The Great Dictator
Banned In: Germany
In a freak burst of wartime political correctness, Chaplin’s spoof of Hitler was nearly banned in Britain. The owner of London’s Prince Charles cinema was even fined for staging the premiere.
But, by then, we were at war with Harry Hun and it became jolly good for morale.
Less so for Der Führer, who stamped a jackboot on it in the ’40s. The film stayed banned in Germany until as recently as 1998.
Chaplin’s highest-grossing film, the funnyman later admitted that he wouldn’t have made it if he’d known the true extent of the Nazis’ crimes.
Catch 22
Banned In: Portugal
How does a sane man survive in the insanity of war?
By sitting up a tree in the raw, according to Mike Nichols’ adap of Joseph Heller’s doorstop anti-war classic.
The movie was banned for four years in Portugal for the scene showing a naked Alan Arkin perched in the boughs of nature. If he’d been having sex while eating a sandwich, it would have been worse still.
High-calorie erotica Last Tango In Paris (sex and butter) and La Grande Bouffe (sex and everything) were banned in the same decade.
The only thing they’ve banned since is a Pokémon episode.
Next: Life Of Brian
Comments
zaphodfilm
Jun 18th 2009, 9:19
There's a muslim in my 1 minute short film : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz3ox27cPVE can someone ban it please ? It depicts muslims as people who sneezes.
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zaphodfilm
Jun 18th 2009, 9:22
The film that"s so funny that it was banned in norway . hahaha
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danijobi
Jun 18th 2009, 9:59
Sorry, but as a fellow film journalist one thing I can't stand is sloppy research, especially if it involves the old British-German Nazi stereotypes. Of course "The Great Dictator" wasn't banned "until as recently as 1998" in Germany. The film had a very succesfull nationwide cinematic run in 1958, complete with dubbed version and everything. Late enough, you may say, but 1998?! Come on! By then every child has seen the thing several times (it was rated "suitable for childrem from 6 years on" (!) and broadcasted several times as part of the afternoon program on holidays, where I saw it too in my childhood) on TV and by then the VHS had been out for several years! It does deserve a spot on the list, but 1998 must have been a typo, right?
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Robespierre
Jun 18th 2009, 12:44
About Paths Of Glory,I think you are mistaken it's an historical fact that some soldiers were trying to get away from the battle (shooting themself in the foot ...) but what the french gorvernment had difficulty to admit is that they shot thir very own soldiers. Since then a very popular movie has been made Le pantalon (the trousers)the true story about a soldier refusing to wear his "new equipment":some trousers covered in the blood of his previous owner, and the guy get executed for not obeing an order.
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oreomj
Jun 18th 2009, 15:31
Another banned movie that you didn't posted... The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), from Martin Scorsese, was banned in Mexico when it first came out, because it was super offensive to the Catholic Community (Mexico's rate for catholics is of 94%). The ban was lifted until 2004, when The Passion of the Christ was released.
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oreomj
Jun 18th 2009, 16:07
OH! Contrary to popular claims, Clockwork Orange was never banned in the UK. It originally received an "X" rating in 1971 and was withdrawn from distribution in 1973 by the film's director. In 1999 (the year of Stanley Kubrick's death), the film was released again and received an "18" rating.
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Mechanismo
Jun 18th 2009, 18:16
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom wasn't "Indy's first outing" that would be Raiders of the Lost Ark.
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DJStahl
Jun 19th 2009, 7:01
"Bruce Almighty" was banned in Egypt, possibly other Muslim countries, for disparaging God. Tho with God played by Morgan Freeman, you'd think this was honoring God. "Paths of Glory" had nothing to do with shell-shock, as I recall. A large formation of French soldiers disobeyed direct orders to advance against ferocious German fire, and the generals decided to bring a random three of these up on capital charges of cowardice and mutiny. You may be thinking of "Patton." In real life, the general slapped a soldier named Kuhl, in a hospital, who'd been told he suffered from "moderate severe ... psychoneurosis anxiety." Kuhl told Patton he was "nervous ... I guess," and Patton slapped him. Turned out later Kuhl had malaria and a 102.2-degree fever. Kuhl wanted to return to the front; he later landed at Normandy. Similar incident a week later, after which Patton burst into tears. Kuhl said Patton was "suffering a little battle fatigue himself." Patton also went back to the war. All this per Atkinson's recent book, "Day of Battle." Not to say there isn't such a thing as shell-shock. I saw all three "Matrix" movies and the second and third were fine, routine sequels. Didn't advance beyond the first much, but had some great effects scenes, like the drilling robots. Seems obvious that Egypt banned it because the heroes lived in "Zion." Seems likely it's why the movies got unreasonably panned by the critics, too. "Fight Club" is another movie that got slammed by most critics on its initial release, but like many others ultimately found a wide audience. That would be another list to do.
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