Banned Films - Freedom to Read - Canisius University - Andrew L. Bouwhuis, S.J. Library at Canisius University

It's Not Just Books: Film Censorship

It's not just books that are censored and banned. Films also have a long history being challenged, often for the same reasons that books are.

History of Film Censorship

Censorship of Motion Pictures

The history of film in the United States is the history of censorship. It is a complex story of bigotry, greed, political intrigue, and most fundamentally, conflicting visions of the American dream, art, and liberty. From Edison's The Kiss (1895) to Kubrick's Lolita (1962), every film made or shown in the United States was subject to formal governmental censorship. It is impossible to understand U.S. film without understanding the climate of control that shadowed the medium from its outset. [Read the full article]

Timeline on the History of Film Censorship

View the full timeline from thefire.org

Video: The History of Hollywood Censorship and the Ratings System

Censored and Banned Films in the Library's Collection

From Wikipedia's List of films banned in the United States, these films are in the library's collection. Click the title for the film's full description.

Häxan / Witchcraft through the ages by Benjamin Christensen
Call Number: AV Video BF1569 .W57 2001 DVD
From Wikipedia: Banned until 1929 due to the use of torture and nudity. Its themes of witchcraft and Satanism may also have had an effect.

Wikipedia contributors. (2022, June 26). List of films banned in the United States. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:01, June 27, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_films_banned_in_the_United_States&oldid=1095128969
Die Blechtrommel The tin drum by Volker Schlöndorff
Call Number: AV Video PT2613.R338 B5513 2004 DVD
ISBN: 9780780027978
From Wikipedia: Briefly banned in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, when a district court judge deemed the film child pornography. The shot in question depicted a child embracing a naked woman. The verdict was overturned on appeal.

Wikipedia contributors. (2022, June 26). List of films banned in the United States. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:01, June 27, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_films_banned_in_the_United_States&oldid=1095128969
The Last Temptation of Christ by Martin Scorsese
Call Number: AV Video PN1995.9.J4 L379 2000 DVD
ISBN: 9781559409032
From Wikipedia: Banned in Savannah, Georgia when city leaders sent a petition to Universal Pictures requesting a ban. However, it opened in Savannah on September 23, 1988, six weeks after national and worldwide debut.

Wikipedia contributors. (2022, June 26). List of films banned in the United States. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:01, June 27, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_films_banned_in_the_United_States&oldid=1095128969
Monty Python's Life of Brian
Call Number: AV Video PN1995.9.P32 M66 2007 DVD
ISBN: 9781424884025
From Wikipedia: Banned in several towns for showing controversial themes about Christianity.

Wikipedia contributors. (2022, June 26). List of films banned in the United States. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:01, June 27, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_films_banned_in_the_United_States&oldid=1095128969
Titicut Follies by Frederick Wiseman
Call Number: AV Video HV8742.U6 T57 2000 DVD
From Wikipedia: Banned from distribution in Massachusetts to the general public by court order because the film was considered a violation of the privacy of the prison inmates it filmed.

Wikipedia contributors. (2022, June 26). List of films banned in the United States. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:01, June 27, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_films_banned_in_the_United_States&oldid=1095128969
Riso amaro = Bitter rice by De Santis, Giuseppe
Call Number: AV Video PN1995.9.F67 Bitter Rice DVD
From Wikipedia: Exactly 11 months after the ban of Bicycle Thieves and The Miracle, police crackdowns and bitter Catholic oppositions led the state of New York censors to ban a third Italian film, Bitter Rice.

Wikipedia contributors. (2022, June 26). List of films banned in the United States. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:01, June 27, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_films_banned_in_the_United_States&oldid=1095128969
Bicycle thieves = Ladri de biciclette by Vittorio De Sica
Call Number: AV Video PN1995.9.F67 L34 2007 DVD
From Wikipedia: The Italian prize-winning movie was banned all over the United States by MPAA in March 1950 due to the use of urination from a little boy, and disturbing culture including scenes from inside of a bordello.

Wikipedia contributors. (2022, June 26). List of films banned in the United States. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:01, June 27, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_films_banned_in_the_United_States&oldid=1095128969
Ossessione by Luchino Visconti
Call Number: AV Video PN1995.9.F67 Ossessione DVD
Banned for 33 years because the plot was based on James M. Cain's novel The Postman Always Rings Twice to which MGM owned the rights. It took until 1976 before copyright issues were resolved.

Wikipedia contributors. (2022, June 26). List of films banned in the United States. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:01, June 27, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_films_banned_in_the_United_States&oldid=1095128969
The Ramparts We Watch by Westbrook Van Voorhis
Call Number: Available online
From Wikipedia: The March Of Time documentary was briefly banned all across Pennsylvania due to portions of the film termed as "part of the fear propaganda being disseminated by Germany", which demonstrates scenes on the German invasion of Poland and clips from the German film "Baptism of Fire".

Wikipedia contributors. (2022, June 26). List of films banned in the United States. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:01, June 27, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_films_banned_in_the_United_States&oldid=1095128969
Scarface by Howard Hawks
Call Number: AV Video PN1995.9.G3 S215 1991 DVD
From Wikipedia: Banned in five states and five other cities due to "glorification of crime."

Wikipedia contributors. (2022, June 26). List of films banned in the United States. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:01, June 27, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_films_banned_in_the_United_States&oldid=1095128969
The Birth of a Nation by D.W. Griffith
Call Number: Available online & AV Video PN1997.2 .G75 Griffith 2002
From Wikipedia: The film was controversial even before its release, and it has remained so ever since; it has been called "the most controversial film ever made in the United States" and "the most reprehensibly racist film in Hollywood history". Lincoln is portrayed positively, a friend of the South, atypical of a narrative that promotes the Lost Cause ideology. The film has been denounced for its racist depiction of African Americans. The film portrays blacks (many of whom are played by white actors in blackface) as unintelligent and sexually aggressive toward white women. The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is portrayed as a heroic force, necessary to preserve American values, protect white women, and maintain white supremacy.

Wikipedia contributors. (2022, June 27). The Birth of a Nation. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 15:17, June 27, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Birth_of_a_Nation&oldid=1095203203