Movies You Love, but Dictators Hate
Which of these select movies banned during a past or present authoritarian regime or dictatorship* is your favorite forbidden film? Sources: Wikipedia, The Economist *Democracy Index Scale 0-4
Cast your vote or discuss the topic here.
Cast your vote or discuss the topic here.
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- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinPaulette GoddardJack OakieDictator Adenoid Hynkel tries to expand his empire while a poor Jewish barber tries to avoid persecution from Hynkel's regime.Banned for "mocking dictatorships" and as "imperialist propaganda."
Argentina, Germany, Paraguay, Uganda - DirectorDavid FincherStarsBrad PittEdward NortonMeat LoafAn insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soap maker form an underground fight club that evolves into much more.Banned as part of a "prohibition on Western technology and art including all films" during the five-year reign of the Taliban government (1996-2001).
Afghanistan - DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioMatt DamonJack NicholsonAn undercover cop and a mole in the police attempt to identify each other while infiltrating an Irish gang in South Boston.Banned for "implying Chinese government would use nuclear weapons on Taiwan."
China - DirectorPatty JenkinsStarsGal GadotChris PineRobin WrightWhen a pilot crashes and tells of conflict in the outside world, Diana, an Amazonian warrior in training, leaves home to fight a war, discovering her full powers and true destiny.Banned "in accordance with a decades-old Lebanese law and Arab League policy that boycotts Israeli products, namely Gal Gadot"
Lebanon, Qatar - DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMartin SheenMarlon BrandoRobert DuvallA U.S. Army officer serving in Vietnam is tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god.Banned under President Park Chung-hee's regime for "its anti-war themes."
South Korea - DirectorWilliam WylerStarsCharlton HestonJack HawkinsStephen BoydAfter a Jewish prince is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend in 1st-century Jerusalem, he regains his freedom and comes back for revenge.Banned under the regime of Mao Zedong for containing "propaganda of superstitious beliefs, namely Christianity" and as "imperialist propaganda."
China, Uganda - DirectorPeter JacksonStarsElijah WoodIan McKellenOrlando BloomA meek Hobbit from the Shire and eight companions set out on a journey to destroy the powerful One Ring and save Middle-earth from the Dark Lord Sauron.Banned as part of a "prohibition on Western technology and art including all films" during the five-year reign of the Taliban government (1996-2001).
Afghanistan - DirectorDavid SilvermanStarsDan CastellanetaJulie KavnerNancy CartwrightAfter Homer pollutes the town's water supply, Springfield is encased in a gigantic dome by the EPA and the Simpsons are declared fugitives.Banned for the "juxtaposition of yellow and red" as unlucky (rebel group colors).
Burma - DirectorZack SnyderStarsGerard ButlerLena HeadeyDavid WenhamIn the ancient battle of Thermopylae, King Leonidas and 300 Spartans fight against Xerxes and his massive Persian army. They face insurmountable odds when they are betrayed by a Spartan reject.Banned for "its negative portrayal of the Persian military."
Iran - DirectorCosta-GavrasStarsYves MontandIrene PapasJean-Louis TrintignantThe public murder of a prominent politician and doctor amid a violent demonstration is covered up by military and government officials. A tenacious magistrate is determined not to let them get away with it.Banned for "being critical of the Greek junta, known as the Regime of the Colonels" (in conjunction with a ban on the letter "Z")" and as "imperialist propaganda."
Greece, Uganda - DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinPaulette GoddardHenry BergmanThe Tramp struggles to live in modern industrial society with the help of a young homeless woman.Banned in Nazi Germany "for advocating Communism" and as "imperialist propaganda."
Germany, Uganda - DirectorFrank DarabontStarsTom HanksMichael Clarke DuncanDavid MorseA tale set on death row, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the lead guard, Paul Edgecombe, recognizes John's gift, he tries to help stave off the condemned man's execution.Banned as part of a "prohibition on Western technology and art including all films" during the five-year reign of the Taliban government (1996-2001).
Afghanistan - DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsLiam NeesonRalph FiennesBen KingsleyIn German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.Banned for "for being propaganda with the intent of soliciting sympathy for the Jewish cause."
Indonesia, Malaysia - DirectorSylvester StalloneStarsSylvester StalloneJulie BenzMatthew MarsdenIn Thailand, John Rambo joins a group of mercenaries to venture into war-torn Burma, and rescue a group of Christian aid workers who were kidnapped by the ruthless local infantry unit.Banned for "negative portrayals of Burmese soldiers."
Burma - DirectorMichael CiminoStarsRobert De NiroChristopher WalkenJohn CazaleAn in-depth examination of the ways in which the Vietnam War impacts and disrupts the lives of several friends in a small steel mill town in Pennsylvania.Banned for "danger of being misunderstood" and as "imperialist propaganda."
Paraguay, Uganda - DirectorStanley KubrickStarsKirk DouglasRalph MeekerAdolphe MenjouAfter a failed attack on a German position, a general orders three soldiers, chosen at random, court-martialed for cowardice and their commanding officer must defend them.Banned under Franco's regime for "its anti-military themes" and as "imperialist propaganda."
Spain, Uganda - DirectorRidley ScottStarsRussell CroweJoaquin PhoenixConnie NielsenA former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery.Banned as part of a "prohibition on Western technology and art including all films" during the five-year reign of the Taliban government (1996-2001).
Afghanistan - DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreGeorge W. BushBen AffleckMichael Moore's view on what happened to the United States after September 11 and how the Bush Administration allegedly used the tragic event to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.Banned for "being critical of the Iraq war and being an insult to Saudi Arabia's royal family."
Kuwait, Saudi Arabia - DirectorBen AffleckStarsBen AffleckBryan CranstonJohn GoodmanActing under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1979.Banned for "its negative portrayal of Iran."
Iran - DirectorDavid LeanStarsOmar SharifJulie ChristieGeraldine ChaplinThe life of a Russian physician and poet who, although married to another, falls in love with a political activist's wife and experiences hardship during World War I and then the October Revolution.Banned for "its negative portrayal of the October Revolution and communist Russia" (in conjunction with a ban on Boris Pasternak's novel, both lifted 1994)" and as "imperialist propaganda."
Russia, Uganda - DirectorDavid LeanStarsPeter O'TooleAlec GuinnessAnthony QuinnThe story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks.Banned for "a disrespectful portrayal of Arab culture", as "imperialist propaganda", "for being anti-Turkish" and "misrepresentation."
Jordan, Uganda, Turkey and many other Arab countries - DirectorLana WachowskiLilly WachowskiStarsKeanu ReevesLaurence FishburneCarrie-Anne MossWhen a beautiful stranger leads computer hacker Neo to a forbidding underworld, he discovers the shocking truth--the life he knows is the elaborate deception of an evil cyber-intelligence.Banned as part of a "prohibition on Western technology and art including all films" during the five-year reign of the Taliban government (1996-2001).
Afghanistan - DirectorEvan GoldbergSeth RogenStarsJames FrancoSeth RogenRandall ParkDave Skylark and his producer Aaron Rapaport run the celebrity tabloid show "Skylark Tonight". When they land an interview with a surprise fan, North Korean dictator Jong-Un Kim, they are recruited by the CIA to assassinate him.Banned for "justifying and encouraging terrorism via the film's premise about the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un."
North Korea - DirectorRandall WallaceStarsMel GibsonMadeleine StoweGreg KinnearThe story of the first major battle of the American phase of the Vietnam War, and the soldiers on both sides that fought it, while their wives wait nervously and anxiously at home for the good news or the bad news.Banned for "distorting the history of a just war and the humanity of the Vietnamese people."
Vietnam - DirectorArmando IannucciStarsSteve BuscemiSimon Russell BealeJeffrey TamborMoscow, 1953. After being in power for nearly 30 years, Soviet dictator, Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, takes ill and quickly dies. Now the members of the Council of Ministers scramble for power.Banned by Russia's Ministry of Culture as "... its satire was part of an alleged Western plot to destabilize the country."
Russia - DirectorFrank CapraStarsJames StewartJean ArthurClaude RainsA naive youth leader is appointed to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate. His idealistic plans promptly collide with corruption at home and subterfuge from his hero in Washington, but he tries to forge ahead despite attacks on his character.Banned in Nazi Germany "for showing democracy working well" and as "imperialist propaganda."
Germany, Uganda - DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsTom HanksMatt DamonTom SizemoreFollowing the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.Banned as part of a "prohibition on Western technology and art including all films" during the five-year reign of the Taliban government (1996-2001).
Afghanistan - DirectorTrey ParkerStarsTrey ParkerMatt StoneMary Kay BergmanWhen Stan Marsh and his friends go see an R-rated movie, they start cursing and their parents think that Canada is to blame.Banned for "pervasive vulgar language and crude sexual humor, and for some violent images", as well as, "depicting (dictator) Saddam Hussein in a comedic light."
Burma, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Vietnam and other nations. - DirectorTrey ParkerStarsTrey ParkerMatt StoneElle RussPopular Broadway actor Gary Johnston is recruited by the elite counter-terrorism organization Team America: World Police. As the world begins to crumble around him, he must battle with terrorists, celebrities and falling in love.Banned for "ridiculing President Kim Jong-Il."
North Korea - DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsMichael J. FoxChristopher LloydLea ThompsonMarty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown.Banned for "depicting time travel and superficial depiction of significant historical events."
China - DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsLew AyresLouis WolheimJohn WrayA German youth eagerly enters World War I, but his enthusiasm wanes as he gets a firsthand view of the horror.Banned for "being "anti-German" and anti-militaristic", "imperialist propaganda" and alternatively being too "pro-German." (France, Poland)
Germany, Uganda - DirectorSam MendesStarsKevin SpaceyAnnette BeningThora BirchA sexually frustrated suburban father has a mid-life crisis after becoming infatuated with his daughter's best friend.Banned as part of a "prohibition on Western technology and art including all films" during the five-year reign of the Taliban government (1996-2001).
Afghanistan - DirectorPeter BergStarsJamie FoxxChris CooperJennifer GarnerA team of U.S. government agents are sent to investigate the bombing of an American facility in the Middle East.Banned for "an inaccurate depiction of a 1996 bombing in Saudi Arabia."
Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia - DirectorJames CameronStarsLeonardo DiCaprioKate WinsletBilly ZaneA seventeen-year-old aristocrat falls in love with a kind but poor artist aboard the luxurious, ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic.Banned as part of a "prohibition on Western technology and art including all films" during the five-year reign of the Taliban government (1996-2001).
Afghanistan - DirectorLeo McCareyStarsGroucho MarxHarpo MarxChico MarxRufus T. Firefly is named the dictator of bankrupt Freedonia and declares war on neighboring Sylvania over the love of his wealthy backer Mrs. Teasdale, contending with two inept spies who can't seem to keep straight which side they're on.Banned for "poking fun at dictators and war", "because the comedy stars were Jewish" and as "imperialist propaganda."
Germany, Italy, Uganda