Since the beginning of time, well, the beginning of cinema, many movies have been banned in certain countries for various reasons.
Thanks to strict laws or conflicting beliefs, censors around the world (China, Ireland, Lebanon, to name just a few) continue to work hard to determine if new releases are fit to be shown in theaters.
While some titles, including graphic horror movies The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The human centipede 2Banned for obvious reasons, there’s a long history of unexpected features like Disney releases and harmless superhero movies failing to make the cut.
Below is a rundown of the 45 Movies You Never Knew Were Banned, From the lady of heaven to Beauty and the Beast – and the reasons why.
Scroll through the gallery to see what made the list.
45 Movies You Didn’t Know Were Banned
45 Movies You Never Knew Realized Got Banned:
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930): The ban on All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) was ordered in Germany by Adolf Hitler himself, who did not like its anti-war message. This came after an initial run during which members of the Nazi Party disrupted showings by releasing mice into the theater and, at one point, attacking Jewish audience members. Censors in Austria, Australia, Italy and France also banned the film in the early 1930s. (Universal Images)
American Sniper (2015): Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper (2015) may be seen as something of an insult by many, but Iran banned the war drama, based on the life of the US military’s deadliest marksman, for being just that. . The censors considered it
Apocalypse Now (1979): The anti-war sentiment in Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now led to the film being banned under President Park Chung-hee in 1979. (United Artists)
Argo (2012): Argo, Ben Affleck’s 2012 Best Picture-winning drama, was banned in Iran due to its negative portrayal of the country. (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Battleship Potemkin (1925) – Finnish censors believed that Sergei Eisenstein’s 1925 Soviet silent film Battleship Potemkin would incite a communist revolution, so they banned it outright. (Goskino)
Beauty and the Beast (2017): Disney’s live-action remake of its 1991 classic was banned in Kuwait due to gay references involving the character LeFou (Josh Gad). He circumvented a ban in Russia after being slapped with a 16+ age certificate and in Malaysia after references were removed entirely. (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
Ben-Hur (1959): China banned William Wyler’s religious epic Ben-Hur in 1959 under Mao Zedong’s regime for containing
Borat (2006): Turns out there are some people who don’t find Sacha Baron Cohen all that funny, particularly the officials in every Arab country (except Lebanon) who banned his 2006 comedy Borat for being
Brief Encounter (1945): Officials in the Catholic country of Ireland considered David Lean’s romantic drama Brief Encounter too accepting of adultery to be shown in theaters. (Eagle-Lion Dealers)
Brokeback Mountain (2005): The homosexual relationship at the center of Ang Lee’s 2005 drama Brokeback Mountain caused the film to be banned in all Arab countries except Lebanon, where it was released in a censored format. (Focus Features)
