Antichrist is released this week so it’s time to steel your nerves as we take a look at our top ten controversial movies.
Lars Von Trier’s new film Antichrist hits Irish screens this week after causing waves of controversy on the festival circuit. Von Trier has been provocative throughout his career but the critical reception so far for Antichrist has been particularly extreme with some critics even suggesting it should be banned! The film tells the story of a couple (Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg) who have just lost a child in a tragic accident. They retreat to a woodland cabin to grieve, where Gainsbourg’s character becomes increasingly unhinged. Scenes of unpleasant violence ensue including many that will have the audience crossing their legs! Join us as we look at some similarly controversial films.
1. A Clockwork Orange
You know a film has really outdone itself in the controversy stakes when the director himself becomes so tired of it all that he imposes a ban on it himself. So it was with Kubrick’s masterpiece A Clockwork Orange. While the film was released with an X rating in the States, but in Britain there was moral outrage as the film was accused of inspiring rapes and murders. No surprise then that Kubrick chose to remove himself from this controversy and pull the film from distribution; a situation that was only resolved after his death in 2000.
2. Straw Dogs
It’s hard to believe when you look at Last Chance Harvey that Dustin Hoffman was ever anywhere near controversy. It’s all a far cry from Sam Peckinpah’s 1971 film Straw Dogs. Hoffman and Susan George play a couple who have just moved to the wilds of Cornwall. George is victim of a brutal rape at the hands of a group of locals – one of the most controversial scenes in film history. The film then deals with the violent repercussions of this event. An extreme experience, the film was cut or banned and was so until released uncut as late as 2002 but it remains extremely controversial.