Sometimes movies take things too far for audiences, and these are the nude scenes that rocked film festivals, critics, and the world at large!
Birth (2004)
In Birth Nicole Kidman believes that her dead husband has been reincarnated as a ten-year-old boy. They take a bath together and even kiss! We can see her nipple in another scene in which she has sex with her fiancé. Sorry dude, you're being replaced by a ten-year-old.
The Brown Bunny (2003)
Chloë Sevigny appears twice on this list. In The Brown Bunny director Vincent Gallo - Chloe's ex - directed her to actually suck his penis on screen! He did more than director, he face f**ked her. Roger Ebert crowned The Brown Bunny as the worst movie to ever debut at Cannes, and critics across the board agreed with him at the time. Still, it's certainly memorable...
The Human Centipede (2009)
Speaking of Roger Ebert, the legendary critic famously refused to assign a rating to The Human Centipede, stating:
I am required to award stars to movies I review. This time, I refuse to do it. The star rating system is unsuited to this film. Is the movie good? Is it bad? Does it matter? It is what it is and occupies a world where the stars don't shine.
Last Tango In Paris (1972)
Barnardo Bertolucci's most infamous movie Last Tango in Paris will forever be remembered for its controversial butter fingering scene. Maria Schneider didn't mince words when describing the mistreatment she endured from her costar Marlon Brando and Bertolucci himself. You can read all about this controversial movie HERE.
Irreversible (2002)
The brutally violent, and for many all but unwatchable, ten-minute opening sequence of Gaspar Noé's Irreversible caused audience members at Cannes to exit the theater in droves. A reported 200 of the 2,400 people in attendance stormed out in disgust.
Kids (1995)
We promised another Chloë Sevigny appearance on this list! Director Larry Clark is no stranger to pushing buttons, and the teens gone wild movie Kids was accused of everything you could imagine from a flick depicting underage teens having tons of sex. Watch out parents, it's the naughty 90s.
Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
Did you really think we'd create a list of the most controversial movies with nudity without including Cannibal Holocaust? This is one of many cannibal-sploitation movies peppering the 80s. (You can read our in-depth article on cannibal-sploitation movies HERE). The rumors of the movie depicting human murder were of course debunked, but animals were actually murdered in some of the scenes. In fact a scene depicting the death of a monkey needed to be shot twice, meaning that two monkeys were killed. And that's not even mentioning the graphic sex.
The Devils (1971)
Ken Russell's The Devils originally included a scene in which nuns have sex with a statue of Christ. The sacrilegious shot was quickly removed from the movie after its initial release, and has been the stuff of online cinema buff lore for decades.
I Spit On Your Grave (1978)
All you need to know about I Spit On Your Grave is that it includes a gratuitous 30-minutes long (Yup, the length of an episode of Friends) gang sexual assault scene.
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
We didn't want to make this list too 1970s-heavy, but this was the decade of film auteurs who pushed the boundaries of the medium... often further than audiences were ready to embrace. The film's director Stanley Kubrick actually had A Clockwork Orange pulled from theaters after the British media reported multiple real-world copycat crimes. While the movie is a satire on violence, some people used the film's violent scenes as inspiration for heinous real-world crimes. You can read more about it HERE.
Hit the gallery below to see the highlights (or lowlights, depending on your perspective) from these ten controversial films with nudity!
