10 Films That Were Too Shocking For Audiences
8. Deep Throat
The most famous porn film of all time, Deep Throat was banned in the UK until 2000 – nearly 30 years after it was first shown in US cinemas. Given an R18 certificate, the uncut version was only available in licensed sex shops while a trimmed version saw a wider release.
At the US box office in 1971, Deep Throat was more popular than either James Bond or Dirty Harry, made more money than pictures directed by Stanley Kubrick and Sam Peckinpah, and became the first stag movie to be reviewed by Roger Ebert. The illicit had entered the American mainstream.
The New York Times coined the term “Porno Chic” to describe the burgeoning interest of middle class couples in hard-core, while in All The President’s Men, Deep Throat became the nickname of the Watergate whistle blower (the film won four Oscars and was credited by Ronald Reagan with losing the Republicans the 1976 election).
The illicit had entered the mainstream – at least, unless you were British.