Banned films
Encyclopedia
For nearly the entire history of film
production, certain films have been banned
by film censorship or review organizations for political or moral
reasons. Censorship standards vary widely by country, and can vary within an individual country over time due to political change or shifting moral attitudes.
Many countries have government-appointed or private commissions to censor and rate productions for film and television exhibition. While it is common for films to be edited to fall into certain rating classifications, this list includes only films that have been explicitly prohibited from public screening.
, formerly the Office of Film and Literature Classification, or OFLC) uses the Commonwealth Classification Act 1995 as a guide for the majority of the censorship within the country; however, each state and territory is free to make additional legislation (see Censorship in Australia
). Australia is regarded by many to be the most restrictive on film ratings of all Western democratic countries, considering its history and prolific "refusal of classification" to certain films.
In practice, films still get a short cinematic run before they are reviewed and prevented from being shown at cinemas or released on DVD. This is not a comprehensive list; many films that have been previously banned are not mentioned here (however, some have since been released uncut on DVD). Also not included are the numerous pornographic films deemed too excessive to release under an X18+ category, which are refused classification by the ACB.
During several years a project was being developed to find and publish every document on censorship in films during the dictatorship.
The project "Memory of Censorship in Brazilian Cinema" released in 2005 six thousand documents about 175 banned films during the dictatorship. And, finally, in 2007 they released documents for the last 269 films banned at that time.
"On August 20, 2009, the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo reported that Rede Record bought the broadcasting rights of the documentary from Ellis for less than US$ 20,000."
"On February 14, 2011, the newspaper Jornal do Brasil (quoting the network's spokesperson) reported that Rede Record will broadcast the documentary in 2011, on a date yet to be specified."
This film (short) about Di Cavalcanti was banned due a lawsuit open by Di Cavalcanti daughter, Elizabeth, in 1979.
A Serbian Film had its release in Brazil liberated on August 5, 2011. The exception is Rio de Janeiro estate, where the film was forbidden due a lawsuit filed by the Democrats
political party, who claim that the pedophilia scenes infringe the part of the Brazilian Constitution that protects children (Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente). The case is still pending in court.
At present, only films containing prohibited material (such as child pornography) or under court order (such as libel or copyright infringement) are banned in Canadian provinces.
's dictatorship:
Other films banned in Finland include:
West Germany
Andhra Pradesh
Tamil Nadu
West Bengal
Due to the small size of the Republic of Ireland, films banned by the British Board of Film Classification
(BBFC) were rarely even submitted for release in Ireland, due to the high costs of promotion and distribution for such a small audience. Similarly, BBFC cuts are often left in DVD releases, due to the difficulties in separating the two film supplies.
This changed in 2000; many of these films have since been unbanned and rated anywhere from PG to 18. During the review process it was decided that no more films would be banned for either theatre or video release, but some bans are still in place.
Banned films can still be viewed at private members' clubs with 18+ age limits.
, very few films are not certified for release.
films were banned from 1956 until 1967.
strict censorship policy on nudity
(see Pornography in Japan
), very few films are banned there.
Those that are banned are usually put under self-imposed studio bans by the companies that produced them.
It should be noted that in Soviet Union most foreign movies never had been shown thus avoiding the need for banning.
Bans made prior to 1980 have all been lifted. According to the Internet Movie Database, there are no currently-banned films in South Korea.
). Such findings are usually only legally binding in the jurisdiction of the court making such a ruling.
The established film industry in the United States
began a form of self-censorship in the late 1920s called the Motion Picture Production Code to forestall any possible formation of a federal censoring agency. In 1968, the Production Code was superseded by the MPAA film rating system
.
Theoretically, free speech in the U.S. can also be limited if it might cause a clear and present danger
of an imminent lawless action
, or constitutes a copyright violation.
History of film
The history of film is the historical development of the medium known variously as cinema, motion pictures, film, or the movies.The history of film spans over 100 years, from the latter part of the 19th century to the present day...
production, certain films have been banned
Ban (law)
A ban is, generally, any decree that prohibits something.Bans are formed for the prohibition of activities within a certain political territory. Some see this as a negative act and others see it as maintaining the "status quo"...
by film censorship or review organizations for political or moral
Morality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
reasons. Censorship standards vary widely by country, and can vary within an individual country over time due to political change or shifting moral attitudes.
Many countries have government-appointed or private commissions to censor and rate productions for film and television exhibition. While it is common for films to be edited to fall into certain rating classifications, this list includes only films that have been explicitly prohibited from public screening.
Argentina
- 1985: Je vous salue MarieHail Mary (film)Hail Mary is a 1985 French film written and directed by Jean-Luc Godard. The film is a modern retelling of the story of a virgin birth. It was entered into the 35th Berlin International Film Festival.-Plot:...
(Hail Mary), directed by Jean-Luc GodardJean-Luc GodardJean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is often identified with the 1960s French film movement, French Nouvelle Vague, or "New Wave"....
, was banned due to its blasphemous and sexual content.
Australia
Australia's ACB (Australian Classification BoardAustralian Classification Board
The Australian Classification Board is a statutory classification body formed by the Australian Government which classifies films, video games and publications for exhibition, sale or hire in Australia since its establishment in 1970. The Australian Classification Board was originally incorporated...
, formerly the Office of Film and Literature Classification, or OFLC) uses the Commonwealth Classification Act 1995 as a guide for the majority of the censorship within the country; however, each state and territory is free to make additional legislation (see Censorship in Australia
Censorship in Australia
Australia is a federation, and responsibility for censorship is divided between the states and the federal government. Censorship of video games and Internet sites hosted in Australia are considered to be the strictest in the western world....
). Australia is regarded by many to be the most restrictive on film ratings of all Western democratic countries, considering its history and prolific "refusal of classification" to certain films.
In practice, films still get a short cinematic run before they are reviewed and prevented from being shown at cinemas or released on DVD. This is not a comprehensive list; many films that have been previously banned are not mentioned here (however, some have since been released uncut on DVD). Also not included are the numerous pornographic films deemed too excessive to release under an X18+ category, which are refused classification by the ACB.
| Year | Name | Reason for banning | History | Current status (2011) | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964—1970 | The Miracle L'Amore (film) L'Amore is an anthology film directed by Roberto Rossellini starring Anna Magnani and Federico Fellini. The two segments are "Il Miracolo" and "Una Voce Umana", the latter based on the play The Human Voice by Jean Cocteau... , Viridiana Viridiana Viridiana is a 1961 Spanish-Mexican motion picture, directed by Luis Buñuel and produced by Mexican Gustavo Alatriste. It is loosely based on Halma, a novel by Benito Pérez Galdós.... , La Dolce Vita La Dolce Vita La Dolce Vita is a 1960 comedy-drama film written and directed by the critically acclaimed director Federico Fellini. The film is a story of a passive journalist's week in Rome, and his search for both happiness and love that will never come... , Satyricon Satyricon (film) Satyricon is a 1969 Italian fantasy drama film written and directed by Federico Fellini. It is loosely based on Petronius's work, Satyricon, a series of bawdy and satirical episodes written during the reign of the emperor Nero and set in imperial Rome.-Plot:The film opens on a graffiti-covered... , The Silence The Silence (1963 film) The Silence is a 1963 Swedish film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman and starring Ingrid Thulin and Gunnel Lindblom. The plot focuses on two sisters – the younger a sensuous woman with a young son, the elder more intellectually orientated and seriously ill — and their tense relationship as... , Blowup Blowup Blowup is a 1966 film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, his first English-language film.It tells of a British photographer's accidental involvement with a murder, inspired by Julio Cortázar's short story, "Las babas del diablo" or "The Devil's Drool" , translated also as Blow-Up, and by the life... and Zabriskie Point Zabriskie Point (film) Zabriskie Point is a 1970 film by Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni, widely noted at the time for its setting in the late 1960s counterculture of the United States... |
Various | R. J. Prowse is appointed Chief Censor and Campbell is appointed to the Appeals Board. During the 1960s, many films were banned. | Presumably unbanned at some point, as all films (bar The Silence, which is included on Bergman Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. Described by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera", he is recognized as one of the most accomplished and... 's Faith Trilogy DVD, rated R18+) are now classified M. |
|
| 1971 | N/A | N/A | Customs Minister Don Chipp Don Chipp Donald Leslie Chipp, AO was an Australian politician, and the inaugural leader of the Australian Democrats.-Early life:... begins the development of a new classification system which includes the much-needed R18+ rating for adult content; films that were once banned are gradually released. |
N/A | |
| 1972 | Pink Flamingos Pink Flamingos Pink Flamingos is a 1972 transgressive black comedy film written, produced, composed, shot, edited, and directed by John Waters. When the film was initially released, it caused a huge degree of controversy and thus became one of the most notorious cult films ever made. It made an underground star... |
Offensive content (exploitation, sexual violence, incest, adult themes, animal cruelty) | First banned in 1976. It was re-rated R18+, with four minutes of footage removed. It was re-banned in 1981, and another three times in 1983. In 1984 it was given an X18+ (banned in all states, although legally for sale in the two Territories), uncut. Soon after, attitudes towards sexual violence became stricter in the X18+ category; thus, it would not be possible to earn the X18+ again. It was re-banned in 1997, this version being the "25th Anniversary Edition" which added extra scenes. The distributor this time cut only two minutes to receive an R18+. | Allowed in a cut version (cut by the distributor, as the ACB does not cut films), rating R18+. | |
| 1974 | The Texas Chain Saw Massacre The Texas Chain Saw Massacre The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American independent horror film directed and produced by Tobe Hooper, who cowrote it with Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, and Gunnar Hansen, who respectively portray Sally Hardesty, Franklin Hardesty, the... |
High impact explicit violence. | The ban was lifted in 1984. | Allowed uncut, rating R18+ | |
| 1975 | Vase de Noces Vase de Noces Vase de Noces is a Belgian arthouse film directed by Thierry Zéno and stars Dominique Garny.The film deals openly, and sometimes graphically, with bestiality, and is informally known as The Pig Fucking Movie... (also known as Wedding Trough Vase de Noces Vase de Noces is a Belgian arthouse film directed by Thierry Zéno and stars Dominique Garny.The film deals openly, and sometimes graphically, with bestiality, and is informally known as The Pig Fucking Movie... ) |
Obscenity | Under pressure from the Western Australian government, the Australian Classification Board Australian Classification Board The Australian Classification Board is a statutory classification body formed by the Australian Government which classifies films, video games and publications for exhibition, sale or hire in Australia since its establishment in 1970. The Australian Classification Board was originally incorporated... decided to ban this arthouse Belgian film for obscenity Obscenity An obscenity is any statement or act which strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time, is a profanity, or is otherwise taboo, indecent, abhorrent, or disgusting, or is especially inauspicious... . The film was banned from being played at the Perth International Film Festival. However, the authorities lifted the ban temporarily and the film was allowed to be screened. In 1976, the government decided to re-ban the film. |
Still banned | |
| 1976 | Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma | Offensive content (exploitation, sexual violence) | Pasolini's Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini was an Italian film director, poet, writer, and intellectual. Pasolini distinguished himself as a poet, journalist, philosopher, linguist, novelist, playwright, filmmaker, newspaper and magazine columnist, actor, painter and political figure... Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma was banned at the time of release. This ban was then reversed in 1993; the film was re-rated R18+ for a theatrical release. However, the ACB re-banned it in 1998 for "offensive cruelty with high impact". It was then approved for DVD-only release in 2010, uncut. |
Allowed uncut, rated R18+ | |
| 1980 | Caligula Caligula (film) Caligula is a 1979 American-produced Italian biographical film directed by Tinto Brass, with additional scenes filmed by Giancarlo Lui and Penthouse founder Bob Guccione. The film concerns the rise and fall of Roman Emperor Gaius Caesar Germanicus, better known as Caligula... |
Explicit scenes of sex and violence | In 1981 the ban was lifted, and a modified version with the rating R18+ was allowed. In 1984 the uncut version was released, and it received an X18+ rating. Later in 1984, the ACB decided to forbid films containing sexual violence and the film was re-banned. Ever since, the film has fluctuated between X18+ and R18+ (depending on the version). In 2010, the ACB refused the "Imperial Edition" DVD of Caligula Caligula (film) Caligula is a 1979 American-produced Italian biographical film directed by Tinto Brass, with additional scenes filmed by Giancarlo Lui and Penthouse founder Bob Guccione. The film concerns the rise and fall of Roman Emperor Gaius Caesar Germanicus, better known as Caligula... a classification; it was also refused in 2005. |
Still banned; arguably the widest-released of all banned films (in worldwide terms) that is not available uncut in Australia. | |
| 1984 | Cannibal Holocaust Cannibal Holocaust Cannibal Holocaust is a 1980 Italian horror film directed by Ruggero Deodato from a screenplay by Gianfranco Clerici. Filmed in the Amazon Rainforest and dealing with indigenous tribes, it was cast mostly with United States actors and filmed in English to achieve wider distribution... |
Explicit gore/gruesome scenes | The ban was lifted in 2005 and the film was showed in public, in a cut version with the rating R18+. In 2006, the film was allowed uncut. | Allowed uncut, rating R18+ | |
| 1986 | Lucker the Necrophagous Lucker (film) Lucker, better known by its full title Lucker the Necrophagous, is a 1986 Belgian exploitation film directed and produced by Johan Vandewoestijne... |
Graphic necrophilia content | No details | Still banned | |
| 1986 | The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 | Explicit violence content | There is a confirmation from 1992 of Customs forwarding an uncut print of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 to the ACB, who later released it. The Board did not give it a rating, so "at the time it was unclear what this meant for the film's banned status". In 2006, the film was unbanned. | Allowed uncut, rating R18+ | |
| 1990 | Bad Taste Bad Taste Bad Taste is a 1987 cult science fiction comedy horror film. Produced on a low budget, it is one of the first films directed by Peter Jackson. The film features Jackson and his friends taking a number of key roles, both on and off-screen... |
Unknown | The film got banned after a three-week run in cinemas. In 2005, it was unbanned. | Allowed uncut, rating R18+ | |
| 1992 | Nekromantik Nekromantik NEKRomantik is a 1987 West German horror film directed by Jörg Buttgereit. This frequently controversial movie, banned in a number of countries, has become a cult film over the years due to its transgressive subject matter and audacious imagery... , Nekromantik 2 Nekromantik 2 NEKRomantik 2 is 1991 German horror/splatter film directed by Jörg Buttgereit and a sequel of his 1987 film Nekromantik. The film is about necrophilia, and was quite controversial and was seized by authorities in Munich 12 days after its release, an action that had no precedent in Germany since the... |
Necrophilic content | These two films, dealing with the subject of necrophilia Necrophilia Necrophilia, also called thanatophilia or necrolagnia, is the sexual attraction to corpses,It is classified as a paraphilia by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. The word is artificially derived from the ancient Greek words: νεκρός and φιλία... , were discovered by the ACB when they were seized by Customs in 1992 and they were both banned. |
Still banned | |
| 1992 | Buio Omega Buio Omega Buio Omega is an Italian horror/exploitation film directed by Joe D'Amato, and released in 1979.- Plot :... (also known as Beyond the Darkness) |
High level violence and necrophilic content | The film was seized by Customs in 1992, and forwarded to the ACB. It was subsequently banned. | Still banned. | |
| 1992 | The Beast in Heat La Bestia in Calore La Bestia in Calore is an Italian exploitation film released in 1977. Directed by Luigi Batzella and written by Batzella and Lorenzo Artale, it gained notoriety when it was banned in the UK as a video nasty... (also known as SS Hell Camp) |
Excessive sexual violence | The film was seized by Customs in 1992, and forwarded to the ACB. It was subsequently banned. | Still banned | |
| 1992 | Urotsukidoji Urotsukidoji is a Japanese manga and an Original Video Animation releases.-History:Urotsukidōji was created by Toshio Maeda, in 1986, and was a huge departure from his earlier works in that it mixed erotica with humor, and the supernatural... : Legend of the Overfiend |
Graphic depictions of sex and violence | Parts one and two of chapter four in this anime Anime is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons.... became the first animated features to be banned in Australia. In 2001, the ACB allowed a heavily-censored DVD release of the complete Urotsukidoji Urotsukidoji is a Japanese manga and an Original Video Animation releases.-History:Urotsukidōji was created by Toshio Maeda, in 1986, and was a huge departure from his earlier works in that it mixed erotica with humor, and the supernatural... : Legend of the Overfiend and its sequels. |
Allowed in a censored (by its British distributor) version, rated R18+ | |
| 1995 | Twelve films screened at Tasmania's Queer Film Festival, including Spikes and Heels, Coming Out Under Fire, What a Lesbian Looks Like, Mad About the Boy Mad About the Boy Dinah Washington's 1952 recording of "Mad about the Boy" is possibly the most widely known version of the song in modern times. The 6/8-time arrangement for voice and jazz orchestra by Quincy Jones omits two verses and was recorded in the singer's native Chicago on the Mercury label.Washington's... , 21st Century Nuns and Sex Fish |
Violation against the state of Tasmania's Criminal Code Act (1924) | Tasmania was (at the time) the only Australian state in which homosexuality Homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same... (specifically "gay male sexual activity") was illegal. The festival has now moved to Melbourne Melbourne Queer Film Festival The Melbourne Queer Film Festival, or MQFF, has been running continuously since 1991 . It is the oldest queer film festival in Australia and one of the oldest queer film festivals in the world... . |
Banned in Tasmania, still unrated by the Australian Classification Board Australian Classification Board The Australian Classification Board is a statutory classification body formed by the Australian Government which classifies films, video games and publications for exhibition, sale or hire in Australia since its establishment in 1970. The Australian Classification Board was originally incorporated... |
|
| 1997 | I Spit on Your Grave | Sexual violence | I Spit on Your Grave started in 1984 with an R18+ rating and passed a banning request in 1987, but was banned in 1997 due to "rising censorship of the late 90s". In 2004, the ACB decided to lift the ban. | Allowed uncut, rated R18+ | |
| 1999 | Romance Romance (1999 film) Romance is a 1999 French movie written and directed by Catherine Breillat. It stars Caroline Ducey, pornographic actor Rocco Siffredi, Sagamore Stévenin and François Berléand. The film features explicit copulation scenes, especially one showing Caroline Ducey's coitus with Rocco Siffredi... |
Explicit depictions of sexual activity and sexual violence | The ACB overturned the ban in 2000. | Allowed uncut, rated R18+ | |
| 2002 | Baise-moi Baise-moi Baise-moi is a French film co-directed by Virginie Despentes and Coralie Trinh Thi, released in 2000. It is based on the novel by Despentes, first published in 1999. The film received intense media coverage because of its graphic mix of violence and explicit sex scenes... |
Explicit depiction of sexual violence and actual sex | The film was allowed at first, with an R18+ rating; in 2002, it was banned by the ACB. | Still banned | |
| 2003 | Ken Park Ken Park Ken Park is a 2002 drama film. The screenplay was written by Harmony Korine, who based it on Larry Clark's journals and stories. The film was directed by Larry Clark and Ed Lachman.... |
Sexual matters "in such a way that they offend against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults" | Copies of the film were distributed via the Internet, and illegal public screenings were held in Sydney. "None were charged with offences in relation to this widely publicised illegal activity, presumably because that would have caused even greater public criticism of censorship laws." | Still banned; however, the film has not been widely distributed worldwide | |
| 2010 | A Serbian Film A Serbian Film A Serbian Film is a 2010 Serbian horror film and the first feature film directed by Srđan Spasojević. It tells the story of a down-on-his-luck porn star who agrees to participate in an "art film", only to discover that he has been drafted into a snuff film with child rape and necrophilic themes... |
High level sexual violence, explicit depictions of sexual activity, bestiality, necrophilia and pedophilia. | The ACB gave the film an RC (refused classification) rating on November 26, 2010 banning all public showings and DVD sales. | Banned; was allowed in a censored 96 minute version, rated R18+, but was later Refused Classification on review. | |
| 2011 | The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) | "Offensive" depictions of violence and high impact cruelty | Originally passed with an R18 rating; banned on appeal after release. | Banned |
Dictatorship in Brazil (1964–1988)
During the dictatorship in Brazil, that last from 1964 to 1988, several films were banned under the Federal Law from Brazil 5536 from 1968.During several years a project was being developed to find and publish every document on censorship in films during the dictatorship.
The project "Memory of Censorship in Brazilian Cinema" released in 2005 six thousand documents about 175 banned films during the dictatorship. And, finally, in 2007 they released documents for the last 269 films banned at that time.
After democratization in Brazil (1988–)
- 1993: Beyond Citizen KaneBeyond Citizen KaneBeyond Citizen Kane is a British documentary film directed by Simon Hartog, produced by John Ellis, and broadcast on Channel 4.It details the dominant position of the Rede Globo media group in the Brazilian society, discussing the group's influence, power, and political connections...
:
"On August 20, 2009, the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo reported that Rede Record bought the broadcasting rights of the documentary from Ellis for less than US$ 20,000."
"On February 14, 2011, the newspaper Jornal do Brasil (quoting the network's spokesperson) reported that Rede Record will broadcast the documentary in 2011, on a date yet to be specified."
- 1976: Di Cavalcanti:
This film (short) about Di Cavalcanti was banned due a lawsuit open by Di Cavalcanti daughter, Elizabeth, in 1979.
- 2011: A Serbian FilmA Serbian FilmA Serbian Film is a 2010 Serbian horror film and the first feature film directed by Srđan Spasojević. It tells the story of a down-on-his-luck porn star who agrees to participate in an "art film", only to discover that he has been drafted into a snuff film with child rape and necrophilic themes...
:
A Serbian Film had its release in Brazil liberated on August 5, 2011. The exception is Rio de Janeiro estate, where the film was forbidden due a lawsuit filed by the Democrats
Democrats (Brazil)
The Democrats is a centre-right political party in Brazil, considered the main in the right-wing spectrum. Despite its former name , the party affiliates itself to the Centrist Democrat International, and the International Democrat Union. The name comes from its support to free market policies...
political party, who claim that the pedophilia scenes infringe the part of the Brazilian Constitution that protects children (Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente). The case is still pending in court.
Burma
- 1970: Catch-22Catch-22Catch-22 is a satirical, historical novel by the American author Joseph Heller. He began writing it in 1953, and the novel was first published in 1961. It is set during World War II in 1943 and is frequently cited as one of the great literary works of the twentieth century...
- 1983: ScarfaceScarface (1983 film)Scarface is a 1983 American epic crime drama movie directed by Brian De Palma, written by Oliver Stone, produced by Martin Bregman and starring Al Pacino as Tony Montana...
- 2005: Sin CitySin City (film)Sin City, also known as Frank Miller's Sin City, is a 2005 crime thriller film written, produced and directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez...
- 2006: United 93United 93 (film)United 93 is a 2006 fact-based historical drama film written, co-produced, and directed by Paul Greengrass that chronicles events aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked during the September 11 attacks...
- 2008: RamboRambo (film)Rambo is a 2008 German/American Action film starring Sylvester Stallone returning and reprising his famous role as legendary Cold War/Vietnam veteran John Rambo. Stallone also co-wrote and directed the film. It is the fourth and most recent installment in the Rambo franchise, twenty years since...
Bhutan
- Monty Python's Life of BrianMonty Python's Life of BrianMonty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979 British comedy film written, directed and largely performed by the Monty Python comedy team...
(1979) - banned due to inappropriate religious content - Cannibal HolocaustCannibal HolocaustCannibal Holocaust is a 1980 Italian horror film directed by Ruggero Deodato from a screenplay by Gianfranco Clerici. Filmed in the Amazon Rainforest and dealing with indigenous tribes, it was cast mostly with United States actors and filmed in English to achieve wider distribution...
(1980) - banned due to animal cruelty
Cambodia
- 2005: Human or Ghost, for excessive sexual content
- 2008: The Red SenseThe Red SenseThe Red Sense is a 2006 Khmer-Australian supernatural Thriller film. It was director Tim Pek's debut film and was produced by Transparent Pictures. The success of The Red Sense led Transparent Pictures to produce films such as Bokator and Annoyed. The Red Sense was first released in Australia and...
, for its Khmer Rouge material
Canada
- 1918: ManitobaManitobaManitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
institutes a ban (since lifted) on all comediesComedyComedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
. - 1931: AlbertaAlbertaAlberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, British ColumbiaBritish ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, and Nova ScotiaNova ScotiaNova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
ban Little CaesarLittle Caesar (film)Little Caesar is a 1931 Warner Bros. Pre-Code crime film. It tells the story of a hoodlum who ascends the ranks of organized crime until he reaches its upper echelons. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy, the film stars Edward G. Robinson and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.. The story was adapted by Francis Edward...
. - 1937: QuebecQuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
bans The Life of Emile ZolaThe Life of Emile ZolaThe Life of Emile Zola is a 1937 American biographical film about French author Émile Zola. Set in the mid through late 19th century, it depicts his friendship with noted painter Paul Cézanne, and his rise to fame through his prolific writing, with particular focus on his involvement in the Dreyfus...
. - 1953: AlbertaAlbertaAlberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, British ColumbiaBritish ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, and QuebecQuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
ban The Wild OneThe Wild OneThe Wild One is a 1953 outlaw biker film directed by László Benedek and produced by Stanley Kramer. It is famed for Marlon Brando's iconic portrayal of the gang leader Johnny Strabler.-Basis:... - 1967: Nova Scotia censors ban Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (film)Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a 1966 American drama film directed by Mike Nichols. The screenplay by Ernest Lehman is an adaptation of the play of the same title by Edward Albee...
describing it as "obscene and blasphemous". After an appeal from the distributor and media coverage, the decision was overturned and the film was released with a "Restricted" rating - 1970: The National Film Board of CanadaNational Film Board of CanadaThe National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
blocks the release of Denys ArcandDenys ArcandGeorges-Henri Denys Arcand, is a Canadian film director, screenwriter and producer. He has won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 2004 for The Barbarian Invasions...
's controversial documentary On est au cotonOn est au cotonOn est au coton is a documentary film directed by Denys Arcand in 1970, about the conditions of workers in the textile industry in Quebec.-Suppression:...
. An edited version is released in 1976, but the original unedited version was not released until 2004. - 1970: The Alberta censors ban Women in LoveWomen in LoveWomen in Love is a novel by British author D. H. Lawrence published in 1920. It is a sequel to his earlier novel The Rainbow , and follows the continuing loves and lives of the Brangwen sisters, Gudrun and Ursula. Gudrun Brangwen, an artist, pursues a destructive relationship with Gerald Crich, an...
due to nudity. - 1972: Pink FlamingosPink FlamingosPink Flamingos is a 1972 transgressive black comedy film written, produced, composed, shot, edited, and directed by John Waters. When the film was initially released, it caused a huge degree of controversy and thus became one of the most notorious cult films ever made. It made an underground star...
is edited in several provinces, with Nova ScotiaNova ScotiaNova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
banning it outright until 1997. - 1976: Blood Sucking FreaksBlood Sucking FreaksBlood Sucking Freaks is a 1976 horror-exploitation film. Shot under the title Sardu: Master of the Screaming Virgins, it was retitled The Incredible Torture Show during its original theatrical run....
is banned in Nova Scotia and OntarioOntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. - 1977: In the Realm of the SensesIn the Realm of the Sensesis a 1976 Franco-Japanese romantic drama film directed by Nagisa Oshima. It is a fictionalised and sexually explicit treatment of an incident from 1930s Japan, that of Sada Abe...
is banned by all provinces except QuebecQuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. In 1991, the ban was overturned by most provinces. - 1978: Pretty Baby is banned in Ontario by the Ontario Censor Board. The ban was repealed in 1995.
- 1979: Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-VixensBeneath the Valley of the Ultra-VixensBeneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens is a satirical sexploitation film starring Kitten Natividad and Ann Marie with a cameo by Uschi Digard. It was directed by American motion picture director Russ Meyer, and written by Roger Ebert and Meyer....
is banned in Nova Scotia. - 1980: CaligulaCaligula (film)Caligula is a 1979 American-produced Italian biographical film directed by Tinto Brass, with additional scenes filmed by Giancarlo Lui and Penthouse founder Bob Guccione. The film concerns the rise and fall of Roman Emperor Gaius Caesar Germanicus, better known as Caligula...
is banned by all provinces except Quebec, which gave it an 18+ rating. Edited versions were later passed. - 1980: The Tin DrumThe Tin Drum (film)The Tin Drum is a 1979 film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Günter Grass. It was directed and co-written by Volker Schlöndorff...
is edited, and later banned outright as child pornographyChild pornographyChild pornography refers to images or films and, in some cases, writings depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child...
by the Ontario Film Classification Board. - 1983: I Spit on Your GraveI Spit On Your GraveDay of the Woman is a 1978 controversial rape revenge film. The film received a limited release, with a wider release in 1980. Prominent film critics condemned the film for its graphic violence and lengthy depictions of gang rape, and the motion picture remains controversial to this day...
was banned in Nova Scotia until 1998. - 1985: Day of the Dead is banned in Ontario and the Maritimes, with a cut version passed in Ontario.
- 1986: The New Brunswick Film Classification Board bans Blue Velvet.
- 1987: Bad TasteBad TasteBad Taste is a 1987 cult science fiction comedy horror film. Produced on a low budget, it is one of the first films directed by Peter Jackson. The film features Jackson and his friends taking a number of key roles, both on and off-screen...
is banned in Nova ScotiaNova ScotiaNova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
; it is now available on DVD with an 18 rating. - 1989-1993: The Death Scenes video series is banned in Nova Scotia.
- 1994: Exit to EdenExit To Eden (film)Exit to Eden is a 1994 American comedy-thriller loosely based on the Anne Rice novel of the same name, directed by Garry Marshall and adapted to the screen by Deborah Amelon and Bob Brunner. The original music score was composed by Patrick Doyle....
is temporarily banned by the Saskatchewan Film and Video Classification BoardSaskatchewan Film and Video Classification BoardThe Saskatchewan Film and Video Classification Board is a board of the Saskatchewan Department of Justice responsible for providing film and video classification documents to movie theatres in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan...
. - 1997: Bastard Out of Carolina is banned by the Maritime Film Classification BoardMaritime Film Classification BoardThe Maritime Film Classification Board is a government organization responsible for reviewing films and granting film ratings in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island ....
. This decision was later appealed, and a video release was allowed. - 2001: Fat GirlFat GirlÀ ma sœur! is a 2001 French film directed by Catherine Breillat and starring Roxane Mesquida. It was released in some English speaking countries under the alternative titles For My Sister or Fat Girl....
banned by the Ontario Film Review BoardOntario Film Review BoardThe Ontario Film Review Board is an agency of the government of the Canadian province of Ontario that is responsible for that province's motion picture rating system...
until 2003 - 2006: BumfightsBumfightsBumfights is a film series produced by Indecline Films. The videos feature teenagers, homeless men in the San Diego, San Francisco and Las Vegas metropolitan areas fighting and attempting amateur stunts in exchange for money, alcohol, and other incentives...
, a series of shot-on-tape reality productions, is banned in seven of the ten provinces and territories; the remaining three give it an R rating.
At present, only films containing prohibited material (such as child pornography) or under court order (such as libel or copyright infringement) are banned in Canadian provinces.
Chile
All three films were banned during General Augusto PinochetAugusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet , was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973...
's dictatorship:
- 1974: The Texas Chain Saw MassacreThe Texas Chain Saw MassacreThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American independent horror film directed and produced by Tobe Hooper, who cowrote it with Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, and Gunnar Hansen, who respectively portray Sally Hardesty, Franklin Hardesty, the...
- 1982: Costa Gavras's MissingMissing (film)Missing is a 1982 American drama film directed by Costa Gavras, and starring Jack Lemmon, Sissy Spacek, Melanie Mayron, John Shea, Charles Cioffi and Janice Rule...
- 1988: Martin Scorsese'sMartin ScorseseMartin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
The Last Temptation of ChristThe Last Temptation of Christ (film)The Last Temptation of Christ is a 1988 drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a film adaptation of the controversial 1953 novel of the same name by Nikos Kazantzakis. It stars Willem Dafoe as Jesus Christ, Harvey Keitel as Judas Iscariot, Barbara Hershey as Mary Magdalene, David Bowie as...
.
People's Republic of China
Because only 20 imported films are granted permission to screen each year in China, only blockbuster or widely-known films are listed.- 1959: Ben-HurBen-Hur (1959 film)Ben-Hur is a 1959 American epic film directed by William Wyler and starring Charlton Heston in the title role, the third film adaptation of Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The screenplay was written by Karl Tunberg, Gore Vidal, and Christopher Fry. The score was composed by...
, for containing "propaganda of superstitious beliefs, namely Christianity." (Never given permission to screen) - 1993: The Blue KiteThe Blue KiteThe Blue Kite is a film directed by Tian Zhuangzhuang in 1993. Though banned by the Chinese government upon its completion , the film soon found a receptive international audience...
, a Chinese film that was not only banned, but deemed so offensive that director Tian ZhuangzhuangTian ZhuangzhuangTian Zhuangzhuang is a Chinese film director and producer.Tian was born to an influential actor and actress in China. Following a short stint in the military, Tian began his artistic career first as an amateur photographer and then as an assistant cinematographer at the Beijing Agricultural Film...
received a 10-year ban from making films. It won the Grand Prix at the Tokyo International Film FestivalTokyo International Film FestivalTokyo International Film Festival is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biannually from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter...
, and Best Film at the Hawaii International Film FestivalHawaii International Film FestivalThe Hawaii International Film Festival is a film festival held in the U.S. state of Hawaii. It was started in 1981 by Jeannette Paulson Hereniko and has been held annually in the fall for two weeks...
. - 1993: Farewell My Concubine, a Chinese film that won the Cannes Film FestivalCannes Film FestivalThe Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
Palme d'OrPalme d'OrThe Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
, was banned due to homosexual themes and negative portrayal of communism. - 1997: FrozenFrozen (1997 film)Frozen is a 1997 Chinese film directed by Wang Xiaoshuai. The film was originally shot in 1994, but was banned by Chinese authorities and had to be smuggled out of the country. Moreover, Wang was operating under a blacklisting from the Chinese Film Bureau that was imposed after his previous film,...
(PinyinPinyinPinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: Jídù hánleng) is directed by Wang Xiaoshuai. The film was originally shot in 1994, but was banned by Chinese authorities and had to be smuggled out of the country. - 2005: Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of LifeLara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of LifeLara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life is a 2003 action film directed by Jan de Bont, and starring Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft. It is a sequel to the 2001 film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider...
, for its unflattering depictions of Chinese society (never given permission to screen) - 2006: Scorsese's The DepartedThe DepartedThe Departed is a 2006 American crime thriller film, fashioned as a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs. The film was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan...
, for suggesting that the government intends to use nuclear weapons on Taiwan (a sensitive political issue – never given permission to screen) - 2006: Death NoteDeath Noteis a manga created by writer Tsugumi Ohba and manga artist Takeshi Obata. The main character is Light Yagami, a high school student who discovers a supernatural notebook, the "Death Note", dropped on Earth by a god of death, or a shinigami, named Ryuk...
: Banned because people were making their own death notes and writing people's names down to imitate the show, which was deemed harmful, and was thought to incite anarchy and insubordination. - 2007: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End was banned because (according to Xinhua, the state news agency of the People's Republic of ChinaPeople's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
) 10 minutes of footage containing Chow Yun-fatChow Yun-FatChow Yun-fat, SBS is an actor from Hong Kong. He is best known in Asia for his collaboration with filmmaker John Woo in heroic bloodshed genre films A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Hard Boiled; and to the West for his role as Li Mu-bai in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon...
's portrayal of Singaporean pirate Sao Feng have been trimmed from versions of the film which may be shown in China. Chow is onscreen for 20 minutes in the uncensored theatrical release of the film. No official reason for the censorship was given, but unofficial sources within China have indicated that the character offered a negative and stereotypical portrayal of the Chinese people. - 2010: Avatar, 2D versions were banned on January 23 because it was thought that its themes may lead audiences to think about forced removal, and may possibly incite violence. (The unedited DVD release is widely available in stores in China. Walmart stores in China use the films visuals to display television sets)
- 2011: In April 2011, several news sources reported that the Chinese Government had "banned" time travelTime travelTime travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
"films". However, the original article in the New York Times stated that guidelines published on March 31, 2011 by the State Administration for Radio, Film & Television discouraged television dramas that showed characters traveling back in time.
Denmark
- In 1937, Ryska snuvan was banned.
- 1956: The Ten CommandmentsThe Ten Commandments (1956 film)The Ten Commandments is a 1956 American epic film that dramatized the biblical story of the Exodus, in which the Hebrew-born Moses, an adopted Egyptian prince, becomes the deliverer of the Hebrew slaves. The film, released by Paramount Pictures in VistaVision on October 5, 1956, was directed by...
was banned due to its controversial religious nature
Finland
- 1940s: During World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Finland banned the films Mrs. MiniverMrs. Miniver (film)Mrs. Miniver is a 1942 American drama film directed by William Wyler, and starring Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, and Teresa Wright. Based on the fictional English housewife created by Jan Struther in 1937 for a series of newspaper columns, the film won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture,...
and Johnny EagerJohnny EagerJohnny Eager is a 1941 film noir starring Robert Taylor and Lana Turner. Van Heflin won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.The film is featured in the comedy spoof Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid .-Plot:...
in 1943.
Other films banned in Finland include:
- 1930-1952: Bronenosets PotyomkinThe Battleship PotemkinThe Battleship Potemkin , sometimes rendered as The Battleship Potyomkin, is a 1925 silent film directed by Sergei Eisenstein and produced by Mosfilm...
- 1933-1939: King KongKing Kong (1933 film)King Kong is a Pre-Code 1933 fantasy monster adventure film co-directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, and written by Ruth Rose and James Ashmore Creelman after a story by Cooper and Edgar Wallace. The film tells of a gigantic island-dwelling apeman creature called Kong who dies in...
- 1947-1949: The Big SleepThe Big Sleep (1946 film)The Big Sleep is a 1946 film noir directed by Howard Hawks, the first film version of Raymond Chandler's 1939 novel of the same name. The movie stars Humphrey Bogart as detective Philip Marlowe and Lauren Bacall as the female lead in a film about the "process of a criminal investigation, not its...
- 1948: Abbott and Costello Meet FrankensteinAbbott and Costello Meet FrankensteinAbbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is a 1948 American comedy horror film directed by Charles Barton and starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. It is the first of several films where the comedy duo meets classic characters from Universal's horror film stable...
- 1956-1959: RififiRififiRififi is a 1955 French crime film adaptation of Auguste le Breton's novel of the same name. Directed by American filmmaker Jules Dassin, the film stars Jean Servais as the aging gangster Tony le Stéphanois, Carl Möhner as Jo le Suédois, Robert Manuel as Mario Farrati, and Jules Dassin as César le...
, for an extended sequence detailing how to crack a safe. A 1959 re-cut was allowed. - 1957: The Curse of Frankenstein and its sequels The Revenge of FrankensteinThe Revenge of FrankensteinThe Revenge of Frankenstein is a 1958 British horror film made by Hammer Film Productions. Directed by Terence Fisher, the film stars Peter Cushing, Francis Matthews, Michael Gwynn and Eunice Gayson....
(1958) , The Evil of FrankensteinThe Evil of FrankensteinThe Evil of Frankenstein is a 1964 British horror film made by Hammer Studio. Directed by Freddie Francis, the film stars Peter Cushing and New Zealand wrestler Kiwi Kingston....
(1964) , and Frankenstein Must Be DestroyedFrankenstein Must Be DestroyedFrankenstein Must Be Destroyed is a British horror film directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer Film Productions from 1969. The cast includes Peter Cushing, Freddie Jones, Veronica Carlson and Simon Ward. The film is the fifth in a series of Hammer films centering on Dr...
(1969). - 1960: Peeping TomPeeping Tom (film)Peeping Tom is a 1960 British psychological thriller directed by Michael Powell and written by the World War II cryptographer and polymath Leo Marks. The title derives from the slang expression 'peeping Tom' describing a voyeur...
- 1964-1987: The Manchurian CandidateThe Manchurian Candidate (1962 film)The Manchurian Candidate is a 1962 American Cold War political thriller film starring Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh and Angela Lansbury, and featuring Henry Silva, James Gregory, Leslie Parrish and John McGiver...
- 1972: Dirty HarryDirty HarryDirty Harry is a 1971 American crime thriller produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the Dirty Harry series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan....
for glamourizing police brutality. - 1981: CruisingCruising (film)Cruising is a 1980 film directed by William Friedkin and starring Al Pacino. The film is loosely based on the novel of the same name, by New York Times reporter Gerald Walker, about a serial killer targeting gay men, in particular those associated with the S&M scene.Poorly reviewed by critics,...
- 1981: The Evil DeadThe Evil DeadThe Evil Dead is a 1981 horror film written and directed by Sam Raimi, starring Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, and Betsy Baker. The film is a story of five college students vacationing in an isolated cabin in a wooded area...
- 1984: The Texas Chain Saw MassacreThe Texas Chain Saw MassacreThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American independent horror film directed and produced by Tobe Hooper, who cowrote it with Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, and Gunnar Hansen, who respectively portray Sally Hardesty, Franklin Hardesty, the...
- 1984-2001: Cannibal HolocaustCannibal HolocaustCannibal Holocaust is a 1980 Italian horror film directed by Ruggero Deodato from a screenplay by Gianfranco Clerici. Filmed in the Amazon Rainforest and dealing with indigenous tribes, it was cast mostly with United States actors and filmed in English to achieve wider distribution...
- 2011A Serbian FilmA Serbian FilmA Serbian Film is a 2010 Serbian horror film and the first feature film directed by Srđan Spasojević. It tells the story of a down-on-his-luck porn star who agrees to participate in an "art film", only to discover that he has been drafted into a snuff film with child rape and necrophilic themes...
was banned because of high impact sexual violence and gore. Stores like Citymarket and Anttila decided to confiscate all copies of the film in order to avoid law issues.
France
- 1925: Battleship Potemkin - Banned due to fears that it could inspire revolution.
- 1953: Les statues meurent aussi, a short film by Alain ResnaisAlain ResnaisAlain Resnais is a French film director whose career has extended over more than six decades. After training as a film editor in the mid-1940s, he went on to direct a number of short films which included Nuit et Brouillard , an influential documentary about the Nazi concentration camps.He began...
was banned. Its theme was that Western civilizationWestern cultureWestern culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
is responsible for the decline of African artAfrican artAfrican art constitutes one of the most diverse legacies on earth. Though many casual observers tend to generalize "traditional" African art, the continent is full of people, societies, and civilizations, each with a unique visual special culture. The definition also includes the art of the African...
. The film was seen at the Cannes Film FestivalCannes Film FestivalThe Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
in 1953, but subsequently banned by the French censor. - Paths of GloryPaths of GloryPaths of Glory is a 1957 American anti-war film by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel of the same name by Humphrey Cobb. Set during World War I, the film stars Kirk Douglas as Colonel Dax, the commanding officer of French soldiers who refused to continue a suicidal attack...
was never banned but was not distributed by United Artists, which feared reactions and boycotts from army supporters. The film saw its first French release in 1975, to public acclaim. - 1960: Le Petit SoldatLe Petit SoldatThe Little Soldier is a 1960 French film, written and directed by French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard, but not released until 1963. It was Godard's first film with Anna Karina, who starred as Véronica Dreyer alongside Michel Subor ....
was banned on political grounds; the ban was lifted in 1963 with re-editing. - 1966: The Battle of AlgiersThe Battle of Algiers (film)The Battle of Algiers is a 1966 war film based on occurrences during the Algerian War against French colonial occupation in North Africa, the most prominent being the titular Battle of Algiers. It was directed by Gillo Pontecorvo...
was banned for five years, due to the politically-sensitive nature of a film that depicted the Algerian War.
Germany
| Year | Name | Reason | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1919 | Different from the Others Different From The Others Different From The Others is a German film produced during the Weimar Republic. It was first released in 1919 and stars Conrad Veidt and Reinhold Schünzel.The story for Anders als die Andern was written by Richard Oswald with the assistance of Dr... |
Banned due to homosexual Homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same... themes |
|
| 1933 | Battleship Potemkin | Banned due to fears it could inspire Marxism Marxism Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th... . |
|
| 1936 | The Bohemian Girl The Bohemian Girl (1936 film) The Bohemian Girl is a 1936 feature film version of the opera The Bohemian Girl by Michael William Balfe. It was produced at the Hal Roach Studios, and stars Laurel and Hardy and Thelma Todd in her last role before her death.-Plot:... |
This Laurel & Hardy film was banned in Nazi Germany, because it depicted gypsies. | |
| 2011 | Valley of the Wolves: Palestine | This film was banned in Germany, because of FSK Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle der Filmwirtschaft The Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle der Filmwirtschaft is a German motion picture rating system organisation run by the Spitzenorganisation der Filmwirtschaft based in Wiesbaden.- Assignment :The main tasks of the FSK are approving and rating movies and trailers, videos and DVDs, and... 's initial concerns over the film's perceived anti-Israeli and anti-American overtones. |
West Germany
- 1974: The Texas Chain Saw MassacreThe Texas Chain Saw MassacreThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American independent horror film directed and produced by Tobe Hooper, who cowrote it with Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, and Gunnar Hansen, who respectively portray Sally Hardesty, Franklin Hardesty, the...
Hong Kong
- 1962: LolitaLolitaLolita is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov, first written in English and published in 1955 in Paris and 1958 in New York, and later translated by the author into Russian...
- 1967: The Battle of Algiers
- 1980: The Coldest Winter in Peking
- 1981: If I Were for Real
Hungary
- 1948 - Ének a búzamezőkről (Song of the Wheat Fields): banned for political reasons
- 1956 - Keserű igazság (Bitter Truth) and Az eltüsszentett birodalom: both banned for political reasons
- 1957 - A nagyrozsdási eset: banned for political reasons
- 1969 - A tanú (The Witness): banned for political reasons
- 1974 - Bástyasétány '74: banned for political reasons
- 1983 - Álombrigád (Dream Brigade): banned for political reasons
Iceland
| Year | Name | Reason | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Friday the 13th Friday the 13th Friday the 13th occurs when the thirteenth day of a month falls on a Friday, which superstition holds to be a day of bad luck. In the Gregorian calendar, this day occurs at least once, but at most three times a year... |
Banned due to high-impact violence and gore | |
| 1984 | Cannibal Holocaust Cannibal Holocaust Cannibal Holocaust is a 1980 Italian horror film directed by Ruggero Deodato from a screenplay by Gianfranco Clerici. Filmed in the Amazon Rainforest and dealing with indigenous tribes, it was cast mostly with United States actors and filmed in English to achieve wider distribution... |
Banned due to high-impact violence and animal cruelty Cruelty to animals Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse or animal neglect, is the infliction of suffering or harm upon non-human animals, for purposes other than self-defense. More narrowly, it can be harm for specific gain, such as killing animals for food or for their fur, although opinions differ with... |
|
| 1985–1999 | The Texas Chain Saw Massacre The Texas Chain Saw Massacre The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American independent horror film directed and produced by Tobe Hooper, who cowrote it with Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, and Gunnar Hansen, who respectively portray Sally Hardesty, Franklin Hardesty, the... |
Banned due to high-impact violence and cruelty; a censored version was later released. | |
| 1986 | To All a Good Night To All a Good Night To All a Goodnight is a slasher film created in 1980 and directed by horror film veteran David Hess, it was written by Alex Rebar and stars Jennifer Runyon and Jennifer Howard.-Plot:... |
Banned due to high-impact violence | |
| 1987 | Re-Animator Re-Animator Re-Animator is a 1985 American science fiction horror film based on the H. P. Lovecraft story "Herbert West–Reanimator." Directed by Stuart Gordon, it was the first film in the Re-Animator series. The film has since become a cult film, driven by fans of Jeffrey Combs and H. P... |
Banned due to high-impact violence | |
| 1987 | Amazonia | Banned due to high-impact violence | |
| 1990 | Halloween 5 | Banned due to high-impact violence | |
| 1996 | Halloween 6 | Banned due to high-impact violence |
India
- 1959 - Neel Akasher NeecheyNeel Akasher NeecheyNeel Akasher Neechey is a 1959 Bengali language film directed by Mrinal Sen, starring Kali Bannerjee, Manju Dey, Bikash Roy and others....
was banned for two years for overt political overtones; it showed the troubles faced by an immigrant Chinese wage laborer in 1930s Calcutta. - 1963 - Nine Hours to RamaNine Hours to RamaNine Hours to Rama is 1963 CinemaScope British film, directed by Mark Robson, and based on a 1962 book by Stanley Wolpert of the same name. The film was written by Nelson Gidding and was filmed in England and parts of India...
was banned for depicting the psychological motivations of Nathuram GodseNathuram GodseNathuram Vinayak Godse , from the city of Pune, India was a Hindutva activist and journalist, who was the assassin of Mahatma Gandhi. Along with his brother Gopal Godse and six other co-conspirators, he executed a plot to assassinate Gandhi.-Early life:Nathuram Godse was born in Baramati, Pune...
, the assassin of Mahatma GandhiMahatma GandhiMohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
. - 1970 - Kissa Kursi KaKissa Kursi KaKissa Kursi Ka is a controversial Hindi movie directed by Amrit Nahata. Released in 1977, the film was banned by the Indian Government and all prints were confiscated....
was banned for political reasons. - 1971 - SikkimSikkim (film)Sikkim is a 1971 Indian documentary about the nation of Sikkim, directed by Satyajit Ray. The documentary was commissioned by the Chogyal of Sikkim at a time when he felt the sovereignty of Sikkim was under threat from both China and India. Ray's documentary is about the sovereignty of Sikkim...
was banned for showing ChogyalChogyalThe Chogyal were the monarchs of the former kingdoms of Sikkim and Ladakh, which were ruled by separate branches of the Namgyal family. The Chogyal, or divine ruler, was the absolute potentate of Sikkim from 1642 to 1975, when its monarchy was abrogated and its people voted to make Sikkim India's...
-ruled Sikkim as a sovereign state. The ban was lifted in September 2010. - 1984 - Indiana Jones and the Temple of DoomIndiana Jones and the Temple of DoomIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a 1984 American adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the second film in the Indiana Jones franchise and prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark . After arriving in India, Indiana Jones is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone...
was banned for its "racist portrayal of Indians and overt imperialistic tendencies". - 1991 - Kutrapathirikkai was banned for 15 years for portraying the events that followed Rajiv GandhiRajiv GandhiRajiv Ratna Gandhi was the sixth Prime Minister of India . He took office after his mother's assassination on 31 October 1984; he himself was assassinated on 21 May 1991. He became the youngest Prime Minister of India when he took office at the age of 40.Rajiv Gandhi was the elder son of Indira...
's death. Was proclaimed to be a pro-LTTELiberation Tigers of Tamil EelamThe Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was a separatist militant organization formerly based in northern Sri Lanka. Founded in May 1976 by Vellupillai Prabhakaran, it waged a violent secessionist and nationalist campaign to create an independent state in the north and east of Sri Lanka for Tamil...
film, justifying the LTTE's activities. However, the film was censored and released in 2007 after many cuts. - 1996 - Kama Sutra: A Tale of LoveKama Sutra: A Tale of LoveKama Sutra: A Tale of Love is a 1996 American drama film directed by Mira Nair. The film takes its title from the ancient Indian text, the Kama Sutra, but this only serves as a common link between the characters....
Banned due to Lesbian scenes. Cut version is available. - 1996 - Fire On its opening day in India, some film theaters were attacked by Hindu fundamentalists; the film was banned for a period, but theater screenings resumed later.
- 2003- PaanchPaanchPaanch is an unreleased Indian film written and directed by Anurag Kashyap and starring Kay Kay Menon, Aditya Srivastava, Vijay Maurya, Joy Fernandes and Tejaswini Kolhapure. The film is "loosely" based on the 1976-77 Joshi-Abhyankar serial murders in Pune. The film never got a theatrical or...
sexual contents,violence and no social message - 2005 - "Water" This movie was banned in India as well as in Oscars for some reasons.
- Bandit QueenBandit QueenBandit Queen is a 1994 Indian film based upon the life of Phoolan Devi. It was directed by Shekhar Kapur and starred Seema Biswas as the title character. It was produced by Bobby Bedi's Kaleidoscope Entertainment.The Music was Composed by Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.- Plot :The film opens in the...
was banned for the reason of adult content.
Andhra PradeshAndhra PradeshAndhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
- 2006 - The Da Vinci Code (film)The Da Vinci Code (film)The Da Vinci Code is a 2006 American mystery thriller film directed by Ron Howard. The screenplay was written by Akiva Goldsman and based on Dan Brown's worldwide bestselling 2003 novel, The Da Vinci Code...
- 2011 - 'Arakshan (Reservation)AarakshanAarakshan is a 2011 Hindi film starring Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone. Directed by Prakash Jha, the film is a socio-political drama based on the controversial policy of caste based reservations in government jobs and educational institutions...
Tamil NaduTamil NaduTamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
- 1987 - Ore Oru Gramathile
- 2006 - The Da Vinci Code (film)The Da Vinci Code (film)The Da Vinci Code is a 2006 American mystery thriller film directed by Ron Howard. The screenplay was written by Akiva Goldsman and based on Dan Brown's worldwide bestselling 2003 novel, The Da Vinci Code...
- 2011 - Dam 999Dam 999Dam 999 is a 2011 English 3-D UAE-Indian co-production film produced by BizTV Network, UAE and directed by Sohan Roy. The film is based on the award winning short documentary DAMs - The Lethal Water Bombs. and the Banqiao dam disaster of 1975 that claimed the lives of 250,000 people in China and...
West BengalWest BengalWest Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
- 1992 - City of JoyCity of Joy (film)City of Joy is a 1992 film directed by Roland Joffé, with a screenplay by Mark Medoff. It is based upon the novel of the same name by Dominique Lapierre.-Plot:...
Indonesia
- 1984: The Year of Living DangerouslyThe Year of Living DangerouslyThe Year of Living Dangerously is a 1982 Peter Weir film adapted from the novel The Year of Living Dangerously by the author Christopher Koch. The story is about a love affair set in Indonesia during the overthrow of President Sukarno...
: an Australian film about Jakarta under Sukarno's rule in 1965. It was unbanned in 1999. - 1994: Schindler's ListSchindler's ListSchindler's List is a 1993 American film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg, and based on the novel Schindler's Ark...
: a film that is sympathetic to the Jewish cause - 1994: True LiesTrue LiesTrue Lies is a 1994 American action-comedy film directed by James Cameron and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Bill Paxton, Tia Carrere, Charlton Heston, and Art Malik. Eliza Dushku also appears in the film in one of her first major film roles...
: an action film that was banned for featuring Muslim terrorists - 2007: Long Road to HeavenLong Road to HeavenLong Road to Heaven is a 2007 Indonesian feature film about the 2002 Bali bombing, by Kalyana Shira Films. The film was directed by Enison Sinaro and written by Wong Wai Leng and Andy Logam-Tan. It tells the story during three different times: the planning a few months before the bombing, its...
: an Indonesian film about the 2002 Bali bombings was banned on the island of BaliBaliBali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
, as local politicians worried that the film might promote hatred and intolerance. - 2009: BaliboBalibo (2009 film)Balibo is a 2009 Australian feature film that follows the story of the Balibo Five, a group of journalists who were captured and killed whilst reporting on activities just prior to the Indonesian invasion of East Timor in 1975. The film is loosely based on the book Cover-Up, by Jill Jolliffe, an...
: an Australian film based on the story of the Balibo FiveBalibo FiveThe Balibo Five was a group of journalists for Australian television networks based in the town of Balibo in East Timor where they were killed on 16 October 1975 during Indonesian incursions prior to the invasion....
, a group of journalists killed during the 1975 Indonesian invasion of East Timor
Iran
All films depicting anything deemed contrary to Islamic morals are banned outright in Iran.- 1956: The King & IThe King and I (1956 film)The King and I is a 1956 musical film made by 20th Century Fox, directed by Walter Lang and produced by Charles Brackett and Darryl F. Zanuck. The screenplay by Ernest Lehman is based on the Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II musical The King and I, based in turn on the book Anna and the King...
- 1968: Oliver!Oliver! (film)Oliver! is a 1968 British musical film directed by Carol Reed. The film is based on the stage musical Oliver!, with book, music and lyrics written by Lionel Bart. The screenplay was written by Vernon Harris....
- 1977: Saturday Night FeverSaturday Night FeverSaturday Night Fever is a 1977 drama film directed by John Badham and starring: John Travolta as Tony Manero, an immature young man whose weekends are spent visiting a local Brooklyn discothèque; Karen Lynn Gorney as his dance partner and eventual friend; and Donna Pescow as Tony's former dance...
- 1980: Cannibal HolocaustCannibal HolocaustCannibal Holocaust is a 1980 Italian horror film directed by Ruggero Deodato from a screenplay by Gianfranco Clerici. Filmed in the Amazon Rainforest and dealing with indigenous tribes, it was cast mostly with United States actors and filmed in English to achieve wider distribution...
, CruisingCruising (film)Cruising is a 1980 film directed by William Friedkin and starring Al Pacino. The film is loosely based on the novel of the same name, by New York Times reporter Gerald Walker, about a serial killer targeting gay men, in particular those associated with the S&M scene.Poorly reviewed by critics,...
- 1982: The Dark CrystalThe Dark CrystalThe Dark Crystal is a 1982 British-American fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. Although marketed as a family film, it was notably darker than previous material created by them. The animatronics used in the film were considered groundbreaking. The primary concept artist was the...
(ceremonial imagery) - 1983: ScarfaceScarface (1983 film)Scarface is a 1983 American epic crime drama movie directed by Brian De Palma, written by Oliver Stone, produced by Martin Bregman and starring Al Pacino as Tony Montana...
- 1989: Pet SemataryPet Sematary (film)Pet Sematary is a 1989 horror film adaptation of Stephen King's novel of the same name. Directed by Mary Lambert and written by King, the film features Dale Midkiff as Louis Creed, Denise Crosby as Rachel Creed, Blaze Berdahl as Ellie Creed, Miko Hughes as Gage Creed, and Fred Gwynne as Jud Crandall...
, Glory , and Back to the Future Part IIBack to the Future Part IIBack to the Future Part II is a 1989 American science fiction comedy film and the second installment of the Back to the Future trilogy. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Thomas F. Wilson and Lea Thompson...
(due to a scene where Ayatollah Khomeini is burning in hell; a cut version was later released) - 1990: Henry & JuneHenry & JuneHenry & June is a 1990 American film directed by Philip Kaufman and stars Fred Ward, Maria de Medeiros, and Uma Thurman. It is loosely based on the book of the same name by the French author Anaïs Nin, and tells the story of Nin's relationship with Henry Miller and his wife, June.-Plot:The story...
- 1993: Schindler's ListSchindler's ListSchindler's List is a 1993 American film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg, and based on the novel Schindler's Ark...
- 1994: The Naked GunThe Naked GunThe Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! is a 1988 American comedy film that is the first in a The Naked Gun series of films starring Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, George Kennedy, and O. J. Simpson...
- 1995: ShowgirlsShowgirlsShowgirls is a 1995 American drama film directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring former teen actress Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, and Gina Gershon...
- 1997: Boogie NightsBoogie NightsBoogie Nights is a 1997 drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Set in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley, the script focuses on a young nightclub dishwasher who becomes a popular star of pornographic films, and chronicles his rise and fall from the Golden Age of Porn of the 1970s...
, Liar LiarLiar LiarLiar Liar is a 1997 American comedy film written by Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur, directed by Tom Shadyac and starring Jim Carrey. Carrey was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical...
(shows that adultery is legal) - 1999: South Park: Bigger, Longer & UncutSouth Park: Bigger, Longer & UncutSouth Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut is a 1999 animated musical comedy film based on the animated television series South Park, created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker. The film was directed by Parker, who also stars along with the rest of the regular voice cast from the series, including Stone, Mary...
; Three Kings and Anna and the KingAnna and the KingAnna and the King is a 1999 biographical drama film loosely based on Anna and the King of Siam, the story of Anna Leonowens, who was an English schoolteacher in Siam, now Thailand, in the 19th century...
- 2001: ZoolanderZoolanderZoolander is a 2001 American satirical comedy film directed by and starring Ben Stiller. The film contains elements from a pair of short films directed by Russell Bates and written by Drake Sather and Stiller for the VH1 Fashion Awards television specials in 1996 and 1997. The short films and the...
(seen as supporting gay rights) - 2002: PinocchioPinocchio (2002 film)Pinocchio is a 2002 Italian live-action family film directed by and starring Roberto Benigni. The film is based on The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi with Benigni portraying Pinocchio. It was shot in Italy and Kalkara, Malta...
and Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heavens DoorCowboy Bebop: The Movie, known internationally as Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, is a 2001 animated film directed by Shinichirō Watanabe. The screenplay was written by Keiko Nobumoto, based on the Cowboy Bebop television series created by Sunrise. The plot centers on Spike Spiegel and his crew as they find a criminal who is...
- 2003: Bruce AlmightyBruce AlmightyBruce Almighty is a 2003 American comedy film directed by Tom Shadyac and written by Steve Koren, Mark O'Keefe and Steve Oedekerk. It stars Jim Carrey as Bruce Nolan, a down-on-his-luck TV reporter who complains to God that He isn't doing His job correctly, and is then offered the chance to try...
and The Matrix RevolutionsThe Matrix RevolutionsThe Matrix Revolutions is a 2003 American science fiction film and the third installment of The Matrix trilogy. The film was released six months following The Matrix Reloaded. The film was written and directed by the Wachowski brothers and released simultaneously in sixty countries on November 5,...
- 2004: Fahrenheit 9/11Fahrenheit 9/11Fahrenheit 9/11 is a 2004 documentary film by American filmmaker and political commentator Michael Moore. The film takes a critical look at the presidency of George W. Bush, the War on Terror, and its coverage in the news media...
, CatwomanCatwoman (film)Catwoman is a 2004 American superhero film and quasi-spinoff of the Batman film series directed by Pitof and released by Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow Pictures on July 23, 2004....
, and The Passion of the ChristThe Passion of the ChristThe Passion of the Christ is a 2004 American drama film directed by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus. It depicts the Passion of Jesus largely according to the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John...
, Harold & Kumar Go to White CastleHarold & Kumar Go to White CastleHarold & Kumar Go to White Castle is a 2004 American stoner film and the first installment in the Harold & Kumar series...
, Marmoulak (shown for two weeks but stopped showing due to the main character disguising as a mullah) - 2005: The 40-Year-Old VirginThe 40-Year-Old VirginThe 40-Year-Old Virgin is a 2005 American buddy comedy film about a middle-aged man's journey to finally have sex. The film was written and directed by Judd Apatow and co-written by its lead star, Steve Carell, though the film itself features a great deal of improvised dialogue...
, Sin CitySin CitySin City is the title for a series of neo-noir comics by Frank Miller. The first story originally appeared in "Dark Horse Presents Fifth Anniversary Special" , and continued in Dark Horse Presents #51–62 from May 1991 to June 1992, under the title of Sin City, serialized in thirteen parts. Several...
and Brokeback MountainBrokeback MountainBrokeback Mountain is a 2005 romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee. It is a film adaptation of the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx with the screenplay written by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry...
- 2006: The Da Vinci CodeThe Da Vinci Code (film)The Da Vinci Code is a 2006 American mystery thriller film directed by Ron Howard. The screenplay was written by Akiva Goldsman and based on Dan Brown's worldwide bestselling 2003 novel, The Da Vinci Code...
, AlexanderAlexander (film)Alexander is a 2004 epic film based on the life of Alexander the Great. It is not a remake of the 1956 film which starred Richard Burton. It was directed by Oliver Stone, with Colin Farrell in the title role...
, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky BobbyTalladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky BobbyTalladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is a 2006 American comedy film, directed by Adam McKay and starring Will Ferrell. The film also features John C. Reilly, Michael Clarke Duncan, Leslie Bibb, Amy Adams, Gary Cole, Jane Lynch, and Sacha Baron Cohen. Various Saturday Night Live alumni also...
, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of KazakhstanBorat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of KazakhstanBorat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, often referred to simply as Borat, is a 2006 mockumentary comedy film directed by Larry Charles and distributed by 20th Century Fox...
, and Hostel - 2007: The KingdomThe Kingdom (film)The Kingdom is a 2007 film directed by Peter Berg and starring Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Ashraf Barhom, with Kyle Chandler, Jeremy Piven and Ali Suliman....
, 300300 (film)300 is a 2007 American fantasy action film based on the 1998 comic series of the same name by Frank Miller. It is a fictionalized retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae. The film was directed by Zack Snyder, while Miller served as executive producer and consultant...
and Hostel Part II - 2008: Meet the SpartansMeet the SpartansMeet the Spartans is a 2008 parody film directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Similar to past movies, such as Scary Movie, Date Movie, and most recently Epic Movie, it directs parodies at various films. Although it references many movies, TV shows, people and pop cultural events, it...
, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay , You Don't Mess with the ZohanYou Don't Mess with the ZohanYou Don't Mess with the Zohan is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Carlito Cabardo, and produced by and starring Adam Sandler. This is the fourth film which has starred Sandler and has been directed by Dugan...
- 2009: The Last House on the LeftThe Last House on the Left (2009 film)The Last House on the Left is a 2009 American film directed by Dennis Iliadis and written by Carl Ellsworth and Adam Alleca. It is a remake of the 1972 film of the same name, and stars Monica Potter, Tony Goldwyn, Garret Dillahunt, and Sara Paxton...
Iraq
- 1999: South Park: Bigger, Longer & UncutSouth Park: Bigger, Longer & UncutSouth Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut is a 1999 animated musical comedy film based on the animated television series South Park, created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker. The film was directed by Parker, who also stars along with the rest of the regular voice cast from the series, including Stone, Mary...
was banned for its depiction of Saddam HusseinSaddam HusseinSaddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
as the homosexual lover of SatanSatanSatan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
. South Park is also unavailable on television. - Fahrenheit 9/11Fahrenheit 9/11Fahrenheit 9/11 is a 2004 documentary film by American filmmaker and political commentator Michael Moore. The film takes a critical look at the presidency of George W. Bush, the War on Terror, and its coverage in the news media...
(due to a scene where Saddam HusseinSaddam HusseinSaddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
is burning in hell)
Ireland
- 1931: Monkey BusinessMonkey Business (1931 film)Monkey Business is a 1931 comedy film. It is the third of the Marx Brothers' released movies, and the first not to be an adaptation of one of their Broadway shows. The film stars the four brothers: Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, and Zeppo Marx, and screen comedienne Thelma Todd. It is...
was banned because censors feared it would encourage anarchic tendencies. Ban lifted 2000 - 1943: The OutlawThe OutlawThe Outlaw is a 1943 American Western film, directed by Howard Hughes and starring Jane Russell. The supporting cast includes Jack Buetel, Thomas Mitchell, and Walter Huston. Hughes also produced the film, while Howard Hawks served as an uncredited co-director...
- 1945: Mildred PierceMildred Pierce (film)Mildred Pierce is a 1945 American drama film starring Joan Crawford, Ann Blyth, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, and Eve Arden in a film noir about a long-suffering mother and her ungrateful daughter. The screenplay by Ranald MacDougall, William Faulkner, and Catherine Turney was based upon the 1941...
- 1945: Brief EncounterBrief EncounterBrief Encounter is a 1945 British film directed by David Lean about the conventions of British suburban life, centring on a housewife for whom real love brings unexpectedly violent emotions. The film stars Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway and Joyce Carey...
by Noel CowardNoël CowardSir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
was banned, as it was considered too permissive of adultery. - 1946: The Big SleepThe Big Sleep (1946 film)The Big Sleep is a 1946 film noir directed by Howard Hawks, the first film version of Raymond Chandler's 1939 novel of the same name. The movie stars Humphrey Bogart as detective Philip Marlowe and Lauren Bacall as the female lead in a film about the "process of a criminal investigation, not its...
- 1950: Outrage
- 1967: Ulysses, based on the book by James JoyceJames JoyceJames Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
- Ban lifted September 2000 - 1968: Rocky Road to DublinRocky Road to Dublin (film)Rocky Road to Dublin is a 1967 documentary film by Irish-born journalist Peter Lennon and French cinematographer Raoul Coutard, examining the contemporary state of the Republic of Ireland, posing the question, "what do you do with your revolution once you've got it?" It argues that Ireland was...
(documentary which, in part, questioned Irish censorship) - ban lifted in 2003 - 1971: A Clockwork OrangeA Clockwork Orange (film)A Clockwork Orange is a 1971 film adaptation of Anthony Burgess's 1962 novel of the same name. It was written, directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick...
- ban lifted in 2000 - 1979: Monty Python's Life of BrianMonty Python's Life of BrianMonty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979 British comedy film written, directed and largely performed by the Monty Python comedy team...
- ban lifted in 1987 - 1983: Monty Python's The Meaning of Life - ban lifted in 1990
- 1984: Cannibal HolocaustCannibal HolocaustCannibal Holocaust is a 1980 Italian horror film directed by Ruggero Deodato from a screenplay by Gianfranco Clerici. Filmed in the Amazon Rainforest and dealing with indigenous tribes, it was cast mostly with United States actors and filmed in English to achieve wider distribution...
- ban lifted in 2006 - 1987: Personal ServicesPersonal ServicesPersonal Services is a 1987 British comedy film directed by Terry Jones and written by David Leland. It is the story of the rise of a madam of a suburban brothel which caters to older men. The story is inspired by the real experiences of Cynthia Payne, the legendary "House of Cyn" madam. The film...
- 1989: Meet the FeeblesMeet the FeeblesMeet the Feebles is a 1989 black comedy film directed by Peter Jackson. It features Jim Henson-esque puppets in a perverse comic satire. Like Henson's Muppets, the Feebles are animal-figured puppets assembled together as members of a theatre troupe...
- still banned, as of 2009 - 1991: Riki-OhRiki-Ohis a manga which later adapted to an anime series and live-action film. Created by Masahiko Takajo and Saruwatari Tetsuya, the story is about a young man who has learned the art of Qigong from one of Chiang Kai Shek's bodyguards and has become so strong that he can literally punch holes through...
- ban lifted in 2000 - 1994: Natural Born KillersNatural Born KillersNatural Born Killers is a 1994 crime/black comedy film directed by Oliver Stone about two victims of traumatic childhoods who became lovers and psychopathic serial killers, and are irresponsibly glorified by the mass media...
- ban lifted - 1996: From Dusk till DawnFrom Dusk Till DawnFrom Dusk till Dawn is a 1996 horror film directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Quentin Tarantino. The movie stars Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino and Juliette Lewis.-Plot:...
- ban lifted in 2000 - 1999: RomanceRomance (1999 film)Romance is a 1999 French movie written and directed by Catherine Breillat. It stars Caroline Ducey, pornographic actor Rocco Siffredi, Sagamore Stévenin and François Berléand. The film features explicit copulation scenes, especially one showing Caroline Ducey's coitus with Rocco Siffredi...
- still banned - 2000: Baise Moi - unbanned
- 2010: I Spit on Your GraveI Spit On Your GraveDay of the Woman is a 1978 controversial rape revenge film. The film received a limited release, with a wider release in 1980. Prominent film critics condemned the film for its graphic violence and lengthy depictions of gang rape, and the motion picture remains controversial to this day...
- The re-release of the 1978 film was banned.
Due to the small size of the Republic of Ireland, films banned by the British Board of Film Classification
British Board of Film Classification
The British Board of Film Classification , originally British Board of Film Censors, is a non-governmental organisation, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification of films within the United Kingdom...
(BBFC) were rarely even submitted for release in Ireland, due to the high costs of promotion and distribution for such a small audience. Similarly, BBFC cuts are often left in DVD releases, due to the difficulties in separating the two film supplies.
This changed in 2000; many of these films have since been unbanned and rated anywhere from PG to 18. During the review process it was decided that no more films would be banned for either theatre or video release, but some bans are still in place.
Banned films can still be viewed at private members' clubs with 18+ age limits.
Italy
Although there is a censorship board run by the government and in which one member is drawn from the Roman Catholic ChurchRoman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, very few films are not certified for release.
- Lion of the DesertLion of the DesertLion of the Desert is a 1981 Libyan historical action film starring Anthony Quinn as Libyan tribal leader Omar Mukhtar, a Bedouin leader fighting the Italian army in the years leading up to World War II and Oliver Reed as Italian General Rodolfo Graziani, who attempted to defeat Mukhtar. It was...
, starring Anthony QuinnAnthony QuinnAntonio Rodolfo Quinn-Oaxaca , more commonly known as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican American actor, as well as a painter and writer...
and concerning the Libyan revolution against Italy, and a few other films concerning Italian war crimesItalian war crimesItalian war crimes are a well documented but poorly publicized aspect of the history of Italy during the 20th century.-War crimes:During the first half of the 20th century, Italy was involved in several colonial wars, notably against the then only independent African states, Ethiopia , and in World...
during its colonial history were banned for a time during the post-Benito MussoliniBenito MussoliniBenito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
period. - Almost all Pasolini's films, including Salo: 120 Days of SodomSalò o le 120 giornate di SodomaSalò, or the 120 Days of Sodom , commonly referred to as Salò, is a controversial 1975 Italian drama film written and directed by Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini with uncredited writing contributions by Pupi Avati. It is based on the book The 120 Days of Sodom by the Marquis de Sade...
(1975), were banned for a while but then released. - Luc Besson's film The Big BlueThe Big BlueThe Big Blue is a 1988 English-language film made by French director Luc Besson. The film stars Jean-Marc Barr, Rosanna Arquette, Jean Reno and depicts a fictionalized account of the sporting rivalry between two famed free divers.-Background:...
was banned for 14 years because Enzo MaiorcaEnzo MaiorcaEnzo Maiorca is an Italian multiple record holder in the extreme sport of free-diving.A native of Syracuse, Italy, he was a pioneer developer of free-diving in the 1960s and 1970s...
felt that it inaccurately portrayed him and his rivalry with Jacques MayolJacques MayolJacques Mayol was the holder of many world records in free diving.Jacques Mayol was a French national born in Shanghai, China. He was the first free diver to descend to 100 meters , and he managed to descend to 105 meters when he was 56 years old...
. - Last Tango in ParisLast Tango in ParisLast Tango in Paris is a 1972 Italian romantic drama film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci which portrays a recent American widower who takes up an anonymous sexual relationship with a young, soon-to-be-married Parisian woman...
was banned from 1972 to 1986. - Cannibal HolocaustCannibal HolocaustCannibal Holocaust is a 1980 Italian horror film directed by Ruggero Deodato from a screenplay by Gianfranco Clerici. Filmed in the Amazon Rainforest and dealing with indigenous tribes, it was cast mostly with United States actors and filmed in English to achieve wider distribution...
, was banned in Italy from 1980-1984. It was banned on the belief that the actors were actually killed for the film (i.e. that it was an actual snuff filmSnuff filmA snuff film is a motion picture genre that depicts the actual death or murder of a person or people, without the aid of special effects, for the express purpose of distribution and entertainment or financial exploitation. For-profit snuff films are generally regarded as an urban legend, whose...
). When this was proven false, it was banned by an animal cruelty law (the film features the actual slayings of many animals) until the verdict was overturned in 1984. - Li chiamarono... briganti!Li chiamarono... briganti!Li chiamarono... briganti! is a 1999 Italian film, directed by Pasquale Squitieri. It tells the story of Carmine Crocco, a 19th century italian brigand who gained recognition when he came to the forefront of the brigandage during the Italian unification, by opposing the army of King Victor...
was suspended from the cinemas and it is not available on VHS and DVD. For some critics it was banned as being an uncomfortable side of the Italian unificationItalian unificationItalian unification was the political and social movement that agglomerated different states of the Italian peninsula into the single state of Italy in the 19th century...
. - Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in ItalyAmanda Knox: Murder on Trial in ItalyAmanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy is a 2011 American true crime television film. It stars Hayden Panettiere as Amanda Knox, Paolo Romio as Raffaele Sollecito, Djibril Kébé as Rudy Guede and Amanda Fernando Stevens as Meredith Kercher, and first aired on the Lifetime network on February 21,...
was challenged in Italy in 2011 on the belief that it could taint the appeals process in the Amanda KnoxAmanda KnoxAmanda Marie Knox is an American woman who was accused of the murder of Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Umbria, Italy. She served 4 years of a 26-year sentence before the murder conviction was overturned on October 3, 2011. Raffaele Sollecito, Knox's boyfriend at the time of the murder, was also...
murder case; it may face a ban. - Mussolini had the Marx Brothers comedy Duck Soup banned which he thought was a direct lampoon of him.
Israel
All GermanGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
films were banned from 1956 until 1967.
- 1957: The Girl in the KremlinThe Girl in the KremlinThe Girl in the Kremlin is a 1957 American thriller which puts forth the premise that Joseph Stalin faked his own death in 1953 and then moved to Greece with a fortune in Soviet currency. Zsa Zsa Gabor plays a dual role, Stalin’s nurse and lover as well as her twin sister who, unaware of...
was banned because it may have harmed Israel's diplomatic relations with Moscow. - 1957: China GateChina Gate (1957 film)China Gate is a 1957 Hollywood Cinemascope war film written, produced and directed by Samuel Fuller and released through 20th Century Fox.-Plot:...
was banned in Israel for indulging in excessive cruelty. The Israeli film censorship board indicated the film depicted Chinese and Russian soldiers as "monsters". - 1965: GoldfingerGoldfinger (film)Goldfinger is the third spy film in the James Bond series and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1964, it is based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film also stars Honor Blackman as Bond girl Pussy Galore and Gert Fröbe as the title...
played for six weeks before the Nazi past of Gert FröbeGert FröbeKarl Gerhart Fröbe, better known as Gert Fröbe was a German actor who starred in many films, including the James Bond film Goldfinger as Auric Goldfinger, The Threepenny Opera as Peachum, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as Baron Bomburst, and in Der Räuber Hotzenplotz as Hotzenplotz.-Life:Born in...
, who played the title villain, was disclosed; it was unbanned after a few months after a man went to the Israeli Embassy in Vienna and told staff that Fröbe hid him and his mother from the Nazis (which may have saved their lives). - 1973: Hitler: The Last Ten DaysHitler: The Last Ten DaysHitler: The Last Ten Days is a 1973 film depicting the days leading up to Adolf Hitler's suicide. It stars Alec Guinness and Simon Ward. The original music score was composed by Mischa Spoliansky...
was banned in a unanimous decision by the censorship board that Alec GuinnessAlec GuinnessSir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE was an English actor. He was featured in several of the Ealing Comedies, including Kind Hearts and Coronets in which he played eight different characters. He later won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai...
's Hitler was represented in too human a light. - 1988: Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of ChristThe Last Temptation of Christ (film)The Last Temptation of Christ is a 1988 drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a film adaptation of the controversial 1953 novel of the same name by Nikos Kazantzakis. It stars Willem Dafoe as Jesus Christ, Harvey Keitel as Judas Iscariot, Barbara Hershey as Mary Magdalene, David Bowie as...
was banned on the grounds that it could offend Christian believers in the Holy Land. - 2002: Jenin, JeninJenin, JeninJenin, Jenin is a film directed by Mohammed Bakri, a prominent Arab actor and Israeli citizen, in order to portray what Bakri calls "the Palestinian truth" about the "Battle of Jenin", a clash between the Israeli army and Palestinians in April 2002 which drew Palestinian accounts of a "Jenin...
was banned by the Israeli Film Ratings Board on the premise that it was libelous and might offend the public; the Supreme Court of IsraelSupreme Court of IsraelThe Supreme Court is at the head of the court system and highest judicial instance in Israel. The Supreme Court sits in Jerusalem.The area of its jurisdiction is all of Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories. A ruling of the Supreme Court is binding upon every court, other than the Supreme...
later overturned the decision.
Japan
Despite Japan'sEirin
is the abbreviated name for , Japan's movie regulator. Eirin was established on the model of the American Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America's Production Code Administration in June, 1949, on the instructions of the US occupation force...
strict censorship policy on nudity
Nudity
Nudity is the state of wearing no clothing. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic. The amount of clothing worn depends on functional considerations and social considerations...
(see Pornography in Japan
Pornography in Japan
Pornography in Japan.-Before the 20th century:Shunga or pornographic wood-block pictures were printed with all imaginable situations. These often took the form of a book with sentences to describe verbal utterances of the partners, as well as to offer brief descriptions of a scene...
), very few films are banned there.
Those that are banned are usually put under self-imposed studio bans by the companies that produced them.
- 1945: The Akira KurosawaAkira Kurosawawas a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...
-directed film The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's TailThe Men Who Tread On the Tiger's Tailis a 1945 film, written and directed by Akira Kurosawa. It is based on the kabuki play Kanjinchō, which is in turn based on the Noh play Ataka.The film stars Hanshiro Iwai, Susumu Fujita, Kenichi Enomoto, and Denjirō Ōkōchi....
was temporarily banned by the SCAPSupreme Commander of the Allied PowersSupreme Commander of the Allied Powers was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the Occupation of Japan following World War II...
because it portrayed feudalismFeudalismFeudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
in a positive light. - 1955: The TohoTohois a Japanese film, theater production, and distribution company. It is headquartered in Yūrakuchō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group...
production Half HumanHalf HumanHalf Human, originally released in Japan as , is a tokusatsu film produced and released by Toho Film Productions Ltd. in 1955. The film was made by Toho's legendary Godzilla production team of Ishirō Honda, Eiji Tsuburaya, and Tomoyuki Tanaka. This was director Honda's second assignment in the...
, directed by Ishirō HondaIshiro HondaIshirō Honda , sometimes miscredited in foreign releases as "Inoshiro Honda", was a Japanese film director...
, was put under a self-imposed ban by Toho after it was feared that the film would be seen as a degrading portrayal of Japan's AinuAinu peopleThe , also called Aynu, Aino , and in historical texts Ezo , are indigenous people or groups in Japan and Russia. Historically they spoke the Ainu language and related varieties and lived in Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin...
minority. The film was never released on laserdiscLaserdiscLaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
or DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, even though there were several home videoHome videoHome video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
releases and to this day the only way to see it is through its heavily-edited US version. - 1958: Varan the UnbelievableVaran the UnbelievableVaran the Unbelievable, released in Japan as , is a 1958 Kaiju film directed by Ishirō Honda and Eiji Tsuburaya , and their last black-and-white monster film. The title character Varan is one of Toho Studios' least-famed creations. Although shown in Japanese-language theaters in the USA, the film...
was put under a self-imposed studio ban by Toho for similar reasons as Half Human's, but was finally released in the 1980s on VHS and laserdisc (with a few lines of reportedly racist dialogue removed from the film). - 1969: Teruo IshiiTeruo Ishiiwas a Japanese film director best known in the West for his early films in the Super Giant series, and for his films in the Ero guro subgenre of pinku eiga such as Shogun's Joys of Torture . He also directed the 1965 film, Abashiri Prison, which helped to make Ken Takakura a major star in Japan...
's exploitation flick Horrors of Malformed MenHorrors of Malformed Menis a 1969 Japanese film in the Ero guro sub-genre of Toei's style of Pink film. Directed by Teruo Ishii, the film is considered a precursor to Toei's ventures into the "Pinky violent" style in the early 1970s.-Critical appraisal:...
was put under a studio ban by ToeiToei Companyis a Japanese film, television production, and distribution corporation. Based in Tokyo, Toei owns and operates thirty-four movie theaters across Japan, a modest vertically-integrated studio system by the standards of the 1930s United States; operates studios at Tokyo and Kyoto; and is a...
, due to the film's offensive elements. With the film unavailable in any format in Japan, the only way to see it is through the occasional screening and the 2007 USA DVD release. - 1974: Toho placed another one of its films (Prophecies of NostradamusProphecies of Nostradamusalso known as The Last Days of Planet Earth or Catastrophe: 1999 is an experimental 1974 feature film by Toshio Masuda, inspired by the prophecies of Nostradamus. The film credits Toshio Yasumi as principal screenwriter, though Yasumi did not actually work on the film...
, an apocalyptic disaster filmDisaster filmA disaster film is a film genre that has an impending or ongoing disaster as its subject...
) under a ban, after a group of hibakushaHibakushaThe surviving victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are called , a Japanese word that literally translates to "explosion-affected people"...
(nuclear radiation survivors) saw the film and were offended by sequences showing a research party being attacked by radioactive cannibals and a pair of horribly deformed post-apocalypticApocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fictionApocalyptic fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that is concerned with the end of civilization due to a potentially existential catastrophe such as nuclear warfare, pandemic, extraterrestrial attack, impact event, cybernetic revolt, technological singularity, dysgenics, supernatural...
mutants fighting over a worm. After airing the film uncut on television in 1980, Toho withdrew the film from circulation entirely. It attempted to release the film on VHS in the late 1980s but was stopped due to protests. The only way to see the film is through the film's US version, The Last Days of Planet Earth, or through a grey marketGrey marketA grey market or gray market also known as parallel market is the trade of a commodity through distribution channels which, while legal, are unofficial, unauthorized, or unintended by the original manufacturer...
copy of the uncut version with the time code at the top of the screen.
Kazakhstan
- 2005: Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of KazakhstanBorat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of KazakhstanBorat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, often referred to simply as Borat, is a 2006 mockumentary comedy film directed by Larry Charles and distributed by 20th Century Fox...
Since Borat takes a satirical view of Kazakh culture and government, the Kazakh government requested the regional distributor, Gemini Films, not to release the film, a decision Gemini complied with.
Kuwait
- 1984: Cannibal HolocaustCannibal HolocaustCannibal Holocaust is a 1980 Italian horror film directed by Ruggero Deodato from a screenplay by Gianfranco Clerici. Filmed in the Amazon Rainforest and dealing with indigenous tribes, it was cast mostly with United States actors and filmed in English to achieve wider distribution...
- 1999: South Park: Bigger, Longer & UncutSouth Park: Bigger, Longer & UncutSouth Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut is a 1999 animated musical comedy film based on the animated television series South Park, created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker. The film was directed by Parker, who also stars along with the rest of the regular voice cast from the series, including Stone, Mary...
- 1999: Three Kings
- 2004: Fahrenheit 9/11Fahrenheit 9/11Fahrenheit 9/11 is a 2004 documentary film by American filmmaker and political commentator Michael Moore. The film takes a critical look at the presidency of George W. Bush, the War on Terror, and its coverage in the news media...
- 2005: The 40-Year-Old VirginThe 40-Year-Old VirginThe 40-Year-Old Virgin is a 2005 American buddy comedy film about a middle-aged man's journey to finally have sex. The film was written and directed by Judd Apatow and co-written by its lead star, Steve Carell, though the film itself features a great deal of improvised dialogue...
- 2007: The KingdomThe Kingdom (film)The Kingdom is a 2007 film directed by Peter Berg and starring Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Ashraf Barhom, with Kyle Chandler, Jeremy Piven and Ali Suliman....
Lebanon
- 2007: PersepolisPersepolis (film)Persepolis is a 2007 French animated film based on Marjane Satrapi's autobiographical graphic novel of the same name. The film was written and directed by Satrapi with Vincent Paronnaud. The story follows a young girl as she comes of age against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution. The story...
was initially banned in Lebanon after some clerics found it to be "offensive to Iran and Islam." The ban was later revoked after an outcry in Lebanese intellectual and political circles. - 2008: You Don't Mess with the ZohanYou Don't Mess with the ZohanYou Don't Mess with the Zohan is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Carlito Cabardo, and produced by and starring Adam Sandler. This is the fourth film which has starred Sandler and has been directed by Dugan...
- 2009: Waltz with BashirWaltz with BashirWaltz with Bashir is a 2008 Israeli animated documentary film written and directed by Ari Folman. It depicts Folman in search of his lost memories from the 1982 Lebanon War....
Malaysia
- 1936: The Bohemian GirlThe Bohemian Girl (1936 film)The Bohemian Girl is a 1936 feature film version of the opera The Bohemian Girl by Michael William Balfe. It was produced at the Hal Roach Studios, and stars Laurel and Hardy and Thelma Todd in her last role before her death.-Plot:...
was banned due to its Roma theme. It was passed during the '90s with a VCD release from Warner Malaysia VideoWarner Home VideoWarner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...
. - 1946: The Big SleepThe Big Sleep (1946 film)The Big Sleep is a 1946 film noir directed by Howard Hawks, the first film version of Raymond Chandler's 1939 novel of the same name. The movie stars Humphrey Bogart as detective Philip Marlowe and Lauren Bacall as the female lead in a film about the "process of a criminal investigation, not its...
was banned in Malaysia, but passed in 1999 by a VCD release and a delayed DVD release from Warner Malaysia Video. - 1956: The King and IThe King and I (1956 film)The King and I is a 1956 musical film made by 20th Century Fox, directed by Walter Lang and produced by Charles Brackett and Darryl F. Zanuck. The screenplay by Ernest Lehman is based on the Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II musical The King and I, based in turn on the book Anna and the King...
was banned when Malaysians were offended by this film. It was passed in 2005 by a VCD release and a DVD release from Fox Malaysia. - 1956: The Ten CommandmentsThe Ten Commandments (1956 film)The Ten Commandments is a 1956 American epic film that dramatized the biblical story of the Exodus, in which the Hebrew-born Moses, an adopted Egyptian prince, becomes the deliverer of the Hebrew slaves. The film, released by Paramount Pictures in VistaVision on October 5, 1956, was directed by...
was banned by Paramount Malaysia (now United International Pictures) due to religious content. - 1964: 491491 (film)491 is a 1964 Swedish black-and-white drama film directed by Vilgot Sjöman, based on a novel by Lars Görling. The story is about a group of youth criminals who are chosen to participate in a social experiment, where they are assigned to live together in an apartment while being supervised by two...
was banned due to a homosexual rape scene; a censored version was later released. - 1971: A Clockwork OrangeA Clockwork Orange (film)A Clockwork Orange is a 1971 film adaptation of Anthony Burgess's 1962 novel of the same name. It was written, directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick...
was banned, due to its explicit sexual and violent content. A censored version was later released on DVD after several years. - 1971: The Last House on the LeftThe Last House on the Left (1972 film)The Last House on the Left is a 1972 horror film written and directed by Wes Craven and produced by Sean S. Cunningham.The story is inspired by the 1960 Swedish film The Virgin Spring, directed by Ingmar Bergman, which in turn is based on the 13th century Swedish ballad "Töres döttrar i Wänge"...
- passed for a VCD release by Movie Master in the late 1990s - 1973: The ExorcistThe Exorcist (film)The Exorcist is a 1973 American horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty and based on the exorcism case of Robbie Mannheim, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her...
- 1975: JawsJaws (film)Jaws is a 1975 American horror-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. In the story, the police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant man-eating great white shark by closing the beach,...
- passed for a VCD release and a long-delayed DVD release by Movie Master - 1975: Monty Python and the Holy GrailMonty Python and the Holy GrailMonty Python and the Holy Grail is a 1974 British comedy film written and performed by the comedy group Monty Python , and directed by Gilliam and Jones...
- 1979: Monty Python's Life of BrianMonty Python's Life of BrianMonty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979 British comedy film written, directed and largely performed by the Monty Python comedy team...
- 1983: ScarfaceScarface (1983 film)Scarface is a 1983 American epic crime drama movie directed by Brian De Palma, written by Oliver Stone, produced by Martin Bregman and starring Al Pacino as Tony Montana...
- 1983: Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
- 1984: Cannibal HolocaustCannibal HolocaustCannibal Holocaust is a 1980 Italian horror film directed by Ruggero Deodato from a screenplay by Gianfranco Clerici. Filmed in the Amazon Rainforest and dealing with indigenous tribes, it was cast mostly with United States actors and filmed in English to achieve wider distribution...
- 1986: PlatoonPlatoon (film)Platoon is a 1986 American war film written and directed by Oliver Stone and stars Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe and Charlie Sheen. It is the first of Stone's Vietnam War trilogy, followed by 1989's Born on the Fourth of July and 1993's Heaven & Earth....
was banned, due to vulgar language and violence. - 1989: Pet SemataryPet Sematary (film)Pet Sematary is a 1989 horror film adaptation of Stephen King's novel of the same name. Directed by Mary Lambert and written by King, the film features Dale Midkiff as Louis Creed, Denise Crosby as Rachel Creed, Blaze Berdahl as Ellie Creed, Miko Hughes as Gage Creed, and Fred Gwynne as Jud Crandall...
- 1992: The BodyguardThe BodyguardThe Bodyguard is a 1992 American romantic-thriller film starring Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston. Costner stars as a former Secret Service Agent turned bodyguard who is hired to protect Houston's character, a music star, from an unknown stalker. Lawrence Kasdan wrote the film in the 1970s,...
- banned, due to high-impact violence and cruelty - 1993: Schindler's ListSchindler's ListSchindler's List is a 1993 American film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg, and based on the novel Schindler's Ark...
- never released in cinemas; passed in 2004 for DVD release by Berjaya HVN - 1994: The Shawshank Redemption (1994) - passed in 2001 by a VHS and DVD release by Berjaya HVN
- 1995: PirahnaPiranha (1995 film)Piranha also known as Piranhas is a 1995 American horror film directed by Scott P. Levy about a school of killer piranha descending upon the bustling Lost River Lake Resort...
- banned, due to high-impact violence and cruelty - 1995: Demon KnightDemon KnightDemon Knight is a 1995 American horror film directed by Ernest Dickerson, starring Billy Zane, William Sadler, and Jada Pinkett Smith...
- 1995: ShowgirlsShowgirlsShowgirls is a 1995 American drama film directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring former teen actress Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, and Gina Gershon...
- 1996: Beavis & Butthead Do America
- 1996: Last Man StandingLast Man Standing (film)Last Man Standing is a 1996 action film written and directed by Walter Hill, starring Bruce Willis, Christopher Walken, and Bruce Dern. It is a credited remake of the Akira Kurosawa film Yojimbo.- Plot :...
- 1997: OrgazmoOrgazmoOrgazmo is a 1997 comedy film written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of the animated series South Park, and directed by Parker.-Plot:...
- 1997: Boogie NightsBoogie NightsBoogie Nights is a 1997 drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Set in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley, the script focuses on a young nightclub dishwasher who becomes a popular star of pornographic films, and chronicles his rise and fall from the Golden Age of Porn of the 1970s...
- 1997: BladeBlade (film)Blade is a 1998 vampire superhero action horror starring Wesley Snipes and Stephen Dorff, loosely based on the Marvel Comics character Blade. The film was directed by Stephen Norrington and written by David S. Goyer. Blade grossed $70 million at the U.S. box office, and $131.2 million worldwide...
- never released in cinemas, passed for a VCD release and a delayed DVD release by Movie Master - 1998: The Prince of EgyptThe Prince of EgyptThe Prince of Egypt is a 1998 American animated musical drama film and the first traditionally animated film produced and released by DreamWorks Animation. The film is an adaptation of the Book of Exodus and follows the life of Moses from being a prince of Egypt to his ultimate destiny to lead the...
- never released in cinemas, passed for VCD and DVD release by Berjaya HVN - 1998: Saving Private RyanSaving Private RyanSaving Private Ryan is a 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg, with a screenplay by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 27 minutes, which depicts the Omaha Beach assault of June 6, 1944....
- never released in cinemas, passed for VCD and DVD release by Berjaya HVN - 1998: Barney's Great AdventureBarney's Great AdventureBarney's Great Adventure is a 1998 musical adventure film based on the children's television series Barney & Friends, featuring the character Barney the dinosaur...
was banned due to the country finding this film to be unacceptable for children to watch. It is unknown if it was passed on for a VCD or DVD release. - 1999: Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged MeAustin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged MeAustin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, released in 1999, is the second film in the Austin Powers series that began with 1997's Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and continued with Austin Powers in Goldmember. The film was directed by Jay Roach, co-written by Mike Myers and screenwriter...
- 1999: South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut
- 1999: DogmaDogma (film)Dogma is a 1999 American adventure fantasy comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith, who also stars in the film along with an ensemble cast that includes Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, Alan Rickman, Bud Cort, Salma Hayek, Chris Rock, Jason Lee, George Carlin, Janeane Garofalo,...
- 2000: Final DestinationFinal DestinationFinal Destination is a 2000 supernatural slasher film written and directed by James Wong. The film was co-written by Glen Morgan and Jeffrey Reddick, both of them having previously worked with Wong in the TV series The X-Files. The film stars Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, Kerr Smith and Tony Todd...
- 2000: But I'm a CheerleaderBut I'm a CheerleaderBut I'm a Cheerleader is a 1999 satirical romantic comedy film directed by Jamie Babbit and written by Brian Wayne Peterson. Natasha Lyonne stars as Megan Bloomfield, an apparently happy heterosexual high school cheerleader...
- 2001: FizaFizaFiza is a 2000 Indian film written and directed by Khalid Mohammed. The film stars Karisma Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan and Jaya Bachchan.- Synopsis :...
- 2001: Ichi the KillerIchi the Killeris a 2001 Japanese film directed by Takashi Miike, based on Hideo Yamamoto's manga series of the same name.- Plot : While alone with a prostitute, crime lord Anjo is brutally murdered...
- 2001: ZoolanderZoolanderZoolander is a 2001 American satirical comedy film directed by and starring Ben Stiller. The film contains elements from a pair of short films directed by Russell Bates and written by Drake Sather and Stiller for the VH1 Fashion Awards television specials in 1996 and 1997. The short films and the...
- 2002: Auto FocusAuto FocusAuto Focus is a 2002 American biographical film directed by Paul Schrader that stars Greg Kinnear and Willem Dafoe. The screenplay by Michael Gerbosi is based on the book The Murder of Bob Crane by Robert Graysmith....
- passed for VCD release from MediaMax.com - 2002: Queen of the DamnedQueen of the Damned (film)Queen of the Damned is a 2002 film adaptation of the third novel of Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles series, The Queen of the Damned, although the film contains many plot elements from the latter novel's predecessor, The Vampire Lestat. It stars Aaliyah as the vampire queen Akasha, and Stuart...
- 2002: 40 Days and 40 Nights40 Days and 40 NightsThis article refers to Michael Lehmann's 2002 film. For the 2007 Matthew Chapman book, see 40 Days and 40 Nights .40 Days and 40 Nights is a 2002 romantic comedy film directed by Michael Lehmann, written by Rob Perez and starring Josh Hartnett, Shannyn Sossamon and Paulo Costanzo...
- 2002: PinocchioPinocchio (2002 film)Pinocchio is a 2002 Italian live-action family film directed by and starring Roberto Benigni. The film is based on The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi with Benigni portraying Pinocchio. It was shot in Italy and Kalkara, Malta...
(2002) - 2003: Bruce AlmightyBruce AlmightyBruce Almighty is a 2003 American comedy film directed by Tom Shadyac and written by Steve Koren, Mark O'Keefe and Steve Oedekerk. It stars Jim Carrey as Bruce Nolan, a down-on-his-luck TV reporter who complains to God that He isn't doing His job correctly, and is then offered the chance to try...
- passed for VCD and DVD release by Berjaya HVN - 2003: DaredevilDaredevil (film)Daredevil is a 2003 American superhero film written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson. Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, the film stars Ben Affleck as Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer who fights for justice in the courtroom and out of the courtroom as the masked vigilante Daredevil...
(2003) - passed for VCD and DVD release - 2003: HomerunHomerun (film)Homerun Chinese: 跑吧！孩子 pinyin: pǎo bà háizǐ) is a 2003 Singaporean Mandarin-language film. A remake of the award-winning Iranian film Children of Heaven, Homerun is a drama about two poor siblings and their adventures over a lost pair of shoes...
- 2003: Final Destination 2Final Destination 2Final Destination 2 is a 2003 supernatural horror film and the sequel to the 2000 film Final Destination and was directed by David R. Ellis. It was written by Jeffrey Reddick, Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber. The film stars Ali Larter, A. J. Cook, Michael Landes and Tony Todd...
- 2003: Freddy vs. JasonFreddy vs. JasonFreddy vs. Jason is a 2003 American slasher film directed by Ronny Yu. The film is a crossover between the A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th franchises...
- 2003: UnderworldUnderworld (2003 film)Underworld is a 2003 action-horror film about the secret history of Vampires and Lycans . It is the first installment in the Underworld series. The main plot revolves around Selene , a vampire who is a Death Dealer hunting Lycans...
(2003) - 2003: Kill Bill: Vol. 1Kill BillKill Bill Volume 1 is a 2003 action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is the first of two volumes that were theatrically released several months apart, the second volume being Kill Bill Volume 2....
- never released in cinemas, passed for DVD release by Berjaya HVN - 2003: ThirteenThirteen (film)Thirteen is a 2003 American drama film directed by Catherine Hardwicke, and written by Hardwicke and Nikki Reed, the film's co-star. The film also stars Evan Rachel Wood and Holly Hunter. It is a semi-autobiographical film inspired by Reed's life at age 12 and 13 with Wood's character "Tracy" being...
- 2004: The Girl Next Door (2004)
- 2004: Harold & Kumar Go to White CastleHarold & Kumar Go to White CastleHarold & Kumar Go to White Castle is a 2004 American stoner film and the first installment in the Harold & Kumar series...
- never released in cinemas, passed for DVD release by Berjaya HVN - 2004: The Passion of the ChristThe Passion of the ChristThe Passion of the Christ is a 2004 American drama film directed by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus. It depicts the Passion of Jesus largely according to the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John...
- prohibited for non-Christian viewers - 2004: SidewaysSidewaysSideways is a 2004 comedy-drama film written by Jim Taylor and Alexander Payne and directed by Payne. Adapted from Rex Pickett's 2004 novel of the same name, Sideways follows two forty-something year old men, portrayed by Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church, who take a week-long road trip to...
- 2004: Team America: World PoliceTeam America: World PoliceTeam America: World Police, often referred to as simply Team America, is a 2004 action comedy film written by Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and Pam Brady and directed by Parker, all of whom are also known for the popular animated television series South Park...
- 2004: SawSaw (film)Saw is a 2004 American independent horror film directed by James Wan. The screenplay, written by Leigh Whannell, is based on a story by Wan and Whannell. The film stars Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter, Michael Emerson, Ken Leung, Whannell and Tobin Bell...
- banned, due to high-impact violence and cruelty - 2004: AlfieAlfie (2004 film)Alfie is a 2004 British/American comedy-drama film based on the 1966 British film of the same name, starring Jude Law as the title character, originally played by Michael Caine. The film was written, directed and produced by Charles Shyer.-Plot:...
(2004) - never released in cinemas, passed for DVD release by Berjaya HVN - 2005: Sin CitySin City (film)Sin City, also known as Frank Miller's Sin City, is a 2005 crime thriller film written, produced and directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez...
- 2005: Hustle & FlowHustle & FlowHustle & Flow is a 2005 independent drama film written and directed by Craig Brewer and produced by John Singleton. Terrence Howard stars as a Memphis hustler and pimp who faces his aspiration to become a rapper...
- 2005: The 40-Year-Old VirginThe 40-Year-Old VirginThe 40-Year-Old Virgin is a 2005 American buddy comedy film about a middle-aged man's journey to finally have sex. The film was written and directed by Judd Apatow and co-written by its lead star, Steve Carell, though the film itself features a great deal of improvised dialogue...
- 2005: Saw IISaw IISaw II is a 2005 Canadian-American horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and co-written by Bousman and the first film's co-writer Leigh Whannell. It is a sequel to 2004's Saw and the second installment in the seven-part Saw film series...
- banned, due to high-impact violence and cruelty - 2005: Stewie Griffin: The Untold StoryStewie Griffin: The Untold StoryStewie Griffin: The Untold Story is a 2005 direct-to-DVD animated comedy film set in the Family Guy fictional universe. Released on September 27, 2005, the film's main plot point concerns Stewie Griffin trying to find his real father...
- 2005: Inside Deep ThroatInside Deep ThroatInside Deep Throat is a 2005 American documentary about the 1972 pornographic film Deep Throat and its effects on American society.The film is narrated by Dennis Hopper. The documentary was written, produced, and directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, and produced by Brian Grazer...
- 2005: Hard CandyHard Candy (film)Hard Candy is a 2005 psychological thriller film focusing on the confrontation between an assumed sexual predator and a not-so-innocent 14-year-old girl....
- 2005: Hostel
- 2005: RentRent (film)Rent is a 2005 American musical drama film directed by Chris Columbus. It is an adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name, in turn based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème. The film depicts the lives of several Bohemians and their struggles with sexuality, cross-dressing, drugs, life...
- was released straight to DVD/VCD by Mediamax - 2005: Brokeback MountainBrokeback MountainBrokeback Mountain is a 2005 romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee. It is a film adaptation of the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx with the screenplay written by Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry...
- 2006: Glory RoadGlory Road (film)Glory Road is an American sports film directed by James Gartner, based on a true story dealing with the events leading to the 1966 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, in which the late Don Haskins – played by Josh Lucas – head coach of the Texas Western College led a team...
- 2006: See No EvilSee No Evil (film)See No Evil is a 2006 horror film directed by Gregory Dark, written by Dan Madigan, produced by Joel Simon, and starring professional wrestler Kane. It is the first major film produced by WWE Films and was released by Lions Gate Entertainment on May 19, 2006.The film went through many different...
- 2006: SeveranceSeverance (film)Severance is a British comedy horror film, written by James Moran, directed by Christopher Smith, and starring Danny Dyer and Laura Harris. In 2009, media interest in the film was revived following the alleged copycat murder of a UK teenager.-Plot:...
Movie was allowed in theaters as a censored version, but the bear trap scene was removed. The video version was initially banned and had no dvd release. - 2006: United 93United 93 (film)United 93 is a 2006 fact-based historical drama film written, co-produced, and directed by Paul Greengrass that chronicles events aboard United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked during the September 11 attacks...
- 2006: Final Destination 3Final Destination 3Final Destination 3 is a 2006 supernatural slasher film, and the third film in the Final Destination series. The film was directed and written by James Wong, who co-wrote and directed the first film, and was produced by Craig Perry. It was released in North America on February 10, 2006...
- Released in Cinemas as censored version - 2006: How to Eat Fried WormsHow to Eat Fried Worms (film)How to Eat Fried Worms is a 2006 American film based on the 1973 children's book of the same name by Thomas Rockwell. It was produced by New Line Cinema with Walden Media. Development began in 1998 and theatrical release for the U.S. and Canada was August 25, 2006. The DVD for the film was released...
- 2006: Saw IIISaw IIISaw III is a 2006 Canadian-American horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman from a screenplay by Leigh Whannell and story by James Wan and Whannell. Wan and Whannell directed and wrote Saw and Bousman wrote and directed Saw II. It is the third film in the seven-part Saw film series and stars...
- 2006: Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of KazakhstanBorat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of KazakhstanBorat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, often referred to simply as Borat, is a 2006 mockumentary comedy film directed by Larry Charles and distributed by 20th Century Fox...
- 2007: Alpha DogAlpha DogAlpha Dog is a 2007 crime drama film written and directed by Nick Cassavetes, first screened at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2006, with a wide release the following year on January 12, 2007. The film is based on the true story of the kidnapping and murder of 15-year-old Nicholas...
- 2007: Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters
- 2007: Hostel: Part II
- 2007: Dead SilenceDead SilenceDead Silence is a 2007 horror film, directed by James Wan and written by Leigh Whannell, the creators of Saw...
- 2007: Superbad
- 2007: Death SentenceDeath SentenceDeath Sentence is a short story by the American science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the November 1943 issue of Astounding Science Fiction and reprinted in the 1972 collection The Early Asimov.-Plot summary:...
(2007) - 2007: HalloweenHalloween (2007 film)Halloween is a 2007 American slasher film written, directed, and produced by Rob Zombie. The film is a remake/reimagining of the 1978 horror film of the same name, the first in the rebooted Halloween film series and the ninth Halloween film in total. The film stars Tyler Mane as the adult Michael...
(2007) - 2007: Saw IVSaw IVSaw IV is a 2007 Canadian-American horror film and midquel to 2006's Saw III. It was directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and written by newcomers Patrick Melton, Marcus Dunstan and Thomas Fenton. The film was released in North America on October 26, 2007...
- 2007: Anaconda 3: Offspring - banned, due to high-impact violence and cruelty
- 2008: Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
- 2008: Waltz With BashirWaltz with BashirWaltz with Bashir is a 2008 Israeli animated documentary film written and directed by Ari Folman. It depicts Folman in search of his lost memories from the 1982 Lebanon War....
- 2008: Wanted - passed by a release by Berjaya HVN and United International Pictures Malaysia
- 2008: Step BrothersStep Brothers (film)Step Brothers is a 2008 American slapstick buddy-comedy film directed by Adam McKay, produced by Judd Apatow and Jimmy Miller, and stars Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, who originally teamed up in Talladega Nights . The screenplay was written by Ferrell and McKay, from a story written by Ferrell,...
- 2008: Pineapple ExpressPineapple Express (film)Pineapple Express is a 2008 American stoner action comedy directed by David Gordon Green, written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and starring Rogen and James Franco. Producer Judd Apatow, who previously worked with Rogen and Goldberg on Knocked Up and Superbad, assisted in developing the story,...
- 2008: Zack and Miri Make a PornoZack and Miri Make a PornoZack and Miri Make a Porno is a 2008 romantic comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith, distributed by The Weinstein Company, and starring Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks. It is Smith's second film not to be set within the View Askewniverse and the first not set in New Jersey. It was...
- 2008: Saw VSaw VSaw V is a 2008 Canadian-American horror film directed by David Hackl and written by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan and stars Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor and Scott Patterson...
- 2008: Anaconda 4: Trail Of Blood - banned, due to high-impact violence and cruelty
- 2008: Role ModelsRole ModelsRole Models is a 2008 American comedy film directed by David Wain about two energy drink salesmen who are ordered to perform 150 hours of community service as punishment for various offenses. For their service, the two men work at a program designed to pair kids with adult role models. The film...
- 2008: RocknRollaRocknRollaRocknRolla is a 2008 British crime film written and directed by Guy Ritchie, and starring Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Strong, Toby Kebbell, Tom Hardy, Idris Elba, Karel Roden, and Thandie Newton...
- 2008: Repo! The Genetic OperaRepo! The Genetic OperaRepo! The Genetic Opera is a 2008 horror-rock opera musical film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman. The film is based on a play written and composed by Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich....
- 2008: Gran Torino - passed and released on Home Video by the Censorship board of Malaysia
- 2009: BrunoBrüno (film)Brüno is a 2009 British mockumentary comedy film directed by Larry Charles and starring Sacha Baron Cohen, who produced, co-wrote, and starred as the gay Austrian fashion journalist Brüno...
- 2009: Halloween 2Halloween II (2009 film)Halloween II is a 2009 American horror film written, directed, and produced by Rob Zombie. The film is a sequel to Zombie's 2007 remake of Halloween , and the second film in the rebooted Halloween film series and the tenth Halloween film in total...
(2009) - 2009: Saw VISaw VISaw VI is a 2009 horror film directed by Kevin Greutert from a screenplay written by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan. It is the sixth installment of the seven–part Saw film series and stars Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Betsy Russell, Mark Rolston, Peter Outerbridge, and Shawnee Smith...
(2009) - 2010: Rumah Dara aka Macabre
- 2010: Piranha 3D - Passed with a heavily censored version (six minutes removed) in 2010, due to sexual and nude content only; violence content remains unchanged
- 2011: No Strings Attached - Passed with a heavily censored version (seven minutes censored) in 2011, due to sexual and nude content
Morocco
- 1984: Cannibal HolocaustCannibal HolocaustCannibal Holocaust is a 1980 Italian horror film directed by Ruggero Deodato from a screenplay by Gianfranco Clerici. Filmed in the Amazon Rainforest and dealing with indigenous tribes, it was cast mostly with United States actors and filmed in English to achieve wider distribution...
- 1995: ShowgirlsShowgirlsShowgirls is a 1995 American drama film directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring former teen actress Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, and Gina Gershon...
- 2004: Team America: World PoliceTeam America: World PoliceTeam America: World Police, often referred to as simply Team America, is a 2004 action comedy film written by Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and Pam Brady and directed by Parker, all of whom are also known for the popular animated television series South Park...
The Netherlands
- 1932: ScramScram (1932 film)- Plot :Ordered out of town by angry Judge Beaumont, vagrants Stanley and Oliver meet a congenial drunk who invites them to stay at his luxurious mansion. The drunk can't find his key, but the boys find a way in, sending the surprised woman inside into a faint. They revive her with what they think...
On its initial cinematic release in the Netherlands this Laurel & Hardy film was banned by Christian moral watchdogs, who claimed that the scene where the duo sat on a bed with a woman to whom they weren't married was "indecent". Today the film is not banned. - 2010: MaladolescenzaMaladolescenza-Crew:*Directed by: Pier Giuseppe Murgia*Book: Pier Giuseppe Murgia*Camera: Lothar Elias Stickelbrucks*Music: Giuseppe "Pippo" Caruso, Jürgen Drews*Music Editing: Grandi Firme della Canzone*Company: Petra Cinema 23/Seven-Star/Petra Cinematografica spa...
On 25 March 2010 the Dutch court of Alkmaar has classified several scenes in the movie being child pornography, which is illegal in the Netherlands. That means that possession, distribution, viewing and knowingly gaining access to the movie is not allowed.
New Zealand
- 1973: Last Tango in ParisLast Tango in ParisLast Tango in Paris is a 1972 Italian romantic drama film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci which portrays a recent American widower who takes up an anonymous sexual relationship with a young, soon-to-be-married Parisian woman...
- 1980: Friday the 13th (since unbanned)
- 1981: Mad MaxMad MaxMad Max is a 1979 Australian dystopian action film directed by George Miller and revised by Miller and Byron Kennedy over the original script by James McCausland. The film stars Mel Gibson, who was unknown at the time. Its narrative based around the traditional western genre, Mad Max tells a story...
(VHS release was later approved) - 1984: Silent Night, Deadly NightSilent Night, Deadly NightSilent Night, Deadly Night is a 1984 slasher film produced by Ira R Barmak, directed by Charles E. Sellier Jr. and starring Robert Brian Wilson, Lilyan Chauvin, Gilmer McCormick, Toni Nero, Linnea Quigley, Britt Leach, and Leo Geter...
- 2004 - Puni Puni PoemyPuni Puni Poemyis a two-part original video animation spin-off from the Excel Saga manga and TV animation. It features some of that series' secondary characters and many of its staff, primarily director Shinichi Watanabe...
- 2005 - Bumfights: Cause for ConcernBumfightsBumfights is a film series produced by Indecline Films. The videos feature teenagers, homeless men in the San Diego, San Francisco and Las Vegas metropolitan areas fighting and attempting amateur stunts in exchange for money, alcohol, and other incentives...
, Bumfights 2: BumlifeBumfightsBumfights is a film series produced by Indecline Films. The videos feature teenagers, homeless men in the San Diego, San Francisco and Las Vegas metropolitan areas fighting and attempting amateur stunts in exchange for money, alcohol, and other incentives... - 2006 - Cannibal HolocaustCannibal HolocaustCannibal Holocaust is a 1980 Italian horror film directed by Ruggero Deodato from a screenplay by Gianfranco Clerici. Filmed in the Amazon Rainforest and dealing with indigenous tribes, it was cast mostly with United States actors and filmed in English to achieve wider distribution...
- 2007 - Hostel: Part II (excisions recommended but not made)
North Korea
- 2009: 20122012 (film)2012 is a 2009 American disaster film directed by Roland Emmerich. It stars John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Thandie Newton, Danny Glover, and Woody Harrelson. It was produced by Emmerich's production company, Centropolis Entertainment and was distributed by Columbia Pictures...
. Banned because the year 2012 coincides with Kim Il Sung's 100th birthday. The year had also been designated "the year for opening the grand gates to becoming a rising superpower."
Norway
| Year | Name | Reason | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964–1971 | 491 491 (film) 491 is a 1964 Swedish black-and-white drama film directed by Vilgot Sjöman, based on a novel by Lars Görling. The story is about a group of youth criminals who are chosen to participate in a social experiment, where they are assigned to live together in an apartment while being supervised by two... |
Banned due to homosexual themes; a censored version was later released. | |
| 1974 - ? | The Texas Chain Saw Massacre The Texas Chain Saw Massacre The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American independent horror film directed and produced by Tobe Hooper, who cowrote it with Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, and Gunnar Hansen, who respectively portray Sally Hardesty, Franklin Hardesty, the... |
No longer banned | |
| 1977–2003 | Suspiria Suspiria Suspiria is a 1977 Italian horror film directed by Dario Argento and co-written by Argento and Daria Nicolodi. The film follows an American ballet student who transfers to a prestigious dance academy in Germany, only to discover that it is controlled by a coven of witches. The film's score was... |
Unknown (ban lifted) | |
| 1980–2008 | Friday the 13th | Banned due to high-impact violence and extreme cruelty/torture; a censored version is later released. | |
| 1979–1980 | Monty Python's Life of Brian Monty Python's Life of Brian Monty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979 British comedy film written, directed and largely performed by the Monty Python comedy team... |
Banned due to offensive jokes to religious people (ban later lifted). | |
| 1984–2005 | Cannibal Holocaust Cannibal Holocaust Cannibal Holocaust is a 1980 Italian horror film directed by Ruggero Deodato from a screenplay by Gianfranco Clerici. Filmed in the Amazon Rainforest and dealing with indigenous tribes, it was cast mostly with United States actors and filmed in English to achieve wider distribution... |
Banned due to high-impact violence and animal cruelty Cruelty to animals Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse or animal neglect, is the infliction of suffering or harm upon non-human animals, for purposes other than self-defense. More narrowly, it can be harm for specific gain, such as killing animals for food or for their fur, although opinions differ with... ; a censored version was later released. |
|
| 1990–2003 | Robocop 2 RoboCop 2 RoboCop 2 is a 1990 science fiction action film directed by Irvin Kershner and starring Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Belinda Bayer, Tom Noonan and Gabriel Damon. Set in the near future in a dystopian metropolitan Detroit, Michigan... |
Banned due to high-impact violence. | |
| 1998 | Kite | Banned due to high-impact violence, cruelty and child pornography Child pornography Child pornography refers to images or films and, in some cases, writings depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child... ; a censored version was later released. |
|
| 2009 | Ichi the Killer Ichi the Killer is a 2001 Japanese film directed by Takashi Miike, based on Hideo Yamamoto's manga series of the same name.- Plot : While alone with a prostitute, crime lord Anjo is brutally murdered... |
Banned due to high-impact violence and cruelty. | |
| 2011 | A Serbian Film A Serbian Film A Serbian Film is a 2010 Serbian horror film and the first feature film directed by Srđan Spasojević. It tells the story of a down-on-his-luck porn star who agrees to participate in an "art film", only to discover that he has been drafted into a snuff film with child rape and necrophilic themes... |
Banned due to sexual representation of children and extreme violence. |
Oman
- 1979: Monty Python's Life of BrianMonty Python's Life of BrianMonty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979 British comedy film written, directed and largely performed by the Monty Python comedy team...
- 2004: SawSaw (film)Saw is a 2004 American independent horror film directed by James Wan. The screenplay, written by Leigh Whannell, is based on a story by Wan and Whannell. The film stars Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter, Michael Emerson, Ken Leung, Whannell and Tobin Bell...
- 2006: Basic Instinct 2Basic Instinct 2Basic Instinct 2, also known as Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction, is a 2006 German/British/American/Spanish thriller film and the sequel to 1992's Basic Instinct. The film was directed by Michael Caton-Jones and produced by Mario Kassar, Joel B. Michaels, and Andrew G. Vajna. The screenplay was by...
Philippines
- 1977: Hubad na Bayani: Depiction of human-rights abuses during the martial-law era
- 2000: Toro/Live Show: Banned for explicit sexual content
Poland
- 1982-1989: Interrogation (1982)Interrogation (film)Interrogation is a 1982 Polish crime film directed by Ryszard Bugajski. Due to its anti-communist themes, the Polish communist government banned the film from public viewing for over seven years, until the 1989 dissolution of the Eastern Bloc allowed it to see the light of day...
(Przesluchanie) , a prison filmPrison filmA prison film is a film genre concerned with prison life and often prison escape. These films range from acclaimed dramas examining the nature of prisons, like Cool Hand Luke, Brubaker, The Shawshank Redemption, Kiss of the Spider Woman, and Murder One to actioners like Lock Up, Undisputed, and...
depicting the corrupt interrogationInterrogationInterrogation is interviewing as commonly employed by officers of the police, military, and Intelligence agencies with the goal of extracting a confession or obtaining information. Subjects of interrogation are often the suspects, victims, or witnesses of a crime...
tactics of the Stalinist regime in post-World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Poland. The film has gained attention for being one of the most controversial (but important) Polish films ever made. - 1982-1987: Blind ChanceBlind ChanceBlind Chance is a Polish film directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski. Made in 1981, the film was suppressed by the Polish authorities for several years, until its delayed release in 1987...
, like many of Kieslowski's films, was banned for politically sensitive themes. - 1997: Witajcie w życiu (Welcome to the Life), a documentary filmDocumentary filmDocumentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
by Henryk Dederko about AmwayAmwayAmway is a direct selling company and manufacturer that uses network marketing to sell a variety of products, primarily in the health, beauty, and home care markets. Amway was founded in 1959 by Jay Van Andel and Richard DeVos...
in Poland, was banned after the Polish office of the Amway Corporation obtained an injunction against the film; they claimed it was libelous.
Portugal
- 1970: Catch-22Catch-22 (film)Catch-22 is a 1970 satirical war film adapted from the book of the same name by Joseph Heller. Considered a black comedy revolving around the "lunatic characters" of Heller's satirical anti-war novel, it was the work of a talented production team which included director Mike Nichols and...
was banned until 1974 for the scene showing Capt. YossarianYossarianThis article is about a "Catch-22" character. For the meerkat from "Meerkat Manor", see List of "Meerkat Manor" meerkats - Yossarian.Capt. John Joseph Yossarian is a fictional character and protagonist in Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22 and its sequel Closing Time...
naked in a tree. - 1972: Last Tango in ParisLast Tango in ParisLast Tango in Paris is a 1972 Italian romantic drama film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci which portrays a recent American widower who takes up an anonymous sexual relationship with a young, soon-to-be-married Parisian woman...
was banned for its strong sexual content (unbanned in 1974).
Russia
- 2006: Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of KazakhstanBorat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of KazakhstanBorat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, often referred to simply as Borat, is a 2006 mockumentary comedy film directed by Larry Charles and distributed by 20th Century Fox...
Banned as "offensive" (possibly because of Russia's close relationship with Kazakhstan).
Samoa
- 2006: The Da Vinci CodeThe Da Vinci Code (film)The Da Vinci Code is a 2006 American mystery thriller film directed by Ron Howard. The screenplay was written by Akiva Goldsman and based on Dan Brown's worldwide bestselling 2003 novel, The Da Vinci Code...
(see Censorship in SamoaCensorship in SamoaThe United States Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Samoa states that:"The law provides for freedom of speech and of the press, and the government generally respected these rights in practice and did not restrict academic freedom or the Internet. In general the...
for details) - 2009: MilkMilk (film)Milk is a 2008 American biographical film on the life of gay rights activist and politician Harvey Milk, who was the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors...
(see Censorship in SamoaCensorship in SamoaThe United States Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Samoa states that:"The law provides for freedom of speech and of the press, and the government generally respected these rights in practice and did not restrict academic freedom or the Internet. In general the...
for details) - 2009: National Lampoon's Van Wilder: Freshman YearNational Lampoon's Van Wilder: Freshman YearNational Lampoon's Van Wilder: Freshman Year is the third film in the Van Wilder series, following National Lampoon's Van Wilder and National Lampoon's Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj. Freshman Year is a prequel to the first film. It was released straight-to-DVD in 2009...
- 2009: The Cell 2The Cell 2The Cell 2 is a 2009 direct-to-video spin-off from the 2000 film The Cell.-Plot:A serial killer calling himself "The Cusp" murders his victims and then revives them, until they beg to die. His first victim, psychic investigator Maya Casteneda , survives and is bent on revenge...
Singapore
- 1971: A Clockwork OrangeA Clockwork Orange (film)A Clockwork Orange is a 1971 film adaptation of Anthony Burgess's 1962 novel of the same name. It was written, directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick...
was banned for over 30 years, before an attempt at release was made in 2006. However, the ban was not lifted when the submission for a M18 rating was rejected. A Clockwork Orange was premiered on 28 October 2011, as part of the Perspectives Film Festival. The film was shown uncut with an R21 rating. - 1973: The ExorcistThe Exorcist (film)The Exorcist is a 1973 American horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty and based on the exorcism case of Robbie Mannheim, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her...
- 1973: Last Tango in ParisLast Tango in ParisLast Tango in Paris is a 1972 Italian romantic drama film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci which portrays a recent American widower who takes up an anonymous sexual relationship with a young, soon-to-be-married Parisian woman...
- 1974: The Texas Chain Saw MassacreThe Texas Chain Saw MassacreThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American independent horror film directed and produced by Tobe Hooper, who cowrote it with Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, and Gunnar Hansen, who respectively portray Sally Hardesty, Franklin Hardesty, the...
was prohibited from release on the island since the 1970s. - 1979: Monty Python's Life of BrianMonty Python's Life of BrianMonty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979 British comedy film written, directed and largely performed by the Monty Python comedy team...
contains "inappropriate" religious content, which led the film to be banned. - 1980: Cannibal HolocaustCannibal HolocaustCannibal Holocaust is a 1980 Italian horror film directed by Ruggero Deodato from a screenplay by Gianfranco Clerici. Filmed in the Amazon Rainforest and dealing with indigenous tribes, it was cast mostly with United States actors and filmed in English to achieve wider distribution...
was banned outright for its extreme violence. - 1981: The Evil DeadThe Evil DeadThe Evil Dead is a 1981 horror film written and directed by Sam Raimi, starring Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, and Betsy Baker. The film is a story of five college students vacationing in an isolated cabin in a wooded area...
has been banned since its release in 1981; authorities disallowed it for "excessive graphic violence and gore". - 1986: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 was categorised as banned by the authority. No submission for re-rating was ever made.
- 1988: The Last Temptation of ChristThe Last Temptation of ChristThe Last Temptation of Christ is a novel written by Nikos Kazantzakis, first published in 1953. It was first published in English in 1960. It follows the life of Jesus Christ from his perspective...
was never allowed to be screened or released in video formats to the public, for its controversial religious content. - 1995: Lie Down with Dogs was banned for strong sexuality.
- 1998: A Night on the Water was banned for strong sexuality.
- 1999: The film South Park: Bigger, Longer & UncutSouth Park: Bigger, Longer & UncutSouth Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut is a 1999 animated musical comedy film based on the animated television series South Park, created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker. The film was directed by Parker, who also stars along with the rest of the regular voice cast from the series, including Stone, Mary...
shared the same fate with its banned television seriesSouth ParkSouth Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
. - 2001: ZoolanderZoolanderZoolander is a 2001 American satirical comedy film directed by and starring Ben Stiller. The film contains elements from a pair of short films directed by Russell Bates and written by Drake Sather and Stiller for the VH1 Fashion Awards television specials in 1996 and 1997. The short films and the...
- 2003: 1515 (film)15: The Movie, also known simply as 15, is a 2003 Singaporean film about teenage gangsters in the Singapore suburbs. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Royston Tan, the film is an expanded version of Tan's 2002 award-winning short film, also titled 15...
was initially banned, and the Singapore board of censors later ruled that the film should be rated; R(A) it made 27 cuts to the film. - 2004: A Dirty ShameA Dirty ShameA Dirty Shame is a 2004 satirical sex comedy written and directed by John Waters, and starring Tracey Ullman, Selma Blair, Johnny Knoxville, Chris Isaak, Suzanne Shepherd, and Mink Stole.-Plot:...
was banned for its crude humour and sexuality. - 2004: Formula 17Formula 17Formula 17 is a 2004 film which was directed by Chen Yin-jung . It stars Tony Yang , Duncan , King Chin , Dada Ji , Jimmy Yang , and Jason Chang . It is a gay romantic comedy film about Chou T'ien-Tsai, a romantic Taiwanese male who takes a trip to visit an online boyfriend in person for the first...
was banned because it "portrayed homosexuality as normal, a natural progression of society." - 2005: Hostel was banned for extreme-impact violence, high-impact gore, cruelty and racism.
- 2005: Singapore Rebel was banned for being a political film, which is not allowed in Singapore. In 2009 the film was reviewed by the Political Films Consultative Committee (PFCC) and unbanned, with an M18 rating.
- 2006: ShortbusShortbusShortbus is a 2006 comedy-drama film written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell. The plot revolves around a sexually diverse ensemble of colorful characters trying desperately to connect in New York City. The characters converge in a weekly Brooklyn artistic/sexual salon loosely inspired by...
was banned for its explicit sexual content. - 2006: The film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of KazakhstanBorat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of KazakhstanBorat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, often referred to simply as Borat, is a 2006 mockumentary comedy film directed by Larry Charles and distributed by 20th Century Fox...
was banned for extreme nudity during the fight in the hotel scene. It was cut off during its screening. - 2007: Zahari's 17 Years was banned because, according to the Government of Singapore, it is "against public interests".
- 2010: Dr Lim Hock Siew was banned due to similar reasons for the film Zahari's 17 Years
Solomon Islands
- 2006: The Da Vinci CodeThe Da Vinci Code (film)The Da Vinci Code is a 2006 American mystery thriller film directed by Ron Howard. The screenplay was written by Akiva Goldsman and based on Dan Brown's worldwide bestselling 2003 novel, The Da Vinci Code...
. Prime Minister Manasseh SogavareManasseh SogavareManasseh Damukana Sogavare was the sixth Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands from 2000 to 2001 and again from 2006 to 2007. He has served in the National Parliament as Member for East Choiseul since 1997, and he is currently the Leader of the Opposition.-Biography:Sogavare was Permanent...
stated that the film "undermines the very roots of Christianity in Solomon Islands."
South Africa
- 1978: Up in SmokeUp in SmokeUp in Smoke, directed by Lou Adler, is Cheech and Chong's first feature-length film, released in 1978 by Paramount Pictures. It stars Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, Edie Adams, Strother Martin, and Stacy Keach....
was banned because the South African censor board feared it might inspire youth to take up marijuana smoking. - 1979: Monty Python's Life of BrianMonty Python's Life of BrianMonty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979 British comedy film written, directed and largely performed by the Monty Python comedy team...
was banned because of offensive jokes about religion. - 1980: CruisingCruising (film)Cruising is a 1980 film directed by William Friedkin and starring Al Pacino. The film is loosely based on the novel of the same name, by New York Times reporter Gerald Walker, about a serial killer targeting gay men, in particular those associated with the S&M scene.Poorly reviewed by critics,...
was banned because of homosexual themes. - 1984: Cannibal HolocaustCannibal HolocaustCannibal Holocaust is a 1980 Italian horror film directed by Ruggero Deodato from a screenplay by Gianfranco Clerici. Filmed in the Amazon Rainforest and dealing with indigenous tribes, it was cast mostly with United States actors and filmed in English to achieve wider distribution...
was seized by customs (specific year is unknown at this time). It was given an XX rating, which prevented it from being sold in the country. It is now rated 18 for a cut version (the uncut version is still banned). - 1987: Cry FreedomCry FreedomCry Freedom is a 1987 British drama film directed by Richard Attenborough, set in the late 1970s, during the apartheid era of South Africa. It was written from a screenplay by John Briley based on a pair of books by journalist Donald Woods...
was seized by customs upon its initial release; film was later circulated after 1994 when Nelson MandelaNelson MandelaNelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
was elected president. - 1990: Henry & JuneHenry & JuneHenry & June is a 1990 American film directed by Philip Kaufman and stars Fred Ward, Maria de Medeiros, and Uma Thurman. It is loosely based on the book of the same name by the French author Anaïs Nin, and tells the story of Nin's relationship with Henry Miller and his wife, June.-Plot:The story...
- 1991: WhoreWhore (1991 film)Whore is a 1991 film by British director and screenwriter Ken Russell, starring actress Theresa Russell. While not a financial success grossing only $1,008,404, the film did attract some positive notices, and generated an unrelated sequel.-Plot summary:...
- 1995: ShowgirlsShowgirlsShowgirls is a 1995 American drama film directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring former teen actress Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, and Gina Gershon...
- 1999: Family GuyFamily GuyFamily Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
Soviet Union
- 1967: Komissar Re-released in the late 1980s, winning nine awards (including the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival)
- 1971: Proverka na dorogakh released in 1986
It should be noted that in Soviet Union most foreign movies never had been shown thus avoiding the need for banning.
South Korea
- 1925-1992: The Battleship PotemkinThe Battleship PotemkinThe Battleship Potemkin , sometimes rendered as The Battleship Potyomkin, is a 1925 silent film directed by Sergei Eisenstein and produced by Mosfilm...
- 1971: A Clockwork OrangeA Clockwork Orange (film)A Clockwork Orange is a 1971 film adaptation of Anthony Burgess's 1962 novel of the same name. It was written, directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick...
- 1973: Last Tango in ParisLast Tango in ParisLast Tango in Paris is a 1972 Italian romantic drama film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci which portrays a recent American widower who takes up an anonymous sexual relationship with a young, soon-to-be-married Parisian woman...
- 1973: Three Days of the CondorThree Days of the CondorThree Days of the Condor is a 1975 American action thriller film produced by Stanley Schneider and directed by Sydney Pollack. The screenplay, by Lorenzo Semple Jr...
- During President Park Chung-heePark Chung-heePark Chung-hee was a Republic of Korea Army general and the leader of South Korea from 1961 to 1979. He seized power in a military coup and ruled until his assassination in 1979. He has been credited with the industrialization of the Republic of Korea through export-led growth...
's regime, the import of Apocalypse NowApocalypse NowApocalypse Now is a 1979 American war film set during the Vietnam War, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The central character is US Army special operations officer Captain Benjamin L. Willard , of MACV-SOG, an assassin sent to kill the renegade and presumed insane Special Forces...
was on hold because of its anti-war theme. - 1975-1981: South Korean director Kim Ki-youngKim Ki-youngKim Ki-young was a South Korean film director, known for his intensely psychosexual and melodramatic horror films, often focusing on the psychology of their female characters. Kim was born in Seoul during the Japanese occupation, raised in Pyongyang and spent time in Japan, where he became...
's Ban Geum-ryeonBan Geum-ryeonBan Geum-ryeon aka The Story of Pan Kumyon is a 1982 South Korean film directed by Kim Ki-young. Filmed in 1975, the film was banned at the time, and 40 minutes of footage had been censored when it was finally released.-Cast:* Lee Hwa-si...
, banned for six years, was released with 40 minutes cut. - 1996: ScreamScream (film)Scream is a 1996 American slasher film written by Kevin Williamson and directed by Wes Craven. The film stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Drew Barrymore, and David Arquette...
Bans made prior to 1980 have all been lifted. According to the Internet Movie Database, there are no currently-banned films in South Korea.
Spain
- 1932: Las Hurdes
- 1939-1976: The Battleship PotemkinThe Battleship PotemkinThe Battleship Potemkin , sometimes rendered as The Battleship Potyomkin, is a 1925 silent film directed by Sergei Eisenstein and produced by Mosfilm...
was banned. - 1940-1976: The Great DictatorThe Great DictatorThe Great Dictator is a comedy film by Charlie Chaplin released in October 1940. Like most Chaplin films, he wrote, produced, and directed, in addition to starring as the lead. Having been the only Hollywood film maker to continue to make silent films well into the period of sound films, this was...
was banned for its portrayal of FascismFascismFascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
. - 1957-1986: Paths of GloryPaths of GloryPaths of Glory is a 1957 American anti-war film by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel of the same name by Humphrey Cobb. Set during World War I, the film stars Kirk Douglas as Colonel Dax, the commanding officer of French soldiers who refused to continue a suicidal attack...
was banned by General Francisco FrancoFrancisco FrancoFrancisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
's dictatorship for its anti-military message. It was released in 1986, 11 years after Franco's death. - 1972: Last Tango in ParisLast Tango in ParisLast Tango in Paris is a 1972 Italian romantic drama film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci which portrays a recent American widower who takes up an anonymous sexual relationship with a young, soon-to-be-married Parisian woman...
was banned. - 2009: Saw VISaw VISaw VI is a 2009 horror film directed by Kevin Greutert from a screenplay written by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan. It is the sixth installment of the seven–part Saw film series and stars Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Betsy Russell, Mark Rolston, Peter Outerbridge, and Shawnee Smith...
was rated X and thus banned from regular, non-adult cinemas. - 2010: A Serbian FilmA Serbian FilmA Serbian Film is a 2010 Serbian horror film and the first feature film directed by Srđan Spasojević. It tells the story of a down-on-his-luck porn star who agrees to participate in an "art film", only to discover that he has been drafted into a snuff film with child rape and necrophilic themes...
Sri Lanka
- 1984-2007: Cannibal HolocaustCannibal HolocaustCannibal Holocaust is a 1980 Italian horror film directed by Ruggero Deodato from a screenplay by Gianfranco Clerici. Filmed in the Amazon Rainforest and dealing with indigenous tribes, it was cast mostly with United States actors and filmed in English to achieve wider distribution...
- 1999: South Park: Bigger, Longer & UncutSouth Park: Bigger, Longer & UncutSouth Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut is a 1999 animated musical comedy film based on the animated television series South Park, created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker. The film was directed by Parker, who also stars along with the rest of the regular voice cast from the series, including Stone, Mary...
The television show South ParkSouth ParkSouth Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
is banned outright. - 2006: The Da Vinci CodeThe Da Vinci Code (film)The Da Vinci Code is a 2006 American mystery thriller film directed by Ron Howard. The screenplay was written by Akiva Goldsman and based on Dan Brown's worldwide bestselling 2003 novel, The Da Vinci Code...
. Banned by presidential order of Mahinda Rajapakse; the decision was made after his wife (a converted Catholic) influenced him to do so. - 2006: AksharayaAksharayaAksharaya is a 2005 French-Sri Lankan film directed by Asoka Handagama.-Plot:A 12-year old boy is accused of the murder of one Courtseen. His father was a retired judge and his mother was also a famous magistrate...
(Letter of Fire) was banned for dealing with issues of incest, murder, and rape.
Sweden
| Year | Name | Reason | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1922–1972 | Nosferatu | Banned due to high impact scary violence and cruelty. A censored version was later released. | |
| 1968 | Django Django (film) Django is a 1966 Italian spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Corbucci and starring Franco Nero in the eponymous role. The film earned a reputation as being one of the most violent films ever made up to that point and was subsequently refused a certificate in Britain until 1993, when it was... |
Banned due to high impact violence and cruelty. | |
| 1974–2001 | The Texas Chain Saw Massacre The Texas Chain Saw Massacre The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American independent horror film directed and produced by Tobe Hooper, who cowrote it with Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, and Gunnar Hansen, who respectively portray Sally Hardesty, Franklin Hardesty, the... |
Banned due to high gore violence and cruelty. | |
| 1981–2005 | Mad Max Mad Max Mad Max is a 1979 Australian dystopian action film directed by George Miller and revised by Miller and Byron Kennedy over the original script by James McCausland. The film stars Mel Gibson, who was unknown at the time. Its narrative based around the traditional western genre, Mad Max tells a story... |
Banned due to high impact violence and cruelty. | |
| 1981 | The Burning | Banned due to high impact scary violence and cruelty for the VHS market. | |
| 1984 | Tenebre | High impact scary violence. | |
| 1984–1999 | Cannibal Holocaust Cannibal Holocaust Cannibal Holocaust is a 1980 Italian horror film directed by Ruggero Deodato from a screenplay by Gianfranco Clerici. Filmed in the Amazon Rainforest and dealing with indigenous tribes, it was cast mostly with United States actors and filmed in English to achieve wider distribution... |
High impact violence and animal cruelty Cruelty to animals Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse or animal neglect, is the infliction of suffering or harm upon non-human animals, for purposes other than self-defense. More narrowly, it can be harm for specific gain, such as killing animals for food or for their fur, although opinions differ with... . A censored version has since been classified "15". However, bootleg copies for the uncut version are available and since the beginning of the 2000s it has been legal uncut in Sweden. |
|
| 1997 | Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation is a 1994 independent American comedy-horror film written and directed by Kim Henkel, and starring Renée Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey, both before they became mainstream stars... |
High impact scary violence and cruelty |
Thailand
- 1946: Anna and the King of Siam for its OrientalistOrientalismOrientalism is a term used for the imitation or depiction of aspects of Eastern cultures in the West by writers, designers and artists, as well as having other meanings...
depiction of Thai culture. - 1956: The King and IThe King and I (1956 film)The King and I is a 1956 musical film made by 20th Century Fox, directed by Walter Lang and produced by Charles Brackett and Darryl F. Zanuck. The screenplay by Ernest Lehman is based on the Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II musical The King and I, based in turn on the book Anna and the King...
- 1977: TongpanTongpanTongpan is a 1977 Thai 16 mm black-and-white docudrama that re-creates a seminar that took place in Northeast Thailand in 1975 to discuss the proposed Pa-Mong Dam on the Mekong. Interwoven are sequences depicting a poor farmer, Tongpan, who had lost his land to another dam some years before,...
, unbanned - 1999: Anna and the KingAnna and the KingAnna and the King is a 1999 biographical drama film loosely based on Anna and the King of Siam, the story of Anna Leonowens, who was an English schoolteacher in Siam, now Thailand, in the 19th century...
- 2007: All the Boys Love Mandy LaneAll the Boys Love Mandy LaneAll the Boys Love Mandy Lane is a 2006 American horror-thriller film, although it has also been described as a slasher film. Originally finished in 2006, the film premiered at a number of film festivals throughout 2006 and 2007. Notable premieres include Toronto Film Festival, Sitges Film Festival,...
- 2007: HalloweenHalloween (2007 film)Halloween is a 2007 American slasher film written, directed, and produced by Rob Zombie. The film is a remake/reimagining of the 1978 horror film of the same name, the first in the rebooted Halloween film series and the ninth Halloween film in total. The film stars Tyler Mane as the adult Michael...
- 2008: Frontier(s)
- 2008: Funny Games
- 2009: Zack and Miri Make a PornoZack and Miri Make a PornoZack and Miri Make a Porno is a 2008 romantic comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith, distributed by The Weinstein Company, and starring Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks. It is Smith's second film not to be set within the View Askewniverse and the first not set in New Jersey. It was...
was banned by the Ministry of Culture due to sexual content (showing how to make their own pornographic video; teens may try to mimic). - 2010: Saw VISaw VISaw VI is a 2009 horror film directed by Kevin Greutert from a screenplay written by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan. It is the sixth installment of the seven–part Saw film series and stars Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Betsy Russell, Mark Rolston, Peter Outerbridge, and Shawnee Smith...
Trinidad and Tobago
- 1956: The King & IThe King and I (1956 film)The King and I is a 1956 musical film made by 20th Century Fox, directed by Walter Lang and produced by Charles Brackett and Darryl F. Zanuck. The screenplay by Ernest Lehman is based on the Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II musical The King and I, based in turn on the book Anna and the King...
- 1980: The Gods Must Be CrazyThe Gods Must Be CrazyThe Gods Must Be Crazy is a 1980 film, written and directed by Jamie Uys. The film is the first in The Gods Must Be Crazy series of films. Set in Botswana and South Africa, it tells the story of Xi, a Sho of the Kalahari Desert whose band has no knowledge of the world beyond...
- 1983: ScarfaceScarface (1983 film)Scarface is a 1983 American epic crime drama movie directed by Brian De Palma, written by Oliver Stone, produced by Martin Bregman and starring Al Pacino as Tony Montana...
- 1999: Anna and the KingAnna and the KingAnna and the King is a 1999 biographical drama film loosely based on Anna and the King of Siam, the story of Anna Leonowens, who was an English schoolteacher in Siam, now Thailand, in the 19th century...
- 2008: Zack & Miri Make a Porno
- 2009: BrunoBrüno (film)Brüno is a 2009 British mockumentary comedy film directed by Larry Charles and starring Sacha Baron Cohen, who produced, co-wrote, and starred as the gay Austrian fashion journalist Brüno...
- 2009: Saw VISaw VISaw VI is a 2009 horror film directed by Kevin Greutert from a screenplay written by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan. It is the sixth installment of the seven–part Saw film series and stars Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Betsy Russell, Mark Rolston, Peter Outerbridge, and Shawnee Smith...
Turkey
- 1922-2006: Nosferatu was banned due to its portrayal of extreme blood and gore.
- 1972-2000: Pink FlamingosPink FlamingosPink Flamingos is a 1972 transgressive black comedy film written, produced, composed, shot, edited, and directed by John Waters. When the film was initially released, it caused a huge degree of controversy and thus became one of the most notorious cult films ever made. It made an underground star...
was banned for extreme nudity. - 1984: Cannibal HolocaustCannibal HolocaustCannibal Holocaust is a 1980 Italian horror film directed by Ruggero Deodato from a screenplay by Gianfranco Clerici. Filmed in the Amazon Rainforest and dealing with indigenous tribes, it was cast mostly with United States actors and filmed in English to achieve wider distribution...
was banned due to the killing of animals.
Ukraine
- Hostel (2006)
- Hostel: Part II (2007)
- Land of the DeadLand of the DeadFor the disambiguation page on anything else on this topic, come here to Land of the Dead .Land of the Dead is a 2005 horror film written and directed by George A...
(2006) - BrunoBrüno (film)Brüno is a 2009 British mockumentary comedy film directed by Larry Charles and starring Sacha Baron Cohen, who produced, co-wrote, and starred as the gay Austrian fashion journalist Brüno...
(2009) - Saw 6 (2009)
- My iz budushchego 2 (We Are From The Future 2) (2010)
United Arab Emirates
- 2006-2009: Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of KazakhstanBorat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of KazakhstanBorat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, often referred to simply as Borat, is a 2006 mockumentary comedy film directed by Larry Charles and distributed by 20th Century Fox...
The reason is unknown; the ban was lifted in 2009. It was not released in cinemas, but on DVD. - 2008: You Don't Mess with the ZohanYou Don't Mess with the ZohanYou Don't Mess with the Zohan is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Carlito Cabardo, and produced by and starring Adam Sandler. This is the fourth film which has starred Sandler and has been directed by Dugan...
; Jewish/MossadMossadThe Mossad , short for HaMossad leModi'in uleTafkidim Meyuchadim , is the national intelligence agency of Israel....
themes. - 2009: BrunoBrüno (film)Brüno is a 2009 British mockumentary comedy film directed by Larry Charles and starring Sacha Baron Cohen, who produced, co-wrote, and starred as the gay Austrian fashion journalist Brüno...
Banned for its homosexual themes. - 2010: LamhaaLamhaa-Controversy:Lamhaa was banned in GCC countries i.e. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE and Oman. UAE National Media Council Censorship Board felt that the content of the movie is highly objectionable and controversial....
. It was banned because of its "objectionable content"; it did not receive a clearance certificate from the UAE Censors Board and was pulled from all UAE cinemas. This is the first Bollywood film to be banned in the UAE.
United Kingdom
| Year | Name | Details | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–1954 | Battleship Potemkin | Banned due to "inflammatory subtitles and Bolshevist Propaganda". Unbanned after the death of Joseph Stalin Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee... . |
|
| 1932–1963 | Freaks Freaks Freaks is a 1932 American Pre-Code horror film about sideshow performers, directed and produced by Tod Browning and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, with a cast mostly composed of actual carnival performers. The film was based on Tod Robbins' 1923 short story "Spurs"... |
Rejected by British censors and banned. It was again rejected for a cinema rating certificate in 1952. Available from 1963 - passed with an X rating. | |
| 1954–1967 | The Wild One The Wild One The Wild One is a 1953 outlaw biker film directed by László Benedek and produced by Stanley Kramer. It is famed for Marlon Brando's iconic portrayal of the gang leader Johnny Strabler.-Basis:... |
Banned from distribution in the United Kingdom until 1967. | |
| 1960–1968 | Black Sunday | Mario Bava Mario Bava Mario Bava was an Italian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer remembered as one of the greatest names from the "golden age" of Italian horror films.-Biography:Mario Bava was born in San Remo, Liguria, Italy... 's film was banned due to its violent content until 1968. |
|
| 1968–2002 | The Trip The Trip (1967 film) The Trip is a cult film released by American International Pictures, directed by Roger Corman, written by Jack Nicholson, and shot on location in and around Los Angeles, including on top of Kirkwood in Laurel Canyon, Hollywood Hills, and near Big Sur, California in 1966... |
Roger Corman Roger Corman Roger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for... 's film was banned due to its glorification of LSD LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an... . It was later unbanned, but not released in Britain until 2002. |
|
| 1972–2002 | The Last House on the Left The Last House on the Left (1972 film) The Last House on the Left is a 1972 horror film written and directed by Wes Craven and produced by Sean S. Cunningham.The story is inspired by the 1960 Swedish film The Virgin Spring, directed by Ingmar Bergman, which in turn is based on the 13th century Swedish ballad "Töres döttrar i Wänge"... |
Banned by the BBFC until 2002 and not passed uncut until 2008. | |
| 1973–Present | Cocksucker Blues Cocksucker Blues Cocksucker Blues is an unreleased documentary film directed by the noted still photographer Robert Frank chronicling The Rolling Stones' North American tour in 1972 in support of their album Exile on Main St..-Production:... |
Documentary of the Rolling Stones' 1972 North American Tour, chronicling its actual drug use and sex. The film is under a court order which forbids it from being shown unless director Robert Frank is physically present. This ruling stems from the conflict that arose when the band, who had commissioned the film, decided that its content was inappropriate and potentially embarrassing, and didn't want it shown. Frank felt otherwise — hence the ruling. | |
| 1986–1999 | The Exorcist The Exorcist (film) The Exorcist is a 1973 American horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty and based on the exorcism case of Robbie Mannheim, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her... |
The theatrical version was passed, uncut, by the BBFC in 1974 and has always been legal. The home video of the film was released in 1979. The home video was not banned per se, but Warner decided not to submit the film for classification for a few years following the video nasty Video nasty "Video nasty" was a colloquial term coined in the United Kingdom by 1982 which originally applied to a number of films distributed on video cassette that were criticized for their violent content by the press, commentators such as Mary Whitehouse and various religious organizations.While violence... crisis and the implementation of the Video Recordings Act 1984 Video Recordings Act 1984 The Video Recordings Act 1984 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was passed in 1984. It states that commercial video recordings offered for sale or for hire within the UK must carry a classification that has been agreed upon by an authority designated by the Home Office... in 1986. It was not until 1999 that the video was finally submitted and passed, uncut, with an 18 rating. |
|
| 1973–2000 | A Clockwork Orange A Clockwork Orange (film) A Clockwork Orange is a 1971 film adaptation of Anthony Burgess's 1962 novel of the same name. It was written, directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick... |
Not banned as such but withdrawn two years after its release by its own director, Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career... . This was not because of the copycat violence allegedly inspired by the film, as commonly believed. Kubrick received death threats against his family, and arranged to withdraw the film from UK cinemas. It was not allowed to be shown again in the United Kingdom until after his death. Throughout the decades the film acquired a mythical status in the country, until Kubrick died in 1999 and the ban was finally lifted. |
|
| 1974–1999 | The Texas Chain Saw Massacre The Texas Chain Saw Massacre The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1974 American independent horror film directed and produced by Tobe Hooper, who cowrote it with Kim Henkel. It stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, and Gunnar Hansen, who respectively portray Sally Hardesty, Franklin Hardesty, the... |
Banned; it was passed uncut in 1999. | |
| 1975–2003 | Il paese del sesso selvaggio | Umberto Lenzi's Umberto Lenzi Umberto Lenzi , is an Italian film director who was very active in low budget crime films, peplums, spaghetti westerns, war movies, cannibal films and giallo murder mysteries .... film was banned. Passed in 2003 |
|
| 1989–2008 | Visions of Ecstasy Visions of Ecstasy Visions of Ecstasy is a 1989 short film directed by Nigel Wingrove.It was refused certification by the British Board of Film Classification because of scenes featuring a sexualised representation of Saint Teresa of Ávila caressing the body of Jesus on the cross... |
Banned under blasphemy laws, it is the only film ever to be banned in the UK due to blasphemy. | |
| 1990–2004 | Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III | Banned; passed uncut in 2004 | |
| 1993–present | Mikey Mikey (film) Mikey is a 1992 horror film directed by Dennis Dimster and starring Brian Bonsall. The film centers on the character of Mikey Holt, a young boy who is adopted by a family after his previous adoptive family dies... |
Rejected by the BBFC for a certificate in 1996; a trailer had been previously classified 18 four years before. In the aftermath of the widely-publicised murder of Jamie Bulger, the BBFC (on the guidance of three child psychiatrists) banned the film because it features a child as a killer (which they believed might cause children who watched it to act violently). | |
| 2009–present | Grotesque Grotesque (2009 film) is a 2009 Japanese splatter horror film written and directed by Kōji Shiraishi.-Plot:The doctor is one who's always gotten what he wanted; this has only created more depraved and extreme needs, so he kidnaps a random couple, Aki and Kazuo , two young people who, after a few years working in the... |
Banned due to a high level of sexual torture. | |
| 2011 | The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) | Originally banned due to sexual violence and potential obscenity. This film was given an official Age Certificate of 18 by the BBFC on 6th October 2011 while the distributors agreed to make 32 cuts before its release. | |
- 1984 - The infamous video nastyVideo nasty"Video nasty" was a colloquial term coined in the United Kingdom by 1982 which originally applied to a number of films distributed on video cassette that were criticized for their violent content by the press, commentators such as Mary Whitehouse and various religious organizations.While violence...
list is created to protect against obscenity. Films on this list were banned and distributors of said films were liable to be prosecuted (some of the films were banned before the list was made). This list banned 74 films at one point in the mid-1980s; the list was eventually trimmed down, and only 39 films were successfully prosecuted. Most of the films (even of the 39 successfully prosecuted) have now been approved by the BBFC, cut or uncut (see Video Recordings Act 1984Video Recordings Act 1984The Video Recordings Act 1984 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was passed in 1984. It states that commercial video recordings offered for sale or for hire within the UK must carry a classification that has been agreed upon by an authority designated by the Home Office...
).
United States
The United States has no federal agency charged with either permitting or restricting the exhibition of motion pictures. Most instances of films being banned are via ordinances or proclamations by city or state governments. Some are instances of films being judicially found to be of an obscene nature and subject to specific laws against such material (i.e., child pornographyChild pornography
Child pornography refers to images or films and, in some cases, writings depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child...
). Such findings are usually only legally binding in the jurisdiction of the court making such a ruling.
The established film industry in the United States
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
began a form of self-censorship in the late 1920s called the Motion Picture Production Code to forestall any possible formation of a federal censoring agency. In 1968, the Production Code was superseded by the MPAA film rating system
MPAA film rating system
The Motion Picture Association of America's film-rating system is used in the U.S. and its territories to rate a film's thematic and content suitability for certain audiences. The MPAA system applies only to motion pictures that are submitted for rating. Other media may be rated by other entities...
.
- 1894: Dorlita in the Passion Dance Banned in New Jersey after use in peepshows. Russell Kick quotes the work Censorship as saying it "was probably the first [film] to be banned in the United States."
- 1906: Reenactment of the Massacre at Wounded Knee by Buffalo BillBuffalo BillWilliam Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody was a United States soldier, bison hunter and showman. He was born in the Iowa Territory , in LeClaire but lived several years in Canada before his family moved to the Kansas Territory. Buffalo Bill received the Medal of Honor in 1872 for service to the US...
, was banned due to a sympathetic portrayal of the Native AmericansIndigenous peoples of the AmericasThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
in the film. - 1915: The Birth of a NationThe Birth of a NationThe Birth of a Nation is a 1915 American silent film directed by D. W. Griffith and based on the novel and play The Clansman, both by Thomas Dixon, Jr. Griffith also co-wrote the screenplay , and co-produced the film . It was released on February 8, 1915...
banned in several American cities, including Chicago, Las VegasLas Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, Denver, Pittsburgh and St. Louis, and the states of OhioOhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, KansasKansasKansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, and West VirginiaWest VirginiaWest Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, as well as "dozens" of other jurisdictions. Unbanned in 1916 outside of Kansas. - 1917: The film Birth ControlBirth Control (film)Birth Control is a 1917 film produced by and starring Margaret Sanger and describing her family planning work...
, produced by and starring Margaret SangerMargaret SangerMargaret Higgins Sanger was an American sex educator, nurse, and birth control activist. Sanger coined the term birth control, opened the first birth control clinic in the United States, and established Planned Parenthood...
banned, with the New York Court of AppealsNew York Court of AppealsThe New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the U.S. state of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six associate judges who are appointed by the Governor to 14-year terms...
holding that a film on family planning work may be censored "in the interest of morality, decency, and public safety and welfare". - 1932: Scarface (1932)Scarface (1932 film)Scarface is a 1932 American gangster film starring Paul Muni and George Raft, produced by Howard Hughes, directed by Howard Hawks and Richard Rosson, and written by Ben Hecht based on the 1929 novel of the same name by Armitage Trail...
- banned in 5 states and 5 other cities due to "glorification of crime" - 1941: Two-Faced WomanTwo-Faced WomanTwo-Faced Woman is a romantic comedy made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film stars Greta Garbo, in her final film role, and Melvyn Douglas, with Constance Bennett, Roland Young and Ruth Gordon...
- This film's theme (adultery) caused it to be banned in New York City, among other places. - 1945: Scarlet StreetScarlet StreetScarlet Street is a 1945 American film noir directed by Fritz Lang and based on the French novel La Chienne by Georges de La Fouchardière, that previously had been dramatized on stage by André Mouëzy-Éon, and cinematically as La Chienne by director Jean Renoir.The principal actors Edward G...
banned in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, according to Jan MorrisJan MorrisJan Morris CBE is a Welsh nationalist, historian, author and travel writer. She is known particularly for the Pax Britannica trilogy, a history of the British Empire, and for portraits of cities, notably Oxford, Venice, Trieste, Hong Kong, and New York City.With an English mother and Welsh father,...
' book Manhattan '45. - 1953: The Moon Is BlueThe Moon Is BlueThe Moon Is Blue is a 1953 American comedy film produced and directed by Otto Preminger. The screenplay by F. Hugh Herbert, based on his 1951 play of the same title, focuses on a young woman who meets an architect on the observation deck of the Empire State Building and quickly turns his life...
banned in Jersey CityJersey City, New JerseyJersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
, New Jersey as "indecent and obscene." - 1956: The Vanishing PrairieThe Vanishing PrairieThe Vanishing Prairie was a 1954 documentary film by Walt Disney. The theme music was given a set of lyrics by Hazel "Gil" George. It rechristened as "Pioneer's Prayer" in Westward Ho, the Wagons!, a western film about pioneers on the Oregon Trail....
, a 1954 Walt Disney documentary, was banned in New York because it showed a buffaloAmerican BisonThe American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
giving birth. The ban was lifted after a complaint by the American Civil Liberties UnionAmerican Civil Liberties UnionThe American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
. - 1961: Victim banned in many American cities due to language.
- 1966 - 1968: Viva Maria!Viva Maria!Viva Maria! is a 1965 comedy-adventure film starring Brigitte Bardot and Jeanne Moreau as two women named Maria who meet and become revolutionaries in the early 20th century. It also starred George Hamilton as Florès, a revolutionary leader. It was co-written and directed by Louis Malle, and...
banned in Dallas for sexual and anti-Catholic content, prior to the United States Supreme Court striking down the ban and limiting the ability of municipalities to ban films for adults in Interstate Circuit, Inc. v. City of Dallas. - 1968 - 1991: Titicut FolliesTiticut FolliesTiticut Follies is a 1967 American documentary film directed by Frederick Wiseman, about the treatment of inmates/patients at Bridgewater State Hospital for the criminally insane, a Massachusetts Correctional Institution in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. The title is taken from a talent show put on by...
is barred from distribution to the general public by court order because the film was considered a violation of the privacy of the prison inmates it filmed. - 1969: I Am Curious (Yellow)I Am Curious (Yellow)I Am Curious is a 1967 Swedish drama film written and directed by Vilgot Sjöman and starring Sjöman and Lena Nyman. It is a companion film to 1968's I Am Curious ; the two were initially intended to be one 3½ hour film...
is banned as pornography. After three court cases, it was unbanned when the anti-obscenity laws concerning films was overturned. - 1979: Monty Python's Life of BrianMonty Python's Life of BrianMonty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979 British comedy film written, directed and largely performed by the Monty Python comedy team...
was banned in several towns for showing controversial themes about Christianity. - 1988: The Last Temptation of ChristThe Last Temptation of Christ (film)The Last Temptation of Christ is a 1988 drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is a film adaptation of the controversial 1953 novel of the same name by Nikos Kazantzakis. It stars Willem Dafoe as Jesus Christ, Harvey Keitel as Judas Iscariot, Barbara Hershey as Mary Magdalene, David Bowie as...
banned in Savannah when city leaders sent a petition to Universal StudiosUniversal StudiosUniversal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
requesting a ban. However, opened in Savannah on September 23, 1988, 6 weeks after national and worldwide debut. - 1997: The Tin DrumThe Tin Drum (film)The Tin Drum is a 1979 film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Günter Grass. It was directed and co-written by Volker Schlöndorff...
was briefly banned in Oklahoma CountyOklahoma County, OklahomaOklahoma County is a county located in the central partof the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 718,633 at the 2010 census. The county seat and principal city is Oklahoma City...
, Oklahoma, when a district court judge deemed the film child pornographyChild pornographyChild pornography refers to images or films and, in some cases, writings depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child...
. The shot in question depicted a minor performing oral sexOral sexOral sex is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a sex partner by the use of the mouth, tongue, teeth or throat. Cunnilingus refers to oral sex performed on females while fellatio refer to oral sex performed on males. Anilingus refers to oral stimulation of a person's anus...
. The verdict was overturned on appeal. - 2002 - 2007: The ProfitThe ProfitThe Profit is a feature film written and directed by Peter N. Alexander. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in France in 2001. Distribution of the film was prohibited by an American court order which was a result of a lawsuit brought by the Church of Scientology, although the filmmaker...
, a film that borrows elements of the life of L. Ron HubbardL. Ron HubbardLafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
, was prevented from release when the Church of ScientologyChurch of ScientologyThe Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
claimed the film could taint the jury pool in the wrongful death trial of former member Lisa McPhersonLisa McPhersonLisa McPherson was a member of the Church of Scientology who died of a pulmonary embolism while under the care of the Flag Service Organization , a branch of the Church of Scientology...
. While the injunction has since been lifted a few years after the suit was settled and the film is no longer banned per se, a legal dispute with investor Robert S. Minton continues to hold up the release. The Disinformation Book Of Lists and The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
have characterized The Profit as a "banned film" in the United States. - 2010: The Yes Men Fix the World is briefly blocked from releasing due to a pending lawsuit by the commercial entity, United States Chamber of Commerce.
Theoretically, free speech in the U.S. can also be limited if it might cause a clear and present danger
Clear and present danger
Clear and present danger was a term used by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. in the unanimous opinion for the case Schenck v. United States, concerning the ability of the government to regulate speech against the draft during World War I:...
of an imminent lawless action
Imminent lawless action
"Imminent lawless action" is a standard currently used, and that was established by the United States Supreme Court in Brandenburg v. Ohio , for defining the limits of freedom of speech. Brandenburg clarified what constituted a "clear and present danger", the standard established by Schenck v....
, or constitutes a copyright violation.
Vietnam
- 1985: Rambo: First Blood Part IIRambo: First Blood Part IIRambo: First Blood Part II is a 1985 action film. A sequel to 1982's First Blood, it is the second installment in the Rambo series starring Sylvester Stallone, who reprises his role as Vietnam veteran John Rambo...
- 1986: PlatoonPlatoon (film)Platoon is a 1986 American war film written and directed by Oliver Stone and stars Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe and Charlie Sheen. It is the first of Stone's Vietnam War trilogy, followed by 1989's Born on the Fourth of July and 1993's Heaven & Earth....
- 1995: Xich lo (Cyclo)Cyclo (film)Cyclo is a 1995 film by Vietnamese director Tran Anh Hung . It stars Le Van Loc, Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Trần Nữ Yên Khê. Le Van Loc plays a young cyclo driver who is forced into working for a gang after his cycle is stolen. Soon, his sister also comes under the influence of the gang and becomes...
- We Were SoldiersWe Were SoldiersWe Were Soldiers is a 2002 American war film that dramatizes the Battle of Ia Drang on November 14, 1965. The film was directed by Randall Wallace and stars Mel Gibson. It is based on the book We Were Soldiers Once… And Young by Lieutenant General Hal Moore and reporter Joseph L...
(as of 2002) - Green DragonGreen Dragon (film)Green Dragon is a 2001 American film directed by Timothy Linh Bui and starring Patrick Swayze, Forest Whitaker and Duong Don.-Plot:The film follows the experience of Vietnamese refugees in the United States immediately following the Fall of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War. Tai Tran has been...
(as of 2002)
Yugoslavia
- 1952: Ciguli MiguliCiguli MiguliCiguli Miguli is a 1952 Yugoslav political satire film directed by Branko Marjanović and written by Joža Horvat. It was meant to be the first satirical film of the post-World War II Yugoslav cinema, but its sharp criticism of bureaucracy was politically condemned by the authorities and the film was...
- banned for its satire of socialist bureaucracy. Issued a license for public showing only in 1977. - 1970: Plastični Isus (Plastic Jesus) - for its satire of society. It was shown on Belgrade television in 1990.
See also
- Motion picture rating systemMotion picture rating systemA motion picture rating system is designated to classify films with regard to suitability for audiences in terms of issues such as sex, violence, substance abuse, profanity, impudence or other types of mature content...
- List of books banned by governments
- List of banned video games
Further reading
- Forbidden Films: Censorship Histories of 125 Motion Pictures by Dawn Sova ISBN 0-8160-4336-1
- Behind The Mask of Innocence: Sex, Violence, Crime: Films of Social Conscience in the Silent Era by Kevin BrownlowKevin BrownlowKevin Brownlow is a filmmaker, film historian, television documentary-maker, author, and Academy Award recipient. Brownlow is best known for his work documenting the history of the silent era. Brownlow became interested in silent film at the age of eleven. This interest grew into a career spent...
, 2nd ed. (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1992). Contains considerable information about film censorship in pre-1930 America, and discusses banned silent films in great detail.
External links
- Australian Classification system: Why many banned films do not show up in figures on banned films
- Comparable studies on International censorship strategies
- Wolf Creek banned in Northern Territory
- A complete list of Finland's banned films until 1997
- complete list of Movies Banned in Germany
- List of banned films, retrieved April 26, 2007