Realistic violence, torture, sexual assault. Then, to top it all off, a real turtle gets maimed, killed, and eaten on screen. Created by Italian director Ruggero Deodato, Cannibal Holocaust is often described as the most controversial movie ever made. Shot in a fake documentary movie style, the 1980 flick depicted white Americans travelling to the Amazon and being set upon by a murderous indigenous tribe—and carried a message about the media's relationship with sensationalised violence.
Today, it's considered a cult classic, but on release it was banned in almost 50 countries. Legendary Italian director Sergio Leone reportedly sent Deodato a letter praising the film, but warning him: "I think you will get in trouble with all the world". This would be an understatement, as it turned out—shortly after, the director was arrested on charges of obscenity and mass murder. The violence was deemed so realistic that the cast, sent into hiding by Deodato as a marketing stunt, was believed by some to have actually been killed during filming. On his arrest, Deodato was forced to make some hasty phone calls to his supposed victims to avoid jail time.
