9. The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (1989)
Why it's controversial: This Peter Greenaway puke fest has so many controversial moments it is difficult to know where to begin. Michael Gambon plays Albert, a despicable lout who takes over the running of a high class English restaurant. Helen Mirren plays his posh wife who falls in love with bookstore owner Michael (Alan Howard). They begin a torrid affair but the course of true love never did run smoothly. Among the controversial scenes we have to sit through are: enforced poop eating, the torture of a child, Georgina and Michael hiding naked in a lorry full of dead animal carcasses. Most controversial of all is the finale. Albert finds out about Michael and Georginas' trysts and kills Michael by force feeding him pages of a book. When Georgina finds his dead body, she instructs the chef - "Cook Michael for me" - and then forces Albert to eat Michael's succulent roast corpse and he pukes everywhere. I think that's enough controversy for now.
Why it's good: This film, despite its grotesquery, is a piece of high art. It boasts a cast which is almost like a who's who guide to the best of British acting talent. You have to give Helen Mirren credit for taking part in this disgustingness, but then she did prove her gross out credentials with Caligula. The sets are by Jean Paul Gaultier and the music by Michael Nyman. The film looks beautiful and very unusual - like the bulk of Greenaway's work. It is an absorbing tale if you can steel your stomach to face it.