15. Sensual Overload (1976)
What happened? Japanese director Nagisa Oshima’s intense and sexually explicit film In The Realm Of The Senses proved a controversial hit at the 1976 festival.
Why it’s great: The film’s openly pornographic content (it had to be officially labelled a French co-production to skirt around Japanese censorship laws) put the festival right at the forefront of sex and censorship debates. And the film itself was a massive hit – seven extra screenings were organised to cope with demand.
14. Gallo Blows It (2003)
What happened? The over-hyped and fellatio-featuring Brown Bunny, from wacko director Vincent Gallo, bombs like dark matter, and is described by Roger Ebert as the worst film in Cannes’ history.
Why it’s great: Because it prompted a playground war of words between Gallo and Ebert (Gallo described the critic as ‘a fat pig with the physique of a slave trader’), and because the prickly, arrogant Gallo probably deserved it. And it ultimately made the film better – a tighter, post-Cannes edit drew more favourable reviews.
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