Obscene, Indecent, Immoral and Offensive: 100+ Years of Censored, Banned, and Controversial Films [Paperback]

Stephen Tropiano (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2009

This entertaining and insightful book is the first devoted exclusively to films that push the cinematic envelope with explicit language, nudity, sex, violence, or "adult" themes. Stephen Tropiano offers astute and accessible analysis of such films as The Birth of a Nation, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Baby Doll, Blackboard Jungle, Bonnie and Clyde, A Clockwork Orange, Natural Born Killers, Rosemary's Baby, Life of Brian, and The Passion of the Christ.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 374 pages
• Publisher: Limelight Editions (January 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879103590
• ISBN-13: 978-0879103590
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #267,147 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From the LIBRARY JOURNAL (1/20/2009), April 11, 2009

By 

Steven Ginsberg (West Hollywood, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Obscene, Indecent, Immoral and Offensive: 100+ Years of Censored, Banned, and Controversial Films (Paperback)

Verdict: Tropiano tackles a century of film censorship, providing solid information, intriguing anecdotes, and fine analytical commentary. Film and popular culture enthusiasts will find this a valuable asset in academic and circulating libraries.

Background: Tropiano (Rebels & Chicks: A History of the Hollywood Teen Movie) explores major censorship targets--language, violence, sex, nudity, politics, and religion--and cites diverse examples of controversial films to demonstrate the impact of regulatory guidelines during various eras and to outline the breadth of questions and compromises that factored into ratings and related decisions. This study is not a recitation of rules and cases but rather a thoughtfully researched and presented analysis of a major facet of film culture.--Carol J. Binkowski, Bloomfield, NJ