This thread will end with Willard, my hero, but for now I am in a world of Kutzian morality. In the coming days, I will review some of the most disturbing, repulsive and forbidden movies ever made. Some of these were banned for a good reason. Some of them continue to be banned or available in mainstream only in heavily cut versions. But I will review the uncut versions. Some of them could be B-grade horror porn, whereas others are great movies that are just beyond social acceptability.

These film-makers went too far and went all the way. And so will be my choice of movies for the next few days. When I return, I will review two mainstream movies that I am going to watch, in the movies thread– The Birds and 2001 A Space Odyssey. The first review is a repeat from the movies thread, but it is here for the sake of completeness.
Again these movies are not for everyone. In fact, these movies are not for most people. You are warned!

Cannibal Holocaust * (1980)

IMDB Link = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078935/

This cult movie is banned in most countries. For a good reason. This is the goriest, most repulsive and sickening movie I have ever seen. It features cannibalism and (real) animal killings. No director would make a movie like this today. As horrible it is to watch it, credit must be given to the director for making a bold movie, completely ignoring the timid morality and hypocrisy of film-making ethics. A kind review of this film can be found here

Irreversible *** (2002)

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0290673

The story is told in reverse chronology. On a casual observation, this looks like a bad idea because the most intense scenes are at the beginning. The movie gets tamer as it progresses. But the real genius lies in the fact that as we get to see the past, the tragedy in subsequent events is revealed in retrospect. Very intense and disturbing movie and (for a lack of a better word) beautiful at the same time. The camera work is noteworthy with its constant and rapid movement, often wandering and then returning to the subject. Must watch – highly recommended.

Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma (Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom) * (1975)

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073650/

This banned Italian film takes the crown for atrocious and disgusting fetish porn. But mentioning just that is doing the movie injustice. It is an exploration of cruelty stemming out of boredom and abundance. It tells the story of sexual perversion and depravity in Nazi/fascist occupied Italy. What starts out and continues to be a ludicrous fetish movie, ends in absolute brilliance. Watch it only if you can withstand watching stuff like eating crap.

Firstly, why haven't you posted this in General Discussion on the film board? I think it would benefit both this thread and the board in general if you did.

Secondly, I admire what you're doing by exploring these. I think a lot of these films are easily dismissed a lot of the time as just pornographic gimmicks, to see how far they can push boundaries. Sometimes, it may well be a valid criticism. But then you might find a film with real complexity and meaning to be found in it, not only in its subject matter but the manner in which it treats it. Anyone can make a film about someone eating shit, but to link it to political and social allegory takes a brave, confident and rare talent.

I'd recommend A Hole in My Heart by Lukas Moodysson. I found in it unfavourable comparisons to Godard's Weekend, with consumerism and capitalism attacked with the same ferocious energy but the gimmicky need to "shock". I say gimmicky because that was my criticism at the time, and it was an ill-informed one; I'd like to see it again.

Irréversible, like I said, would be in my top ten if I ever get round to doing that list.

Two core thoughts: Godard once said, "Cinema is Death", because the camera records someone in the process of dying. One take begins, one take ends, in between the subject has erroded, aged, moved towards its death. And of course, Noé's film begins with "Le temps détruit tout" - Time destroys everything. We're watching a film shot in single takes, with the story moving backwards and the narrative (as all narratives must do) moving forwards, towards its own ending, its own death, and the story's beginning, its birth. It's a fucking tragic film, absolutely devastating. I connect with it on so many levels - philosophically (fatalism, nihilism), thematically (violence, sexuality, masculinity), aesthetically (long-takes, incredible use of colour, and the sound design is probably the best since Eraserhead); the acting is tremendous, too - overlooked on a first watch, multiple revisits has taken real pleasure watching the relationship between three people - the lovers and their friend, with complexity added in that the friend is an ex-lover too. The conversation in the elevator, and then on the train, is subtly done and well-performed.

Capo, thanks for the inputs, I will post these parallely in both the boards, from tonight.
I woke up thinking about this Irreversible scene today.

Although it's probably not what you had in mind, I envisioned "Seven Beauties" by the inimitable Lina Wertmuller. This film is, to say the least, disturbing, and could easily qualify as a sadomasochistic horror flic, were it not for the brilliant cast (led by the great Giancarlo Giannini) and the continous thread of humor and absurdity that are so characteristic of Italian cinema at its finest. The Italians excel at finding humanity in even the darkest situations, and "Pasqualino Settebellezze" personifies it.

Thanks Turnbull for the suggestion, I'll watch it sometime.

The Last House On The Left (no stars) (1972)

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068833/

A rotten apple in my basket, this is a huge disappointment. This is banned in alot of places, but I don't know why. Firstly this is a very tame movie. Most violence is not shown directly. And secondly, but more importantly, this was a goofy execution of what could have been a great movie. The plot is almost identical to the scenes at "The Home" in A Clockwork Orange. The music is terrible and is totally inappropriate for the emotions conveyed. Further, there is a lot of comedy in the movie that spoil the pace. Some think of this movie as a dark comedy, but I do not agree with them.

I think wetdog on the film boards loves it. Post over there!

LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT is a case where its notoriety is more infamous than the actual film itself.

Hell, Craven initially titled it SEX CRIME OF THE CENTURY. It was always exploitation-junk.

For the FCM members, I will be posting these there in parallel.

Pink Flamingos ** (1972)

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069089/

I was never a fan of dark humor movies. This one takes dark humor to extreme, adds some really outrageous x-rated material and assaults your sensibilities with some of the most disgusting stuff possible. It never tries to be profound at any point, but at the same time it is a clever satire at the society and the extremes people go to be noticed as in reality shows. Bold attempt, but as one of the promotional titles reads, it is an exercise in bad taste

I agree with you, it was a huge disappointment and don't see what the big deal about it was. I gave it either zero or 1/2 a star

Day of the woman / I spit on your grave (no stars) (1978)

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077713/

Banned in most countries, but can anyone tell me why? A bit explicit, but an ordinary exploitation movie from 70s. Safely skip this one.

Baise-Moi (no stars) (2000)

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0249380/

A mediocre porn comedy (don't think it is intentional) trying to masquerade as a mainstream drama. It looks like an amateur video, but has been nominated for awards in a few film festivals. Laughable at best.

Jag är nyfiken - en film i gult (I am curious - Yellow) ** (1967)

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061834/

This movie finds a place here only because I watched it as a part of my recent exploration of banned movies. Otherwise this is unlike many of the movies listed above. It is a swedish movie about a free spirited girl who wants to explore different political and personal beliefs. It would help if you know the 1969 political scenario in Sweden. It is an intelligent movie, but is somewhat boring. I watched it in two sittings and that helped. This movie is apparently important from a historical standpoint, but that is not something I am too concerned about. Good quality movie, probably meriting a rewatch. BTW, the controversy regarding this movie was because of explicit nudity.

Vase De Noces/ Wedding Trough/ The Pig Fucking Movie **** (1974)

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072355/

I am almost in tears as I type this. Most of the movies reviewed before this are just plain gory or disgusting. Though this has all that, it is an extremely tragic and sad story. This is in spite of it not having a single line of dialogue and me watching a very poor quality print. It is not a silent movie, but the sounds are just the background music and some animal sounds. I won't recommend this to anyone. And that is a compliment.

How'd you see that? I'd love to...

Torrent/emule blah blah illegal download stuff, an extremely crappy quality version is floating around. This was never released in VHS/DVD. It was last shown in 2006 in Bradford film festival. It is almost impossible to find it. I don't know why I watched it, I am still extremely disturbed and in some surreal world. I never felt like this before, maybe I should have watched it with some goofy friends and they would have made fun of all the scenes and I wouldn't have got affected. I wanted to take a break and came to school in the night, but I can't work. I am planning to go to cinema in an hour and watch "Lucky You" featuring Robert Duvall. I need a break seriously. Sorry for the rant, but I needed to vent.

The House on the Edge of the Park (No stars) (1980)

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080503/

This is a plain B-movie with no reason to be banned. Ruggero Deodato, who made Cannibal Holocaust, directed this movie. This is a big disappointment in every way. Neither does it explore any new theme, nor is it big on shock value. This has a plot resembling that of "Last house on the left" but is executed in a much more b-gradish way. Only redeeming point is the twist at the end of the movie.

Cutting Moments ** (1997)

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0159391/

This is a series of 5 short movies, with lengths varying between 5 min to 25 min. I must say that I haven't watched short movies before and had no idea what to expect. All the movies deal with boredom, depression, banality and general pointlessness of things. I somehow relate to the themes very much. As far as gore is concerned, it is rather very minimal and powerful in the only scene where it is really graphic. This movie needs to be watched more for its subject treatment than for shock value. Recommended.


EDIT: An FCM board member, wetdog, pointed out this to me:

August Underground's Mordum * (2003)

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0410332/

This movie has been shot entirely with a hand-held camera and is extremely shaky, giving an impression as though it is a real video. That is the only high point in this movie. This is probably the most extreme anyone can go in making highly disgusting movies. You won't believe the stuff they show - like having sex with disemboweled corpses and other similar gross stuff. if you can sit through the movie without puking, it is an achievement. I really mean it. BTW, there is no real plot or anything.

Describe some of the stuff!

With this I wind up my reviews of some of the most extreme movies ever made. Though it is not the most appropriate word, I enjoyed the journey. I learnt a bit more about myself through this journey. What are my moral boundaries? how much is too much? Should art be ever censored? Is it even art? Not that these questions have a clear cut answer, but I explored them nevertheless. It is safe to say that I don't plan to revisit this territory anytime soon. I hope you liked my reviews or atleast gained more insight into these otherwise inaccessible movies.

I love John Waters' movies -- try Female Trouble (1974) next

In your own words, it is a medium that cannot be described easily with words. Watch the movie, I dare you

Responses can't be described in words; that's how rich and irrational Art is.

But subject matter can be described...