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'.
"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
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
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
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
Stanley Kubrick's dark, dazzling, ironic tale of an ultra-violent future filled with marauding gangs, decaying cities and bizarre technologies. Follow... Read more
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
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
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
Ryan Gosling and the director of "Drive", Nicolas Winding Refn, reunite with this gorgeously designed and photographed Bangkok-set thriller. Julian (G... Read more
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