10 Most Controversial British TV Films

Perhaps no film on this list better encapsulates just how radical the television play form could be, considering that Elephant is 37 minutes with little dialogue, little plot, and unrelenting focus on realistically portrayed political violence. Suffice to say, it ruffled a few feathers and still retains its power to disturb.

Another Alan Clarke film and produced by Danny Boyle, the film is designed to represent the 'elephant in the room' of the Troubles. As mentioned, there is little in the way of traditional plot; instead, Clarke depicts a series of political killings during the Troubles by focusing solely on the act of violence itself, rather than the context and narrative justifications for such acts. The result is a masterpiece of television, but one that is relentless and difficult to swallow even today.

With a prominent use of steadicam, each of the killings follows the same grammar, so to speak: we follow the killer as the approach their victim, kill them, then leave. Repeat. Writing about watching the broadcast, filmmaker David Leland remembered thinking 'stop, Alan, you can't keep doing this,' and that one's gut reaction is that the killing must stop.