Subgenre Sampler

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Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line (2024): Across their 45–year career, ‘The Oils’ helped shape modern Australia with anthems like US Forces, Beds Are Burning, Blue Sky Mine and…
Loudest Voice, The (TV Mini-series) (2019): Dir. Jeremy Podeswa, Kari Skogland, Stephen Frears
Feat. Russell Crowe, Sienna Miller, Annabelle Wallis…; A seven–part series revealing the final years of media consultant Roger Ailes as he devises his most potent political weapon, Fox News, over…
Elle (2016): Dir. Paul Verhoeven
Feat. Isabelle Huppert, Laurent Lafitte, Anne Consigny…; Controversial, unflinching drama closely following the perspective of a woman who is repeatedly raped by the same masked intruder, but whose…
Kate Plays Christine (2016): Dir. Robert Greene
Feat. Kate Lyn Sheil; A fascinating documentary following an actress who is preparing to play the role of newscaster Christine Chubbuck, who famously committed suicide on…
Tickled (2016): Dir. David Farrier, Dylan Reeve; Utterly engrossing documentary from Kiwi journo David Farrier, who stumbles into the bizarre world of "competitive tickling" that leads him on an…
Fifty Shades of Grey (2015): Dir. Sam Taylor-Johnson
Feat. Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Jennifer Ehle…; Blockbuster adaptation of E.L James' erotic novel about a young literature student's life–changing encounter with the handsome, yet tormented,…
Human Centipede 3, The (2015): Dir. Tom Six
Hunting Ground, The (2015): Dir. Kirby Dick; A scorching exposé of the startling prevalence of sexual assaults and institutional cover–ups at college campuses across America. Through raw…
Straight Outta Compton (2015): Dir. F. Gary Gray
Feat. O’Shea Jackson, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell…; Invigorating drama charts the rise of rap legends N.W.A. as they emerge from the mean streets of Compton in Los Angeles, and their profound impact…
American Sniper (2014): Dir. Clint Eastwood
Feat. Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Kyle Gallner…; Clint Eastwood helms this controversial biopic of the most decorated sniper in U.S. military history and his struggle to adjust to civilian life.
Interview, The (2014): Dir. Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen
Feat. Seth Rogen, James Franco, Lizzy Caplan…; The highly controversial comedy that sparked a political crisis has a tabloid reporter recruited by the CIA to murder North Korean dictator Kim…
Welcome to New York (2014): Dir. Abel Ferrara
Feat. Gerard Depardieu, Jacqueline Bisset; Gerard Depardieu stars in Abel Ferrara's divisive drama based on the sexual misconduct allegations made against French diplomat Dominique…
Wetlands (2013): Dir. David Wnendt
Feat. Carla Juri, Christoph Letkowski, Marlen Kruse; Provocative comic tale of an eccentric girl who has strange attitudes towards hygiene and sexuality longs for the reunion of her divorced parents.
ESPN: 30 for 30 (30 Films 30 years of sporting History) (2012-2015): Dir. Alex Gibney, Morgan Spurlock; In 2009, ESPN commissioned an unprecedented series of documentary films that reveal the little–known stories behind some of the most dramatic,…
Pieta (2012): Dir. Kim Ki-Duk
Feat. Min-soo Jo, Jung-Jin Lee; Kim Ki–Duk directs this controversial Golden Lion winner, about a debt–collecting thug who is forced to confront his violent ways when a…
How to Die in Oregon (2011): Dir. Peter Richardson; Unflinching documentary about assisted suicide, centering around the Death with Dignity Act in the state of Oregon, which allows physicians to…
Tall Man, The (2011): Dir. Tony Krawitz; Compelling true crime documentary on a controversial chapter in Queensland’s history, where in 2004 a drunken Cameron Doomadgee was arrested for…
Underbelly - Season 4 (TV Mini-series) (Land of the Long Green Cloud) (2011): Feat. Daniel Musgrove, Damien Avery, Grae Burton…; World famous in New Zealand, drug trafficker Marty Johnstone – aka, Mr. Asia – steals the Underbelly spotlight in this locally made…
I'm Still Here (2010): Dir. Casey Affleck
Feat. Joaquin Phoenix; Excruciating, morbidly humourous account of Joaquin Phoenix’s shock ‘retirement’ from acting to pursue a music career in rap, and the attention…
Tabloid (2010): Dir. Errol Morris; Master documentarian Errol Morris tackles the extraordinarily bizarre story of Joyce McKinney, a former Miss Wyoming who was alleged to have abducted…
Underbelly - Season 3 (TV Mini-series) (The Golden Mile) (2010): Feat. Mitch Bartlett, Natalie Bassingthwaighte, Emma Booth; Sydney’s infamous Kings Cross, circa 1989, is the setting for this latest airing of Australia’s dirty laundry. Although centred on the…
9/11: Blueprint for Truth (The Te Papa Lecture) (2009): Dir. Colin Hodson; Speaking at Te Papa Museum in Wellington, late 2009, American architect Richard Gage presents further evidence (or complete bullshit, depending on…
Antichrist (2009): Dir. Lars Von Trier
Feat. Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg; Delivering laughter and revulsion in equal measure, Lars von Trier’s hugely controversial psychosexual opus – about a grieving couple who retreat…
Bruno (Brüno) (2009): Dir. Larry Charles
Feat. Sacha Baron Cohen, Gustaf Hammarsten; Controversial mockümentary starring Baron Cohen as a gay Aüstrian fashion joürnalist who travels to the USA to become 'the biggest Aüstrian…
Fat Belly: Chopper Unchopped (2009): Feat. Mark 'Chopper' Read; Inspired by the popularity of gangland series UNDERBELLY, notorious Aussie criminal Mark 'Chopper' Read takes the opportunity to tell his own version…
Human Centipede, The (2009): Dir. Tom Six
Feat. Dieter Laser, Ashley C. Williams, Ashlynn Yennie…; The "mad scientist movie" taken to a perverse extreme with crab–faced Dieter Laser as the gonzo doc delighting in his latest experiment –…
Underbelly - Season 2 (TV Mini-series) (A Tale of Two Cities: The Mr Asia Story) (2009): Feat. Roy Billing, Anna Hutchison, Matthew Newton…; A prequel to the events of the original series, this is loosely based on the hard drug trade that hit New South Wales and Victoria between 1976 and…
Who Killed Nancy? (2009): Dir. Alan G. Parker; Under Sid Vicious' mother's posthumous request, rock author Alan Parker directs this intensive documentary in order to re–examine the supposed…
10 Conditions Of Love, The (2008): Dir. Jeff Daniels; Controversial documentary slammed by the Chinese government focused on Rebiya Kadeer, a tireless campaigner for human rights who has been punished at…
Gruen Transfer, The (TV Series) (2008): Feat. Wil Anderson; Hosted by comedian Wil Anderson, this is a revealing and humorous look at the advertising industry with a selection of well qualified panellists.…
Hope (2008): Dir. Steve Thomas; Tragic account of people–smuggling gone wrong when a boatload of refugees arriving from Indonesia sinks on its way to Australia killing than…
Jihad for Love, A (2008): Dir. Parvez Sharma; Revealing documentary on homosexuality and the Islamic faith, filmed in secret over 5 and a half years under the Muslim government radar. Although…
Religulous (2008): Dir. Larry Charles
Feat. Bill Maher; 'Good' and 'Evil' are turned on their head (and in their graves) in this provocative docu–comedy following comedian and commentator Bill Maher…
Roman Polanski: Wanted And Desired (2008): Dir. Marina Zenovich; Comprehensive documentary examining the public scandal that led to the controversial departure of director Roman Polanski from the United States.…
Underbelly - Season 1 (TV Mini-series) (2008): Feat. Vince Colosimo, Kevin Harrington; Gritty, unflinching crime series dramatising the Melbourne gangland killings and seedy underworld, featuring Aussie actors who bear a striking…
When Borat Came to Town (2008): Dir. Mercedes Stalenhoef; Touching Underdog vs. The Man doco which looks at the aftermath of Sascha Baron Cohen's visit (and by proxy 20th Century Fox's) to the Romanian…
Battle In Seattle (2007): Dir. Stuart Townsend
Feat. Martin Henderson, Michelle Rodriguez, Woody Harrelson…; Seattle’s infamous 1999 World Trade Organisation protests are analysed in this fictional, yet vivid recreation of events, shot admirably from both…
Beyond Our Ken (2007): Disquieting documentary exploring the inner workings of Australian spiritual group 'Kenya,' based on the principle of "energy conversion," accused of…
Chicago 10 (2007): Dir. Brett Morgen; Unique documentary that splices together archival footage and motion–capture animation to recreate the infamous trial of anti–war…
Darling! The Pieter-Dirk Uys Story (2007): Dir. Julian Shaw; Moving doco focused on the litigious cross–dressing South African satirist Pieter–Dirk Uys, whose life's work included stirring…
Discussions with Richard Dawkins - The Four Horsemen (2007): Number one in a brand new series of searching discussions from the notorious Professor Richard Dawkins as he gathers together three of his fellow top…
For the Bible Tells Me So (2007): Dir. Daniel G Karslake; Heartfelt doco exploring the intersection between religion and homosexuality in the USA. Director Karslake takes an evenhanded approach to the…
Girl Next Door, The (2007): Dir. Gregory Wilson
Feat. Blythe Auffarth, Daniel Manche, Blanche Baker…; Sickly torture porn number details the misfortunes of two adolescent girls sent to live with their psychotic aunt after their parents pass…
Great Global Warming Swindle, The (2007): Topical documentary proposing that global warming is a myth simply used for political gain. Provides a necessary counterbalance to the glut of scare…
Katyn (2007): Dir. Andrzej Wajda
Feat. Maja Ostaszewska, Artur Żmijewski, Pawel Malaszynski; Andrzej Wajda cements himself as Poland’s greatest director with this late–career triumph, a war story addressing the eradication of some…
No End in Sight (2007): Dir. Charles Ferguson; Devastating documentary that comprehensively examines the negligence and political mis–steps that led to the Iraq war. "Traces the…
Obscene (2007): Dir. Daniel O'Connor, Neil Ortenberg; The definitive film biography of Barney Rosset, the influential publisher of Grove Press and the Evergreen Review, this charts his tumultuous career…
Rebirth of a Nation (2007): Dir. Paul D. Miller; 'Remix' of D.W. Griffith's landmark original by dir. Miller – aka 'DJ Spooky' – turns cinema into a club track, deconstructed and put…
Strange Culture (2007): Dir. Lynn Hershman-Leeson
Feat. Thomas Jay Ryan, Tilda Swinton, Peter Coyote; Topical and important docu–drama focusing on the charges of bio–terrorism brought against acclaimed artist Steve Kurtz after his wife's…
9/11 Mysteries: Demolitions (2006): Dir. Sofia Shafquat; Another inflammatory conspiracy documentary on the ‘truth’ behind 9/11, this time purporting that the Twin Towers were in fact leveled by secret…
Abduction: The Megumi Yokota Story (2006): Dir. Patty Kim, Chris Sheridan; This startling, blow–by–blow account of a notorious Japanese abduction reveals a staggering conspiracy at the heart of a…
Book of Revelation, The (2006): Dir. Ana Kokkinos
Feat. Tom Long, Greta Scacchi; Daring, if not entirely coherent gender–subversion recalls in flashback the ordeal of a talented male dancer (Long) who's abducted, tortured…
Borat (Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan) (2006): Dir. Larry Charles
Feat. Sacha Baron Cohen; A savage, often side–splitting, satire from balls–of–steel British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, who moves a minor character from his…
Bridge, The (2006): Dir. Eric Steel; Controversial, yet thoughtful documentary which captures – and in turn addresses – suicide through a series of fatal leaps from San…
Da Vinci Code, The (2006): Dir. Ron Howard
Feat. Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen…; Adapted from Dan Brown's blockbusting novel, this rollicking, if over–weighty adventure has an American historian (Hanks) getting dragged into…
Destricted (2006): Dir. Matthew Barney, Larry Clark, Sam Taylor-Johnson; A challenging – though some may argue, laughable – exercise in reclaiming the pornographic film, this omnibus commissions seven artists to each…
Dirty Sanchez: The Movie (2006): Dir. Jim Hickey; Deplorable, downright heinous version of JACKASS sees four British louts subject themselves to a myriad of irresponsible stunts and…
Dudesons Movie, The (2006): Dir. Jarno Laasala; It's JACKASS, Scandinavian–style, with a group of equally insane extremists subjecting themselves a series of painful and humiliating…
Ever Again (2006): Dir. Richard Trank; Documentary on the re–emergence of anti–semitism paying particular attention to the politicization of Europe's Neo–Nazi movement…
Jesus Camp (2006): Dir. Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady; A disturbing guided tour of extremist 'Jesus Camps' in the US, run by politically–aligned Evangelical Christian groups intent on indoctrinating…
Loose Change - Second Edition (2006): Dir. Dylan Avery; Using an array of disconcerting "facts" and "expert" witnesses, this rapid–fire documentary purports to tell the 'truth' about the 9/11 attacks…
Shortbus (Short bus) (2006): Dir. John Cameron Mitchell
Feat. Sook-Yin Lee, Lindsay Beamish, Paul Dawson…; A raucous, freewheeling comedy of intercourse from gay auteur John Cameron Mitchell, audacious in its employment of explicit sex, unknown actors and…
Taxidermia (2006): Dir. Gyorgy Palfi
Feat. Csaba Czene, Gergely Trócsányi; Grostesque though exquisitely crafted oddity from the dir. of HUKKLE degenerates well beyond the threshold of bad taste in its history of three…
Battle in Heaven (Batalla en el cielo) (2005): Dir. Carlos Reygadas
Feat. Marcos Hernández; Heavyset follow–up to JAPON finds Mexican dir. Reygadas dealing in the spiritual and moral crises of two lost souls: one an underprivileged…
F*ck (Fuck - A Documentary) (2005): Dir. Steve Anderson; It’s a word we’ve all heard and many have said – more and more so it seems in this contemporary age – this doco takes a looks at the…
Munich (2005): Dir. Steven Spielberg
Feat. Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Mathieu Kassovitz…; Compelling, if occasionally muddily–overearnest thriller based around the aftermath of the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich…
Secret Life of Words, The (2005): Dir. Isabel Coixet
Feat. Sarah Polley, Tim Robbins, Julie Christie; Intense character–driven drama set on an isolated oil rig that explores the relationship between a hearing–impaired factory worker…
Viva Zapatero (2005): Dir. Sabina Guzzanti; Confronting Italian documentary made by comedian Sabina Guzzanti in response to her satirical TV show being axed after her scathing imitation of…
9 Songs (Nine Songs) (2004): Dir. Michael Winterbottom
Feat. Margo Stilley, Kieran O'Brien; A controversially explicit sex'n'rock'n' roll drama about two stray souls – an American student and a British bloke – who over a year…
Old Boy (Oldboy) (2004): Dir. Park Chan-Wook
Feat. Min-sik Choi, Ji-tae Yoo; Wowing audiences wherever it's played (including being nominated for the Palm D'Or at Cannes), this achingly intense thriller from Korea raises the…
Power of Nightmares, The (2004): Dir. Adam Curtis; Another provocative documentary from dir. Curtis, this time out he examines how political parties have created and used fears in order to maintain…
Anatomy of Hell (Anatomie De L'enfer) (2003): Dir. Catherine Breillat
Feat. Amira Casar, Rocco Siffredi; A queasily explicit sex drama about a suicidal woman who challenges (and pays) a promiscuous gay man to participate in an uneasy nightly ritual of…
Biggie and Tupac (2002): Dir. Nick Broomfield; Plucky British journalist and one–man controversy machine Nick Broomfield embarks on his most dangerous documentary enquiry yet – the…
Bowling For Columbine (2002): Dir. Michael Moore
Feat. Michael Moore, Charlton Heston; Essential viewing from the dir. of ROGER AND ME, constructing another entertaining and devastating critique of the contradictions of the US of A,…
Horns and Halos (2002): Dir. Michael Galinsky, Suki Hawley; A fascinating sidebar to the controversial American Presidency of George W. Bush, involving the struggle for author J.H. Hatfield to publish an…
Jackass: The Movie (2002): Dir. Jeff Tremaine
Feat. Steve-O , Johnny Knoxville, Spike Jonze…; Hugely successful movie version of the cult MTV show, whose fearless stars submit to various painful and perilous stunts. Bound by a sense of…
Spun (2002): Dir. Jonas Akerlund
Feat. Jason Schwartzman, Brittany Murphy, John Leguizamo…; A cinematically exhilarating depiction of existence among a group of methamphetamine (P) addicts in Los Angeles, that is sure to divide audiences as…
Bank, The (2001): Dir. Robert Connolly
Feat. David Wenham, Anthony LaPaglia; When computer geek David Wenham presents a system that can predict stockmarket fluctuations to avaricious banking chief Anthony LaPaglia, the scene…
Big Brother (TV Series) (2001-2003): 'Unseen, Uncut, Unreel' – A three part compilation of selected 'highlights' from the Australian version of the ultimate Reality TV…
Bound for Pleasure (2001): Dir. David Blyth; Non–sensational delve into the Auckland B&D scene from horror dir. Blyth (DEATH WARMED UP), that throws up some bizarre scenes of mistresses,…
Dog Days (2001): Dir. Ulrich Seidl
Feat. Maria Hofstatter, Alfred Mrva, Erich Finsches…; A wilfully transgressive Euro–drama examining middle–class dysfunction and despair in a Viennese suburb over a few days in a summer heat…
Ichi the Killer (2001): Dir. Takashi Miike
Feat. Tadanobu Asano, Nao Omori, Shinya Tsukamoto; Dir. Takashi Miike earned his notoriety with this wincingly violent revenge thriller in which a bent ex–cop (played by "Tetsuo" director,…
Jackass (TV Series) (2001): Feat. Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O , Bam Margera…; Compilation of the 'best' moments from MTV's cult TV–series in which a group of warped individuals inflict pranks, painful,…
L.I.E. (2001): Dir. Michael Cuesta
Feat. Brian Cox, Paul Dano, Billy Kay…; Unsettling coming of age drama with Paul Dano as a troubled and lonely young man who after the death of his mother befriends paedophile Brian…
Raw Deal: A Question of Consent (2001): Dir. Billy Corben; Testing the boundaries of what is permissable in documentary, this tries the case of several frat–boys in Florida who were accused of gang…
Storytelling (2001): Dir. Todd Solondz
Feat. John Goodman, Selma Blair, Franke Potente…; Continuing to plumb the depths of controversy, the dir. of HAPPINESS tells more stories of the depressed and cruel inhabitants of American suburbia,…
Visitor Q (Bizita Q) (2001): Dir. Takashi Miike
Feat. Kenichi Endo, Shungiku Uchida, Kazushi Watanabe…; Miike Takashi's most controversial film – which in this case is really saying something – finally coming to video (?). A legendarily…
American Psycho (2000): Dir. Mary Harron
Feat. Christian Bale, Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto…; Mercifully sanitised adaptation of Brett Easton Ellis' controversial novel, that wallowed in the depraved mind/antics of a homicidal Wall Street…
Cunnamulla (2000): Dir. Dennis O'Rourke; The provocative director of GOOD WOMAN OF BANGKOK turns his lense onto the Australian community of the title, a rag–tag small–town in…
Intimacy (2000): Dir. Patrice Chereau
Feat. Mark Rylance, Kerry Fox, Timothy Spall…; Mark Rylance and Kerry Fox bare their flesh as well as their souls as a separated father–of–two and a married mother who meet weekly for…
Our Lady of the Assassins (la Virgen de los Sicarios) (2000): Dir. Barbet Schroeder
Feat. Anderson Ballesteros, Juan David Restrepo; A middle aged author returns to his native Colombian village to find that it has been overrun by violence and corruption. After his young male lover…
Audition (1999): Dir. Takashi Miike
Feat. Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina; An almost–masterpiece of the macabre that sets up and sustains itself brilliantly with a restrained pace and jewel of a premise, then careens…
Romance (1999): Dir. Catherine Breillat
Feat. Caroline Ducey, Sagamore Stevenin; A schoolteacher's boyfriend loses sexual interest in her, so she embarks on a series of unlikely sexual encounters in search of intimacy and…
Sex - The Annabel Chong Story (1999): Dir. Gough Lewis; A sensational yet even–handed insight into the performer (and sicko subculture) behind a famously transgressive sexual act – Ms. Chong’s…
8mm (1998): Dir. Joel Schumacher
Feat. Nicolas Cage, Joaquin Phoenix, James Gandolfini…; First Hollywood effort at generating thrills from the dubious (and probably mythical) subculture of 'snuff movies', where actors are deliberately…
American History X (1998): Dir. Tony Kaye
Feat. Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Stacy Keach…; Potent dissertation on generational anger among the skinhead community of Los Angeles' Venice Beach, that though flawed by brushes with cliche, is a…
Happiness (1998): Dir. Todd Solondz
Feat. Lara Flynn Boyle, Dylan Baker, Philip Seymour Hoffman…; Controversial is the byword for this disturbing trawl through the sad–case lives of various American suburbanites and their families (Lara…
I Stand Alone (Seul Contre Tous) (1998): Dir. Gaspar Noe
Feat. Philippe Nahon, Blandine Lenoir, Frankie Pain…; Staunch attempt to shake up the “bourgeois” values in French cinema, first–time director Gaspar Noe fleshes out his short film about a…
Idiots, The (1998): Dir. Lars Von Trier
Feat. Bodil Jorgensen, Jens Albinus, Anne Louise Hassing…; One of the fruits of Dogma 95, this sensationally conceived outing from von Trier will satisfy those with a penchant for the experimental, and…
Another 9 1/2 Weeks (Love in Paris) (1997): Dir. Anne Goursaud
Feat. Mickey Rourke, Angie Everhart, Steven Berkoff…; Depending on your sensibilities this Parisian set sequel either represents a career nadir for Rourke or some kind of gonzo triumph. Either way…
Lolita (1997): Dir. Adrian Lyne
Feat. Jeremy Irons, Dominique Swain, Melanie Griffiths…; Nabakov's novel, still raising eyebrows, is here lavished with a meticulous production and all the artistry the director of 9 ½ WEEKS could rustle…
Private Parts (1997): Dir. Betty Thomas
Feat. Howard Stern, Mary McCormack, Paul Giamatti…; Partly fictionalised biopic of New York 'Shock Jock' Howard Stern, played by the man himself. For those who don't know, Stern's abrasive yet…
Sick (1997): Dir. Kirby Dick; Stunning, compassionate feature biography of the life of Bob Flanagan, whose 'super–masochism' and extreme performance art was born of his…
Waco - Rules of Engagement (1997): Dir. William Gazecki; The disastrous FBI siege of the Branch Davidian Sect compound at Waco, Texas in 1993 is pulled to pieces in this acclaimed documentary, revealing a…
Crash (1996): Dir. David Cronenberg
Feat. James Spader, Holly Hunter, Deborah Kara Unger…; Auteur David Cronenberg's latest vision is an anti–fable about accident victims James Spader and Holly Hunter, who become sexually obsessed…
Mind Bender (1996): Dir. Ken Russell
Feat. Terence Stamp, Ishai Golan; Ken Russell recreates the exploits of controversial spoon–bender and parapsychologist Uri Geller, but seems puzzlingly reluctant to provoke.…
Executions (1995): Despite the exploitative title and subject, this in fact draws attention to the inhumanity of the death penalty and makes a case for its worldwide…
Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam (1995): Dir. Nick Broomfield; Another sensational art–tabloid gem from professional muck–raker Nick Broomfield, who here lies down with various dogs of the film and…
Kids (1995): Dir. Larry Clark
Feat. Leo Fitzpatrick, Sarah Henderson, Justin Pierce…; Cult photographer Larry Clark's debut, 24hrs of New York streetkid life, attracted immediate controversy. The unblinking depictions of sex, drugs and…
Strange Days (1995): Dir. Kathryn Bigelow
Feat. Ralph Fiennes, Angela Bassett, Juliette Lewis; Ralph Fiennes runs into all sorts of bother as a low–rent dealer of subversive pleasures encoded on diskettes. An ambitious,…
Boy Meets Girl (1994): Dir. Ray Brady
Feat. Tim Poole, Danielle Sanderson, Margot Steinberg; For many years banned in the UK on video at least, this abrasive, low–budget drama plays out the wilfully unpleasant scenario of a man who gets…
Crumb (1994): Dir. Terry Zwigoff; Remarkable portrait of controversial cartoonist and non–conformist Robert Crumb. Documented over six years, his friend Terry Zwigoff manages to…
Natural Born Killers (1994): Dir. Oliver Stone
Feat. Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis; Oliver Stone turns a Tarantino script into a mean–spirited satire that points fingers at the decline of America without any measure of…
Priest (1994): Dir. Antonia Bird
Feat. Linus Roache; Provocative working–class drama about a gay priest wrestling with multiple dilemmas – his sexuality, a new parish and his exclusive…
Bandit Queen (1993): Dir. Shekhar Kapur
Feat. Seema Biswas; Far and away from the innocuous fluff that dominates India's film industry, comes this bold, controversial true story of Phoolan Devi, a notorious…
Beavis and Butthead (TV Series) (1993-1997): Dir. Mike Judge; Once rejected by our television networks on moral grounds, this might've been your only chance to catch America's favourite miscreants in animated…
Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl, The (1993): Dir. Ray Muller; Regarded both as great filmmaker and Nazi Party propagandist, Leni Reifenstahl, the maker of TRIUMPH OF THE WILL and OLYMPIAD, will always be a…
Basic Instinct (1992): Dir. Paul Verhoeven
Feat. Sharon Stone, Michael Douglas; Sharon Stone leapt into fame, fortune and notoriety with her raunchy portrayal of the sultry crime novelist who may or may not be living out her…
Dirty Weekend (1992): Dir. Michael Winner
Feat. Lia Williams; 'Death Wish' director Winner tweaks a familiar–sounding plot: here a stressed–out Lia Williams weekends in Brighton, to both relax and…
Lover, The (1992): Dir. Jean-Jacques Annaud
Feat. Jane March, Tony Leung (Kar-fai); Exotic adaptation of Marguerite Duras' autobiographical novel charting an illicit affair between a 15–year–old French school–girl…
Man Bites Dog (1992): Dir. Remy Belvaux, Andre Bonzel, Benoit Poelvoorde
Feat. Benoit Poelvoorde; Disturbing black comedy unravels itself as a media satire but its barbaric humour won't tickle everyone's funnybone. Staged as a documentary, a film…
Manufacturing Consent (1992): Dir. Achbar, Peter Wintonick
Feat. Noam Chomsky; Important film presents the theories of Noam Chomsky on the media and its mainstream bias which may have a far–reaching political agenda. What…
Robotrix (1991): Dir. Luk Kim Ming
Feat. Amy Yip; A scientist's discovery that the mind of a dying person can be transferred to a robot leads to perversion. Controversial sci–fi/exploitation…
Silence of the Lambs, The (1991): Dir. Jonathan Demme
Feat. Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn…; Celebrated adaptation of Thomas Harris' novel follows the hunt of a gruesome serial killer by a rookie cop (Jodie Foster), 'aided' by an incarcerated…
Wild at Heart (1990): Dir. David Lynch
Feat. Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern, Diane Ladd…; Disturbing, provocative and always stylish, the director parodies himself and many other great film–makers in this mother of all road movies.…
Do the Right Thing (1989): Dir. Spike Lee
Feat. Danny Aiello, Spike Lee, Ossie Davis…; Spike Lee's tour–de–force of racial friction and personal politics, forged his status as the most important black director in history.…
Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down (Atame!) (1989): Dir. Pedro Almodovar
Feat. Antonio Banderas, Victoria Abril; A mental patient kidnaps his sexy B–movie idol in the hope that she will fall in love with him. Teasingly politically unsound, Almodovar…
Wired (1989): Dir. Larry Peerce
Feat. John Belushi; Stylised, controversial biopic of ailed cult funnyman John Belushi. Not sanctioned by the Belushi estate but the warts–and–all depiction…
Ghosts of the Civil Dead (1988): Dir. John Hillcoat
Feat. Nick Cave; Despite the uncompromising, raw depiction of brutal prison life, this film is a non–exploitative essay that ultimately indicts the future of…
Last Temptation of Christ, The (1988): Dir. Martin Scorsese
Feat. Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel, Barbara Hershey…; Brave, earnest film controversial for its assumption that Christ suffered from mortal doubt when chosen to carry God's message. Willem Dafoe plays…
Brimstone and Treacle (1987): Dir. Barry Davis
Feat. Michael Kitchen, Denholm Elliott; Recorded for the BBC in 1976 but not broadcast until 1987, this pointed Dennis Potter stageplay of an unwelcome houseguest who believes he's the…
Echoes In The Darkness (TV Mini-series) (1987): Dir. Glenn Jordan
Feat. Peter Coyote, Stockard Channing, Robert Loggia…; The true life murder of Pennsylvanian woman Susan Reinert and her two children in the 1970s gets a successful treatment in this taut…
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1987): Dir. John McNaughton
Feat. Michael Rooker, Tom Towles; Theatrically banned, this uncut version ranks as one of the more unsettling works ever committed to film. In short, a low–budget masterpiece…
9 1/2 Weeks (1986): Dir. Adrian Lyne
Feat. Mickey Rourke, Kim Basinger; See Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger at the peak of their self–obsessed careers in this sleazy but not unenjoyable romp through the dark side of…
Betty Blue (1986): Dir. Jean-Jacques Beineix
Feat. Beatrice Dalle, Jean-Hugues Anglade; Beatrice Dalle stars as the ultra crazy and ultra sexy Betty in this lusty, over–the–top drama as only the French aspire to create.…
Falklands Collection, The (The Falklands Play, Tumbledown) (1986): Dir. Michael Samuels
Feat. Patricia Hodge, Colin Firth; A collection of two BBC dramas focused around the controversial Falklands Campaign of 1982 during Margaret Thatcher's reign. The Falklands Play:…
Hail Mary (1985): Dir. Jean-Luc Godard
Feat. Myriem Roussel, Thierry Rode, Juliette Binoche; Controversial and ultimately reverent update on the story of the immaculate conception, with Mary as a gas station attendant and Joseph as her cab…
Hooligan (1985): Dir. Ian Stuttard; Notorious documentary acts as both a study of football hooliganism and as a concise history of the group who became most synonymous with mindless…
Crimes of Passion (1984): Dir. Ken Russell
Feat. Kathleen Turner, Anthony Perkins; An outrageous, kinky psycho–drama in which Kathleen Turner portrays a high–class hooker, shadowed by crackpot priest Anthony Perkins…
Liquid Sky (1983): Dir. Slava Tsukuman
Feat. Anne Carlisle, Paula E. Sheppard; A geniune punk artefact about an over–sexed woman who unwittingly hosts an alien parasite that kills off her lovers at the point of orgasm. Its…
Class of 1984 (1982): Dir. Mark Lester
Feat. Perry King; A new school–teacher (Perry King) finds himself intimidated by members of his unruly class – to the point where he must exact brutal…
New York Ripper (1982): Dir. Lucio Fulci
Feat. Jack Hedley, Daniela Doria; A sadistic tale from Italian dir. Fulci (THE BEYOND) which concerns a killer roaming New York City and murdering women while babbling like 'Donald…
Angel of Vengeance (Ms.45) (1981): Dir. Abel Ferrara
Feat. Zoë Tamerlis, Jack Thibeau; Surreal drama about a deaf–mute who seeks revenge after two sexual assaults. Taut and disturbing, with minimal dialogue, it has the distinction…
Cannibal Holocaust (1980): Dir. Ruggero Deodato; Enormously controversial apex of the Italian 'cannibal' horror subgenre, concerning an anthropologist who journeys to the Amazon to locate a…
Cruising (1980): Dir. William Friedkin
Feat. Al Pacino, Paul Sorvino, Karen Allen; Controversial, grimy thriller places cop Al Pacino undercover in New York's gay community in an effort to ensnare a serial killer, but the job begins…
Dressed to Kill (1980): Dir. Brian De Palma
Feat. Angie Dickinson, Michael Caine, Nancy Allen; A slick video nasty involving a murderer, a prostitute, a psychiatrist, a bored housewife and her resourceful son. In reworking PSYCHO, De Palma…
Maniac (1980): Dir. William Lustig
Feat. Joe Spinell, Caroline Munro; Notoriousy grisly 1980s "video nasty", featuring Tom Savini effects (inc a very famous head explosion and several scalpings) amid an otherwise…
Scum (1980): Dir. Alan Clarke
Feat. Ray Winstone, Phil Daniels; Life in a British borstal painted in unflinchingly realistic hues. Clark's deeply affecting indictment of the penal system plays out barbaric rituals…
Angel Mine (1979): Dir. David Blyth
Feat. Derek Ward, Jennifer Redford, Myra De Groot; A punk, Bunuel–esque social satire in which a married couple escape their material lives through anarchic fantasies, staged as dream–like…
Driller Killer (1979): Dir. Abel Ferrara
Feat. Abel Ferrara; Somewhat notorious as a 'video nasty' of the 80s video boom, this debut from bad boy auteur Abel Ferrara was perhaps misunderstood (like The Texas…
Life of Brian (Monty Python's Life of Brian) (1979): Dir. Terry Jones
Feat. John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin; This parody of the life and times of Jesus Christ is the funniest and most successful of the Monty Python features. A cult favourite.
I Spit On Your Grave (Day of the Woman, aka I Hate Your Guts) (1978): Dir. Meir Zarchi
Feat. Camille Keaton, Eron Tabor, Richard Pace…; Legendary 1970s video nasty in which a feminist writer (Keaton) holidaying in the countryside is menaced and repeatedly raped by four locals, whom…
Midnight Express (1978): Dir. Alan Parker
Feat. Brad Davis, Randy Quaid; Brad Davis stars in this riveting fact–based story as a young American facing a 30–year sentence in a brutal Turkish prison for a minor…
Desperate Living (1977): Dir. John Waters
Feat. Liz Renay, Mink Stole, Edith Massey; The third in John Waters' unholy trilogy again succeeds in his aim to simultaneously shock and incite hysterics. No Divine this time, but Liz Renay,…
Fight For Your Life (1977): Dir. Robert A. Endelson
Feat. William Sanderson, Robert Judd; A racist hillbilly and two sadistic jail–breakers terrorize a black minister and his family, who eventually fight back and take bloody…
Last House on Dead End Street (1977): Dir. Roger Michael Watkins
Feat. Roger Michael Watkins; Both notorious and obscure, this 1970s shocker concerns a drug–dealer who upon being released from jail enters the shady world of porno…
In the Realm of the Senses (Ai No Corrida) (1976): Dir. Nagisa Oshima
Feat. Tatsuya Fuji, Eiko Matsuda; Hailed as an erotic masterpiece in some quarters and condemned as mere sexually explicit exploitation in others, Oshima’s indisputably elegant…
Maitresse (1976): Dir. Barbet Schroeder
Feat. Gerard Depardieu, Bulle Ogier; An eye–watering, willfully transgressive tale of a petty crook (Depardieu) who enters into a seemingly conventional romance with a…
Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea, The (1976): Dir. Lewis John Carlino
Feat. Kris Kristofferson, Sarah Miles; A sadistic young boy with an unusually strong attachment to his mother greatly resents her new suitor. Intriguing adaptation of Yukio Mishima novel…
Snuff (1976): Dir. Michael Findlay, Roberta Findlay
Feat. Ana Carro, Roberta Findlay; 'Notorious' thriller set amid a world of South American drug–smuggling sleazebags, which supposedly climaxes with an actual filmed murder.…
Beast, The (La Bete) (1975): Dir. Walerian Borowczyk
Feat. Lucy Broadhurst; This unsexy, frequently hilarious art–porn parable from the easily aroused dir. of IMMORAL TALES consists of a hairy sasquatch in heat chasing…
Salo (1975): Dir. Pier Paolo Pasolini
Feat. Paolo Bonacelli, Giogio Cataldi, Umberto Paolo Quintavalle…; More extreme in content than anything else in our library, an embittered Pasolini spares the viewer nothing in his faithful adaptation of The Marquis…
Immoral Tales (1974): Dir. Walerian Borowczyk
Feat. Charlotte Alexandra, Florence Bellamy, Lorenzo Beriniz; Four 'historical' chapters make up this softcore but nonetheless controversial portmenteau film. Contains such spectacular low–lights as…
Lenny (1974): Dir. Bob Fosse
Feat. Dustin Hoffman; Dustin Hoffman exposes the self–destructive life of Lenny Bruce in this stark, explicit biopic of the maverick stand–up comic whose…
Night Porter, The (1974): Dir. Liliana Cavani
Feat. Dirk Bogarde, Charlotte Rampling; Bizarre yet sensual melodrama about an ex–gestapo officer who resumes a sado–masochistic affair with his Jewish former–prisoner.…
Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The (1974): Dir. Tobe Hooper
Feat. Marilyn Burns, Allen Danziger, Paul A. Partain; Unbearable tension builds when a group of teens are preyed upon by a notoriously psychotic family in the squalid atmosphere of the Deep South. The…
Exorcist, The (1973): Dir. William Friedkin
Feat. Linda Blair, Max von Sydow, Ellen Burstyn; Landmark, influential horror film tells its tale of a child diagnosed with a case of demon–possession in explicit detail. A penetrating sense…
Themroc (1973): Dir. Claude Faraldo
Feat. Michel Piccoli; Satirical in a most primitive, bestial way, this astonishing fable sees frustrated factory–worker Michel Piccoli cease to speak one morning,…
Last House on the Left, The (1972): Dir. Wes Craven
Feat. Sandra Cassel, Lucy Grantham, David Hess; Formerly banned in NZ and in many countries around the world, this disturbing film lives up to its notoriety with its documentary–like realism…
Last Tango in Paris (1972): Dir. Bernardo Bertolucci
Feat. Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider; A breakthrough film of the 70s, this account of a chance encounter, then torrid affair between Maria Schneider and Marlon Brando, is artfully glossy,…
Clockwork Orange, A (1971): Dir. Stanley Kubrick
Feat. Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates…; From Anthony Burgess' novel, Stanley Kubrick flexes his genius with this electrifying satire about an ultra–violent gang of 'droogs' whose…
Devils, The (1971): Dir. Ken Russell
Feat. Oliver Reed, Vanessa Redgrave; Ken Russell's subversive foray into Catholic guilt is as bold and disturbing as it is brilliant. Amidst the witch trials of medieval France, Oliver…
Pink Flamingos (1971): Dir. John Waters
Feat. Divine, Mink Stole, Edith Massey…; John Waters' creative pinnacle (or nadir!) remains the ultimate statement in bad taste – a pure, unadulterated exercise in shock value!…
Straw Dogs (1971): Dir. Sam Peckinpah
Feat. Dustin Hoffman, Susan George; With dir. Sam Peckinpah in top form, this powerful study of male territorial instincts pushed out the boundaries of movie violence in the…
W.R. Mysteries of the Organism (1971): Dir. Dusan Makavejev; Documentary footage, late sixties counter–culture and fictional elements are freely mixed to explore the ideas of radical sexologist, Wilhelm…
Gimme Shelter (1970): Dir. David Maysles, Albert Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin
Feat. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ron Wood…; The Rolling Stones captured at the summit of their popularity and musical form in 1970, on the tour that led to disaster at Altamont. The Maysles…
Sorrow and the Pity, The (1969): Dir. Marcel Ophuls; A Classic. Investigating life and death in the Occupied France city of Clermont–Ferrand during WWII, chiefly through interviews, this provides…
Dennis Potter at London Weekend Television (1968-1979): Feat. Ian Holm, John Neville; Containing three of Dennis Potter's single plays for television, including "Shaggy Dog" which was thought to be lost until recently, these diverse…
Vixen (1968): Dir. Russ Meyer
Feat. Erica Gavin, Harrison Page; An A–grade exploitation picture, with Uncle Russ at his most playful, creative and virile. His purely kitsch instinct and virtuoso editing…
Ulysses (1967): Dir. Joseph Strick
Feat. Barbara Jefford, Milo O'Shea, Maurice Roeves…; A brave stab at filming James Joyce's sprawling novel, but it's better known for the stir it caused over its seminal use of the f–word and…
Leather Boys, The (1964): Dir. Sidney J. Furie
Feat. Rita Tushingham, Colin Campbell, Dudley Sutton; Gritty study of an impulsive young woman's incompatible marriage to motorcycle–loving mechanic, and his subsequent 'close' relationship with a…
Lolita (1962): Dir. Stanley Kubrick
Feat. James Mason, Peter Sellers, Shelley Winters…; A middle–aged man falls in love with a 14–year–old girl, so marries her mother to be near her. Fascinating black comedy of sexual…
Beat Girl (1960): Dir. Edmond T. Greville
Feat. Gillian Hills, Adam Faith, Christopher Lee…; Providing a rare peek into the British 'beat scene', this groovy juvenile delinquency drama proves there was teenage wildlife before the Beatles, and…
Never On Sunday (1960): Dir. Jules Dassin
Feat. Jules Dassin, Melina Mercouri; Director Jules Dassin (think a bug–eyed Tony Randall) plays a disillusioned American philosopher searching for answers in the birthplace of…
Salt of the Earth (1954): Dir. Herbert J. Biberman
Feat. Rosaura Revueltas, Will Geer; An incendiary tale of racial prejudice, big business greed and feminist uprising that pushed plenty of buttons in the fifties, making it first of its…
Wild One, The (1954): Dir. Laslo Benedek
Feat. Marlon Brando; Marlon Brando leathers up for a bit of rebellion Hollywood–style, leading a gang of bikies to terrorise a small town. Controversial for their…
Kenneth Anger's Magick Lantern Cycle Vol. 3 (1949-1965): Dir. Kenneth Anger; Three more shorts from Mssr. Anger, including "Kustom Kar Kommando" (1965), "Puce Moments" (1949), and his most famous and controversial work,…
Outlaw, The (1943): Dir. Howard Hughes, Howard Hawks
Feat. Jack Buetel, Jane Russell, Thomas Mitchell…; Off–beat retelling of the legend of Billy the Kid with Jane Russell's cleavage outraging the censors of the day. Now a tame curiosity.
Triumph of the Will (1935): Dir. Leni Riefenstahl; The famous official document of the Nazi rally at Nuremberg, 1934, shot in stunning geometric compositions. This manages to stagger the senses, while…
Ecstasy (1933): Dir. Gustav Machety
Feat. Hedy Lamarr; Hedy Lamarr came to world attention in this 1932 film, playing a sexually–frustrated bride who goes on a fifteen minute nude romp in an alpine…
Scarface (1932): Dir. Howard Hawks
Feat. Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, Karen Morley; The most potent ganster flick of the '30s caused great controversy over its violent content when first released, still makes an impact today.…
Madchen in Uniform (1931): Dir. Leontine Sagan
Feat. Hertha Thiele, Dorothea Wieck; Influential early German sound–film notorious (and censored) for the sensual lesbian overtones that colour its tale of Hertha Thiele's…
Nanook of the North (1922): Dir. Robert Flaherty; Landmark early documentary that was also dir. Flaherty's debut, depicting life for a plucky Eskimo family who use all their ingenuity to survive in…

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