I Am Curious Yellow/I Am Curious Blue (1967) -- Gary Giddins, Description I Am Curious (Yellow) is a Swedish film (Jag �r nyfiken - en film i gult) of 1967, directed by Vilgot Sj�man and staring Lena Nyman as herself. It was a landmark film that helped define the emergent change in Swedish film of the 1960s. Like a French New Wave film , the movie used jump cuts, featured a story not structured in the usual, Hollywood structure. The film includes scenes of nudity and sexual intercourse . In 1969, the film was banned in the United States for being pornography . After three court battles the Supreme Court legalized the movie by overturning the anti-obscenity law that regulated motion pictures. In 1968 Sj�man released a second "version" of the movie titled I Am Curious (Blue) which tells mostly the same story, but with different footage . Initially, I Am Curious (Blue) and I Am Curious (Yellow) were meant to be one 3 1/2 hour film.

This is revealed in director Vilgot Sj�man's book I Was Curious: Diary of the Making of a Film (published in English by Grove Press in 1968). -- [Apr 2005] Blurb to the book One of the most significant films of the past ten years is I Am Curious - Yellow, which was made by the Swedish director, Vilgot Sj�man , whose earlier films included My Sister, My Love and 491. Wherever the film has been shown in Europe - in Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France, and now in the United States - it has been acclaimed by critics as an important work of art in its honest and forthright portrayal of the social, political, and sexual problems of today's youth. blurb via ~jimthing/oyellow.htm Amazon review In 1966-67, with 100,000 meters of black-and-white film and freedom to shoot without a script, director Vilgot Sjöman created a motion picture so rangy and multilayered that it became two separate, overlapping movies released a year apart: I Am Curious Yellow and I Am Curious Blue.

Those are the colors of the Swedish flag, and Sjöman's film tapped into the political, social, and psychosexual condition of his nation on the eve of worldwide cultural revolution. It also became a envelope-pushing event in the history of sex in the cinema. A feisty, rather zaftig actress-activist named Lena Nyman played a radical activist named Lena Nyman who, in between interviewing her fellow Swedes about everything from gender inequities to the morality of vacationing in Franco's Spain, spent lots of raunchy time in bed (and elsewhere). The copious frontal nudity and a glimpse of oral-genital contact ensured an epic court battle in America, and I Am Curious Yellow became a must-see conversation piece. Decades later, it all seems not only fresher than it did then but oddly tender, even sweet. Sjöman, 42 years old to Nyman's 22, cast himself as her lover (which he was) as well as her director, and the film is occasionally "interrupted" by its own filming.

Sjöman/"Sjöman" has to watch Lena/"Lena" doing some very intimate things with costar Börje Ahlstedt. Börje is playing a car salesman, but also playing "himself" as an actor sometimes intriguing against his director with "Lena"--not "Lena the activist" but "Lena the actress," both of whom Lena the actress-for-real is playing. The Pirandellianism is witty, raw, and lingeringly ambiguous. And now DVD adds another layer if you happen to watch with the commentary track engaged and listen to the seventysomething Sjöman, still musing wryly on the radical fusion of film and life at whose creation he was present. --Richard T. Jameson, amazon.com Amos Vogel review: A cluttered room, a hastily made floor bed, an eager young couple: a scene from the legendary work that opened commercial cinema to eroticism and pornography. Sex is demystified, desentimentalized, shown as a part of life. Coital activity is frequently and directly shown; but there are no erections not penetrations, as there are in today's hardcore films.

SC The historical task of the leadership, said Rosa Luxemburg, is to make itself unnecessary. This is precisely what happened to this legendary, much-maligned work; prime catalyst of the new "permissive" cinema, it was quickly superseded by works that went further though not necessarily deeper. In retrospect, its primary virtue lies in its erotic realism. Perhaps no other film before it was as direct in presuming that everybody does it, knows about it, enjoys it; does it at times with laughter, or imperfectly, tenderly, or in rage, and that it is silly to exclude so human and beloved an enterprise from the screen. Thus we see sex done on a hastily cleared floor (though the bra at first will not unhook), in a lake (with a long-shot of heaving buttocks periodically emerging from the water), in a tree (a messy, giggly affair), from behind (in anger and lust), and while straddling the balustrade of the Royal Palace in Stockholm, with a guard in attention, sweating to keep his composure amidst dropping panties and voluptuous movements.

The lovemaking throughout is neither titillating, mechanical, bourgeois nor "deeply significant"; but casual and free, filled with warmth, strife, and experimentation. He is her "Number 30" or so and there will be others (including Sjoman, the film's director who periodically enters the action, and intentionally blurs reality and illusion). The portrayal of sex goes further than ever before. There is no mistaking the spread legs, the man between them, the movements, the outspoken dialogue. Yet, while sex organs are sometimes shown and even (somewhat) manipulated, we see no erection nor penetration. But the sex scenes (at least on first viewing) overshadow the film's main theme: the attack on the values (or lack of values) of the Swedish welfare state and contemporary society in general. Alienation, cynicism, and boredom seem to characterize the people appearing in its many political discussions and interviews. The young heroine both investigates and symbolizes the social and sexual mores of an affluent and fatigued welfare state, fearful of revealing itself as a class society.

The sexual episodes are used as counterpoint to the alienation she feels towards her society and appear as attempts (however superficial) at human reaffirmation; they are essential components of an ideological statement. The final subversion of the work is in its form. Sjoman, as other c contemporary filmmakers, aims at immediacy and veracity by constantly breaking down the boundaries between fiction and reality (even to the extent of appearing within the film as its director, commenting on its action, and having the actress conduct real interviews with real passers-by). The spectator is thus confron- ted with the need to redefine the concept of reality in his own life. --Film As a Subversive Art (1974) - Amos Vogel I Am Curious (Yellow) - The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia I Am Curious (Yellow) Train wreck at Montparnasse ( October 22 , 1895 ) by Studio Lévy and Sons. I Am Curious (Yellow) ( Swedish : Jag är nyfiken - en film i gult) is a 1967 Swedish film directed by Vilgot Sjöman and starring Lena Nyman as a character named after her.

It is a companion film to 1968's I Am Curious (Blue) ; the two were initially, intended to be one 3½ hour film. The films are named after the colours of the Swedish flag. Contents [ edit ] Plot Director Vilgot Sjöman plans to make a social film starring his lover Lena Nyman , a young theater student who has little interest in social issues. Lena's character, also named Lena, lives with her father in a small apartment in Stockholm and is driven by a burning passion for social justice and a need to understand the world, people and relationships. Her little room is filled with books, papers, and boxes full of clippings on topics such as "religion" and "men", and files on each of the 23 men with whom she has had sex. The walls are covered with pictures of concentration camps and a portrait of Francisco Franco , reminders of the crimes being perpetrated against humanity. She walks around Stockholm and interviews people about social classes in society, conscientious objection, gender equality, and the morality of vacationing in Franco's Spain. She and her friends also picket embassies and travel agencies.

Lena's relationship with her father, who briefly went to Spain to fight Franco, is problematic, and she is distressed by the fact that he returned from Spain for unknown reasons after only a short period. Through her father Lena meets the slick Bill (Börje in the original Swedish), who works at a menswear shop and voted for the Rightist Party. They begin a love affair, but Lena soon finds out from her father that Bill has another woman, Marie, and a young daughter. Lena is furious that Bill has not been open with her, and goes to the country on a bicycle holiday. Alone in a cabin in the woods, she attempts an ascetic lifestyle, meditating, studying non-violence and practicing yoga. Bill soon comes looking for her in his new car. She greets him with a shot gun, but they soon start to make love. Lena confronts Bill about Marie, and finds out about another of his lovers, Madeleine. They begin to fight and Bill leaves. Lena has strange dreams, in which she ties two teams of football players – she notes that they number 23 – to a tree, shoots Bill and cuts his penis off.

She also dreams of being taunted by passing drivers as she cycles down a road, until finally Martin Luther King, Jr. drives up. She apologizes to him for not being strong enough to practice non-violence. Lena returns home, destroys her room, and goes to the car showroom where Bill works to tell him she has scabies . They are treated at a clinic, and then go their separate ways. As the embedded story of Lena and Bill begins to resolve, the film crew and director Sjöman are featured more. The relationship between Lena the actress and Bill the actor has become intimate during the production of Vilgot's film, and Vilgot is jealous and clashes with Bill. The film concludes with Lena returning Vilgot's keys as he meets with another young female theater student. In addition to the footage of King, the film also includes an interview with Minister of Transportation Olof Palme , who talks about the existence of class structure in Swedish society, and footage of Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko . [ edit ] Style Yellow was a landmark film that helped define the emergent change in Swedish film of the 1960s.

Like a French New Wave film, the movie uses jump cuts and its story is not structured in a conventional Hollywood way. It also contains documentary elements; for example, it features a brief appearance by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who is interviewed by Sjöman about his views on civil disobedience . This interview was filmed in March 1966, when Dr. King and Harry Belafonte were in Stockholm to start a new initiative for Swedish support of African Americans . [ edit ] Censorship The film includes numerous and frank scenes of nudity and staged sexual intercourse . In one particularly controversial scene, Lena kissed her lover's flaccid penis . In 1969, the film was banned in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for being pornographic . After three court battles the U.S. Supreme Court , in Byrne v. Karalexis, 401 U.S. 216 (1970), legalized the movie by overturning the state anti- obscenity law that regulated motion pictures.

The film's title was the inspiration for: Curious Yellow, a virtual world in Jeff Noon 's novel Vurt [ edit ] Plot keywords nudity - jealousy - male nudity - feminism - male frontal nudity - female nudity - direct cinema - controversial - film in film - political - pseudo sociology - sex - class differences - economics - Francisco Franco - hypocrisy - money - non violence - political commentary - radicalism - social class - social commentary - social criticism - social democrat - social engineering - social justice - socialism - socio political - sweden - wealth - redistribution of sex - redistribution of wealth - scabies Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "I Am Curious (Yellow)" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License ; or on original research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice. 100 Most Controversial Films of All Time Lolita (1962, UK) D. Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick played up the dark humor in Nabokov's novel about a middle-aged man infatuated with a pubescent girl, but the subject was still a shocker.

Stanley Kubrick's sixth film - a brilliant, sly adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov's celebrated yet controversially-infamous 1955 novel of a middle-aged man's unusual, doomed sexual passion/obsession for a precocious, seductive "nymphet" girl, was cause for some concern. [The scandalous book was banned in Paris in 1956-1958, and not published in its full form in the US or UK until 1958.] The question: "How did they ever make a movie of Lolita?" was actually asked on the film's posters. The X-rated UK film's Hollywood premiere disallowed young star Sue Lyon (14-15 years old at the time of filming) from attending. Although Nabokov was appointed to write the screenplay for his own lengthy novel, Kubrick rewrote (with co-producer James B. Harris) Nabokov's unacceptable versions of the script in a more sanitized fashion. The age of Lolita in the novel was raised from 12 years old to that of a typical high-schooler - probably 14 or 15, to avoid some predicted controversy.

The threat of censorship and denial of a Seal of Approval from the film industry's production code and the Roman Catholic Legion of Decency overshadowed the film's production. The black humor and dramatic story of juvenile temptation and perverse, late-flowering lust was centered on a pubescent nymphet and a mature literature professor in an aura of incest. Rather than a film of overt sexuality and prurient subject matter, its content was deliberately mostly suggestive, with numerous double entendres, whisperings, meaningful facial expressions, and metaphoric sexual situations, with carefully-placed fades to black. Its most troublesome character who assumed various disguises, was actually Clare Quilty (Peter Sellers) - an implied pedophile and child pornographer. The film opened with an erotic pedicure scene under the credits of obsessed, middle-aged boarder and literature professor Humbert Humbert (James Mason) cradling the title character's foot and then lovingly and devotedly painting her toenails with bright enamel - hinting at pedophilia.

Sue Lyon starred as the title character Dolores Haze - a tempting, precocious, iconic, underaged nymphet nicknamed Lolita - first viewed in the garden in a two-piece bathing suit and sun-hat, and eyed by the passion of Humbert. The film was noted for the scene of their overnight stay at a hotel and Lolita's early morning coquettish suggestion to play a game that she learned at camp, while seductively twirling the hair on his head with her finger --- followed by a discrete fade to black. [See also entry for the remake - Lolita (1997).] Mondo Cane (1962, It.) (aka A Dog's World) D. Gualtiero Jacopetti, Paolo Cavara, Franco E. Prosperi This Italian shockumentary was castigated for exploiting footage of lurid cultural practices from around the world.

This popular Italian-made globe-trotting, amateurish "shockumentary" was luridly advertised as a travelogue of "truth stranger than fiction" - with xenophobic glimpses of dark-skinned, bare 'savages' engaged in grotesque and bizarre religious rituals, tribal ceremonies, animal cruelty, and lurid scenes of human perversity! The film was castigated as pornographic, trashy and vulgar, although by today's standards would be considered extremely tame.

Often faked, reconstructed or manipulated footage (with misleading narration) included: man-chasing (or hunting) by bare-breasted native girls in New Guinea, contrasted with a busty bikini-clad female followed by sailors, and other swimsuit-clad gals on a boat oogled by nearby sailors a mass pig-slaughtering, roasting and feast in New Guinea a wealthy pet cemetery (a pet haven for pet lovers) in Pasadena, CA contrasted with the eating of roast dogmeat in open-air restaurants in Taipei, Taiwan chicks dyed in different colors for Easter in Greece the force-feeding of decorated native girls to make them more marriageable and fertile contrasted with western weight-loss techniques (gym equipment exercises, dancing, etc.) environmental catastrophe - the effects of radiation and nuclear atomic testing on the small island of Bikini Atoll an exercise-bathing-massage parlor in Tokyo, Japan for drunken men, populated with women in bras and shorts Singapore's "House of Death" - a hotel for the dying an LA junkyard crushing cars into cubes hula dancing and leis in Hawaii for arriving cruise tourists, and the Kodak hula show the running of the bulls and bull-fighting in Portugal New Guinea natives worshipping in a

 Western church service, and receiving communion The film inspired a series of sequel "Mondo" films (or "shockumentaries") and dozens of imitators, including Rolf Olsen's Shocking Asia (1974) and Conan Le Cilaire's Faces of Death, Part 1 (1978) series of films.

It was the progenitor of "snuff" films, execution videos, hard-core pornography, and even reality TV. Bonnie And Clyde (1967) D. Arthur Penn One of the most stylistically influential movies of the '70s was accused of glamorizing Depression-era bank robbers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. It was one of the sixties' most talked-about, volatile, controversial crime/gangster films combining comedy, terror, love, and ferocious violence. It was produced by Warner Bros. - the studio responsible for the gangster films of the 1930s. This innovative, revisionist Hollywood film redefined and romanticized the crime/gangster genre and the depiction of screen violence forever.

The landmark film by post-WWII director Arthur Penn (who had previously directed The Miracle Worker (1962), The Train (1964) (uncredited and replaced by John Frankenheimer), and Mickey One (1965) - also with Beatty) was ultimately a popular and commercial success, but it was first widely denounced and condemned by film reviewers for glamorizing the two Depression-era killers (Faye Dunaway as Bonnie Parker and Warren Beatty as Clyde Barrow), and only had mediocre box-office results. The Dust-Bowl period was effectively evoked, although the loose adaptation was also an inaccurate and fictionalized retelling of history. When they first met, the real Bonnie (19 years old) and Clyde (21 years old) weren't glamorous characters, and their romantic involvement was questionable. She was already the wife of an imprisoned murderer, and he was a petty thief and vagrant with numerous misdemeanors. In the film, the story of Clyde's rise and self-destructive fall as an anti-authoritarian criminal gangster was clearly depicted. Both tragic outlaw figures exemplified 'innocents on the run' who clung to each other and tried to function as a family.

The film, with many opposing moods and shifts in tone (from serious to comical), was a cross between a gangster film, tragic-romantic traditions, a road film and buddy film, and screwball comedy. In the autumn of 1967, it opened and closed quite quickly - enough time for it to be indignantly criticized for its shocking violence, graphic bullet-ridden finale (with its slow-motion ballet of death) and for its blending of humorous farce with brutal killings. Then, after a period of reassessment, there were glowing reviews, critical acclaim, a Time Magazine cover story, and the film's re-release - and it was nominated for ten Academy Awards. The film's overall impact was heightened by its open examination of the gallant Clyde's sexuality-impotence and the link to his gun-toting violence. The film was also remarkable and controversial for its honest depiction of the unique relationship between an impotent Clyde and the sexually-aggressive Bonnie.

[To fulfill heartthrob Warren Beatty's image as a sex-symbol, he was finally able to consummate his love for Bonnie by film's end.] I Am Curious (Yellow) (1967, Swe.) (aka Jag är Nyfiken - En Film I Gult) D. Vilgot Sjöman This avant-garde mockumentary about '60s youth was condemned as pornographic, even though it's more about political protests than free love. This landmark, avante-garde, mock-documentary film (shot with mostly hand-held cameras) allegedly included 'offensive' sexual scenes that were claimed to be pornographic at the time - scenes of full frontal nudity of both sexes (at 38 minutes into the film), simulated intercourse, and the kissing of the male's flaccid penis (over a full hour into the film). US Customs seized the film in 1968, and the courts (and the Supreme Court) originally determined that the movie was 'obscene', although this verdict was overturned after appeal. Many Supreme Court battles ensued before it could be distributed. It became a benchmark film for free-speech advocates.

After it was cleared and released in the US in 1969, it became a blockbuster hit, although it was often picketed. It garnered $5 million in six months (a much higher figure when adjusted for inflation). The Swedish import soon became the highest-grossing foreign film (at $20 million) released in the US for decades (a record that stood until Il Postino broke the mark in the mid 1990's), although most who watched it considered it boring and pretentious. By today's standards, it is considered tame, but it helped to open the floodgates toward hard-core pornography that exhibited penetration and ejaculation, such as the X-rated Best Picture Midnight Cowboy (1969) , the porno chic Deep Throat (1972), and Bernardo Bertolucci's Last Tango in Paris (1972).

The radical, experimental film-within-a-film of sexual politics told the dull and pretentious story of liberated 22 year-old Lena (Lena Nyman), an aspiring sociologist who was curious about political issues in late 60s Sweden, with endless soul-searching, lengthy street interviews with common people about the class system, newsreel footage, scenes of protest regarding the Vietnam War, scribbled on-screen slogans, her cataloguing of information, etc. Sexual interludes between Lena and car salesman Börje Ahlstedt (mirrored in the film and real life by a tumultuous triangle with director Vilgot Sjöman) are shot frankly and realistically. Unused footage and alternate takes from the film were culled for a concurrent, parallel film I Am Curious (Blue) (1968, Swe.) released in the US in 1970. The choice of colors represented the two colors of the Swedish flag. Titicut Follies (1967) D. Fredrick Wiseman Frederick Wiseman's disturbing documentary exposed abuse in mental institutions, but its unflinching footage of patients was called insensitive.

First-time filmmaker Frederick Wiseman's despairing cinema-verite (observational or objective) masterpiece, one of the greatest documentaries of all time, was about the horrid and abusive conditions ("painful aspects of mental disease") at the state-run Massachusetts Correctional Institution in Bridgewater, a prison-hospital asylum for seriously ill, heavily-tranquilized men (defined by authorities as "criminally insane" or "sexually dangerous"). The film's title referred to a mock-softshoe song/dance routine ("Strike Up the Band"), performed and acted out at the beginning and end of the film by the inmates and prison officers during an annual vaudeville/variety show (the 'Titicut Follies') performance at the institution. The silent and passive camera witnessed the stripping, dehumanizing and humiliation of mental patients (who were treated like wild animals) by bullying guards, wardens and psychiatrists. One inmate, who was starving himself to death as protest, was force-fed through a rubber tube roughly inserted into his nostril - followed shortly by the image of his face as he laid in a coffin while being prepared for his funeral.

This highly controversial film (filmed in 1966 on black and white 16 mm. film over a period of 29 days) was barred from distribution and withdrawn from circulation from 1967-1992, by legal action launched by state authorities, because it was considered a violation of the rights of privacy of the prison inmates it filmed, and because it was considered obscene (the film showed male frontal nudity). It was only shown at the New York Film Festival in 1967, and had two limited runs in New York -- aside from a few screenings before film societies.

[Note: Director Samuel Fuller's Shock Corridor (1963) similarly exposed the conditions in US mental hospitals.] The 100+ Most Controversial Films of All-Time (chronologically, by film title) Cult Movies - Top 10 List - Top Ten List - Top 10 Banned Films of the 20th Century - Top 10 List - Top 10 Banned Movies - Censored Movies - Censored Films - The Outlaw - All Quiet on the Western Front - I am Curious (Yellow) - The Birth of a Nation - The Tin Drum - Hail Mary - Last Tango in Paris - The Last Temptation of Christ - Titicut Follies - Cannibal Holocaust Top 10 Banned Films of the 20th Century #10 - THE OUTLAW [1943] Notable for bringing sex to the Western genre, Howard Hughes’ The Outlaw was shelved for years before finally receiving approval by the Hollywood Production Code Administration. The whole controversial production seems to have gone forward for one reason: To showcase actress Jane Russell’s magnificent breasts.

The film’s slogan was "What are the two biggest reasons for Jane Russell’s success?" During filming, Hughes once commented, "We’re not getting enough production from Jane’s breasts." In her memorable screen debut, Russell portrayed "Rio McDonald." Oh yeah, The Outlaw also starrred Walter Huston (The Treasure of the Sierra Madre), Thomas Mitchell (It's a Wonderful Life) and Jack Buetel as "Billy the Kid." [READ THE FULL REVIEW] #09 - ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT [1930] Directed by Lewis Milestone, All Quiet on the Western Front was based on the critically acclaimed Erich Maria Remarque novel, Im Westen nichts Neues, and starred Lew Ayres as the disillusioned soldier, Paul Baumer. The film, which won an Academy Award for Best Picture, was eventually banned in Germany due to its anti-war theme: "You still think it's beautiful to die for your country. The first bombardment taught us better. When it comes to dying for country, it's better not to die at all." However, during the film's brief run in Germany, the Nazis released rats into the theaters to scare off movie patrons.

All Quiet on the Western Front was also banned in Italy until 1956. #08 - I AM CURIOUS (YELLOW) [1967] Banned in Massachusetts for being pornographic, this notorious Swedish film (Jag är nyfiken - gul) faced a landmark court battle in the United States and was eventually found to be not obscene by the United States Court of Appeals. Directed by Vilgot Sjöman, the film starred Lena Nyman and is a companion film to I Am Curious (Blue) (1968). The films were named after the colors of the Swedish flag. I Am Curious (Yellow) contains documentary elements, including an interview with Martin Luther King, Jr. #07 - THE BIRTH OF A NATION [1915] Based on Thomas Dixon's novel, The Clansman, D. W. Griffith's controversial and extremely influential silent film classic caused riots in Boston, Philadelphia and other major cities. The NAACP organized protests at the various premieres of the film around the country. In addition, The Birth of a Nation was outright banned in several cities such as Chicago, Pittsburgh and Kansas City due to its racist themes. U.S.

President Woodrow Wilson commented that the movie, which starred Lillian Gish and Mae Marsh, was "like writing history with lightning." Griffith's next silent film masterpiece, Intolerance, was made in reaction to the negative response he received from The Birth of a Nation. #06 - THE TIN DRUM [1979] "A savage, sweeping epic of society in chaos." Adapted from the critically acclaimed novel (Die Blechtrommel) by Günter Grass, The Tin Drum won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. However, the film was banned in several countries, including parts of Canada, as well as in Oklahoma City for a short time, due to a controversial scene that appears to show minors engaging in oral sex. #05 - HAIL MARY [1985] In Hail Mary (Je vous salue, Marie), the Virgin Mary is a gas station attendant whose boyfriend, Joseph, drives a taxi.

Even Pope John Paul II jumped into the battle over this controversial, modern retelling of the virgin birth story from Jean-Luc Godard, claiming that the film "deeply wounds the religious sentiments of believers." #04 - LAST TANGO IN PARIS [1973] Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, Last Tango in Paris (Ultimo tango a Parigi) details the bizarre relationship of an American widower (Marlon Brando) and a young Parisian woman (Maria Schneider). The film caused much controversy for the so-called "butter scene," which is extremely tame by today's standards. Schneider, who claims she is still haunted by the scene, was quoted in the New York Post (July 23, 2007), claiming that the scene wasn't part of the original script: "The truth is it was Marlon who came up with the idea . . . I should have called my agent or had my lawyer come to the set because you can't force someone to do something that isn't in the script . . . I was crying real tears. I felt humiliated and, to be honest, I felt a little raped . . . Thankfully, there was just one take . . .

I never use butter to cook anymore - only olive oil." According to a court in Bologna that banned the film: "Obscene content offensive to public decency . . . presented with obsessive self-indulgence, catering to the lowest instincts of the libido, dominated by the idea of stirring unchecked appetites for sexual pleasure, permeated by scurrilous language . . . accompanied off screen by sounds, sighs and shrieks of climax pleasure." #03 - THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST [1988] "I am here to set fire to the world!" Martin Scorsese directed this adaption of Nikos Kazantzakis' controversial 1953 novel that is notable for the scandal it caused as well as for its bizarre casting that included Willem Dafoe as Jesus, Barbara Hershey as Mary Magdalene, Harvey Keitel as Judas Iscariot, David Bowie as Pontius Pilate and Harry Dean Stanton as Paul. Numerous religious leaders throughout the United States organized protests against The Last Temptation of Christ (many of whom didn't bother to make an effort to watch the film!) and several Southern cities such as Savannah, Georgia, banned the film.

In addition, Blockbuster Video initially refused to carry the title in its stores. Scorsese was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for his efforts (Barry Levinson ended up winning the award for Rain Man). #02 - TITICUT FOLLIES [1967] "Don't turn your back on this film . . . if you value your mind or your life." A fascinating (and extremely disturbing!) black and white documentary dealing with the mistreatment of patients at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution, a prison hospital for the criminally insane, Titicut Follies was banned in the United States after a ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court determined that the film violated the patients' right to privacy. However, many critics believed that the film was removed from circulation by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to protect its own reputation. Finally, in 1992, the film aired on PBS and is now widely available. #01 - CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST [1980] "Oh, good Lord! It's unbelievable. It's horrible.

I can't understand the reason for such cruelty!" Directed by Italian filmmaker Ruggero Deodato and filmed in the Amazon Rainforest, Cannibal Holocaust was banned in many countries upon its initial release due to its graphic gore and sexual violence, as well as for several gruesome (and genuine!) animal slayings that appear in the film. Rumors also circulated that it was a snuff film (which at least proved to be untrue!). Countries that banned the movie at one time or another include Italy, New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Burma, Norway, South Africa, Finland, Turkey, Singapore, Germany, Iran and Morocco. Believe it or not, Cannibal Holocaust remains banned in several countries to this day . . . "Man is omnipotent; nothing is impossible for him. What seemed like unthinkable undertakings yesterday are history today. The conquest of the moon for example: who really talks about it anymore?

Today we are already on the threshold of conquering our galaxy, and in a not too distant tomorrow, we'll be considering the conquest of the universe, and yet man seems to ignore the fact that on this very planet there are still people living in the stone age and practicing cannibalism." User Comments - Add a Comment Anonymous - 2008-04-11 04:49:40 Titicut Follies is a kick in the gut. I saw it last summer and it's a movie that even desensitized people will feel. The utter disregard for humanity that they portray is horrible. It's worth the watch. It may change your life. john - 2008-04-11 05:00:03 regarding the last temptation of christ: its worth mentioning that nikos kazantzakis, the author on whose book the film was based on, was himself excommunicated by the greek orthodox church. Anonymous - 2008-04-11 06:20:28 Kazantzakis was indeed excommunicated, but not due to "The Last Temptation of Christ".

It was "Christ Recrucified that prompted the church to excommunicate him - and a better novel if you ask me. Grums - 2008-04-11 09:01:37 Honorable mention: Life of Brian was banned in Norway for being blasphemous. k - 2008-04-11 18:58:53 not to mention kubrick's "paths of glory," which was banned in france for decades. David - 2008-04-12 18:07:25 Hasn't Maria Schneider ever heard of the word "NO"? I'm tempted to watch "The Last Tango in Paris" just see what traumatized her for 25 years. shako - 2008-04-13 02:43:12 Should have definitely made this list....

Luis Bunuel's L'Age d'or (The Age of Gold) Mike G - 2008-04-15 06:56:47 A drive-in in Wichita used to show the trailer for Cannibal Holocaust (under the title Make Them Die Slowly) before every movie. I don't think they ever showed the movie but someone clearly enjoyed showing castration by machete to passing cars on highway K-42... Jack Jolis - 2008-04-15 11:21:05 Wasn't Kubrick's version of Anthony Burgess' "A Clockworck Orange" banned? I'm pretty sure it was, at least for awhile in the U.K. smokes - 2008-04-15 21:21:47 "Sound of Music" should have been banned. I shudder just to recall it... Oliver Townshend - 2008-04-16 06:00:03 Life of Brian was banned in Scotland as well, prompting a very humourous skit on Not the Nine O'Click News.

Should definitely be on the list. James Shearhart - 2008-04-16 14:48:03 I was always under the impression that Curious Yellow was banned more for the "US out of Vietnam" protests that were seen a few scenes than the sex. Sex is easier to condemn, I suppose.... FMDC - 2008-04-16 16:25:30 What about "Salo"? I think that one is still illegal. Larry - 2008-04-16 16:33:29 As I understand, The Battle of Algiers is still banned in France. Anonymous - 2008-04-16 16:33:53 "A drive-in in Wichita used to show the trailer for Cannibal Holocaust (under the title Make Them Die Slowly)" Make Them Die Slowly (aka Cannibal Ferox) is a completely different Cannibal Film. RikF - 2008-04-16 16:36:03 Clockwork Orange wasn't banned - it was pulled due to fears of copycat crimes.

There was however no ban. snichael - 2008-04-16 16:58:30 I read that "Birth of a Nation" was the most-watched movie of the silent era (more than anything by Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino, etc.) And that President Wilson hosted a screening of it in the White House for cabinet members and Supreme Court Justices - most of whom approved of it heartily (!). Definitely a different time. Hawkeye - 2008-04-16 17:09:37 Why isn't Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma (Salò or the 120 Days of Sodom)listed? Anonymous - 2008-04-16 17:22:38 Oh god... I wish I had never seen Salo.. *gag* Anonymous - 2008-04-16 18:34:10 Some people were so outraged by The Last Temptation that there were a few instances of theaters being firebombed when the film was being shown.

For those who don't know, "Birth of a Nation" is essentially a glorification of the KKK. There are scenes where the KKK "heroically" lynches a black man and disenfranchises black voters. walnut - 2008-04-16 18:53:26 "Birth of a Nation" wasn't just controversial, it was historically inaccurate, pro-confederacy propaganda. It was also responsible for the re-creation of the KKK, from the post-civil war guerilla group it started as, to the intolerant organization we're familiar with today. At the same time, Griffith introduced so many new cinematic techniques in this film that it's still studied by students of film. Jim - 2008-04-16 21:48:51 Yes, Titicut Follies -- I saw it at a university screening in the early 80's (student IDs were checked by state cops at the door). I was shaking on the way out of the screening room. Probably one of the greatest documentaries that I will ever see, but I haven't had the guts to see it again since it became more widely available. Amazing.

Recommended, but only if you're ready for it. curtis - 2008-04-16 22:00:58 I dont know if it was ever "banned", but the movie caligula was pretty intense for a 70 film even by todays standards, hell it was more of a snuff film than anything, and quite violent. Anonymous - 2008-04-16 23:14:09 weren't the japanese movies Suicide Club (Suicide Circle) and Battle Royal banned from the US? Anonymous - 2008-04-16 23:33:52 The author should have mentioned this interesting tidbit about Cannibal Holocaust, From IMDB: The film caused some scandal in Italy at the time of its release. Ten days after premiering in Milan, the film was seized by the courts, and the director, Ruggero Deodato, was arrested and charged with obscenity. He was later charged with murder and faced life in prison on the belief that several of the actors were murdered for the camera.

Deodato contacted Luca Barbareschi and told him to contact the three other actors who played the missing film team. He presented the actors, alive and well, to the courts, and thus, the murder charges were dropped. The film remained banned in Italy for another three years. nigdef - 2008-04-17 01:52:16 the life of Brian wasn't banned in scotland it was banned in one town well a village really by the local council big difference dude This Fails, doesn't mention Salt of the earth - 2008-04-17 02:48:16 This list fails, it doesn't mention one of the only movies to actually get banned from Hollywood and shoot all the cast into a blacklist. SALT OF THE EARTH Digger - 2008-04-17 03:11:21 Clockwork Orange was indeed banned in Australia for 20 years, and Lolita was also banned.

Tinderbox - 2008-04-17 11:27:38 "Anonymous - 2008-04-16 18:34:10 Some people were so outraged by The Last Temptation that there were a few instances of theaters being firebombed when the film was being shown." That's nonsense. Either provide a news source for this ridiculous claim or put on lid on your overactive imagination in public. jmcnally - 2008-04-17 14:04:34 Straw Dogs was banned in the UK for a long time. Mahoney - 2008-04-17 14:51:34 Tinderbox - 2008-04-17 11:27:38 "That's nonsense. Either provide a news source for this ridiculous claim or put on lid on your overactive imagination in public." A quick Google search will turn up quite a few news articles saying that theaters were in fact firebombed over The Last Temptation of Christ.

Liz - 2008-04-17 18:14:27 @David: It's not as simple as you say to say "no." This woman was very young at the time, and her costar was a legend. Any difficulty on set and you won't get hired again. And many women have a good deal of trouble asserting themselves in such a situation. Also of note - 2008-04-20 09:42:27 The Dutch film "Fitna" was banned in several Muslim countries this year. raisedbywolves - 2008-04-20 12:27:11 Ahem, Mahoney-I actually worked at a "box office" of an older theater, back in the 80's. For the duration that we showed "The Last Temptation of Christ" there were folks picketing the theater, although they did never fire-bomb us, things got heated with verbal exchanges from both sides. At the time I had thought how strange, to object to something you've never seen?

Lyndi - 2008-04-20 17:09:48 I enjoyed this list - now I've got some movies to rent on a slow weeknight. I think any Eddie Murphy movie, in which he plays more than one character with the aide of a fat suit, should be banned. Everywhere. jocko - 2008-04-29 12:03:46 When I was a teen, "Caligula" which was made by Penthouse I believe, was being fought in the courts in MA. I remember the cops going into the theater in my hometown mall and confiscating the film. I don't remember if there was a controversy about that movie elsewhere. harry - 2008-05-01 22:12:09 El Topo's not listed either (by Alejandro Jodorowsky in 1970).. Really an amazing film, banned for a very long time for it's explicit contents and gore. Ended up becoming a cult movie. It's a dark and mystic western about a mysterious rider in black.

Lori - 2008-05-06 01:21:54 Cannibal Holocaust only rivals Eraserhead in levels of sheer disturbing-ness. no_subject - 2008-07-10 04:44:06 i find it kinda sad that i havent really seen any of these movies and heard only of a few. looks like i got homework.... oh yeah, anything with britney spears in it should be banned from the entire world. cat of mude - 2008-07-20 06:55:55 although cannible holocaust is a nasty film,the likes of salo,man behind the sun,untold story,henry,guinea pig series (gross),and the wonderfull nekromantiks dont get a mention Anonymous - 2008-10-08 19:45:37 Can someone tell me what the hell is wrong with Sweden? They give Salo (uncut) and Caligula a 15 but they ban Tenebre, what the hell is their reasoning? Are they more demented than the films themselves?

casey a benson - 2008-11-02 23:08:35 Come on people its year 2008, get over it show the movies. luke - 2008-11-19 21:38:43 the last one is crazy i dont know how some one could make a film on this shit andrew clouet - 2009-01-12 07:30:30 what about the 1975 french movie la bête (the beast) i saw a mere snippet of this movie online and it was enough to make me sick, frankly i think this movie could do with being still banned or at least given a porno rating so you can't easily buy in anywhere. look up the movie guys, unnatural, realistic, sexual content She - 2009-01-28 05:25:02 What about "Salo, or 120 days of Sodoma"??

Big ding dong - 2009-06-19 09:02:27 hate to say it but this world needs more films like cannibal holocaust, the sheer lack of care for what people would think of the movie just grabs you. If you aint seen it make sure you do. real artisc real kill shoots in it apparently. UK Killer Klown - 2009-07-27 12:26:19 Salo or 120 days of Sodom is the grossest movie I have ever seen,however it was the worth the watch as it has a interesting take on bringing children through puberty, and the film is based on a book from the 1800s, the director creates the movie to be excatly like the book, very well done for how disturing it is, the torture scene at the end is the worst and the poo! oh the humanity of the poo! Have only seen advertisements for the nekromantiks movies and those look like they are disgusting movies with none or unnecessary artistic merit.

Cannibal Holocaust is a good movie defenitely has a legitimate message in it, makes you wonder who the real monsters are, the cannibals or modern man, Alec Balwin agrees with me on that one. And Titicut Follies, i dont know about the rest of you guys but I didnt think the prisoners were that mistreated in that movie, other than they could have had a better facility. Possibly the guards smartened up when the camera was in there. top 3 scenes: when they enter the insane murderer ward, when they are all partying and singing together, and when the badass psychologist tries to study inmates to see if they are fit to re-enter society, one of my favorite documentaries of all time Gverse - 2009-09-16 09:34:04 Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange was never banned. In the UK after the films release groups of criminals took some queues from the movie, such as a group of teens sexually assaulting a woman while they sang ?Singin' in the Rain? anyway Kubrick began recieving death threats so HE pulled the movie from (and only) the UK... where he lived.

btw criminals will comit a crime whether they wear a jason mask or act/dress like someone or sing a certain song movies don't make people commit a crime they're just a ?for dummies? guide for uncreative morons. I actually just watched A Clockwork Orange the other night after not seeing it for years... just wow u really forget what a masterpiece it is. I'm not a Kubrick nut but he did have a few gems no denying his genius and role on movies we see today. sean murphy - 2009-09-28 14:31:39 can you get cannibal holocaust on dvd in ireland? ttaf353@gmail.com The - 2009-11-10 12:51:38 Get all these BANNED Movies here at and other Controversial and non-controversial movies at Thanks! The Collector 2009 - 2010-02-14 08:03:11 An absolutely degenerated movie. The writers should got to prison or an asylum. These films should be banned. Disgusting actors and actresses.

I feel sorry for the little girl to have a role a film like this, sure she has no parents who have to save her from this abnormality. Americans are such idiots,they can make horror movies with incredible cruelty. You have real problems in the mind if you like to watch this brutality. mood - 2010-04-07 09:09:56 I was always under the impression that Curious Yellow was banned more for the "US out of Vietnam" protests that were seen a few scenes than the sex. Sex is easier to condemn, I suppose.... Anonymous - 2010-04-22 22:40:32 Wasn't Disneys Song of the South banned? deadrabbits - 2010-04-27 06:56:41 It makes me sick that you Blame Americans for these movies "the Collector" Malot of the most disgusting movies are filmed and Directed by Ameri Why isn't Japan, Italy, and Germany a target of your midless rant?

el - 2010-04-30 17:42:57 The Collector: I Liked it and i'm British. there will always be films people don't like. The good thing is that you have the choice whether to watch it or not, if you don't like it watch something else. Sicko - 2010-05-06 00:00:23 SALO-120 Days of Sodem,,I just was watching this cause i heard alot of people talking about it and thought it sounded like worth a watch..Well I have got to SHIT EATING part of the movie and i dont think i can watch anymore,,and I like alot of Sick stuff,,Snuff Films,,Hostel 1&2,,etc. But unless u enjoy 30 people with bowls of "full human terds being sliced by spoons and gobbled up then kissing each other with LITERALY shit mouth,,Yes this should be banned and i think it still is,,Unless u like to eat shit and get a blowjob from a shit mouth,,screw this disgusting movie..

jqhiggins - 2010-05-10 21:49:08 If Alec Baldwin agreed with me on any subject - except on a curfew for my teenage daughter - I would immediately re-think my position. AJAY - 2010-07-05 11:51:36 I read the section of the banned movies.. I only saw "Cannibal Holocaust" as my friends were betting that it is a documentry and i will not be able to see it. I saw it and came to the conclusion that the movie was actualy offensive. Along the movie, all the cast and crew involved in it shud hv been banned. Its totally stupid and insane... Gary - 2010-08-29 16:42:34 Life is about the experience and learning lessons frm the experiences, so unless you experience everything then how can you learn anything for yourself, we need to always push the boundaries as far as we know how to evolve and move on, same with everything. More is needed to be done.

bobo - 2010-12-22 00:49:53 i have cannible holocaust and its easy to c y the director and producer were arrested upon its release. Other than the dispicable animal cruelty and rape scene i liked it selanga - 2010-12-25 04:15:56 Actually, I lived in France at the time. There was at least one documented attack on a cinema showing this film in France - which also happened with je vous salue, Marie. C.J - 2010-12-29 20:21:00 Why is not SleepAway Camp not Banned yet,that Movie should have been banned a long Time ago,that movie was perverted and so sick that who ever watchs it will Be a Pervert for the rest of there lives, Felisa rose is hot or not,SleepAway Camp is a real bad Movie and should be banned for life,No Sorry and No regrets,this movie should be banned.

Anonymous - 2011-04-23 13:56:52 Cannibal Holocaust was so lame and boring that I fell asleep watching it. Bob - 2011-06-25 10:16:09 So many in competition for this list. How closely did "Goodbye Uncle Tom" miss inclusion? Bob.Trent@bobmail.info guy says, - 2011-08-06 14:01:42 HOW DID U PEOPLE EVER FORGET "SALO"..THE EATING OF FECES, RAPE OF MINORS, SODOMIZING BOYS..IT WS THE MOST SADISTIC MOVIE I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE! MarilynMansonFan - 2011-09-04 01:06:07 why in the blue fuck is phantasmagoria banned? the only movie Marilyn Manson made and i cant even watch it fuck it! fuck it! fuck it!!!!!!

DocProducer - 2011-10-18 12:44:05 The Follies was powerful, disturbing and produced awareness about the horrors of warehousing. Blix - 2011-12-03 09:36:13 Pure Shit, a film about scoring heroin in Melbourne, Australia was banned for years. However wouldn't make this list to do its relative obscurity in other countries. Another few for Australia would be Salo, Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2, Last House on the Left and, possibly Day of the Dead was also 'refused classification' as they say for a short period.

Cyprian J Bob - 2012-02-11 15:37:30 Should Soldier Blue(1970)be banned,if so,why?,because it is sooo Violent and Savage,because it saved the Native American's from being Stereo-type's any futher,this movie disgraced John Wayne as a American Icon that Year(1970),soo yes and No,Soldier Blue(1970)should and Should not be Banned,I Liked and dis-Liked this Good and bad Movie,so yes,it did save the Native American's from being Dis-graced by the White Man any Further. Sofianitz - 2012-03-20 02:50:28 "We Were Strangers" a 1949 film about 1933 Cuban political terrorism, directed by John Huston, starring Jennifer Jones, John Garfield, Pedro Armendariz, with an outstanding supporting role performance by Gilbert Roland. This film came out at the start of the McCarthy era political repression, and was never seen again until recently. You can now get the DVD, which you definitely ought to do.

Garfield's last role before he was blacklisted. Jefy - 2012-04-13 15:41:09 I think All Quiet should be listed higher in the list. It was banned in Italy until 1956, yes, but banned in Austria until the 80s! Also seems to have been banned in France, probably during the Vichy period. And, besides, it is one of the few truly good movies on the list. henry - 2012-06-18 08:45:00 These movies should be entirely banned. and that's very good since they demoralize our generation above all the faith of religion. Anonymous - 2013-03-28 09:52:43 wooooooooooooooow very gooooooooooooooooooooooood Amedee - 2013-04-22 19:06:38 I think Salo (120 days of sodom) should also be on this list. Director Pablo Pasolini was beaten to death in the streets of Italy a month after the film was released.

Probably beacuse this film is so offensive. It's a must see for those who enjoy contravercial film, if you can stomach it... I was also suprised not to see any John waters on this list... Cheers! Anon - 2013-05-24 17:51:57 "Fight For Your Life" has never been released in the UK. It contained Racism, Rape and Child Killing. As far as I know its still not available in Europe from legit sources. Same with "Men Behind The Sun" about the Japanese Experiments on the Chinese in WW2. Where real dead bodies were allegedly used. Contained Racism, Gore, Autopsies, and Animal Cruelty with a cat being eaten to death by rats. These two are more controversial than some on the list. VLm - 2013-06-27 19:49:59 Someone mentioned the name "Henry" among the list here. They are referring to the movie "Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer." A movie I watched twice only.

(I couldn't believe what I saw the first time.) This movie is absolutely outrageous and extremely disturbing mostly because the events depicted in it are true. It is the first time I ever saw children killed on-screen (in a scene depicting the torture and murder of a family). I can never watch it again. It is not particularly gory but the idea that such sick people exist and did the things they did is what disturbs me the most.

mike mcgee - 2013-08-05 16:30:03 Even though Deep throats was not a mainstream film,it caused controversy.For a while it was banned in many part of this country.It influenced Hollywood and the prudes ,with the aid of apathetic fans,to influence the supreme court to rule on community standards to prevent deep throats from being shown in a conservative community.It was banned in New York for a time too .Because of the controversy the film continues it's popularity on home video d.v.d and even Blu- ray,I think Bob Benn - 2013-08-10 16:35:51 To check out the Oscars for Best Breasts from 1969-2013, click here. Ernie - 2013-09-21 19:01:12 Caligula was banned here in the States upon its release in 1980 (it was released on home video a couple of years later), but if a certain aspiring actress and Penthouse model had not been fired from the project for being underage you would still see it banned to this day.

Back in 1979, a young actress and model named Terri Nunn (yes, THAT Terri Nunn from the group Berlin) auditioned for a photo layout in Penthouse magazine, and they thought so much of her that they wanted her to appear in the movie. However, someone checked her background and found out that she was under 17 years of age and, despite her having posed for a photo spread in the magazine, they would not allow her to appear in the movie. Her photos were subsequently kept under wraps for years until someone set up a fan appreciation site for the movie and posted stills from it, and also posted the magazine photos of the Penthouse models who appeared in the movie. The site also posted Nunn's photos for the first time ever, and that may be a major reason why the site is not still up today. manohar singh bhaaati india - 2013-11-02 07:26:52 I want see this film..........how is download ......?? I here about this film this film is very horrible .....

Umashankar - 2013-11-27 19:18:40 Wonder why Hostel sequels weren't added here!!! Far cry - 2014-02-18 07:52:57 its too haunted.. its director are dead.. ed - 2014-06-05 08:53:39 another interesting tidbit about cannibal holocaust was that the director actually had to recreate the impalement scene in court as the prosecutor said that such a scene could not be tricked (it could). If you look at the movie now, it is hardly scary. Gross yes but not realistic. There are some japanese movies too: the 'autopsy' series, that I stopped watching after 10 seconds. regarding "Fitna" that wasnt really a movie in that sense of the word. It was a short collection of images that was mainly distributed through internet and I do not think it was ever banned with regard to 120 days of sodom. I understand that Markies de Sade was incarcerated for writing that book. Honestly....

I can imagine elmer bushong - 2015-01-04 14:47:08 I do not think any film should be banned in our FREE nation. we the people shall watch as we know a movie from reality..I will say no more.. Anonymous - 2015-04-11 07:02:07 A bit of Trivia for you, Life of Brian was banned and never shown in the cinemas in Aberystwyth - A small university town in mid wales. Until fairly recently when Sue Jones-Davies who played Judith Iscariot in the the movie, became mayor of the town and lifted the ban! Authentic - 2015-05-29 19:18:57 I do not think that any of these films should be banned. The 1st Amendment is the only thing between a democratic government and an autocracy.

Ajay Ajnabi - 2015-11-17 07:59:12 CCLaP: Naughty Netflix: I Am Curious Literary social networks: GoodReads | LibraryThing | Shelfari Contact cclapcenter [at] gmail.com Fine print All material Copyright 2007-2016, Chicago Center for Literature and Photography. All rights revert to original authors after publication. Published under a Creative Commons license ; some rights reserved. CCLaP is always happy to accept publications for possible review, especially self-published ones, although makes no guarantee that any such review will definitely be published. Click here to learn how to submit such a project for review. Programmed in HTML 4.1 and CSS2, powered through Movable Type, designed and maintained on an iMac. The space for this website is graciously supplied for free by Jimi Sweet ; I thank him immensely for doing so. Curious about what kind of compensation the center receives while in the course of writing its reviews, like free books and the like? Read CCLaP's FTC compliance statement .

September 16, 2009 Naughty Netflix: I Am Curious (Think that you can't rent movies at Netflix that contain legitimately explicit sexuality? Think again, my frustrated friend! In this special essay series, I look at a total of thirty mainstream films made over the last forty years, all of which contain scenes of such actual graphic sex acts as fellatio and penetration, reviewing them not in only in terms of the movie's quality itself but also the amount of sex it portrays, and whether this sex is any fun or not to actually watch.

For more about how these movies were chosen, as well as the full list of all thirty titles, you can click here ; and don't forget, these reviews are also mixed into the master list of all movies reviewed here, over at CCLaP's main movie page .) Today's movie: I Am Curious, 1967 ("Yellow") and 1968 ("Blue") ( Amazon | IMDB | Netflix | Wikipedia ) The story in a nutshell: One of the first films ever to challenge and then help change the American legal definition of obscenity, thus paving the way for our modern ratings code and everything it's brought, I Am Curious produced a firestorm of controversy and protest when first shown in the US in 1969, two years after it was originally made, then just as quickly faded into obscurity after everyone saw for themselves what all the hype was about; in fact, a lot of people forget that this four-hour epic was actually released in two parts, labeled "Yellow" and "Blue" (after the colors of the Swedish flag), with "Yellow" being the half that caused all the ruckus and "Blue" barely seen by the public at all.

Written and directed by Scandinavian avant-garde filmmaker Vilgot Sjoman and starring his real-life girlfriend Lena Nyman, the movie is almost more important anymore as a historical record of Sweden's countercultural movement, and successful push in the 1960s towards becoming a socialist society; because to tell the truth, there's not actually much of a storyline to speak of, a sorta strange quasi-documentary about a filmmaker named Vilgot Sjoman who hires his girlfriend Lena Nyman to narrate a documentary about Sweden's push towards becoming a socialist society. As such, then, I Am Curious also stands as one of the first postmodern "metafilms" as well, or in other words a movie that's conscious of being a movie, and which calls attention to its own artificiality whenever it can; just to mention one great example, Sjoman actually filmed one of the scenes at a very real press conference featuring Dr. Martin Luther King (who was in Sweden at the time to promote the American civil-rights movement), with Sjoman and Nyman acting out fictional dialogue from the plot in the audience while the real event takes place in the background.

In this, then, you can see this movie as the sorta spiritual equivalent of the fantastic American film Medium Cool, made just one year later, another fictional movie that used real events as its backdrop, with some of its scenes actually shot right in the middle of the Chicago riots that took place during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. What I thought: Meh. Like I said, it's certainly interesting to check out at least once, if for nothing else than for the great way it accidentally captured the spirit of a specific time we'll never see again; but that said, this overlong snoozer gets awfully tedious awfully fast, with the vast majority of it actually consisting of "man on the street" interviews concerning what average random Swedish citizens thought at the time about the country possibly becoming a socialist one. Also, this being thoroughly a product of its times, there's a lot of weirdness in I Am Curious that exists simply for the sake of being weird -- jump cuts, random images, and all kinds of other annoying filmic trickery that rapidly went out of style once the countercultural era was over. What makes it an explicit movie?

According to today's standards, almost absolutely nothing; in fact, except for one brief scene where Nyman gives a friendly kiss to her lover's flaccid penis, the rest of this movie would actually be rated not even R but PG-13 if coming out today. Man, it's amazing sometimes what kinds of things would make people go apesh-t as little as forty years ago. Is the sex actually fun to watch? Oh, for sure, but be warned: far from the sex in I Am Curious being erotic, it is instead mostly humorous, awkward and charming. And that's because the sex scenes seen here are a natural offshoot of the "modern" relationship the two main characters are supposed to have, exemplifying the youthful idea back then that sex should be fun, natural and boisterous, not the shameful frigid act that so many thought of it as before the countercultural era.

And in fact, this even boils down to the physical look of the actors who get naked in this movie, with Nyman actually being kind of pudgy and plain-looking, not a tarted-up sex symbol like you would expect from a film this notorious; it's just one of the many reasons that the American public ended up so thoroughly disappointed with this movie, after it finally got past the censors and obscenity lawsuits and actually started appearing in theatres. Strangest piece of trivia: All the way up to 1992, this remained the highest-grossing foreign film in US history. Worth your time? If you're a fan of talky art-films, or wish to see a historical record of Sweden's countercultural period, then yes. Otherwise, probably not.

Question: The landmark 1960s films I Am Curious (Yellow) and I Am Curious (Blue) were named after the colors of the flag of which country?
Answer: Sweden