List of banned films

For nearly the entire history of film production, certain films have been banned by film censorship or review organizations for political or moral reasons or for controversial content, such as racism. Censorship standards vary widely by country, and can vary within an individual country over time due to political or moral change.

Many countries have government-appointed or private commissions to censor and rate productions for film and television exhibition. While it is common for films to be edited to fall into certain rating classifications, this list includes only films that have been explicitly prohibited from public screening. In some countries, films are banned on a wide scale; these are not listed in this table.

Afghanistan[]

Date	Title	Notes
1996–2001	All	During the five-year reign of the Islamic Emirate government in Afghanistan, watching film or television was prohibited.[1][2][3]

Albania[]

Date	Title	Notes
1980–1990	Pas vdekjes (After Death)	Banned for ten years under Communist government.[4]

Arab League[]

Date	Title	Notes
1959	Ben-Hur	Banned from all Arab League states because actress Haya Harareet was Israeli.[5]
1960	Exodus	Banned in the United Arab Republic due to actor Paul Newman's "material support for Zionism and Israel".[5]
2017	Wonder Woman	Pulled from distribution in Lebanon before premiere on account of the film's lead star Gal Gadot's service in the Israeli Army, leading to a campaign against her and in accordance with a decades-old law that boycotts Israeli products and bars Lebanese citizens from traveling to Israel or having contacts with Israelis. Lebanon and Israel are also in a state of war.[6] Due to the Arab League boycott of Israel, it is also banned in Qatar and Tunisia.[7][8]

Argentina[]

Date	Title	Notes
1941	I'll Never Heil Again	Banned during the conservative period of authoritarian governments known as "Infamous Decade" (1930–1943), for lampooning Nazi Germany; Argentina had declared itself neutral during World War Two.[9]
1963	The Silence	Banned because of "obscenity".[10]
1972	Last Tango in Paris	Banned during the self-styled "Argentine Revolution" dictatorship (1966–1973), for being "pornographic".[10]
1974	La Patagonia rebelde (Rebel Patagonia)	Banned under Isabel Perón's government (1974–1976) and Jorge Rafael Videla's regime during Argentina's last-civil military dictatorship (1976–1983). The historical film is about the suppression of a peasants' revolt, known as "Tragic Patagonia".[10]
1976	Last Days of Mussolini (1974)	Banned under Videla's regime during Argentina's last-civil military dictatorship (1976–1983).[11][12][13]
1976	The Great Dictator (1940)	Banned under Videla's regime during Argentina's last-civil military dictatorship (1976–1983), for mocking dictatorships.[10]
1978	Las largas vacaciones del '36 (Long Vacations of 36)	Banned under Videla's regime during Argentina's last-civil military dictatorship (1976–1983), for its sarcastic view of Francoist Spain.[10]
1978	Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977)	Banned under Videla's regime during Argentina's last-civil military dictatorship (1976–1983), for being "pornographic".[10]
1978	Pretty Baby	Banned under Videla's regime during Argentina's last-civil military dictatorship (1976–1983), for being "pornographic".[10]
1979	Coming Home (1978)	Banned under Videla's regime during Argentina's last-civil military dictatorship (1976–1983), for its anti-war message.[10]
1979	The House on Garibaldi Street	Banned under Videla's regime during Argentina's last-civil military dictatorship (1976–1983), because it depicts the hunt for Nazi criminal Adolf Eichmann.[10]
1985	Je vous salue, Marie (Hail Mary)	Banned due to "blasphemous" and sexual content.[14]
1988	The Last Temptation of Christ	Banned for being considered as "blasphemy".[15][16][17]
1989	Kindergarten	Banned for its controversial themes, scenes of nudity and unsimulated oral sex. A court order required all copies of the film to be seized and a ban on its exhibition.[18] The film was finally shown in a restored copy in 2010, as part of the Mar del Plata International Film Festival.[19]

Australia[]

Date	Title	Notes
1972	Pink Flamingos	Banned on its initial release until the 1980s due to offensive content.[20]
1975–1992	Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom	Banned on its initial release,[10] but lifted after seventeen years.[21]
1976–2000	In the Realm of the Senses	Banned because of obscenity, though a censored version was made available in 1977. Only in 2000 did it finally become available in its complete cut.[22][23]
2003	Ken Park	Banned and refused classification in 2003 for graphic depictions of teenage sex, incest, and auto-erotic asphyxiation.[24]
2011	The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)	Temporarily banned for cruel, disturbing, and sexually explicit content. A censored DVD version was later released on February 23, 2012.[25][26][27][28][29][30]

Azerbaijan[]

Date	Title	Notes
2011	Hostage (Azerbaijani)	Banned because the plot presents Armenians in a positive light.[31][unreliable source?]

Bahrain[]

Date	Title	Notes
2007	The Kingdom	Banned because of an inaccurate depiction of a 1996 bombing in Saudi Arabia.[32]
2014	Noah	Banned due to depiction of prophets.[33]
2021	Eternals	Banned due to the film's character of Phastos and his husband.[34]

Belgium[]

Date	Title	Notes
1940–1945	La Kermesse Heroïque (Carnival in Flanders) (1935)	Banned in Nazi-occupied Belgium by Joseph Goebbels because of its pacifist themes. The director, Jacques Feyder, was later hunted down for arrest but managed to hide in Switzerland.[35]
1976–1994	In the Realm of the Senses	Banned on its initial release because of its graphic sex scenes, being the last film subject to censorship in the country.[36] It was the only European country at that time where the film was banned.[37][38] Since 1994[39] the ban is no longer in effect.[40]

Brazil[]

Date	Title	Notes
1940–1946	The Great Dictator	Banned by the Getúlio Vargas dictatorship for being "communist" and "demoralizing the Armed Forces".[41]
1969–2017	El Justicero	Film banned in 1969 for criticizing the ruling military dictatorship. The original 35mm film was seized by the authorities and later destroyed.[42][43] For these reasons, the film was lost until 2017, when a 16mm copy was restored and re-released in DVD in Brazil.[44][45][46]
1971–1978	A Clockwork Orange	Banned during the military dictatorship for containing obscenity and "promiscuous content". A censored version of black polka dots covering the breasts and genitals of the actors in the nude scenes became available in the country in 1978.[47][48]
1972–1979	Last Tango in Paris	Banned during the military dictatorship for containing obscene scenes that were considered by the government as an "attempt against morality and good habits". Ban lifted in 1979.[49][50]
1974–1980	The Texas Chain Saw Massacre	Banned during the military dictatorship for containing violent scenes that were considered by the government as an "attempt against morality and good habits". Ban lifted in the early 1980s.[51][52]
1975–1980	Iracema: Uma Transa Amazônica	Banned during the military dictatorship for explicit sexual content.[53]
1979	Di Cavalcanti	Banned due to a court decision obtained by the adopted daughter of the painter Di Cavalcanti, Elizabeth Di Cavalcanti, alleging that her father's image was violated due to the film containing scenes from the painter's funeral and burial.[54][55] However, in 2004, members of the family of the filmmaker Glauber Rocha, made the work available in full version on a server outside Brazil, to circumvent the film's ban.[56]
1982–1983	Pra Frente, Brasil	Banned at the time of its release for containing political criticism of the military dictatorship.[57] Ban lifted a year later.[58]
1985–1988	Je vous salue, Marie	Banned during the government of president José Sarney for containing blasphemy against the Christian faith.[59] Ban lifted after the promulgation of the new Brazilian Constitution in 1988.[60]
1993	Beyond Citizen Kane	Banned in Brazil due to a lawsuit filed by Roberto Marinho.[61]
2011–2012	A Serbian Film	Banned due to it being an "apology for pedophilia" and extreme violence.[62] The film was shown at the VII Fantastic Film Festival in Porto Alegre and was selected for the Fantastic Film Festival in Rio de Janeiro.[63][64] However, it was removed from the event's schedule by order of Caixa, the festival's sponsor. A new screening of the film was scheduled by the organizers of the event outside the festival,[65] but the copy of the film was seized by a court order, thanks to a lawsuit filed by the regional office of the Democrats party.[66] Ban lifted in July 2012.[67]

Bulgaria[]

Date	Title	Notes
1967–1990	Privarzaniyat balon (The Tied Up Balloon)	Banned during the Communist era for criticizing the communist leaders during World War II.[68][69][70] After Bulgaria became a democratic nation again, in 1990, the ban was lifted.[68][70]

Cambodia[]

Date	Title	Notes
2013	The Wolf of Wall Street	Banned for putting Cambodia in a negative light.[71]
2014	Who Killed Chea Vichea?	Banned for investigating the mysterious 2004 assassination of Chea Vichea, one of Cambodia's most influential union leaders who spent years fighting for increased wages and improved working conditions for the nation's 300,000 garment workers.[72]
2015	Fifty Shades of Grey	Banned for "insane romance, numerous sex sequence, the use of violence during sex" and for being "entirely related to sexual matters that are too extreme for Khmer society".[73][74]
2015	No Escape	Banned for its "negative portrayal of local culture".[75][76]
2017	Kingsman: The Golden Circle	Banned for portraying Cambodia as a base for the movie's antagonists.[77]
2021	Methagu	Banned for request of the Sri Lankan government after depicted biographic of Velupillai Prabhakaran Leader of LTTE[78]

Canada[]

Chile[]

China[]

Czechoslovakia[]

Date	Title	Notes
1966	The Hand	Banned by the Czechoslovak Communist government from 1969-1989.[79]
1966	Daisies	Banned under the Communist regime for "depicting the wanton".[80][81] The film's director, Věra Chytilová, was forbidden from working again until 1975.[81][82]
1966–1988	A Report on the Party and the Guests	Banned from 1966 to 1968 because of its political satire. After a short release during the Prague Spring, it was banned again for the next twenty years. In 1974, director Jan Němec emigrated.[83]
1967	The Firemen's Ball	Banned by the Czechoslovak Communist government in 1968 for "mocking the working class".[83][84][better source needed] Director Miloš Forman relocated to the United States.
1968	Deserters and Pilgrims (also known as The Deserters and the Nomads)	Banned by the Czechoslovak Communist government.[83]
1969	Funeral Ceremonies (Smuteční slavnost)	Banned by the Czechoslovak Communist government.[83]
1969	The Seventh Day, The Eighth Night (Den sedmý, osmá noc)	Banned by the Czechoslovak Communist government.[83][85]
1969–1989	Dull Sunday	Banned by the Czechoslovak Communist government for twenty years, with its director, Drahomíra Vihanová, being banned from making new films until 1977.[83]
1969–1989	The Cremator	Banned by the Czechoslovak Communist government from 1969 until 1989 because this black comedy depicts a crematorium director who enjoys burning people and sides with the Nazis during the Holocaust..[86][87][88]
1969–1989	All My Compatriots (also known as All My Countrymen)	Banned by the Czechoslovak Communist government.[83] Its director, Vojtěch Jasný went into exile.
1969–1989	Birds, Orphans and Fools	Banned by the Czechoslovak Communist government for depicting three people orphaned by political violence and trying to mentally survive, despite not being free.[83]
1969–1989	Larks on a String	Banned until the fall of the Communist government in 1989.[89][90]
1970	Hlídač (Prison Guard)	Banned by the Czechoslovak Communist government.[83]
1970	Fruit of Paradise	Banned by the Czechoslovak Communist government for its shocking content. Its director, Věra Chytilová, was forbidden from making new films for eight years.[83][91]
1970	Witchhammer	Banned by the Czechoslovak Communist government.[83]
1970–1989	Ucho (The Ear)	Banned by the Czechoslovak Communist government until 1989, because the story depicts a couple who think they are under government surveillance.[83]
1971	Nahota (Naked)	Banned by the Czechoslovak Communist government.[83]
1972	Case for a Rookie Hangman	Banned by the Czechoslovak Communist government for its satirical depiction of Czech society, which meant the end of the director Pavel Juráček's career.[83][92]
1972	Leonardo's Diary	Banned by the Communist government for depicting life in Czechoslovakia in a critical light. Its director, Jan Švankmajer, was banned from working for five years.[93]
1975	The Apple Game	Banned by the Czechoslovak Communist government. The director, Věra Chytilová, personally asked for more information at the censor board and heard that the Soviet embassy felt the subject matter was "too heavy-duty".[83]
1977–1989	Castle of Otranto	Banned by the Czechoslovak Communist government after its director, Jan Švankmajer, refused to change anything about the film. Government censors objected to its mockumentary tone, which could undermine peoples' faith in the TV news. Švankmajer himself was banned from making films for eight years.[94]
1982	Dimensions of Dialogue	Banned because the Communist government censors didn't like its criticism of consumerism. The ban was more than likely also a result of its director, Jan Švankmajer, having been banned twice before in the past.[93]
1983–1989	Straka v hrsti (A Magpie in the Hand)	Banned by the Communist government because the film was based on a script by Antonín Přidal, an author who was banned by the government, and because it featured the subversive rock band Pražský výběr.[88]

Democratic Republic of the Congo[]

Date	Title	Notes
2015	L'Homme Qui Repare Les Femmes (The Man Who Mends Women)	Banned without a reason given. The documentary is about Congolese gynaecologist Denis Mukwege, whose hospital treats rape victims.[95]

Denmark[]

Date	Title	Notes
1930	The Skeleton Dance	Banned initially in 1930 because the censors deemed the film "too macabre" for kids.[96] Today the ban is no longer in effect.

Egypt[]

Date	Title	Notes
1968	Funny Girl	Banned because the Egyptian Muslim lead (Omar Sharif) is portrayed in a romantic storyline with Jewish actress Barbra Streisand. Streisand's political support for Israel at the height of military tensions between Egypt and Israel was also a factor.[97][98]
2006	The Da Vinci Code	Banned because of blasphemous content.[21]
2014	Halawet Rooh (Sweetness of Soul)	Banned right after screening the film in cinemas, after criticism over scenes deemed sexually provocative. The movie was criticized for copying Giuseppe Tornatore's movie Malèna (2000) starring Italian actress Monica Bellucci.[99][100]

Fiji[]

Date	Title	Notes
2009		Banned due to racial themes towards Fijians.[101]

Finland[]

Date	Title	Notes
1930–1952	Battleship Potemkin	Banned out of fear of inciting a Communist revolution.[9][102]
1943–1945	Mrs. Miniver	Banned during World War II.[103]
1943–1950	Johnny Eager	Banned during World War II and finally released on March 31, 1950.[104]
1955–1959	Rififi	Banned for its depiction of cracking security safes. The government feared it might inspire copycat crimes. The ban was lifted after five years.[15][better source needed]
1960–1981	Peeping Tom	Banned for 21 years.[15][better source needed]
1962–1986	One, Two, Three	Banned for 24 years due to its political satire, which could offend their ally and neighbouring country, the Soviet Union. (Finland had a policy of Finlandization).[105][106]
1969-1989	The Great Silence	Banned by the Finnish Board of Film in June 1969 for violence.[107] Ban was lifted in February 1989 after several minutes of cuts. The film was still rated as K18 (suitable for adults only) and as such VHS versions of the film were also not allowed. The film has never received a proper premier in Finland although it has been aired three times in television (1994, 1999 and 2009).[108]
1971–2000	The Devils	Banned on its initial release in 1971 for violence and content which could potentially be hazardous to mental health. The decision to ban was ultimately taken to highest available court which did not lift the ban. A second round of banning was then seen in 1985 and the government officials used the same exact phrasing in their decision to ban as was done 14 years earlier. The ban was finally automatically lifted after a law change in 2001.[109]
1972	One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich	Banned by the Finnish Board of Film. In 1972 and 1974 Swedish television showed the film, resulting in the Swedish television mast on the Åland Islands being shut down during the movie because Finns were banned from seeing the film. Director of the Finnish Board of Film, Jerker Eeriksson, said that the banning of the film was political because it harmed the Finnish-Soviet relationship. Finnish television showed the film in 1996 on the TV1 YLE channel.[110][111]
1972	Dirty Harry	Banned on Feb-1972 for violence and mental health reasons. The distributor challenged the banning and took the decision to ban to Finnish Supreme administrative Court which ruled against banning. After minor cuts, it was banned again. A second round of court cases (again, won by the distributor) forced the banning authorities to allow the film to be distributed. They did so but only after mandatory cuts of over three minutes. Finally in Jan-1973 the cut film premiered in Finland.[112]
1974–1996[113]	The Texas Chain Saw Massacre	Banned because of graphic violence.[114]
1976	Ultime grida dalla savana	This film is entirely banned for the inclusion of scenes of genuine human death.[citation needed]
1976–2000	Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma	Banned in 1976 for moral, mental health and appropriateness reasons. The banning renewed again in 1984 with the defined exception of two specific screenings by the Finnish Film Archive. Finally a law change in 2001 removed the ban.[115]
1980	Cruising	Banned on its initial release.[20]
1980–2000	Friday the 13th	Banned on its initial release until a law change in 2001 when it automatically reverted to a K18 (adults only) classification.[116]
1981–1991	Dead & Buried	Banned on its initial release. A considerably shortened version was allowed in 1991 with a K16 classification (allowed for persons over the age of 16).[117]
1982	Just Before Dawn	Banned for violence for 4 months until a cut version (around 2 minutes of cuts) was allowed with a classification of K18 (adults only).[118]
1986	Born American	Banned on Jan-1986 for its violence and for political reasons.[119] The political reasons were that the movie was "potentially harmful to international relations". A court appeal to Finnish Supreme administrative Court decided against the banning (after some cuts would be made) and authorities were forced to dismantle the ban (with more cuts) and the movie premiered in late Dec-1986 after a struggle of almost a year. 20 years after the movie was banned, it was revealed (by a politics researcher and academic in his book "Kohti sinipunaa") that the authorities were in fact "instructed" to ban the film and that the banning was dictated by the Soviet Union's ambassador Vladimir Sobolev.[120] Born American was the last movie in Finland to suffer banning for political reasons.
1986–2000	The House on the Edge of the Park	Banned for violence in 1986; it took six years after the film's release for any distributor to even try to get a classification. A law change in 2001 finally lifted the ban.[121]

France[]

Date	Title	Notes
1925–1953	Battleship Potemkin	Banned due to fears that it could inspire revolution.[122]
1930	L'Age d'Or	Banned in Paris by the police prefect "in the name of public order."[123]
1933–1946	Zéro de Conduite	Banned because of a plot where pupils take over a repressive school. The ban remained in effect under Nazi occupation for the same reason.[124][125]
1943	Le Corbeau	Banned from 1945 until 1947, because the film was produced under the Nazi regime with financial support too. It was also seen as a negative portrayal of French people and accused of harboring sympathies for the Vichy regime. After two years, however, the ban was lifted again.[15][better source needed][126]
1950–1990	Afrique 50	Banned for criticizing the French colonial rule. Its director, René Vautier, was condemned to one year in prison.[127][128]
1953	Les statues meurent aussi (Statues Also Die)	Banned because it suggested that Western civilization is responsible for the decline of African art. The film was seen at the Cannes Film Festival in 1953, but subsequently banned by the French censor.[10][129]
1954	Avant le déluge	Banned due to it controversial criminal content.[128]
1954–1981	Carmen Jones	Banned due to a technicality in copyright laws on order of the estate of composer Georges Bizet (on whose opera Carmen the film was based).[130][131][132]
1955–1957		Banned on its initial release. Released after two years in a censored version.[128][133]
1955–1980	Le Rendez-vous des quais	Banned for representing dockers who refused to dispatch military supplies for use in the Indochina War.[128][134]
1957–1975	Paths of Glory	Banned in France for two decades because of its critical depiction of the French army during World War I.[135]
1960	Le Petit Soldat	Banned on political grounds; the ban was lifted in 1963 with re-editing.[10][136]
1961	Tu ne tueras point	Banned for two years because it depicts a soldier during World War II who has conscientious objections.[10][137]
1965–1971	The Battle of Algiers	Banned for six years because of its pro-Algerian and anticolonial message.[10]
1965–1971	Det kære legetøj	Banned for advocating pornography.[138]
1974-1977	The Texas Chain Saw Massacre	Banned for its violent and sadistic content.[51]
1977	Camp de Thiaroye	Banned for criticizing the colonial system.[139]
2000	Baise-Moi	Banned from French cinema screens in 2000 after being given an X-rating.[140][141] Eventually, in August 2001, it was reclassified from age bracket 16 to 18.[142]
2016	Antichrist	Banned on February 3, 2016 over sexual and violent content, despite being allowed on its initial release in 2009. The ban was a result of the Catholic traditionalist pressure group who wanted the 16 rating to be reclassified to prevent minors from seeing it. A French court ruled in their favor. As a new certificate is being decided the film is now banned from all cinemas, TV broadcast and video release.[143]

Germany[]

Date	Title	Notes
1920–1945	Anders als die Andern (Different from the Others)	Banned due to homosexual themes. During the 1920s, it was restricted for viewing to doctors and medical researchers only. After Hitler came to power in 1933, it was banned again and mostly destroyed by the Nazis.[144] The film was later partially reconstructed.[145]
1929	The Barnyard Battle (1929)	Banned initially because the cats in this Mickey Mouse cartoon wear helmets that resemble German pickelhaube.[96][146] Today the ban is no longer in effect.
1930–1931 and again from 1933 to 1945	All Quiet on the Western Front (1929)	Banned in 1930 after protests but then re-admitted in a heavily censored version in 1931 after public debate.[147] After 1933, it was banned by the Nazi regime for its anti-militaristic themes [148] and being "anti-German".[149] Erich Maria Remarque's novel was also banned as well, and was among the "anti-German" books burned in bonfires.[150] At the Capitol Theatre in West Germany in 1952, the film saw its first release in 22 years.
1932–1945	Kuhle Wampe	Banned because it depicted the government, legal system, and religion in a negative light. Eventually, the ban was lifted due to protests and the film was released in a severely edited version. Six months later, Hitler came into power, causing the movie to be banned again under the Nazi regime until the end of the war. Its director, Slatan Dudow, was arrested for being a member of the Communist Party and banned from entering the country again.[151]
1933–1945	All movies starring the Marx Brothers.	Banned in Nazi Germany because the comedy stars were Jewish.[152]
1933–1945	Battleship Potemkin	Banned in Nazi Germany due to fears it could inspire Marxism.[122][153]
1933–1945	Ecstasy	Banned in Nazi Germany because of the erotic content.[154]
1933–1945	Mädchen in Uniform.	Banned in Nazi Germany because of its lesbian theme.[151]
1933–1945	The Mad Doctor	Banned in Nazi Germany, because of the horror atmosphere in this Mickey Mouse short.[155]
1933−1945	Mysterium des Geschlechtes	Banned in Nazi Germany because of the erotic content.[154]
1933−1945	Vier von der Infanterie (Westfront 1918, also known as Comrades of 1918)	Banned in Nazi Germany for being a pacifist war drama.[151]
1934–1945	M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder	Banned in Nazi Germany.[156][157]
1934–1945	Nana	Banned in Nazi Germany because of its plot, depicting a soldier visiting a prostitute, which violated the military's sensibilities and honor code.[151]
1934–1945	The Prizefighter and the Lady (1933)	Banned in Nazi Germany because Max Baer was Jewish.
1934–1945	The Testament of Dr. Mabuse	Banned in Nazi Germany for "presenting criminal acts so detailed and fascinating that they might tempt copy-cats". It also had an anti-authoritarian tone and certain dialogue of Mabuse was lifted directly from Mein Kampf.[21][125][158]
1936–1945	The Bohemian Girl	Banned in Nazi Germany, because the positive depiction of Roma people "had no place" in the Third Reich.[159]
1936–1956	Modern Times	Banned in Nazi Germany for supposedly advocating Communism.[160][161]
1937–1945	La Grande Illusion	Banned in Nazi Germany for its anti-war message. Head of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels named its director Jean Renoir "Cinematographic Enemy Number One".[162]
1938–1950	A Prussian Love Story	Banned in Nazi Germany because the plot of a love affair between the Emperor and an actress was too similar to Head of Propaganda Goebbels's own affair.[163] Even after the war it took until 1950 before the film saw a release.
1939–1945	Kitty und die Weltkonferenz (Kitty and the World Conference)	Banned in Nazi Germany despite an initially successful box office run. Following the outbreak of the Second World War that same year, Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels withdrew it from cinemas as he felt it presented a too favourable view of Great Britain.[164]
1939–1977	Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939)	The first anti-Nazi movie made in Hollywood before the start of World War II, Adolf Hitler banned it and all Warner Bros. films from exhibition throughout the remainder of his tenure as German chancellor. He reportedly planned to execute the makers of this film upon winning the war.[165] It was not publicly screened in Germany until 11 March 1977.
1939–1945	Mr. Smith Goes to Washington	Banned in Nazi Germany because it showed democracy working well.[166]
1940–1945	The Great Dictator	Banned in Nazi Germany for mocking Nazism and Hitler. During World War II, it was once shown to German soldiers in 1942: In German-occupied Yugoslavia, local guerillas sneaked a copy from Greece into an army-cinema in an act of cultural sabotage. After half of the film had been shown, German officers stopped the screening and threatened to shoot the Yugoslavian projectionist. Apparently, the film was ordered by the Reich Chancellery.[9][167] It was first shown in West Germany as late as 1958.
1940–1945	La Kermesse Heroïque (Carnival in Flanders) (1935)	Banned in Nazi Germany and Belgium by Joseph Goebbels because of its pacifist themes. The director, Jacques Feyder, was later hunted down for arrest, but managed to escape to Switzerland.[35]
1943–1949	Titanic (1943)	Banned in Nazi Germany by Joseph Goebbels because some of the scenes could demoralize the audience, despite being made by the Nazi propaganda department itself. The Allied Control Council banned the film after the war too, because of its Nazi propaganda. After the end of the occupation, the German Motion picture rating system classified it to age 12 or older and to age 6 or older with parental guidance. It was sometimes shown on German TV after the war and a censored, low quality VHS copy was released in 1992[citation needed].
1944–1945	Große Freiheit Nr. 7 (Great Freedom No. 7)	Banned in Nazi Germany. It had its premiere in occupied Prague in December 1944.[168][169]
1945	Auf Wiedersehn, Franziska! (Goodbye, Franziska!)	Banned by the Allied Forces after World War Two, because of its ending, which reminded the viewers to support the war effort. It was eventually allowed back after director Helmut Käutner was able to convince officials that the propaganda sequence was no reflection of his political ideology and was added at request of Nazi censors. Since the rest of the film was fairly a-political it was brought back in circulation, with only the propaganda end sequence removed.[169]
1945–	Der Ewige Jude (The Eternal Jew)	Banned since 1945 because of its anti-semitic Nazi propaganda content. It is exclusively allowed for use in college classrooms and other academic purposes; however, exhibitors must have formal education in "media science and the history of the Holocaust." Public use is prohibited as of 2013.[170]
1945–	Jud Süss (1940)	Banned in 1945 from German exhibition by decree of the Allied Military Occupation.[171] Director Veit Harlan was required by court order to destroy what was then believed to be the only remaining negative of Jud Süß and he reportedly did this in April 1954. A few years later, however, copies of the film began to turn up to the embarrassment of the West German government. After a lengthy investigation, it was determined that another negative existed in East Germany and it was used it to make prints that were dubbed in Arabic and distributed in Middle Eastern countries such as Egypt and Lebanon. Though that negative has never been located, it has been widely suspected that this version was produced and distributed by the Stasi or the KGB in order to arouse anti-semitism among Egyptian and Palestinians against the US backed Israel (and henceforth, support for the Soviet backed Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser).[172][173][174] The copyright of the film is held by the government-owned F.W. Murnau Foundation. The Foundation only permits screenings of the film when accompanied by an introduction explaining the historical context and the intended impact.[175]
1951	Der Untertan (film) (The Kaiser's Lackey)	Banned in western Germany because of "anticonstitutional" content.[176] Uncut version released in western Germany in 1971.
1956	Du und mancher Kamerad	Banned in western Germany because of "anticonstitutional" content.[176]
1956	Thomas Muentzer (film) (Thomas Müntzer)	Banned in western Germany because of "anticonstitutional" content.[176]
1957–1959	Paths of Glory	Banned to avoid straining relations with France.[15][better source needed]
1958	And Quiet Flows the Don	Banned in western Germany because of "anticonstitutional" content.[176] Part 1 was released in western Germany in 1959, Parts 2 and 3 were first broadcast in western German television in 1968.
1960–1965	Higher Principle	Banned in western Germany until 1965 because of "anti-German" content.[177]
1965–1990	Das Kaninchen bin ich (The Rabbit Is Me)	Banned by the East-German Communist government for its criticism of everyday life in the country. While not directly referring to politics it still was perceived as dangerous criticism of the system.[178] Due to the film's infamy all banned films in the DDR were referred to as "rabbit films". The film remained banned until Germany was unified again in 1990.[151][179]
1965–1990	Denk bloss nicht, ich heule (Just Don't Think I'll Cry)	Banned by the East-German Communist government for its criticism of the regime.[151]
1966–1989	Spur der Steine (Trace of Stones)	Banned by the East-German Communist government.[151]
1971–1989	Die Russen kommen (The Russians Are Coming)	Banned by the East-German Communist government because of its theme where a young Nazi lives in fear of the approaching Russian army. Even though the Russians are eventually portrayed in a sympathetic light, the plot was too controversial, especially three years after the Prague Spring.[151]
1974–1978	The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)	Banned in western Germany due to extreme level violence.[114]
1992	Braindead	Banned due to gory violence.[180] Although the uncut version remains banned, there are numerous DVDs of the film in circulation in Germany, most of which are heavily cut.[181]
2010	Zidan ("Prison") (1974)	Although currently the ban is not in effect, Zindan, directed by Remzi Jonturk, remains the only Turkish movie title to have ever been banned in Germany due to gore, violence and cruelty.[182][unreliable source?]
2010	Saw 3D	Banned because Tiergarten AG has noted that several scenes in the movie violate the violence act §131 StGB. Private copies are still legal to own and personal use is not punishable; however any public show of the movie is a highly prohibited and punishable act. There is a censored "Keine Jugendfreigabe/ No youth admitted" version, but it has all the violent scenes cut out. Retailing this copy is still legal, since "KJ" rated movies cannot be indexed/banned.[183]
2011	Valley of the Wolves: Palestine	Banned in Germany, because of FSK's initial concerns over the film's perceived anti-Israeli and anti-American overtones.[21][184]

Ghana[]

Date	Title	Notes
1955	Les Maîtres Fous	A documentary about the religious rituals of the Hauka tribe. Banned in Ghana and several other French and English colonies in Africa at the time because of the Africans' blatant attempts to mimic and mock the "white oppressors". On the other hand, African students, teachers, and directors found the film to perpetrate an "exotic racism" of the African people.[185][186]

Greece[]

Date	Title	Notes
1914	Golfo (1914)	Banned for its royalist sentiments.[187]
1967–1974	Z (1969)	Banned under the colonel's regime, for being critical of the junta.[188]

Hungary[]

Date	Title	Notes
1945	Jud Süss (1940)	Banned since the end of the World War II due to its anti-Jewish and pro-Nazi content.
1947–1979	Song of the Cornfields	Banned for being ‘clerical’, depiction of the controversial issue of Hungarian prisoners held by the Soviets and depicting religious values.[189]
1956–1986	Keserű igazság (Bitter Truth)	Banned for criticising the forced industralisation of Hungary.[189]
1956–1989	Eltüsszentett birodalom (An Empire Sneezed Away)	Banned for depicting a monarch sharing similarities with the dictatorship of Hungarian communist leader Mátyás Rákosi.[189]
1957–1984	A Remarkable Case	Banned for depicting the corruption of the dictatorship of Hungarian communist leader Mátyás Rákosi.[189]
1969–1981	A tanú (The Witness)	Banned under the Communist government for almost a decade, because it satirized the regime.[190][191] After being banned, the film gained a cult status, and still is considered a cult film after over 50 years. [192]
1974–1984	Bástyasétány ’74 (Bastion promenade ’74)	Banned for unclear reasons.[189]
1983–1989	Dream Brigade	Banned for being too radical.[189]

Iceland[]

Date	Title	Notes
1985–1999	The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)	Banned due to high level of violence; a censored version was later released.[114]
1987	Nekromantik	Banned due to its transgressive subject matter (including necrophilia) and audacious imagery.[citation needed]
1992	Cannibal Holocaust	Banned due to very high impact violence and offensive depictions of both human and animal cruelty. Still banned.[114]

India[]

Indonesia[]

Date	Title	Notes
1976	Max Havelaar	Banned for its parallels between the anti-colonial story and the then present-day regime.[10]
1982	The Year of Living Dangerously	Banned for its criticism of Sukarno's regime. The ban was lifted in 1999.[193]
1994	Schindler's List	Banned for being sympathetic to the Jewish cause.[194][195]
2007	Long Road to Heaven	Banned on the island of Bali, as local politicians worried that the film, which about the 2002 Bali bombings, might promote hatred and intolerance.[196]
2009	Balibo	Banned for being critical of the Indonesian government. This Australian film is based on the story of the Balibo Five, a group of journalists killed during the 1975 Indonesian invasion of East Timor.[197]
2014	Noah	Banned because of its depiction of the prophets.[198]
2015	Fifty Shades of Grey	Banned due to its sexual content;[199][200] however, Johan Tjasmadi, member of Lembaga Sensor Film (Indonesia Film Censorship Board), said that the film was never registered to the board.[201]

Iran[]

Date	Title	Notes
1969	Gaav (The Cow)	Banned briefly by the regime of The Shah, due to what was perceived as the film depicting Iran as a rural, culturally backwards society. The film would later be allowed to screen on the condition that the film would begin with a disclaimer explaining to audiences that the film is set several decades ago, and does not reflect a modern Iran.[202]
1975	Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom	Banned due to graphic violence and nudity.[21]
1980	Cruising	Banned on its initial release.[20]
1981	Bita	Banned under the censorship act of 1981 because it criticized exploitation of women by men.[82]
1981	Ghaire aze Khoudo Hitch Kass Naboud	Banned under the censorship act of 1981 because it depicts a lesbian relationship and a controversy.[82]
1996	Gabbeh	Banned for being "subversive".[203]
1996	Nūn o goldūn (A Moment of Innocence)	Banned because of its theme that different people can experience the same incident in a different way.[204][205][203]
2001	Zoolander	Banned for perceived support of gay rights.[206]
2004-2020	Marmoulak	Pulled from cinemas two weeks after its premiere in Iran due to the film mocking conservative attitudes of the clerics in Iran.[207] In 2020, the uncut film was granted a license for screening by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.[208]
2010	300	Banned for its negative portrayal of Persian military.[209]
2012	Argo	Banned for its negative portrayal of Iran.[210] It was the only Academy Award-winning Best Picture to be banned in the country.
2020	There Is No Evil	Secretly recorded and banned from exhibition for its themes criticising the Iranian government's use of capital punishment. The government also temporarily prohibited the film's director Mohammad Rasoulof from making films in the country, imprisoned him, and prohibited him from travel outside Iran.[211]

Iraq[]

Date	Title	Notes
1999	South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut	Banned under the Ba'athist regime for depicting Saddam Hussein in a mocking light.[9]
2015	American Sniper	Banned for being an "insult to the population".[212]

Ireland[]

Date	Title	Notes
1931–2000	Monkey Business	Banned on its initial release for fear that its anarchic style of comedy would inspire societal upheaval. The ban was only officially lifted in 2000.[213]
1943	The Outlaw	Banned due to sexual references.[214][215]
1945	Mildred Pierce	Banned.[further explanation needed][214][215]
1945	Brief Encounter	Banned, as it was considered too permissive of adultery.[214]
1946	The Big Sleep	Banned due to sexual references.[214]
1950	Outrage	Banned due to its theme of rape.[214]
1967–2000	Ulysses	Banned for three decades. The film was not approved for general release until 2000.[216]
1971–2000	A Clockwork Orange	Banned due to its extreme depictions of violence and rape. In 2000 the ban was lifted.[114]
1978, 2010	I Spit on Your Grave	Banned due to its scenes of graphic violence and lengthy depictions of gang rape. In 2010, the movie was released uncut on DVD and Blu-ray and the ban was renewed by forbidding retailers to sell it.[217]
1979–1987	Monty Python's Life of Brian	Banned because of its blasphemous content. Ban lifted in 1987.[114]
1983–1990	Monty Python's The Meaning of Life	Banned because of its blasphemous content. Ban lifted in 1990.[218]
1989	Meet the Feebles	Banned because of its blasphemous content.
1994	Natural Born Killers	Banned for fear of copycat killings.[51]
1997	Preaching to the Perverted	Banned for obscenity.[219][220]

Israel[]

Date	Title	Notes
1948	Oliver Twist	Banned on its initial release, because the character of Fagin was deemed to be antisemitic.[221]
1957	The Girl in the Kremlin	Banned because it may have harmed Israel's diplomatic relations with Moscow.[222]
1957	China Gate	Banned for indulging in excessive cruelty. The Israeli film censorship board indicated the film depicted Chinese and Russian soldiers as "monsters".[223]
1965	Goldfinger	Banned after it was revealed that one of the main actors, Gert Fröbe, had a Nazi past.[224] The film had only run for six weeks in the theaters.[225] It was unbanned a few months later when a man went to the Israeli Embassy in Vienna and told the staff that Fröbe hid him and his mother from the Nazis (which may have saved their lives).[226][227]
1973	Hitler: The Last Ten Days	Banned because the censorship board unanimously felt that the portrayal of Hitler was "too human".[228]
1987	In the Realm of the Senses	Banned because of pornographic content.[229][230]
1988	The Last Temptation of Christ	Banned on the grounds that it could offend Christians.[231]
2004, 2021	Jenin, Jenin	Banned by the Israeli Film Ratings Board on the premise that it was libelous and might offend the public; the Supreme Court of Israel later overturned the decision.[230][232] In 2021, the film was banned yet again after a lower court ruled in favor of a defendant who had appeared in the film.[233][234]
2004	Shrek 2	Banned briefly in 2004, though not for the film itself, but because of the Hebrew dub. A joke about Israeli singer David D'Or's high voice was added, in which one character threaten to emasculate another by saying "Let's do a David D'or on him". This remark prompted the artist to take legal action.[235]

Italy[]

Date	Title	Notes
1933–1945	Duck Soup	Banned under the fascist government of Benito Mussolini for poking fun at dictators and war.[152]
1937–1945	La Grande Illusion	Banned under the fascist government of Benito Mussolini for its anti-war message.[162]
1955	Totò and Carolina	Banned on its initial release for poking fun at the police.[236]
1962	Jules and Jim	Banned initially for its sexual attitudes, but after protest this ban was quickly lifted.[15][better source needed]
1972–1986	Last Tango in Paris	Banned from 1972 to 1986 for being "obscene".[114]
1982–2009	Lion of the Desert	Banned from 1982 until 2009 as it was considered damaging to the honor of the Italian Army.[237]
1999	Li chiamarono... briganti!	Banned from theatrical release and still not available on VHS and DVD, because of its critical viewpoint about the Italian unification.[238]

Japan[]

Date	Title	Notes
1939–1946	The Mikado	Banned until after World War II because could be construed as disrespectful towards the Emperor of Japan.[239]
1945–1952	The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail	Banned in Japan by the US occupying government for seven years, because of the "feudal values".[15][better source needed]
1976–1982	In the Realm of the Senses	Banned in Japan for its graphic sex scenes.[15] In 1982 the court ruled in director Nagisa Oshima's favor, but the film is still only available in a censored cut.[240][241]

Jordan[]

Date	Title	Notes
2006	The Da Vinci Code	Banned because of blasphemous content.[21]

Kenya[]

Date	Title	Notes
2013	The Wolf of Wall Street	Banned for explicit sexual content, profanity, drug use and nudity.[242]
2014	Stories of Our Lives	Banned because this documentary about being gay in Kenya "showed obscenity, explicit scenes of sexual activities" and promoted homosexuality.[243]
2015	Fifty Shades of Grey	Banned due to its sexual content.[199][200]
2018	Rafiki	Banned due to depiction of homosexuality

Kuwait[]

Date	Title	Notes
1999	South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut	Banned for offending the Muslim Brotherhood. The TV series itself is also banned in the country.[244]
2004	Fahrenheit 9/11	Banned for being critical of the Iraq war and being an insult to Saudi Arabia's royal family.[245][246]
2007	The Kingdom	Banned for being a "false depiction" of a 1996 bombing in Saudi Arabia.[32]
2017	Beauty and the Beast	Banned due to homosexual references that were found to be offensive.[247][248]
2020	Onward	Banned due to the film's minor reference to a lesbian relationship.[249]
2021	Eternals	Banned due to the film's character of Phastos and his husband.[250]

Lebanon[]

Date	Title	Notes
2006	The Da Vinci Code	Banned because of blasphemous content.[21]
2007	Persepolis	Banned initially after some clerics found it to be "offensive to Iran and Islam." The ban was later revoked after an outcry in Lebanese intellectual and political circles.[251]
2008	Waltz with Bashir	The film is banned in Lebanon, with the most harsh critics saying the film depicts a vague and violent time in Lebanon's history. A movement of bloggers, among them the Lebanese Inner Circle, +961 and others have rebelled against the Lebanese government's ban of the film, and have managed to get the film seen by local Lebanese critics, in defiance of their government's request on banning it. The film was privately screened in January 2009 in Beirut in front of 90 people.[252] Since then many screenings have taken place. Unofficial copies are also available in the country.
2017	Justice League	The film is banned in Lebanon, due to its depiction of Israeli actress Gal Gadot.[253]

Malaysia[]

Mexico[]

Date	Title	Notes
1987	The Last Temptation of Christ	Banned for blasphemic themes.[15][better source needed]

Myanmar[]

Date	Title	Notes
2007	The Simpsons Movie	Banned over the "juxtaposition of the colors yellow and red", which is seen as support for rebel groups.[254]
2008	Rambo	Banned for negative portrayals of Burmese soldiers.[255]

Netherlands[]

Date	Title	Notes
1932	Scram!	Banned on its initial release because of a scene where Laurel and Hardy sit on a bed with a woman to whom they were not married. Censors felt this was "indecent". Today the film is not banned.[256]
2010	Maladolescenza	Banned since 25 March 2010 by the court of Alkmaar, which classified several scenes as child pornography.[257][258] The decision therefore means that possession, distribution and knowingly gaining access to the movie is prohibited.[259]

New Zealand[]

Date	Title	Notes
1975–1992	Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom	Banned on its initial release,[10] but lifted after seventeen years.[21]
1976	Tarzoon: Shame of the Jungle	Banned due to content that would be contrary to public decency and undesirable to public interest. The film remains banned to this day.[260]
1980, 2006	Cannibal Holocaust	Banned due to its extremely violent content and actual on-screen killings of animals.[261] (also refused release in 2006)
1981	Mad Max	Banned in 1979 because of a graphic violent death.[262] (VHS release was later approved[263])
2004	Puni Puni Poemy	Banned on the grounds that it "tends to promote and support the exploitation of children and young persons for sexual purposes, and to a lesser extent, the use of sexual coercion to compel persons to submit to sexual conduct", and for high-impact violence and cruelty.[264]
2005	Vase de Noces	Banned because the film "promotes and supports bestiality".[265] As of 2017, it is still banned.[265]
2007–2008	Hostel: Part II	Banned due to one scene that "fuses an act of extreme violence with sexual gratification". This scene's inclusion led to the film being classified as objectionable under s3(2)(f) of the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993 on the grounds that it "tend[s] to promote and support acts of torture and the infliction of extreme violence and extreme cruelty",[266][267] thus making it illegal for the film to be displayed publicly. Sony Pictures initially refused to remove the scene. However, on 29 January 2008, after the scene was excised, the film was rated R18 for "torture and sadistic violence".[268]
2010	I Spit on Your Grave (2010 remake)	Banned "because it tends to promote and support the use of violence to compel any person to submit to sexual conduct."[269][270]
2010	Ikki Tousen: Dragon Destiny	Banned on the grounds of the series' violent and sexual scenes. Due to the reaction from New Zealand film authorities, distributor Madman Entertainment chose not to release the remaining volumes there.[271]
2011	Megan Is Missing	Banned for its sexual violence involving young people.[272]
2011	The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence)	Banned due to its gore, violence and sexually explicit content.[273]
2012	A Serbian Film	Banned by the government on May 25, 2012 due to "objectionable content" (offensive depictions of sexual violence, pedophilia, extreme violence, necrophilia and/or other content that is offensive and abhorrent) [274]
2013	Maniac	Banned from theatrical and home video release; the OFLC felt that "the tacit invitation to enjoy cruel and violent behavior through its first-person portrayal and packaging as entertainment is likely to lead to an erosion of empathy for some viewers".[275]
2013	Spit On Your Grave 2	Banned "because it tends to promote and support the use of violence to compel any person to submit to sexual conduct."
2014	High School DxD	Banned on the grounds of sexual exploitation of children. The OFLC stated in their report publications were banned if containing what the board felt was "to reinforce the notion that young persons are sexually desirable and available".[276]
2016	Cat Sick Blues	Banned because of a scene in which a woman is orally raped to death. The distributor refused to remove the scene from the film.[277]

Nigeria[]

Date	Title	Notes
2009	District 9	Banned due to accusations of being xenophobic and racist towards Nigerians.[278]

North Korea[]

Date	Title	Notes
2004	Team America: World Police	Banned for ridiculing General Secretary Kim Jong-il.[279]
2009	2012	Banned because the year 2012 coincides with Kim Il Sung's 100th birthday. The year had also been designated "the year for opening the grand gates to becoming a rising superpower."[280] Thus, a movie which depicts the year in a negative light was found to be offensive by the North Korean government. Several people in North Korea were reportedly arrested for possessing or viewing imported copies of the movie and charged with "grave provocation against the development of the state."[281]
2014	The Interview	The government of North Korea believes that the film, about the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, represents "dangerous filmmaking, which justifies and encourages terrorism," according to a statement made by the North Korean embassy in Russia.[282]

Norway[]

Date	Title	Notes
1964–1971	491	Banned due to homosexual themes; a censored version was later released.[283]
1972	Pink Flamingos	Banned on its initial release until the 1980s.[20]
1974–1997	The Texas Chain Saw Massacre	Banned due to high impact scary violence. Ban lifted in 1997 and re-released uncut with an 18 (Adults only) rating.[114]
1979–1980	Monty Python's Life of Brian	Banned due to jokes deemed offensive to religious people. In Sweden the film was allowed for release and even screened with the tagline "The film so funny that it got banned in Norway".[284] In 1980 the Norwegian ban was lifted.[114]
1987	Nekromantik	Banned outright by the Norwegian Media Authority due to outrageous, offensive & abhorrent content (Necrophilia, extreme violence, animal cruelty, and/or other material that is disgusting & abhorrent).
1998	Kite	Banned due to a graphic scene of sexual assault on a minor.[285]
2009	Ichi The Killer	Banned due to high impact violence and cruelty. In January 2009, The Norwegian Media Authority classified the film as "Rejected" and banned the film outright in Norway after the government learned of an incident at the Stockholm Film Festival where two people both vomited and fainted while watching the film. The film remains strictly prohibited in Norway.[114]
2011	A Serbian Film	Banned due to violation of criminal law sections 204a and 382 which deal with the sexual representation of children and extreme violence. Still Banned.[114]

Oman[]

Date	Title	Notes
2021	Eternals	Banned due to the film's character of Phastos and his husband.[286]

Pakistan[]

Date	Title	Notes
1980	The Blood of Hussain	Banned by General Zia ul-Haq, after he seized power in a coup de état in 1977, as the film portrays a fictional military coup in an unfavourable light.[287]
2006	The Da Vinci Code	Banned because of blasphemous content.[21]
2012	Agent Vinod	Banned by the Central Board of Film Censors of Pakistan, for containing various controversial references to the Pakistani spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence.[21][288]
2016	Maalik	Banned by the Government of Pakistan.[289]
2016	Sarabjit	Banned because of blasphemous content and excessive controversial depictions.

Paraguay[]

Date	Title	Notes
1940	The Great Dictator	Banned under the military dictatorship of Higinio Morínigo.[290]
1971	Sacco & Vanzetti	Banned under the military dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner for "encouraging Communism".[10]
1979	The Deer Hunter	Banned under the military dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner for "danger of being misunderstood".[10]

Philippines[]

Poland[]

Date	Title	Notes
1930	All Quiet on the Western Front	Banned because censors felt it was "pro-German". Ironically enough it was also banned in Nazi Germany for being "anti-German".[149]
1945	The Wind from the East	Banned due to anti-Polish sentiment and historical distortions of the Soviet invasion of Poland.[291]
1946	Australia Marches with Britain	Banned without a reason given.[292]
1946	Men of Timor	Banned without a reason given.[292]
1967–1985	Ręce do góry (Hands Up!)	Banned under the Communist government for 18 years for depicting the Stalinist era.[293] Its director, Jerzy Skolimowski, was so outraged he left his country and moved to the West.
1972	Diabeł (The Devil)	Banned under the Communist government because of its political anti-war theme.[294][295]
1973–1981	Opowieść o człowieku, który wykonał 552% normy (A Story of a Man Who Filled 552% of the Quota)	Banned under the Communist government for its depiction of the Stalinist past. It was only released after the director, Wojciech Wiszniewski, died in 1981.[293]
1975–1981	Wanda Gościmska. Włókniarka (Wanda Gościmińska. A Weaver)	Banned under the Communist government for its depiction of the Stalinist past. It was only released after the director, Wojciech Wiszniewski, died in 1981.[293]
1976–1980	Spokój (The Calm)	Banned under the Communist government for four years because the plot is about a strike.[296][Note 1] The film was finally shown on Polish television for the first time on 19 September 1980. In 1981, The Calm received the Polish Film Festival Special Jury Prize.[298][299]
1976–1981	Elementarz (The Primer)	Banned under the Communist government for its depiction of the Stalinist past. It was only released after the director, Wojciech Wiszniewski, died in 1981.[293]
1977–1981	Indeks. Życie i twórczość Józefa M. (The Index)	Banned under the Communist government for four years, because it depicted the 1968 protests.[300]
1981	Był Jazz (There was Jazz)	Banned by the Communist government.[301]
1981	Człowiek z żelaza (Man of Iron)	Banned under the Communist government for its political criticism and for depicting the labour union Solidarity.[301]
1981	Gorączka (Fever)	Banned by the Communist government, because of its brutally realistic portrayal of the occupying Soviet forces.[302][303]
1981	Jak żyć (How to Live)	Banned twice in one year by the Communist government.[301]
1981	Kobieta Samotna (A Lonely Woman)	Banned by the Communist government for its political criticism.[301]
1981–1983	Wojna światów – następne stulecie (The War of the Worlds: Next Century)	Banned under the Communist government for depicting a futuristic society which showed parallels with the political situation of Poland at that time. It remained banned until 1983.[293]
1981–1984	Wahadełko (Shilly Shally)[304] (Shilly Shally)	Banned under the Communist government for three years, because the story is set during the Stalinist era.[293]
1981–1984	Dreszcze (Shivers)	Banned by the Communist government. The film is a satirical story about a teenager imprisoned at an indoctrination camp.[305][306]
1981–1987	Wielki bieg (The Big Run, also translated as The Big Race)	Banned under the Communist government for six years for its political criticism.[307][308]
1981–1987	Blind Chance	Banned by the Communist government because of one storyline where Communism in Poland is overthrown.[309][310]
1981–1988	Kobieta Samotna (A Lonely Woman, also translated as A Woman Alone)	Banned under the Communist government for its political criticism.[301] It remained banned for seven years, until 1988.[307][308]
1982–1987	Matka Królów (The Mother of Kings)	Banned under the Communist government without even being released for its political criticism.[301] It remained banned for five years, until 1987.[307]
1982–1989	Przesłuchanie (Interrogation)	Banned under the Communist government for seven years because of its criticism of Communism. Despite the film's controversial initial reception and subsequent banning, it garnered a cult fanbase through the circulation of illegally taped VHS copies, which director Ryszard Bugajski secretly helped to leak out to the general public.[311][312][313]
1983–1988	Niedzielne igraszki (Sunday Pranks)	Banned under the Communist government for five years.[304][314]

Portugal[]

Date	Title	Notes
1970	Catch-22	Banned under the Marcelo Caetano regime for a scene depicting a character sitting naked in a tree,[254] though the fact that the film satirizes the military may also have been a factor.
1972–1974	Last Tango in Paris	Banned for its strong sexual content (unbanned in 1974).[114]

Qatar[]

Date	Title	Notes
2014	Noah	Banned for depicting the prophets.[33]
2020	Onward	Banned due to the film's minor reference to a lesbian relationship.
2021	Eternals	Banned due to the film's character of Phastos and his husband.[315]

Romania[]

Date	Title	Notes
1981–1990	Carnival Scenes	Banned from the personal order of Nicolae Ceaușescu due to violent content.[316][317]
2008	Saw IV	Banned upon release. Later reclassified and prohibited only to minors.[316]
2009	Milk	Banned upon release. Later reclassified and prohibited only to under-15s.[316]
2014	Nymphomaniac: Vol. II	Classified by the National Cinema Center's rating commission as a film "forbidden to minors under 18 and banned from public screening" due to explicit content.[318] After outrage at decision in mass media and on social networking websites, the commission allowed cinemas to run the film for audiences over 18.[316]

Russia[]

Date	Title	Notes
1939–1990	Gone with the Wind	Banned in the Soviet Union for unknown reason.[319]
1966	Andrei Rublev	Banned in the Soviet Union for its themes of artistic freedom, religion, political ambiguity, autodidacticism, and the making of art under a repressive regime. Because of this, it was not released domestically for years after it was completed, except for a single 1966 screening in Moscow.[15][better source needed][320]
1968	Korotkie vstrechi (Brief Encounters)	Banned by the Communist government.[321]
1971	Dolgie Provody (Long Farewells)	Banned by the Communist government for its negative view of a mother-son relationship.[321]
1972–1990	The Godfather	Banned by the Communist government because it romanticized the criminal world. In 1990, the ban was lifted.[322]
1977–1990	Star Wars	Banned by the Soviet government.[323] In 1990, the ban was lifted.
1984	Repentance	Banned for its semi-allegorical critique of Stalinism.[324][325]
2006	Borat	Banned for being "offensive".[326]
2014	The Interview	Banned to avoid political provocations.[327]
2015	Child 44 (2015)	Banned since 15 April 2015, when the Russian film distributor Central Partnership announced that the film would be withdrawn from cinemas in Russia, although some media stated that screening of the film was blocked by the Russian Ministry of Culture.[328][329][330] The decision was made following the press screening the day before. The Ministry of Culture and the Central Partnership issued a joint press release stating that the screening of the film before the 70th anniversary of the Victory Day was unacceptable.[331] The Ministry of Culture claimed that it received several questions on the film's contents, primarily concerning "distortion of historical facts, peculiar treatment of events before, during and after the Great Patriotic War and images and characters of Soviet people of that era".[331] Russian minister of culture Vladimir Medinsky welcomed the decision, but stressed that it was made solely by the Central Partnership. However, in his personal statement Medinsky complained that the film depicts Russians as "physically and morally base sub-humans", and compared the depiction of Soviet Union in the film with J. R. R. Tolkien's Mordor, and wished that such films should be screened neither before the 70th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War, nor any other time.[332] However, he also stated that the film would be available in Russia on DVD and online.[333] As a result of the decision the film was also withdrawn from cinemas in Belarus,[334] Ukraine,[335] Kazakhstan,[336] and Kyrgyzstan, while release of the film has been postponed until October in Georgia.[337]
2018	The Death of Stalin	Banned by the Ministry of Culture for being offensive and extremist.[338]
2019	Jojo Rabbit	Banned for unknown reasons.[339]

Samoa[]

Date	Title	Notes
2006	The Da Vinci Code	Banned outright after church leaders watching a pre-release showing filed a complaint with film censors.[340] (see Censorship in Samoa for details) [21]
2009	The Cell 2	Banned due to violent content.[340] (see Censorship in Samoa for details)
2009	Milk	Banned, originally without being given a reason.[340] Later, it was explained that the censors deemed it "inappropriate and contradictory to Christian beliefs and Samoan culture": "In the movie itself it is trying to promote the human rights of gays." The sex scenes in particular were considered inappropriate by the Samoan Censor Board.[341] (see Censorship in Samoa for details)
2009	National Lampoon's Van Wilder: Freshman Year	Banned in 2009.[342] (See Censorship in Samoa for further details)
2019	Rocketman	Banned for its depictions of gay sex.[343]

Saudi Arabia[]

Date	Title	Notes
2002–2018	All Harry Potter movies	Banned for its occultism and satanism propaganda.[344][345] In 2018, the ban was lifted.
2004	Fahrenheit 9/11	Banned for being critical of the Iraq war and being an insult to Saudi Arabia's royal family.[245]
2007	The Kingdom	[further explanation needed][346]
2013	King of the Sands	Banned for depicting the Saudi Arabia country founder Ibn Saud.
2014	Noah	Banned for depicting the prophets.[21]
2020	Onward	Banned due to the film's minor reference to a lesbian relationship.
2021	Eternals	Banned due to the film's character of Phastos and his husband.[347]

Senegal[]

Date	Title	Notes
1977	Ceddo	Banned for its presentation of the conflicts between Islamic and Christian religions and ethnic and traditional beliefs.[10][348] According to another account reported in The New York Times in 1978, the banning was not "because of any religious sensitivity, but because Mr. Sembene insists on spelling 'ceddo' with two d's while the Senegalese Government insists it be spelled with one."[349]
1977	Camp de Thiaroye	Banned for criticizing the colonial system.[139]

Singapore[]

Solomon Islands[]

Date	Title	Notes
2006	The Da Vinci Code	Banned because Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare stated that the film "undermines the very roots of Christianity in Solomon Islands."[350]

South Africa[]

Date	Title	Notes
1910	The Johnson-Jeffries Fight	Banned because the footage depicted the black boxer Jack Johnson defeating the white boxer James J. Jeffries, which had already inspired race riots in the American South.[10]
1964	Zulu	Banned under the apartheid regime from screening to black South Africans, because it depicts a Zulu uprising in the 19th century. Whites were allowed to see it in their own segregated cinemas.[351]
1971–1984	A Clockwork Orange	Banned under the apartheid regime for 13 years, then released with one cut and only made available to people over the age of 21.[352]
1978	Up in Smoke	Banned under the apartheid regime because it "might encourage the impressionable youth of South Africa to take up marijuana smoking".[353]
1978–1983	Pretty Baby	Banned under the apartheid regime until 1983.[352]
1979	Monty Python's Life of Brian	Banned under the apartheid regime because of blasphemous content.[51]
1980	Cruising	Banned under the apartheid regime on its initial release.[20]
1988	Mapantsula	Banned under the apartheid regime for criticism of apartheid.[351]
1989	Cry Freedom	Banned under the apartheid regime for being a biopic about anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko.[10]
1995–1997	Kids	Banned for two years and only unbanned in 1997 on appeal with a no-under 16 age restriction.[354]
2013	Of Good Report	Banned in the entire country because it has a storyline where older men abuse young girls, with scenes deemed "child pornography" according to the censors.[355]

South Korea[]

Date	Title	Notes
1971	A Clockwork Orange	Banned due to depictions of violence and gang rape. Has been lifted since.[114]
1973	Last Tango in Paris	Banned for its strong sexual content.[114]
1975–1981	Ban Geum-ryeon	Banned for six years, was released in South Korea with 40 minutes cut.[356]
1979	Apocalypse Now	Banned under South Korean President Park Chung-hee's regime, the importation of the film was on hold because of its anti-war theme.[357]
1992	Braindead	Banned for gory violence.[180]
1993	Falling Down	Banned due to its negative portrayal of Koreans.
2021	The Battle at Lake Changjin	Banned for distorting South Korean history

Spain[]

Date	Title	Notes
1927–1975	Battleship Potemkin	Banned under the regime of Francisco Franco out of fear of inciting a Communist revolution.[9][102]
1957–1986	Paths of Glory	Banned under Franco's regime for its "anti-military" themes.[15][better source needed]
1960–1975	La Dolce Vita	Banned under the regime of Francisco Franco.[358]
1961–1977	Viridiana	Banned under Franco's regime, although the Film Institute of Spain approved the film's submission to the Cannes Film Festival. After the Catholic Church expressed its indignation, the head of the Film Institute was fired and the film was banned for sixteen years.[359]
1981	La Petición (The Engagement Party)	Banned initially, but finally released under media pressure to reconsider its artistic merit. The film is about a woman involved in sadistic and ultimately fatal sexual relationships with men.[82]
2009	Saw VI	Banned from regular, non-adult cinemas because of the "X" rating.[360][361] A cut version was released.
2010	A Serbian Film	Banned due to extreme violence (contains a lot of sexually violent content).[362]

Sri Lanka[]

Date	Title	Notes
1975	Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom	Banned due to graphic violence and nudity.[21]
2006	Aksharaya (Letter of Fire)	Banned for dealing with issues of incest, murder, and rape.[363]

Sweden[]

Date	Title	Notes
1969	I Am Curious (Yellow)	Banned because of pornography, but after a court case it was allowed.[125]
1974–2001	The Texas Chain Saw Massacre	Banned due to high gore violence and cruelty.[114] Ban lifted in 2001.
1981	Mad Max	Banned because of violent content.[364]
1983	Hell of the Living Dead	[further explanation needed][365] Released uncut on DVD in the mid-2000s.[366]
1984–2005	Tenebre	Banned because of high impact scary violence. Re-released in an uncut version in 2005.[367]
1985	Return of the Living Dead	Although its status remains unclear(?)[further explanation needed] the first two sequels have been released on DVD.[368]
1997	Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation	Banned because of high impact scary violence and cruelty. Sony Pictures later released the film on DVD.[369][370]

Switzerland[]

Date	Title	Notes
1957–1970	Paths of Glory	Banned for its critical depiction of the French army during World War I.[135]
1968–1975	Rondo	Banned for its critical look at the Swiss prison system, implying that for the Swiss incarceration as a form of punishment and means of deterrence is more important than integrating released prisoners back into society.[151]

Tajikistan[]

Date	Title	Notes
2012	The Dictator	Banned because of subversiveness.[9]

Tanzania[]

Date	Title	Notes
2014	The Route	Banned because this documentary about human trafficking and sex slavery in Africa "showed too much sex and nudity" and thus was a "threat to Tanzanian culture."[243]

Taiwan[]

Date	Title	Notes
1982	Boat People	Banned due it being filmed on Hainan, an island in China.[82][371]

Thailand[]

Date	Title	Notes
1956	The King and I (1956)	Banned because could be construed as disrespectful towards the King of Thailand.[372]
1999	Brokedown Palace	Banned because of its negative portrayal of Thailand with narcotics smuggling – especially with the views of the Thai judicial system despite parts of the film shot on location by the second unit (the majority of the film was filmed in the Philippines).[373]
1999	Anna and the King	Banned because could be construed as disrespectful towards the King of Thailand.[374]
2007	All the Boys Love Mandy Lane	Banned due to violence.[375]
2007	Halloween (2007 remake)	Banned due to depictions of violence.[375]
2008	Frontier(s)	Banned due to violence.[376]
2008	Funny Games	Banned due to cruelty and violence.[375]
2009	Zack and Miri Make a Porno	Banned by the Ministry of Culture due to sexual content (characters showing how to make their own pornographic video; teens may try to mimic).[377]
2010	Saw VI	Banned due to pro-Thaksin protests and violence in Thailand.[378]

Trinidad and Tobago[]

Date	Title	Notes
2008	Zack and Miri Make A Porno	Banned because the censors worried that teenagers would mimic the plot and make their own porn movies.[51]

Turkey[]

Date	Title	Notes
1969	Bir Çirkin Adam (An Ugly Man)	Banned for its revelations of the social conditions in the country.[10]
1979	Yorgun Savaşçı (The Tired Warrior)	Banned because it was written by Kemal Tahir, who opposed the regime, and because the story casts doubt on the uniqueness of Kemal Atatürk's contribution to the struggle for the republic in the 1920s.[10]
1987	Su da Yanar (Water Also Burns)	Banned because it dealt with the banned communist poet Nazim Hikmet.[10]
1988	The Last Temptation of Christ	Banned for blasphemic themes.[15][better source needed]
2020	Cuties	Banned because of imagery displaying child sexualization and exploitation.[379]

Uganda[]

Date	Title	Notes
1972–1979	All foreign films	President Idi Amin banned all foreign films in 1972 on the grounds that they contained "imperialist propaganda".[380]
2014	The Wolf of Wall Street	Banned, like in most other African countries.[381]

Ukraine[]

Date	Title	Notes
2005	Hostel	Banned because it depicts Eastern Europe as a region where people are tortured for money. Owning and viewing the movie in private is still legal.[382]
2006	Land of the Dead	Banned due to high level violence and blood and gore. The movie also depicts the suffering and the agony of people who were forced to eat human flesh in Kharkiv during the German attack there in 1943.[383]
2007	Hostel: Part II	Banned for the same reason as Hostel. Owning and viewing the movie in private is still legal.[384]
2009	Brüno	Banned for its homosexual themes.[385]
2009	Saw VI	Banned because of scenes of brutal gory violence and torture. In the context of the Saw franchise, this is the only part that is banned. Thereby it is illegal to sell or distribute it, since visa is not given.[386]
2010	My iz budushchego 2 (We Are from the Future 2)	[further explanation needed][387]
2013	Evil Dead (2013 film)	Banned due to high level violence and blood, sexual content and gore.[citation needed]
2018	Hunter Killer	Banned because the Ukraine Ministry of Culture states that the film demonstrates "the might of the army of the aggressor country of Russia".[388]

United Arab Emirates[]

Date	Title	Notes
2010	Lamhaa	Banned because of its "objectionable content"; it did not receive a clearance certificate from the UAE Censors Board and was pulled from all UAE cinemas. This is the first Bollywood film to be banned in the UAE.[389]
2014	Noah	Banned for depicting the prophets.[33]
2015	Fifty Shades of Grey	Banned due to its sexual content.[199][200]

United Kingdom[]

United States[]

Venezuela[]

Date	Title	Notes
1972	Last Tango in Paris	Banned for its strong sexual content during the first presidency of Rafael Caldera.[390][391]
1981	Ledezma, el caso Mamera	Banned for exposing state corruption, as well as accused of being an apology for crime, and the director imprisoned;[392] courts overturned both decisions.[393]
2016- 2041	El Inca	Pulled from cinemas and banned after a family injunction over the representation in the biopic; reportedly the first time a Venezuelan film has been banned in its country in 25 years.[394][395][failed verification] After being banned, the film was selected as Venezuela's representative as Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards, a controversial choice.[396]
2019	Infection	Not screened, reportedly for presenting Chavist ideology in a negative light.[397] The production cooperated with the CNAC over 9 months to try and get it shown, but the film was still eventually banned;[398] the CNAC's former chairman called the move censorship.[399] The film's director, Flavio Pedota, lives in exile.[399]
2019	Chavismo: The Plague of the 21st Century	Documentary; Banned from being shown in public and at universities for supposedly inciting hate; director Gustavo Tovar-Arroyo lives in exile from the country.[400]

Vietnam[]

Date	Title	Notes
1995	Xich lo (Cyclo)	Banned for being too "westernised" in its portrayal of urban poverty in the country.[further explanation needed][21][401]
2001	Green Dragon	Banned as of 2002.[402]
2002	We Were Soldiers	Banned as of 2002.[402]
2010	Sex and the City 2	Banned because of a conflict of "cultural values".[403]
2012	The Hunger Games	Banned because of extreme violence and killing.[404][405]
2012	The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo	Banned because its international distributor, Sony Pictures, did not accept the requirement by the Vietnamese National Film Board of cutting out some sensitive scenes.[406]
2019	Abominable	Taken out of cinemas over a scene showing the Nine-dash line that is used by the People's Republic of China to lay claim to parts of the South China Sea.[407]

Yugoslavia[]

Date	Title	Notes
1937	La Grande Illusion	Banned in 1937 for its anti-war message.[162]
1952–1977	Ciguli Miguli	Banned under the regime of Josip Broz Tito for its satire of socialist bureaucracy. Issued a license for public showing only in 1977.[408]
1971–1987	W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism	Banned under the regime of Josip Broz Tito and seven years after his death in 1980.[15][better source needed][409][410]

Zimbabwe[]

Date	Title	Notes
1986	Jock of the Bushveld	Banned because of its South African origins. At the time Zimbabwe boycotted South African products because of its apartheid regime.[351]
2010	Lobola	Concerned with the custom of lobola, the film was banned because it "doesn't really portray African custom when it comes to marriage, since one does not get married while drunk." Another objection is a scene where a young couple kisses in front of their parents, as well as the "abrupt ending".[411]
2014	Kumasowe	Banned because it depicts violent clashes between members of an apostolic sect in the country and Zimbabwe Republic police officers.[412]
2015	Fifty Shades of Grey	Banned because of the explicit erotic scenes. In some theaters an edited version was allowed.[413]

See also[]

• List of books banned by governments
• List of banned video games
• Streisand effect

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]

• A complete list of Finland's banned films until 1997
• Complete List of movies banned in Germany
• List of banned films