Cinema is not just Disney. Several films have been censored or even banned from cinemas because of their violent content.
Some films have pushed the cork too far, at least according to the mores of their time! Considered too violent when they were released, these feature films had to be banned, at least temporarily. We understand why some of them shocked, but for others... their censorship is proof that the tolerance threshold for violence changes over the years.
Released in 1971, A Clockwork Orange is a film directed by Stanley Kubrick and is an adaptation of the novel of the same name. It is the disturbing story of a gang leader versed in ultraviolence, who one day is condemned for all the wrongs he has caused to society.
We won't spoil you what wrongs it is, buthis acts are of such incredible violence that the film was banned for decades in several countries such as Spain and the United Kingdom. Paradoxically, the film was censored because of the violence... which it denounced.
You may still remember the earthquake caused by Irreversible at its output. Released in 2002 and directed by Gaspard Noé (who does not usually offer calm and family films), the film stars Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel and Albert Dupontel.
His particuliarity ? It is not built chronologically, a bit like Memento, and above all... there is a scene. This long sequence shot rape scene which is so hard to watch that it caused an uproar at the film's premiere. The press at the time did not seem to have appreciated the feature film:“Irreversible:No!” headlined Le Parisien, while Elle declared:“Many journalists will leave the room before the end of the screening, disgusted .”
Irreversible has been banned in several countries , like Australia or New Zealand, but was still broadcast in France, despite the criticism. For the record, the film was released in a new version, in which the plot unfolds chronologically. And that radically changes its atmosphere!
Rarely has a title been more self-explanatory. Just by reading it, you understood what the film is about and you suspect that it was banned because of its gore aspect. Hemoglobin, suffering, butcher hook… all of this is on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre .
Released in 1974, this low-budget horror film may lack a bit of cachet today, but that didn't stop it from shocking audiences at the time. In France, the film was banned shortly after its release, for many years (even if it was possible to watch it on VHS as early as 1976).
A real social phenomenon, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre became a license and was entitled to many sequels. The most recent, which takes place after the original film but does not take into account the other episodes, was released on Netflix in 2022. Here is the trailer.
Just like the previous movie, Cannibal Holocaust (1980) shows extreme violence. Except that this time, fictional violence and real violence are mixed:very real animals have really been killed and it is really their death that we see while watching the film . Add to that scenes of rape and dismemberment (this time fictitious, thankfully) and you have a film that has been censored in several European countries such as Germany, Norway and Ireland.
In France, Cannibal Holocaust was "amputated" by a few scenes when it was released in theaters, but was still banned for children under 16 because you shouldn't mess around either (we'll spare you the trailer).
Finally we end this list with Mad Max . Not the recent one with Tom Hardy, but rather the one from 1979. Directed by George Miller, the film revolves around policeman Max Rockatansky and takes place in a world where crime reigns and motorcycle gangs abound .
Quickly, the film is censored because of its displayed “violence”, and does not come out until three years later. It is then prohibited for those under 18 years of age. We put “violence” in quotation marks, because according to our current standards, Mad Max doesn't have much to shock …
Moreover, the classification of the film has been re-evaluated several times:since 2015, all people over the age of 12 have been authorized to watch it, and it is promised that they will not sink into delinquency and drugs after having seen it (or at least it won't be because of the movie).
