9.Last Tango in Paris (1972) - An American (Marlon Brando) travels to Paris and engages in a lustful romp with a young Frenchwoman. Very frank depictions of sexuality. The actors and director even ended up in an Italian court on obscenity charges. Brando is naked. The horror! The horror!
8. Natural Born Killers (1994) - Copycat killers tried to re-live the escapades of Mickey and Mallory Knox. Over 12 murders in the U.S. and abroad have been linked to the film.
7. The Birth of a Nation (1915) - Blacks were portrayed as childlike and evil, while the Ku Klux Klan was depicted as the saviors of the white race. Needless to say, this upset a few people.
6. The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) - While he's hanging on the cross, the Devil tempts Jesus with images of the life he could have had (including sex, and children, with Mary Magdalene). Catholics went wild, and boycotts and protests were staged around the globe. Blockbuster Video even refused to carry the title.
5. JFK (1991) - Another entry from Oliver Stone, this film stirred up the most popular conspiracy theory in U.S. history.
4. Deep Throat (1972) - It was a porno which gained some mainstream attention. Of course it as going to be controversial. Linda Lovelace (the female lead) later claimed to have been forced into participation. Harry Reemes (the male lead) was put on trial on obscenity charges.
3. Fahrenheit 9/11 (2005) - Michael Moore's hatchet job on President Bush. Supporters of the President were not pleased, while the opposition found it both amusing and terrifying.
2. A Clockwork Orange (1971) - A gang of thugs gang rape a woman, beat another man to death, and generally go on a lawless rampage. This sparked copycat behavior in Britain, forcing the director to pull it from the theaters, and the film wasn't available there again until 2000 (a year after Kubrick's death).
1. The Passion of the Christ (2004) - The movie offers a painful and unflinching depiction of the torture and crucifixion of Jesus. Many questioned the accuracy of the film, and others went so far as to accuse Mel Gibson of being anti-Semitic. Love it or hate it, you can't deny it's impact. Churches held private screenings and took their congregations to theaters by bus. In the end, the film grossed $370 million.
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