See No Evil: Banned Films Throughout the World

After my last post about Cannibal Holocaust, I was curious as to how many movies have actually been banned. After countless hours of hard-focused research (Wikipedia.org) I have found records of movies banned from all countries. So I thought I would share some that I found interesting! 

We'll start here in the United States.

1908: "The James Boys in Missouri" and "Night Riders" are banned in Chicago

1915: "The Birth of a Nation" banned in Chicago, Cleveland,Pittsburgh, and St. Louis

1917: "Birth Control"

1919 -1920: "Within Our Gates" banned in Chicago, New Orleans, and Omaha for depliction of interracial rape, lynching, and racial discrimination

1926: "The Red Kimono" banned in Chicago

1928: "The Racket" banned in Chicago

1931: "Frankenstein" banned in Kansas for cruelty

1932: "Scarface" a gangster movie set in Chicago, banned in Chicago

1936-1966: "The Maltese Falcon" 1931 Version

1945: "Scarlet Street" banned in New York

1949: "Pinky" banned in Marshall, Texas for portrayal of an interracial couple

1953: "The Moon is Blue" banned in Jersey City, New Jersey as indecent and obsene

1961: "Victim" banned in many cities due to language

1968-1991: "Titicut Follies" is banned for violation of privacy of prison inmates it filmed

1969: "I Am Curious(Yellow)" is banned as pornography

1984: "Silent Night, Deadly Night" banned after protest from the Parent-Teacher Association

1987: "Superstar:The Karen Carpenter Story" is banned for copyright infringement

1988:"The last Temptation of Christ" is banned in Savannah

1997: "The Tin Drum" banned in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma as Child Pornography

2002: "The Profit" banned involving legal matters

IRAN

Any film depicting Homosexuality, Gay Rights, or anti-islamic attitudes is banned outright in Iran

1956: "The king & I"

1968: "Oliver!"

1971: "A Clockwork Orange"

1973: "The Exorcist"

1977:"Saturday Night Fever"  ??????

1980: "Cannibal Holocaust"

1982: "The Dark Crystal"

1983: "Scarface"

1989: "Pet Sematary", "Glory", and "Back to the Future 2"

1990: "Henry & June"

1993: "Schindler's List"

1994: "The Naked Gun"

1995: "Showgirls"

1997: "Boogie Nights" and "Liar, Liar" for portraying adultery as being legal

1999: "South Park:The Movie", "Three Kings", and "Anna and the King"

2001: "Zoolander" seen as provoking Gay Rights

2002: "Pinocchio" ??? and "Cowboy Bebop:Knocking on Heaven's Door" 

2003: "Bruce Almighty" and "Matrix Revolutions"

2004: "Fahrenheit 9/11", "Catwoman", "Passion of the Christ", and "Harold & Kumar go to White Castle"

2005: "The 40 year old Virgin", "Sin City" and "Brokeback Mountain"

2006: "The Da Vinci Code", "Alexander", "Talladega Nights", "Borat", and "300"

2007: "The Kingdom"

2008: "Meet the Spartans", "You don't mess with the Zohan"

SWEDEN

1922-1972 : "Nosferatu" 

1981: "Mad Max"

1984-1999: "Cannibal Holocaust"

1997: "Texas Chainsaw Massacre:The Next Generation"

CHINA

1960: "Ben-Hur"

1994: "To Live"

1997: "Kundun" regarded as Tibetan nationalism is banned outright along with director Martin Scorsese

1997: "Seven Years in Tibet" banned outright along with actors Brad Pitt and David Thewlis for life

2000: "Devils on the Doorstep"

2005: "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life"

2006: "Memoirs of a Geisha" over concerns it could rouse anti-Japanese sentiment

2006: "Brokeback Mountain" for Homosexuality

2006: "The Departed"

2006: "Over the Hedge"

2007: "Pirates of the caribbean: At World's End

Malaysia has banned more films than any other country. While Afghanistan, Argentina, Brazil, Denmark, Hellas, Portugal, Romania, Samoa, Switzerland, and Zimbabwe have only banned one film each in their history. 

Cannibal Holocaust has been banned in more countries than any other film.

Check Wikipedia.org for a full complete list of banned movies.