4. Blue Velvet
David Lynch directed one of the greatest films of all time with 1986's Blue Velvet. Lynch took America's idealization of small town life to task by showing the violent underbelly beneath the facade of respectability. America didn't take kindly to Lynch's blunt depiction of female sexual degradation and a national firestorm of controversy erupted. Film critic Roger Ebert gave the movie one star, condemning Lynch's treatment of star Isabella Rossellini. Blue Velvet's critical standing has only grown in the years since its release but few films have ever been as divisive.