat.blogspot.com
con·tro·ver·sy [kon-truh-vur-see; Brit. also kuhn-trov-er-see]
–noun, plural -sies.
1. a prolonged public dispute, debate, or contention; disputation concerning a matter of opinion.
2. contention, strife, or argument.
CONTROVERSIAL MOVIE CLUB looks at films that have historically been considered “controversial.” these films have challenged and polarized audiences, making bold statements about “taboo” subjects and calling into question what is acceptable in cinematic portrayals of sex, violence, religion, and politics. a “controversial” film will ask you to define things like “art,” “porn,” and “exploitation,” and explore the room in between. is a film worth watching, or is it interesting, if it breaks taboos only; what makes a film “good” other than “enjoying” the watching of it, when certain acts are extremely unpleasant to watch?
“controversial” is, of course, a loaded term, and a lot of other films could be considered as contenders for this list, but these films have certainly shaken up film audiences or the media in one way or another, though some of them may seem tame by comparison today. the films are presented in roughly chronological order (by year, at least).
for further reading, there are similiar lists of “the most controversial films” at filmsite, time out new york, sky, spill, and just break. there are also two other great mubi lists here and here. also see lists of banned films, “mainstream” films with unsimulated sex scenes, films with full-frontal male nudity, and the infamous video nasty list. stephen tropiano also wrote a book on the subject.
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01William Heise
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02D.W. Griffith
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03Luis Buñuel
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04Georg Wilhelm Pabst
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05Luis Buñuel
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06Tod Browning
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07Gustav Machatý
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08Leni Riefenstahl
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09Orson Welles
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10Howard Hughes
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11Harve Foster
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12Kenneth Anger
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13Jean Genet
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14Otto Preminger
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15Elia Kazan
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16Michael Powell
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17Luis Buñuel
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18Basil Dearden
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19Paolo Cavara
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20Stanley Kubrick
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21Jack Smith
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22Roman Polanski
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23Vilgot Sjöman
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24Vilgot Sjöman
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25Frederick Wiseman
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26Arthur Penn
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27Jean-Luc Godard
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28Roman Polanski
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29John Schlesinger
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30Sam Peckinpah
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31David Maysles
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32Peter Bogdanovich
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33Mike Nichols
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34Don Siegel
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35Gualtiero Jacopetti
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36Ken Russell
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37Dušan Makavejev
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38Sam Peckinpah
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39Stanley Kubrick
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40Melvin Van Peebles
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41John Waters
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42Robert Frank
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43Wes Craven
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44Gerard Damiano
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45Bernardo Bertolucci
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46John Boorman
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47William Friedkin
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48Walerian Borowczyk
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49Tobe Hooper
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50Peter Davis
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51Dušan Makavejev
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52Bo Arne Vibenius
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53Don Edmonds
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54Pier Paolo Pasolini
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55Just Jaeckin
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56Derek Jarman
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57Nagisa Ôshima
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58Michael Findlay
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59Catherine Breillat
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60Moustapha Akkad
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61Joel M. Reed
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62Meir Zarchi
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63Louis Malle
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64Michael Cimino
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65Tinto Brass
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66Walter Hill
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67Terry Jones
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68Ruggero Deodato
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69Michael Cimino
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70William Friedkin
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71Sam Raimi
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72Jean-Luc Godard
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73Michael Cimino
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74David Lynch
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75John McNaughton
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76Agustí Villaronga
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77Jörg Buttgereit
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78Mou Tun Fei
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79Martin Scorsese
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80Spike Lee
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81Peter Greenaway
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82Pedro Almodóvar
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83Philip Kaufman
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84Todd Haynes
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85Oliver Stone
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86Paul Verhoeven
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87Ron Clements
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88Jennifer Chambers Lynch
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89Rolf de Heer
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90Peter Greenaway
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91Nacho Cerdà
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92Todd Phillips
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93Shekhar Kapur
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94Oliver Stone
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95Gregg Araki
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96Larry Clark
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97David Cronenberg
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98Gary Oldman
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99Michael Haneke
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100Kirby Dick
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101Adrian Lyne
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102Todd Solondz
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103Lars von Trier
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104Gaspar Noé
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105Catherine Breillat
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106Trey Parker
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107Stanley Kubrick
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108Jang Sun-woo
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109Bruce LaBruce
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110Takashi Miike
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111Kevin Smith
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112Virginie Despentes
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113Darren Aronofsky
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114Catherine Breillat
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115Takashi Miike
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116Michael Haneke
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117Todd Solondz
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118Larry Clark
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119Carlos Carrera
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120Gaspar Noé
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121Larry Clark
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122Vincent Gallo
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123Bernardo Bertolucci
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124Michael Winterbottom
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125Gregg Araki
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126Jonathan Glazer
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127Mel Gibson
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128Michael Moore
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129Bill Condon
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130Ang Lee
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131Paul Greengrass
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132Ron Howard
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133Jon Voight
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134Pascal Laugier
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135Lars von Trier
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136Giorgos Lanthimos
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137Gaspar Noé
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138Srdjan Spasojevic
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139Justin Kurzel