10 Great Films Banned By The Catholic Church

By James Elhindi /

8. From Russia With Love (1963)

"Espionage thriller marred by some scenes of sadistic violence, casual sexual encounter and suggestive dialogue" James Bond is one of the most visceral and thrilling characters of all time. His wit, suave, and heroism is universally popular and popular worldwide. It is confusing, to say the least, that the Catholic reviewers would ban only one film and not the whole series. The 'sadistic violence' spoken of in the review is clearly nothing compared to modern day action films so one could possibly believe that the Church's objection is in reference to Bond's promiscuity? Then why didn't they state it outright? Speculation is really going to lead nowhere and the best assumption is probably that some aspect of the film conflicted with Catholic affairs at the time and that led to it's condemnation. Needless to say the Bond series is wall-to-wall fun and absolutely thrilling. I doubt the Legion of Decency gained any supporters with this review and definitely did not hinder the Bond franchise with it's worldwide success continuing to this day.