1. A Clockwork Orange

Clockwork Orange

Despite being hailed as a masterpiece by most since, the controversy surrounding A Clockwork Orange at the time of its release (and for many years after) overshadows that in many respects. Banned in the UK for over 25 years, Stanley Kubrick’s film was condemned by the Catholic Church and the filmmaker faced threats and protests from an irate public. Why?

The main reason is because several real-life crimes were linked back to the controversial film, including a rape case where it was directly mimicked. All of this would lead to Kubrick himself asking the studio to remove the movie from screens, and it wasn’t until the year of his death that A Clockwork Orange was finally made available. Despite that, the movie still makes for difficult viewing.

Here’s our interview with Malcolm McDowell on how he created the terrifying Alex.