My eye has always been for the progressive, and dare I say radical, in cinema, so it’s no surprise that many of my most memorable cinematic experiences are hard to find on the American distribution circuit. Censorship in general is something I’m really interested in; while I may defend a film like SALO to the hilt because I believe its brutality to be in line with its message, it’s still tough for me to sit through, let’s say, a snuff film like FACES OF DEATH (Note to office: ZOO is NOT a controversial film). I remember watching, or should I say, being exposed to, FACES for the first time by my death-metal loving friends just before high school age in NYC. It is the only film that I can’t watch all the way through - not just because I find the content nauseating, but because the depiction of the material is commercial instead of illuminating. Indeed, it’s my very own guru Michael Haneke who was the first to differentiate between the obscene and the pornographic. In defense of his 2001 masterpiece THE PIANO TEACHER (one of my favorite films of all time), Haneke quipped: “”I think ‘obscene’ is something that breaks the rules. So from that point of view, I hope all of my films are obscene. Pornography, to me, is a consumer article.” And it was that awareness of my consumption that made looking at FACES OF DEATH completely unbearable. (For another excellent film on the issue of commodification of sex/violence, check out Oliver Assayas‘ brilliantly smooth cyberthriller DEMONLOVER). And though I haven’t seen CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST myself, here is a hilarious and very telling letter from the Dean of Anthropology at NYU where he rescinds his veto on the film. In an effort to revisit my ambitious high school obsession to see every film that’s ever been banned in the United States, here’s a short but smart list (thank you, Wikipedia!) of some films the good ol’USA found too hot to handle. Interestingly enough, Chicago has banned more films than any other state in this list. Of this list of 21, I’ve seen 8 (my favorite being Volker Schlondorff’s gorgeous TIN DRUM) and have never heard of 9 of them. How ’bout you?

* 1908: The James Boys in Missouri and Night Riders are banned in Chicago.
* 1915: The Birth of a Nation banned in several American cities, including Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis.
* 1917: The film Birth control, produced by and starring Margaret Sanger banned, with the New York Court of Appeals holding that a film on family planning work may be censored “in the interest of morality, decency, and public safety and welfare”.[17] Message Photo-Play v. George H. Bell, 179 A.D. 13 (1917).
* 1919 - 1920: Within Our Gates banned in Chicago, New Orleans, and Omaha, for its depiction of interracial rape, lynching, and racial discrimination.
* 1926: The Red Kimono, based on a real-life Chicago murder case and political scandal, banned in Chicago.
* 1928: The Racket banned in Chicago.
* 1931: Frankenstein banned in Kansas for its portrayal of cruelty.
* 1932: Freaks banned in Cleveland.
* 1932: Scarface, a violent gangster movie set in Chicago, is banned in Chicago.[17]
* 1936 - 1966: The 1931 version of “The Maltese Falcon” (not to be confused with the better known “cleaned-up” 1941 version) could not be shown in its unedited “lewd” version.
* 1945: Scarlet Street banned in New York City, according to Jan Morris’ book Manhattan ‘45.
* 1949: Pinky was banned by the city of Marshall, Texas because it portrayed an interracial couple, a violation of the city’s censorship code.
* 1954: Salt of the Earth was banned by the House Un-American Activities Committee for its defense of workers on strike.
* 1961: Victim banned in many American cities due to language. [9]
* 1967 - 1992: Titicut Follies is barred from distribution by legal order because the movie was considered a violation of the privacy of the prison inmates it filmed.[17]
* 1969: I Am Curious (Yellow) is banned as pornography. After three court cases, it was unbanned when the anti-obscenity laws concerning films was overturned.[17]
* 1987: Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story is banned from sale, distribution, and public exhibition by court order after a civil trial on copyright infringement.[17]
* 1997; The Tin Drum (film) was briefly banned in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, who deemed the film child pornography. The shot in question depicted minors performing oral sex.
* 1988: The Last Temptation of Christ banned in Savannah when city leaders sent a petition to Universal Studios requesting a ban. However, opened in Savannah on September 23, 1988, 6 weeks after national and worldwide debut.
* 2002 - present: The Profit is prevented from exhibition by a legal injunction in one jurisdiction by a lawsuit from the Church of Scientology claiming libel, pending trial. The Disinformation Book Of Lists and The Times have characterized The Profit as a “banned film” in the United States.[17][18]