Books in the Controversies series

A study of controversies over The Passion of the Christ that shows how conservative Christians united in support of Mel Gibson and in opposition to liberal, secular and Jewish critics. King explores how the public battle in the USA over the editing and rating of this film generated more controversy than any other in recent cinematic history.

Straw Dogs ignited fierce debate amongst audiences, critics, and censorship bodies on both sides of the Atlantic on its release in 1971. Stevie Simkin's study sheds light on the film's (mis)fortunes at the BBFC in 1971 and tracks its subsequent tortuous journey towards home video release, including extensive research into Peckinpah's archive.

Drawing on new research in the Stanley Kubrick Archive at the University of the Arts London, Kramer's study explores the production, marketing and reception as well as the themes and style of A Clockwork Orange against the backdrop of Kubrick's previous work and of wider developments in cinema, culture and society from the 1950s to the early 1970s.

In the first in-depth study of Basic Instinct (1992), one of the earliest mainstream erotic thrillers, Stevie Simkin addresses the controversy around the film's sexual content (particularly the notorious interrogation scene) and its allegedly homophobic and misogynistic depiction of lesbian and female characters.

Bad Boy Bubby focuses on a 35 year-old man-child whose 'mother/keeper' keeps him imprisoned in a windowless hovel. From the moment it entered the festival cycle in 1993, the film has polarized audiences. This volume examines how and why the film produced such conflicting responses, as well as reviewing its current relevance.

A critical study of Gasper Noe's Irreversible (2002) in the context of cinema du corps, which seeks to scrutinise the controversies that surround the film and analyse its deliberately incoherent, confrontational style.

'Falling Down' (1993) caused controversy because of its depiction of violence and vigilantism, and was accused of racism in its portrayal of a Korean shopkeeper. Jude Davies explores the film's production and reception context, arguing that it was marketed as a deliberate provocation to a growing 'uncivility' in American society.