12 People Who Totally Broke The Law To Make Great Movies

4. Cannibal Holocaust Killed A Spider With A Machete

Some cynics might rub their hands with glee at the idea that Cannibal Holocaust was a crime against decent film-making: the infamous exploitation film is an abomination in film-making terms and a slog to watch, which has seemingly picked up perverse cult status because of not what it is but what it represents. Its greatness is very much a matter of opinion, but it's importance is assured.

So convincing was the film's outrageous content that people genuinely thought the murders involved were real. And while it was basically proved that they weren't, the director genuinely did command the savage murder of several animals, including beheading a monkey and killing a spider with a machete.

Clearly those crimes against the animal kingdom would have seen him locked up today, and it was for animal cruelty and the added crime of obscenity that the director, the producers and United Artists were given a four month suspended sentence.