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Some films push boundaries so far they get pulled from shelves entirely. Join us as we count down our picks for the most offensive movies that were banned somewhere in the world! From political satires to shocking horror, these films left censors scrambling. What are your thoughts on film censorship? Let us know in the comments below!
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00:00What you're saying is very demeaning. Do you know the word demeaning?
00:04No.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we'll be counting down our picks for films whose
00:10infamous reputations resulted in bans at one point in time somewhere in the world.
00:16Good morning, Dave.
00:18Good morning. Hi.
00:22Number 20. The Devils
00:24It speaks volumes to the history and infamy surrounding Ken Russell's The Devils that
00:30the uncut version of this controversial cult classic still remains something of an unholy
00:35grail for collectors of physical media.
00:38Why have you left your devotions?
00:40They were watching Father Grandier.
00:45We wanted to see the funeral procession of Monsieur Zalmard, Reverend Mother.
00:49Satan is ever ready to seduce us with sensual delights.
00:54This all stems from The Devils being endlessly cut, edited, and outright banned since its release
01:01back in 1971, thanks in part to its potent combination of sex and religion.
01:07This combustible powder keg of a film isn't just mere exploitation, however, since Russell's
01:13script also speaks to the corruption of absolute power.
01:16Is there anything else? Quickly, others are waiting.
01:21I've had unclean thoughts.
01:23Of what nature?
01:24About a man.
01:26What is his name?
01:28I think of him in the early hours of the morning. My bedroom is suffocatingly hot. My thoughts are sinful.
01:36The BFI's Region 2 DVD remains out of print at the time of this writing, and it's unclear
01:42whether a definitive version of The Devils will ever hit Blu-ray outside of dubious gray market sources.
01:49Number 19. The New York Ripper
01:52Director Lucio Fulci's reputation as Italy's godfather of gore remains secure even today,
02:00thanks to such grisly exploitation efforts as 1982's The New York Ripper.
02:05You remember that girl I found five or six weeks ago, that model?
02:10And Lynn?
02:11Same exact style. I bet my denture she was done in by the same guy. A lefty. With a yen
02:20for slashing up young ladies.
02:22This mean and nasty mixture of police procedurals, slasher films, and Italy's giallo cycle was banned in the UK and
02:31remained prohibited as such until 2002.
02:35It's easy to see why, too, since Fulci's bleak vision of 1980's New York City felt in line with the
02:41difficult criminal waters navigated by that city during this time.
02:45The New York Ripper is, said simply, rough. With fetishized violence and murder set pieces that leave absolutely nothing to
02:54the imagination.
02:55Oh, and the killer also quacks like a duck.
03:00Lieutenant Williams?
03:02Speaking. What do you want?
03:04To dedicate a killing to you.
03:07Gonna sacrifice a woman just for you.
03:10Like the idea?
03:11Did we forget that part?
03:13Number 18. Caligula
03:15We live in an age where it seems almost inconceivable that a film containing stars like Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren,
03:23and Peter O'Toole could actually be confiscated by authorities upon its release.
03:28Every senator believes himself to be a potential Caesar, therefore every senator is guilty of treason.
03:34Yet, that's what happened in Italy after this co-production between That Country's director Tinto Brass, screenwriter Gore Vidal, and
03:42Penthouse Magazine producer Bob Guccione,
03:45hit screens.
03:46Caligula is seen retroactively today by many critics as a fascinating blend of arthouse creative sensibilities and blatant adult-focused
03:55erotica.
03:56A misunderstood, X-rated masterpiece with a lot of WTF to offer those willing to take the ride.
04:03Back in the day, however, Caligula got a lot of people hot and bothered.
04:07Just probably not in the way it intended.
04:10You are a fool.
04:12Caesar cannot be a fool.
04:14But he's trying very hard.
04:16Caesar cannot be a fool.
04:19Number 17.
04:21I Spit on Your Grave
04:23There's no denying the graphic execution of the original 1978 version of this infamously banned film.
04:31Do you have a boyfriend?
04:33I have many boyfriends.
04:36Could I be a friend?
04:37Sure.
04:38Yet, I Spit on Your Grave has also managed to be seen retroactively as a defiantly feminist statement against sexual
04:46violence and abuse.
04:48I Spit on Your Grave was banned in many places across the world due to its explicit content.
04:54The controversy also helped make Camille Keaton a cult star.
04:58However, an actor whose performance, in the face of truly traumatic odds, helped make I Spit on Your Grave live
05:05on as a progenitor on the revenge genre.
05:08I knew you were going to like it here.
05:17Number 16.
05:18Sweet Movie
05:19There's little in the way of actual sweetness in writer-director Dushan Makaveyev's 1974 effort, Sweet Movie.
05:28We advocate simple triumph of the will.
05:31It is painless and ever so rewarding.
05:34This is despite Makaveyev's ostensibly filming an absurdist comedy, commenting upon commercialism and left-wing politics,
05:42while also breaking every rule of perceived good taste along the way.
05:47Sweet Movie was banned and even seized in countries like the United Kingdom due to the film's fast-and-loose
05:53approach to filming certain bodily fluids.
05:56Sweet Movie also found itself in hot water thanks to footage of cotton massacre victims, not to mention other implied
06:03content that we can't mention.
06:05Lead actress, Carol Laura, was so offended by her part in Sweet Movie that she abandoned the project during production.
06:13You are so beautiful.
06:16I know.
06:18Number 15.
06:20Deep Throats
06:21You had to have been there, as the saying goes.
06:24During the era of porno chic, even society's elite were slumming it in New York City's 42nd Street grindhouses
06:32in order to catch a glimpse of what was showing on screen.
06:35You alright?
06:37No, I'm fine.
06:38What makes you say that?
06:38You?
06:39The way you're acting.
06:40You've been moping around all day.
06:42Films like Deep Throat were banned across the United States,
06:46despite ravenous audience demand to see sex displayed on screen in a manner that differed from stag films found in
06:54the city's peep shows.
06:56Deep Throat had a plot, albeit a silly one,
06:59and a desire to combine adult performance with cinematography.
07:03This mob-connected venture may have caused a lot of legal headaches,
07:08but Deep Throat also opened the floodgates for brief adult film legitimacy.
07:14Anything you say.
07:15You know I'd do anything for you.
07:17Would you really?
07:18You're not just saying that?
07:20No, I mean it, really.
07:23Number 14.
07:24The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
07:26Horror movie trivia fans like to discuss how the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre
07:31actually doesn't possess that much on-screen gore.
07:35You see those buildings there?
07:37That's where they kill them.
07:38Yet that didn't stop director Tobey Hooper's masterpiece from being banned in countries across the world.
07:44So, the question can then be asked.
07:47Did those in the political position to ban the Texas Chainsaw Massacre do so after actually viewing the film?
07:54Or did the reputation of Hooper's film precede itself with regards to its undeniably powerful atmosphere?
08:01He killed Franklin.
08:03I don't know.
08:04Call him, please.
08:06The original Texas Chainsaw certainly struck like lightning in a bottle,
08:10transfixing fans and critics alike with a power unlike anything else released at the time.
08:26Number 13.
08:28Faces of Death
08:29The promotional advertising for the 2026 reboot of Faces of Death smartly hypes up the original's reputation
08:37as a rite of passage for many a horror-loving kid from the 1980s.
08:43And over the past 20 years, I've compiled a library of the many Faces of Death.
08:48The original Faces of Death also promoted itself in this fashion,
08:53wearing its band in 46 countries advertising as a badge of honor.
08:58This exploitation film disguised as a documentary would eventually become known for its juxtaposition
09:04of fake, staged death scenes alongside very real news footage,
09:09blurring the lines between art and violence and becoming a legend in the process.
09:14Sequels, rip-offs, and other violent Mondo movies would emerge in the wake of Faces of Death's
09:20bad taste success.
09:22But, as they say, you never forget your first time.
09:26No matter how safe this may appear, we still have very little control.
09:30Number 12.
09:32The Last House on the Left
09:34The moral panic that took place in the United Kingdom in the 1980s resulted in films such as
09:40The Last House on the Left being banned as video nasties.
09:44Do you know their car broke down right out front, John?
09:47Oh?
09:48Anything serious?
09:50Yeah, I'm afraid we blew a rod.
09:52These films were unavailable in their uncut versions for decades.
09:57Unavailable, at least, outside of the burgeoning black market bootleg circuit that thrived alongside
10:03the video nasty craze.
10:05Wes Craven's rough exploitation and revenge film was also edited in other countries around
10:10the world, and with good reason.
10:12What's the trouble, Doc?
10:14Shut your filthy mouth.
10:16Now take it easy, Doc.
10:17Don't do anything I wouldn't do.
10:19This dire and, honestly, depressing horror classic spares no expense with regards to
10:26the grime and sleaze, making it a challenging watch, even by today's standards.
10:32Number 11.
10:33A Clockwork Orange
10:35Legendary director Stanley Kubrick did something a little different after the release of his
10:40adaptation of Anthony Burgess' novel, A Clockwork Orange, back in 1971.
10:45I'm sorry, but we don't usually let strangers in in the middle.
10:54Kubrick decided to voluntarily impose a ban on his film shortly after its release in the
11:00United Kingdom, after copycat criminals decided to take inspiration from Alex DeLarge and his
11:06droogs.
11:07The film also saw other non-voluntary bans in countries such as Brazil, Singapore, and South
11:14Africa, lending further fuel to the reputation of Burgess' source novel as one of the 20th
11:20century's most controversial works.
11:23Where did you hear about this?
11:25Who's been talking about these things?
11:28These things get around farther.
11:31Number 10.
11:31The Birth of a Nation
11:33Few movies are as notorious as D.W.
11:36Griffith's The Birth of a Nation.
11:45Released all the way back in 1915, the historical epic has garnered intense criticism for over
11:52a century.
11:53It's an incredibly racist piece of work, featuring evil and bumbling black characters, a heroic
11:59depiction of white supremacy, and pseudo-history that legitimizes the lost cause of the Confederacy.
12:10Even by 1915's standards, this was all seen as wildly problematic, and the movie's release
12:17was met with protests and vehement criticism.
12:20Fearing racial backlash, several American cities and states, including Chicago, Pittsburgh, and
12:26Ohio, banned The Birth of a Nation.
12:34Number 9.
12:36The Human Centipede 2
12:38Full Sequence
12:39There's arguably a good idea buried deep within The Human Centipede 2, as it utilizes
12:45some clever metafiction to comment on the original movie and the potential danger that it poses.
12:51I was really drawn to the film because of the medical aspect of it.
12:54If you were a surgeon, you could actually perform that surgery.
12:58It's just so scary.
12:59But critics agreed that the good idea was squandered by bad filmmaking and some reprehensible violence.
13:06The movie was not given a rating by the British Board of Film Classification, or BBFC, which
13:12means that it was de facto banned.
13:20It wasn't until more than two minutes of footage was removed that the BBFC gave it the classification
13:26required for release.
13:27A similar incident occurred in Australia, but the story is different in New Zealand, as
13:33the distributors never even sent it to theaters there.
13:36Its DVD release, meanwhile, was prohibited.
13:39Number 8.
13:41The Death of Stalin
13:42This political satire from Armando Iannucci mines comedy from the death of Joseph Stalin,
13:48and portrays his council of ministers in a not-so-flattering light.
13:53I said you'd be tested, and right now you're being tested by a shouting man wearing pajamas.
13:56Have you got a nappy under those, too?
13:58Too late for him.
13:59The movie was widely praised and won various British Independent Film Awards.
14:03But as you can imagine, the death of Stalin was not warmly received in Russia.
14:07Various institutions released statements claiming that it was both inaccurate and antagonistic,
14:12and it was banned shortly before release.
14:22Regardless, that hasn't stopped many Russian citizens from viewing it.
14:26One particular theater made headlines for defying the ban, and over one million people are thought
14:31to have watched the movie through illegal piracy.
14:34He's heavier than I thought it'd be.
14:36Huh?
14:36You think Stalin's too heavy?
14:38No, no, no, it's a compliment.
14:39Gold is heavy.
14:40Number 7.
14:42The Da Vinci Code
14:43Dan Brown's classic thriller subverts many canonical facts about Jesus Christ,
14:48and the film adaptation follows suit.
14:51But how could Christ have a bloodline unless...
14:54Mary was pregnant at the time of the crucifixion.
14:56During his rousing adventure, Robert Langdon discovers that Jesus and Mary Magdalene not only
15:02wed, but had a kid.
15:04As if it wasn't enough, he also learns that their lineage continues to this day in the form
15:09of the metaphorical Holy Grail.
15:11The end of the bloodline.
15:14You were the last living descendant of Jesus Christ.
15:21The movie portrays the Catholic Church as holders of this secret knowledge who have been
15:25concealing the truth for ages.
15:27The film and its fictional weaving of religion and history offended many and drew widespread
15:32condemnation.
15:33It was met with protests and was banned on blasphemous grounds in numerous countries,
15:38like Egypt, Pakistan, and Jordan.
15:41You asked what would be worth killing for.
15:45Witness the greatest cover-up in human history.
15:49Number 6.
15:50Pink Flamingos
15:51While some may call it John Waters' masterpiece,
15:55Pink Flamingos makes for an incredibly difficult watch, even by today's standards.
16:00This beautiful mobile home you see before you is the current hideout of the notorious beauty
16:06divine, the filthiest person alive.
16:08We can only imagine how contentious it was back in 1972.
16:12The movie is filled with depraved actions and disturbing scenes, as characters compete to
16:18be the filthiest person alive.
16:20It was even marketed as an exercise in poor taste.
16:23And, yep, that pretty much sums it up.
16:26Do you think it enhanced my filthiness?
16:28Oh, crackers, you should dye your hair.
16:30It would make you look much filthier.
16:32Pink Flamingos was deemed offensively revolting and received bans in Australia, parts of Canada,
16:37and Switzerland, just to name a few places.
16:40Funnily enough, the movie is now part of the Criterion Collection.
16:43Perhaps there's sometimes artistic merit to be found in the grotesque.
16:48Watch, as Divine proves that not only is she the filthiest person in the world,
16:54she is also the filthiest actress in the world.
16:57Number five, The Last Temptation of Christ.
17:01Movies that depict Jesus Christ have to walk a fine line,
17:04as religious content has a lot of potential to offend.
17:07And the voices, they call me by name, Jesus.
17:15The Last Temptation of Christ started as a novel published in 1955,
17:20and was met with immediate backlash for its themes and depiction of Jesus some felt was blasphemous.
17:26The novel was adapted by Martin Scorsese over 30 years later, and nothing had changed.
17:31Take this bread. Share it together. This bread is my body.
17:40Scorsese was threatened, and an extremist Catholic group even carried out an arson attack at a Paris theater
17:46that was screening the movie.
17:48Numerous countries banned the film outright, including Argentina, Israel, and Mexico,
17:53and it continues to be outlawed in Singapore.
17:56And killing or loving, it's all the same.
17:58It simply doesn't matter how you want to change things.
18:01We don't want them changed.
18:03Number four, Cannibal Holocaust.
18:06There are scandalous movies, and then there's Cannibal Holocaust.
18:10This is a documentary they shot for us about a year and a half ago.
18:14Can I start?
18:15Yes, please do.
18:16The granddaddy of Video Nasty's Ruggiero Deodato's horror film
18:21has long been criticized for its extreme level of violence.
18:24The killings are so realistic and disgusting that people genuinely thought this was a snuff film,
18:30and Deodato was charged with homicide.
18:33He was eventually acquitted, but the reputation of the movie lived on.
18:36Of course, they had no inkling of what was really in those cans.
18:39How could you explain what a movie is?
18:42They just felt that they were a threat.
18:44Countless film censors took umbrage with the violent content and real animal killings,
18:48so Cannibal Holocaust received bans across the globe.
18:51Many of these prohibitions have since been lifted,
18:54but the movie is notably still barred in New Zealand.
18:57I wonder who the real cannibals are.
19:00Number three, Borat.
19:02If anything, Borat is a great exercise in interpretation.
19:06The movie was widely acclaimed in the Western world,
19:09won numerous awards, and was the pop culture event of the year.
19:13I get a step, he must get a step.
19:16I get a clock radio, he cannot afford.
19:19Great success.
19:20Even to this day, people imitate Borat and his many catchphrases.
19:24But most of the Arab world found the movie to be wildly offensive.
19:28She's my sister.
19:30She's number four prostitute in all of Kazakhstan.
19:35Nice.
19:36Officials in Kazakhstan condemned both the film and its leading character,
19:40and the government successfully asked that it not be distributed there.
19:44Kazakhstan wasn't the only country to take issue with the movie's satirical content.
19:48In fact, Borat was banned in nearly every Arab country.
19:52A town mechanic and a barjianist.
19:55Number two, a Serbian film.
19:58It takes a lot to offend 21st century moviegoers.
20:09The Motion Picture Association in America, for instance,
20:12has grown more lenient throughout the years.
20:15So it can seem like everything but the most extreme content is given a pass.
20:19Well, a Serbian film has that extreme content, and then some.
20:24It carries a heavy reputation,
20:26and it's widely regarded as one of the most unsettling, gross films ever made.
20:31It was therefore banned either temporarily or permanently in numerous places, including New Zealand.
20:42One Spanish festival director notably faced charges for publicly showing the movie,
20:46though he was exonerated.
20:47It was also the first film in over 20 years to be banned in Brazil.
20:51Siné, to je film. To je sve kobajagi. Tad je tata bio mlad.
20:56Znam, ali kad sam to ogledao, osjetio sam nešto čudno.
21:07Before we continue, check out this single from Sound Mojo's Adia, Songs from Iran,
21:12reimagining Persian melodies as modern rock, metal, and pop songs.
21:16Check out the full track and album below.
21:33Number one, The Interview.
21:36It's rare for a movie to cause as much drama as The Interview.
21:40Come on, you, where I work, you'd be eaten alive at our office.
21:43Okay, I'm gonna catch up with these guys, but cheers, man. Congrats. Or whatever.
21:47This political satire is about an entertainment talk show host and his producer,
21:52who traveled to North Korea to interview Kim Jong-un.
21:56Unsurprisingly, the country was none too happy with the content of the film
22:00and took offense with its depiction of their nation and leader.
22:03Good morning, Dave.
22:06Good morning.
22:07Hi, Dave Skylark.
22:10It's crazy.
22:12A criminal group with links to North Korea hacked into Sony Pictures Entertainment
22:15and threatened violence in a bid to prevent the film's release.
22:19In the aftermath, The Interview's U.S.-wide theatrical release was controversially axed by Sony.
22:25While it would go on to be released through VOD and streaming,
22:28it remained banned in both North Korea and Russia.
22:31For decades, you've heard the false rumors.
22:35North Korea is a failed state.
22:37We can't feed our people.
22:39It's all propaganda.
22:40What are your thoughts on film censorship?
22:43Who, if anyone, should decide what's morally objectionable?
22:47Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
22:50Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
22:50Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
22:50Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
22:51Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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