This entertaining and insightful book is the first devoted exclusively to the films that have earned a special place in motion picture history by pushing the 'cinematic envelope' with their treatment of provocative subjects and themes. "Obscene, Indecent, Immoral & Offensive: 100+ Years of Censored, Banned and Controversial Films" chronicles the history of Hollywood censorship and the films that were banned, censored, and condemned by the Production Code Administration and the Legion of Decency. Stephen Tropiano offers readers insightful and accessible analysis of films that were branded 'controversial' at the time of their release due to explicit language, nudity, graphic sex, violence, and their treatment of 'adult' subject matter and themes.The films profiled include "The Birth of a Nation", "Anatomy of a Murder", "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", "Baby Doll", "Blackboard Jungle", "Bonnie and Clyde", "The Wild Bunch", "A Clockwork Orange", "Natural Born Killers", "Caligula", "Rosemary's Baby", "Life of Brian", "The Last Temptation of Christ", and "The Passion of the Christ".

Author Biography

Stephen Tropiano (Los Angeles, CA) is the author of Rebels & Chicks: A History of the Hollywood Teen Movie (978-0-8230-9701-2) and The Prime Time Closet: A History of Gays and Lesbians on TV (Applause.) He is currently the editor of the Journal of Film and Video, the oldest film journal in the United States. He is also the founding director of the Ithaca College Los Angeles Program, where he teaches courses on film and television history, theory, and criticism.