10 Most Divisive Films Of All Time

Mel Gibson's The Passion Of The Christ, like Noe's Irreversible, polarised audiences and critics alike for its focus on excessive violence, although in this instance it was a case of violence being sustained throughout much of the running time, rather than a few instances of sporadic yet brutal gore.

Throw religion into the mix as well and Gibson's film was inevitably going to enter a maelstrom of division. Some claimed that it was an antisemitic tract (which Gibson's infamous drunken outburst seemed to validate in the eyes of many). It was little more than an exercise in torture porn attempting to dress itself up as something more meaningful by wearing the garb of spirituality.

The Passion Of The Christ was also, at the time of its release, the highest grossing R-rated movie of all time. While many of those who saw it no doubt went to feel enraged at such a sacrilegious work of so-called "art", many others saw it as a visually stunning period piece which speaks to the suffering of Christ like nothing else.

As a near real time account of Christ's final moments, its fans see it as a transcendental work of pure cinema which hasn't been surpassed. Quite at odds with those who describe it as little more than "Jesus gets beaten up. Horribly."