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'.
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
Ebola Syndrome (1996)
6.6/10
Director: Herman Yau
Starring: Anthony Wong, Fui-On Shing, Yeung Ming Wan
Anthony Wong is Kai, a man with a grudge against the world. Fleeing from a murder charge he winds up in Africa where he rapes a dying woman. He cont... Read more
Crash (1996)
6.4/10
Director: David Cronenberg
Starring: James Spader, Holly Hunter, Elias Koteas, Rosanna Arquette, Deborah Kara Unger
James Spader, Holly Hunter and Rosanna Arquette are a motley assortment of car crash survivors seeking more and more perverse thrills to communicate,... Read more
Black Sun: The Nanking Massacre (1995)
7.5/10
Director: T F Mou
Portrays the ordeals of the members of a poor Chinese family as they try to survive the Japanese occupation of their city. This is an uncompromising p... Read more
Kids (1995)
7/10
Director: Larry Clark
Starring: Leo Fitzpatrick, Justin Pierce, Chloe Sevigny
Famed photographer Larry Clark makes his directorial debut with this sensational story of teenage life in Manhattan. Ignoring the challenge posed by A... Read more
Natural Born Killers: The Director's Cut ( Blu-ray ) (1994)
7.3/10
Director: Oliver Stone
Starring: Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey Jr, Tom Sizemore, Tommy Lee Jones, Woody Harrelson
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
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
Body Melt (1993)
5/10
Director: Philip Brophy
Starring: Gerard Kennedy, Andrew Daddo, Ian Smith, Lisa McCune
A gore-filled Aussie B-movie, directed by Philip Brophy and based on his own short stories, in which a small Melbourne community is being used as guin... Read more
Man Bites Dog (1992)
7.6/10
Director: Andre Bonzel, Benoit Poelvoorde, Remy Belvaux
Starring: Benoit Poelvoorde, Jacqueline Poelvoorde Pappaert
A no-holds-barred portrait of an unashamedly brutal serial killer (played by co-director Benot Poelvoorde). This unique black comedy, shot in document... 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