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Extreme Cinema

The films listed below are (in)famous for arousing controversy on their initial release, be it for explicit scenes of violence, sex or extreme political beliefs . The best films in this collection use their notorious elements not merely to shock, but to provoke ('Salo' uses its disturbing sequences, borrowed from Sade, as a comment on Fascism, whilst the sickening rape scene in 'The Accused' rightly refused to soften the depiction of this despicable crime). The following films can still cause impassioned debate, in some cases decades after they were made... See also the category 'Asia Extreme'. Right: One of the most shocking debuts 'Man Bites Dog'.

I Stand Alone ( aka Seul Contre Tous ) (1998)

7.5/10
Director: Gaspar Noe
Starring: Philippe Nahon, Blandine Lenoir, Frankye Pain, Martine Audrain

"My life is very simple, it's a loser's life. The story of an ordinary man. Only today I am starting my life over. Yes, ladies and gentlemen. Today, I... Read more

Bad Lieutenant (1992)

7.1/10
Director: Abel Ferrara
Starring: Harvey Keitel, Frankie Thorn, Paul Hipp, Victor Argo

About a morally bankrupt cop (Harvey Keitel) who starts to pull himself out of the abyss when he investigates the rape of a nun who refuses to press c... Read more

I Spit On Your Grave (1978)

5.7/10
Director: Meir Zarchi
Starring: Camille Keaton

One of the most sick, disturbing movies ever made and previously banned in New Zealand, this is the film that instigated the knee-jerk Video Nasty Leg... Read more

Natural Born Killers (1994)

7.3/10
Director: Oliver Stone
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey Jr, Tommy Lee Jones, Tom Sizemore

Dubbed 'A Clockwork Orange' of the 90s, this all-out audio-visual experience is something that comes along all too rarely. Oliver Stone has, with the... Read more

A Clockwork Orange ( Blu-ray ) (1971)

8.3/10
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Adrienne Corri, Miriam Karlin

Stanley Kubrick's dark, dazzling, ironic tale of an ultra-violent future filled with marauding gangs, decaying cities and bizarre technologies. Follow... Read more

Mandy (2018)

6.7/10
Director: Panos Cosmatos
Starring: Bill Duke, Linus Roache, Nicolas Cage, Andrea Riseborough, Richard Brake, Ned De...

In the Pacific Northwest in 1983, outsiders Red Miller and Mandy Bloom lead a loving and peaceful existence. When their pine-scented haven is savagely... Read more

The Accused (1988)

7.1/10
Director: Jonathan Kaplan
Starring: Jodie Foster, Kelly McGillis, Bernie Coulson

A young woman is gang-raped in a bar while onlookers cheer on the attack. The subsequent court trials question her 'easy' lifestyle and whether she in... Read more

Funny Games (1997)

7.6/10
Director: Michael Haneke
Starring: Susanne Lothar, Ulrich Muhe, Frank Geiring, Arno Frisch

At the start of the summer holiday, Anna, Georg and their young son Georgie travel to their idyllic lakeside house; their neighbours, Fred and Eva are... Read more

Only God Forgives (2013)

5.7/10
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Starring: Kristin Scott Thomas, Ryan Gosling, Vithaya Pansringarm

Ryan Gosling and the director of "Drive", Nicolas Winding Refn, reunite with this gorgeously designed and photographed Bangkok-set thriller. Julian (G... Read more

Zombie Holocaust (1980)

5.3/10
Director: Marino Girolami
Starring: Ian McCulloch, Alexandra Delli Colli, Sherry Buchanan, Peter O'Neal

AKA 'Dr Butcher MD'. In an effort to expose a flesh-eating cult in New York City, Peter Chandler and Dr. Lori Ridgeway set out on an expedition to the... Read more