20 Most Controversial Movies Of All Time
5. Salo; Or, The 120 Days Of Sodom
Heavily symbolic of the corruption and destruction fascist Italy brought down upon its citizens, Pier Paolo Pasolinis Salo has the benefit of being highly acclaimed by many who've seen it. It also has the distinction of being banned or censored in a number of countries for its depictions of a brutal ritual of torture and sexual abuse handed down to a group of teenagers.
Based on The 120 Days of Sodom by the Marquis de Sade, Salo follows a group of distinguished Italian politicians and religious officials who gather eighteen youths (9 men, 9 women), and then perform increasingly humiliating and degrading acts upon them for their own amusement. These offenses range from forced consumption of human waste to having their eyes and tongues carved out.
Unrelentingly violent and cruel, Salo has also been hailed as a masterpiece by many filmmakers and organizations, including the always cheerful Michael Haneke.