Entertainment Weekly's "25 Most Controversial Movies Ever"

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From the June 16, 2006 issue. The 25 films are described as "Outrageous. Deplorable. Challenging. And even deeply rewarding….We focused on films that remind us that movies are a social experience, and that they have the power to shake, rattle, and roil the world."
It’s not a bad list, but it seems unlikely "The Da Vinci Code" and "United 93" will be considered that controversial 10 years from now. Missing from the list: "South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut," "Priest," and "Monty Python’s Life of Brian," among others.

  1. 1.
    The Passion of the Christ (Widescreen Edition)
    by Mel Gibson

    Drag me to re-order


  2. 2.
    A Clockwork Orange
    by Stanley Kubrick

    Drag me to re-order


  3. 3.
    Fahrenheit 9/11

    Drag me to re-order


  4. 4.
    Deep Throat

    Drag me to re-order


  5. 5.
    JFK - Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition)
    by Oliver Stone

    Drag me to re-order


  6. 6.
    The Last Temptation of Christ - Criterion Collection
    by Martin Scorsese

    Drag me to re-order


  7. 7.
    The Birth of a Nation

    Drag me to re-order


  8. 8.
    Natural Born Killers
    by Oliver Stone

    Drag me to re-order


  9. 9.
    Last Tango in Paris
    by Bernardo Bertolucci

    Drag me to re-order


  10. 10.
    Baby Doll
    by Elia Kazan

    Drag me to re-order


  11. 11.
    Message (30th Anniversary Edition)
    by Moustapha Akkad

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  12. 12.
    The Deer Hunter
    by Michael Cimino

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  13. 13.
    The Da Vinci Code
    by Ron Howard

    Drag me to re-order


  14. 14.
    The Warriors - The Ultimate Director's Cut
    by Walter Hill

    Drag me to re-order


  15. 15.
    Triumph of the Will (Special Edition)
    by Leni Riefenstahl

    Drag me to re-order


  16. 16.
    United 93
    by Paul Greengrass

    Drag me to re-order


  17. 17.
    Freaks
    by Tod Browning

    Drag me to re-order


  18. 18.
    I Am Curious (Yellow) - Criterion Collection
    by Vilgot Sjöman

    Drag me to re-order


  19. 19.
    Basic Instinct
    by Paul Verhoeven

    Drag me to re-order


  20. 20.
    Cannibal Holocaust

    Drag me to re-order


  21. 21.
    Bonnie and Clyde
    by Arthur Penn

    Drag me to re-order


  23. 23.
    Kids
    by Larry Clark

    Drag me to re-order


  24. 24.
    Caligula (Unrated Version)
    by Tinto Brass

    Drag me to re-order


  25. 25.
    Aladdin (Disney Special Platinum Edition)
    by John Musker

    Drag me to re-order


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Created by MKaiserman on Jun 09, 2006.
 

Comments

MestnyiGeroi
New York City

At first I thought this a terrible list, but the more I look — 1 year ago

at it, the more I realize that I was distracted by one or two poor choices, and on the whole this is a pretty good list. There are only two problems:

1. The order is all wrong.

2. The Da Vinci Code, United 93, I am Curious—Yellow, and especially Aladdin are all poor choices.

But the other 21 are good selections on the whole, even if Kids is a little too obscure to be considered widely controversial. The same might be said of Cannibal Holocaust.

Life of Brian and Pretty Baby come to mind for starters. Also better choices than the four mentioned above:
Viridiana
Straw Dogs
The Wild Bunch
Bandit Queen
Fire
Lolita
The Last Picture Show
Peeping Tom
The Outlaw
The Kiss (the original Edison film)
Pink Flamingos
Brokeback Mountain
Cruising
Carnal Knowledge
Citizen Kane
Peeping Tom
Dirty Harry
The Exorcist

Some have mentioned South Park, but any reaction to that movie was more a sort of faux controversy, to my mind.

Dec 01, 09:19PM | 2 comments | Reply to this

Loi13
Arizona

??? — 3 years ago

Alladin was there because apparently, in the original song they described Agrabah as a place where “if they don’t like your face they cut off your ear”. This angered Arabians so that line was later dubbed by something else.
I was also shocked that “South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut” didn’t make the list. This could be just me but I think “South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut” was just a mite more controversial then Alladin.

Jun 27, 03:04AM | 1 comment | Reply to this

Perlle
East Hampton

Umm... — 3 years ago

Why Aladdin?

Jun 19, 07:23PM | 2 comments | Reply to this