Another day, another controversy incited by the oft-prudish rulings of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). This time it’s Terry Gilliam’s The Zero Theorem that’s the target, a poster for the film banned due to star Christoph Waltz’s bare bottom (featured after the break). This isn’t the first time the MPAA or another ratings board has put the kibosh on a poster, frequently unwarranted. We revisited the cases of ten banned movie posters (and one unofficially banned image) so you can be the judge.
A little hiney never hurt anyone, but the MPAA has something against Christoph Waltz’s bum. The last chapter in Terry Gilliam’s dystopian-satire trilogy (along with Brazil and 12 Monkeys), The Zero Theorem, is set to appear in theaters on September 19. A poster for the film features Waltz’s character Qohen Leth — a reclusive computer hacker who attempts to uncover the secret of human existence — in the fetal position, floating through space, baring his backside. “Zero Theorem is off to a good start in the U.S., thanks to the Motion Picture Association of America’s censors. They have banned our teaser poster because of a bare butt. Your thoughts, please,” Gilliam wrote on his Facebook page. Fans railed against the Motion Picture Association of America in the comments section, calling the ban “stupid” and “lame.”
Unless you’ve been living in a shoebox since 2004, then you’re probably aware that the Saw franchise is incredibly gory. The horror series’ entire premise revolves around a character named Jigsaw who traps and tests his victims (who have usually done some wrongdoing) by torturing them physically and psychologically. For the Saw sequel, studio Lionsgate released a visceral poster featuring two severed fingers. Initially, the gruesome image managed to slip past the MPAA, but the organization caught on and deemed it unacceptable.
The UK didn’t offer a warm welcome to the Eli Roth-produced horror film The Last Exorcism. When a poster promoting the movie appeared on buses, in magazines, and other public spots, locals started to complain. In some cases, it was displayed near schools. The Advertising Standards Authority banned the poster, believing the image of a young girl wearing a blood-splattered dress suggested she had been violently sexually assaulted.
“An in-depth look at the torture practices of the United States in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, focusing on an innocent taxi driver in Afghanistan who was tortured and killed in 2002,” reads the synopsis for the 2007 film Taxi to the Dark Side. The controversial movie had a poster to match. Although the image didn’t feature blood, gore, or something sexual, it did depict a man in a hood being led away by two soldiers. After the poster for Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross’s 2006 film The Road to Guantanamo was rejected by the MPAA, the one-sheet for Alex Gibney’s documentary didn’t stand a chance. “Not permitting us to use an image of a hooded man that comes from a documentary photograph is censorship, pure and simple,” the director responded. “Intentional or not, the MPAA’s disapproval of the poster is a political act, undermining legitimate criticism of the Bush administration. I agree that the image is offensive; it’s also real [a composite of two real photographs].” The MPAA responded: “We treat all films the same. Ads will be seen by all audiences, including children. If the advertising is not suitable for all audiences it will not be approved by the advertising administration.”
South Korea’s Media Rating Board banned the poster for Park Chan-wook’s horror tale Thirst, about a Catholic priest who is transformed into a vampire after a botched medical experiment. In the photo, Song Kang-ho’s bloodsucking clergyman is shown being “strangled” by a naked Kim Ok-bin, her legs in the air. The Media Rating Board said “No” to the sexually suggestive image since it featured a priest. The poster was altered, removing the actress’ legs to make it more suitable.
Jess Weixler’s Dawn O’Keefe is afflicted with vagina dentata in the 2007 horror-comedy Teeth. An alt poster for the film’s UK release was banned since it displayed an X-ray image of O’Keefe’s chompers, deemed inappropriate. We’re guessing the poster just scared the hell out of a few dudes.
Where Sacha Baron Cohen goes, controversy is sure to follow. The poster for the English comedian’s 2002 film Ali G Indahouse, inspired by Cohen’s characters from the satirical hip hop-flavored Da Ali G Show, was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority. The organization ruled the nude image (and Cohen’s invasive hand) was offensive and pornographic. An advertising watchdog received 109 complaints about the ad in just five days after it was displayed.
The marketing team behind Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy’s buddy cop film The Heat came under fire after the release of a UK poster with a cruddy Photoshop job. McCarthy was barely recognizable after her face was slimmed, smoothed, and altered. The results were atrocious, the Internet was outraged (unofficially banning it), and McCarthy’s weight was yet again the unfair target of other people’s insecurities. The same thing happened to her when the Bridesmaids poster was released, featuring a noticeably slimmed-down version of the actress.
After everyone and their mother felt compelled to comment on Michael Fassbender’s penis and nude body following the release of Steve McQueen’s Shame, along came (sorry) this Hungarian poster for the film, complete with gooey font. The one-sheet was banned in Hungary, but we’re guessing it wasn’t because the image is downright moronic, immature, and totally misses the film’s message about the personal and communal effects of sex addiction.
When the PTA attacks your horror film for terrorizing children, you’ve probably done something right. Enter 1984’s Silent Night, Deadly Night, which was one of the earliest ad campaign controversies in horror cinema. Unleashed one month before Christmas, the film’s posters and TV spots featured a maniacal axe-wielding Santa. The theatrical release was picketed, the posters were banned, and the film was eventually yanked from theaters.
Just a few months ago, the poster for part two in the Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller-directed Sin City series, A Dame to Kill For, was banned by the MPAA for “nudity — curve of under breast and dark nipple/areola circle visible through sheer gown.” Got it: underboob is more dangerous than the gun she’s holding that actually kills people.