Top 10 Most Controversial Films Ever Made

Martin Scorsese's film imagined Jesus being tempted on the cross by a vision of living an ordinary life — marrying, having children, growing old. The premise provoked worldwide protests: a Paris cinema was firebombed, injuring 13 people. The film was banned in several countries including Singapore, Turkey, and the Philippines. Paradoxically, Scorsese — a devout Catholic — intended the film as a deeply reverent exploration of Christ's humanity and the meaning of sacrifice.

Pier Paolo Pasolini's final film transposed the Marquis de Sade's novel to Fascist Italy, depicting the systematic torture, rape, and murder of kidnapped teenagers by powerful libertines. It remains banned or heavily restricted in multiple countries. Pasolini intended it as a metaphor for the commodification of bodies under fascism and capitalism. He was murdered shortly before its release, and the film's extremity has divided audiences ever since between those who see political art and those who see exploitation.

D.W. Griffith's epic was a technical masterpiece that invented modern film grammar — and a virulently racist propaganda film that glorified the Ku Klux Klan and depicted Black people (played by white actors in blackface) as savage threats. The film directly led to the revival of the KKK, which grew to 4 million members by the 1920s. It remains the most consequential example of cinema's power to shape public opinion for evil, and the ongoing debate about separating art from ideology.

Ruggero Deodato's found-footage horror was so realistic that the director was arrested on murder charges and had to produce the living actors in court to prove no one had been killed. The film did, however, include the real killing of several animals on camera. Banned in over 50 countries, it pioneered the found-footage genre later used by The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity, while raising questions about the exploitation of indigenous peoples in cinema that remain relevant.

Mel Gibson's graphically violent depiction of Jesus's crucifixion grossed $612 million worldwide — making it the highest-grossing R-rated film at the time — while generating accusations of antisemitism for its portrayal of Jewish leaders as responsible for Christ's death. The ADL called it "the most antisemitic film since those produced in Nazi Germany." Supporters called it a faithful Biblical account. Gibson's subsequent antisemitic arrest in 2006 further complicated the film's legacy.

Leni Riefenstahl's documentary of the 1934 Nuremberg Nazi Party rally is considered one of the greatest propaganda films ever made and one of the most technically innovative documentaries in cinema history. Its sweeping camera movements, aerial photography, and musical synchronisation influenced every political film that followed. Riefenstahl claimed she was merely documenting an event, not promoting an ideology — a defence that raises the fundamental question of whether any documentary can be politically neutral.

Oliver Stone's satirical indictment of media glorification of violence was itself accused of glorifying violence. The film was linked to at least a dozen copycat murders worldwide, including the Columbine shooters who reportedly discussed it. Author John Grisham sued Stone (unsuccessfully) after a friend was shot by teens who had watched the film repeatedly. The irony — a film about how media creates killers being blamed for creating killers — proved its own thesis.

Michael Moore's documentary attacking the Bush administration's response to 9/11 and the Iraq War became the highest-grossing documentary of all time at $222 million. Disney refused to distribute it. Conservative groups organised boycotts. The film's release during an election year made it a political weapon — praised by the left as courageous journalism and condemned by the right as propaganda. It demonstrated that documentaries could be blockbuster political events, paving the way for the partisan documentary era.

Seth Rogen and James Franco's comedy about assassinating Kim Jong-un triggered a cyberattack on Sony Pictures attributed to North Korea, leaking unreleased films, executive emails, and employee data. North Korea threatened "9/11-style" attacks on theatres showing the film. Major cinema chains pulled it. President Obama criticised the decision as self-censorship. The film — a mediocre comedy by most critical assessments — became a geopolitical incident and demonstrated that a nation-state would wage cyberwar over a movie.

Martin Scorsese's film imagined Jesus being tempted on the cross by a vision of living an ordinary life — marrying, having children, growing old. The premise provoked worldwide protests: a Paris cinema was firebombed, injuring 13 people. The film was banned in several countries including Singapore, Turkey, and the Philippines. Paradoxically, Scorsese — a devout Catholic — intended the film as a deeply reverent exploration of Christ's humanity and the meaning of sacrifice.

Pier Paolo Pasolini's final film transposed the Marquis de Sade's novel to Fascist Italy, depicting the systematic torture, rape, and murder of kidnapped teenagers by powerful libertines. It remains banned or heavily restricted in multiple countries. Pasolini intended it as a metaphor for the commodification of bodies under fascism and capitalism. He was murdered shortly before its release, and the film's extremity has divided audiences ever since between those who see political art and those who see exploitation.

D.W. Griffith's epic was a technical masterpiece that invented modern film grammar — and a virulently racist propaganda film that glorified the Ku Klux Klan and depicted Black people (played by white actors in blackface) as savage threats. The film directly led to the revival of the KKK, which grew to 4 million members by the 1920s. It remains the most consequential example of cinema's power to shape public opinion for evil, and the ongoing debate about separating art from ideology.

Ruggero Deodato's found-footage horror was so realistic that the director was arrested on murder charges and had to produce the living actors in court to prove no one had been killed. The film did, however, include the real killing of several animals on camera. Banned in over 50 countries, it pioneered the found-footage genre later used by The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity, while raising questions about the exploitation of indigenous peoples in cinema that remain relevant.

Mel Gibson's graphically violent depiction of Jesus's crucifixion grossed $612 million worldwide — making it the highest-grossing R-rated film at the time — while generating accusations of antisemitism for its portrayal of Jewish leaders as responsible for Christ's death. The ADL called it "the most antisemitic film since those produced in Nazi Germany." Supporters called it a faithful Biblical account. Gibson's subsequent antisemitic arrest in 2006 further complicated the film's legacy.

Leni Riefenstahl's documentary of the 1934 Nuremberg Nazi Party rally is considered one of the greatest propaganda films ever made and one of the most technically innovative documentaries in cinema history. Its sweeping camera movements, aerial photography, and musical synchronisation influenced every political film that followed. Riefenstahl claimed she was merely documenting an event, not promoting an ideology — a defence that raises the fundamental question of whether any documentary can be politically neutral.

Oliver Stone's satirical indictment of media glorification of violence was itself accused of glorifying violence. The film was linked to at least a dozen copycat murders worldwide, including the Columbine shooters who reportedly discussed it. Author John Grisham sued Stone (unsuccessfully) after a friend was shot by teens who had watched the film repeatedly. The irony — a film about how media creates killers being blamed for creating killers — proved its own thesis.

Michael Moore's documentary attacking the Bush administration's response to 9/11 and the Iraq War became the highest-grossing documentary of all time at $222 million. Disney refused to distribute it. Conservative groups organised boycotts. The film's release during an election year made it a political weapon — praised by the left as courageous journalism and condemned by the right as propaganda. It demonstrated that documentaries could be blockbuster political events, paving the way for the partisan documentary era.

Seth Rogen and James Franco's comedy about assassinating Kim Jong-un triggered a cyberattack on Sony Pictures attributed to North Korea, leaking unreleased films, executive emails, and employee data. North Korea threatened "9/11-style" attacks on theatres showing the film. Major cinema chains pulled it. President Obama criticised the decision as self-censorship. The film — a mediocre comedy by most critical assessments — became a geopolitical incident and demonstrated that a nation-state would wage cyberwar over a movie.