20 Most Controversial Scenes In Cinema History

By Clare Simpson /

6. Straw Dogs (1971)

Home invasion movie set in deepest, darkest Cornwall, Dustin Hoffman stars as David, a mild mannered academic who has moved to the land of pasties with his beautiful young wife Amy (Susan George). This aggravates the locals who resent someone with an IQ higher than 35 being in the vicinity. They menace David and Amy and generally make life unpleasant for them. This culminates in our controversial scene... The yokels break into David's house and rape Amy. But this is no run of the mill unpleasant rape sequence. Amy appears to enjoy the action mid-rape and this is what makes it controversial. The idea that 'all women really want it/ are asking for it' is highly contentious and through this scene, Peckinpah is opening the floodgates. I think it was highly irresponsible of him.