A movie dubbed ‘repulsive’ was banned in multiple countries due to a number of unsimulated acts.
Films can be banned for any number of reasons, whether it be political or due to the graphic content included – though it usually takes a lot for a full-on ban.
However, one movie was banned in four different countries after an unsimulated sex scene controversially takes place between the main character and her on-screen son.
The 1972 film follows drag queen Divine, the ‘filthiest person alive’, a name she lives up to until she is confronted by two criminals jealous that she has been judged to be even ‘more filthy’ than them.
It touches on some ‘repulsive’ themes according to one review, including one unsimulated scene showing the woman eating dog poop, followed by simulated murders.
But perhaps the most shocking of all is the scene where Divine performs unsimulated oral sex on her on-screen son.
The BBFC warns that ‘a man’s semen is seen, in close-up detail’ and that ‘there is focus on a man’s dilating anus, in close-up detail’ – I mean, that’s something you don’t really want to see on your TV.
The site notes that while ‘cuts were made to remove the sight of chickens being roughly handled and killed during a bizarre sexual assault on a woman’, horrific scenes such as a man ‘exposing himself to schoolgirls’ are present in the movie.
The film in question is, of course, John Waters’ Pink Flamingos.
As per the BBC, the director said: “I knew I had only $10,000 to work with, so I figured I had to give the audiences something that no other studio could dare give them even with multimillion-dollar budgets.
“Something to leave them gagging in the aisles. Something they could never forget.”
Pink Flamingos was immediately banned in Switzerland and Australia, before being deemed not suitable for viewing in parts of Canada and Norway.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, industry experts were extremely vocal in their criticism of the movie, with Variety saying it was ‘one of the most vile, stupid and repulsive films ever made’.
At a 25th anniversary screening of Pink Flamingos, film critic Roger Ebert said that ‘with any luck at all that means I won’t have to see it again for another 25 years’.
“If I haven’t retired by then, I will,” he added.
Meanwhile, one review of the film on IMDb stated it was ‘outrageously sick, disgusting and grotesque but also funny’.
“John Waters’ intention is certainly to shock the audiences and is certainly very well succeeded,” they added.
Someone else noted: “A very strange, disturbing but intriguing film.”
It’s pretty difficult to watch Pink Flamingos nowadays, considering it is not available on streaming platforms.
Limited physical editions of the film do exist, and those in the US shouldn’t have a problem watching it since many of the online versions are region-locked to the country.
Featured Image Credit: New Line Cinema