EW's Top 25 Most Controversial Films

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 6/15/06 at 5:29pm

Passion of the Christ is number one and the list is peppered with the likes of The Da Vinci Code, Do the Right Thing, Clockwork Orange, and JFK.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/movies/3961681.html

[Color and Light]

Posted: 6/15/06 at 5:41pm

I was reading that issue today and was mildly surprised that Life of Brian wasn't on there.

[I<3bway]

Posted: 6/15/06 at 6:51pm

Was Million Dollar Baby on the list? I know there was some controversy about the end of the movie.

[mijofly19]

Posted: 6/15/06 at 6:53pm

Why is Aladdin on the list? I haven't seen it in years...was there something bad in it?

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 6/15/06 at 6:54pm

These lists are out of control. According to whom, are these films controversial? Silly.

[mijofly19]

Posted: 6/15/06 at 6:56pm

25. Aladdin

THE PLOT You know: the genie-in-the-lamp tale.
THE CONTROVERSY The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee balked at a lyric describing the film's Arabian setting as a land 'where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face.' Result? The studio dubbed out the lyric for subsequent releases.

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/commentary/0,6115,1202224_1_0_,00.html

[BroadwayChica]

Posted: 6/15/06 at 6:57pm

Aladdin was controversial because it had a lyric that said 'where they cut off your ear if they don't like your face'. They later dubbed that lyric into something else.

Personally, I can't believe "Birth of a Nation" is #7. That film is STILL stirring heated debates (and, well, it IS incredibly offensive)

[justagirl2]

Posted: 6/15/06 at 7:35pm

That surprised me, too...we spent an entire week learning about how offensive Birth of a Nation was in American Cultures.

[broadway86]

Posted: 6/15/06 at 7:54pm

Of all the movies... why Aladdin? What about Birth? Or, The Unbearable Lightness of Being? Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

The rest of the list seems about right. Updated On: 6/15/06 at 07:54 PM

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 6/15/06 at 8:20pm

I'm surprised they didn't put down SONG OF THE SOUTH, arguably the most controversial Disney movie ever.

[TheHumanTorch]

Posted: 6/15/06 at 9:30pm

I completely disagree with The Da Vinci Code being so high on this list... it was the book which was most controversial... and the movie took incredible pains to be as middle-of-the-road and boring as possible...

[DG]

Posted: 6/15/06 at 9:33pm

Where's CRUISING?

[Smaxie]

Posted: 6/15/06 at 10:36pm

I was surprised The Exorcist didn't make the list.

[hannahshule]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 9:40am

I love THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING, but i don't know what kind of reception it got when it came out, as I wasn't born yet. Was it considered controversial for the political issues between the Czechs and the Soviets, or more for the graphic content?

Updated On: 6/16/06 at 09:40 AM

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 9:43am

<===== Regan is offended!



Wasnt there also flap about the noses on the animated characters in Aladdin? Arab-American groups were offended as I recall.

[best12bars]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 9:56am

There were some glaring omissions. It seems to be more of a popularity contest (as will most of the EW lists). They always have to mention a lot of movies that were made in the last 5-10 years, because they think their limited and stupid readers won't know or care about anything older than that. "Marketing" LOVES to underestimate their audiences every time, and to me that's more offensive than any of the films on this list.

Still there was one major missed film of the last five years that should have been high on the list, and it wasn't even there at all: Brokeback Mountain

That film went on a critical and box office roller-coaster ride, with many heated debates (as I don't need to remind any of YOU!).

And I agree that "Song of the South" is controversial NOW, but it wasn't back in its day. The controversy has grown slowly over time. (And by the way, I've seen this film fairly recently, and the controversy surrounding it is WAY over-inflated. It suffers no worse from its period ideals and portrayals than "Gone With the Wind," and in fact they are much less obvious characterizations, IMO). Disney has already released "dated" cartoon material on DVD, with nice, classy intros by Whoopi Goldberg, explaining the history of the time, rather than sweeping it under the carpet, or apologizing for it. I hope they release "Song of the South" soon, with a similar treatment and understanding, so everyone can see this terrific, and (yes) controversial film.

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 11:43am

Yeah, I too was rather surprised by Brokeback Mountain's omission.

[broadway86]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 11:52am

Was it considered controversial for the political issues between the Czechs and the Soviets, or more for the graphic content?

I think it was both. Very strange movie.

Yeah, I too was rather surprised by Brokeback Mountain's omission.

OMG, you're right! It was my favorite movie from last year, how did I miss that?

[Fiction Writer]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 11:57am

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel American History X should be on the list (a list that I've yet to see.)

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 6/16/06 at 12:19pm

American History X was controversial more for the childish and immature actions of its director than for the content.

I also feel that Munich should have been on the list. It was pretty much a firestorm when it came out but everyone has seemed to have forgotten about it by now. (And with the recent death of Zarqawi, it's more prevalent than ever.)