Three Films You’ll Be Surprised Are Censored and Three You Probably Won’t Be

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After almost 100 years, Sweden has decided to close its board of film censors, Statens Biografbyrå. Wow, way to be ahead of the times, Sweden! Well, actually, it turns out that they haven’t really censored anything in a major film since Casino in 1995. Regardless, the board will continue to operate until 2011, when it will be disbanded and a new organization will take over the country’s age-based rating system. But all of this talk about censored films got us thinking, so we put together a list of some films that have been banned in various countries and some of them really surprised us! Check it out after the jump.

Not Surprised: Cannibal Holocaust – widely considered the most banned film in history, is said to have been censored in over 60 countries because of graphic content.

The Last House on the Left (1972 version) – One of Wes Craven’s first biggies, this baby was censored in many of the countries it was released in and couldn’t be viewed or purchased in the UK until 2003.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974 version) – It was one of the most critically acclaimed movies of the year, was accepted at Cannes, inspired filmmakers for decades and, oh yeah, was banned in five countries.

Surprise!: Bruce Almighty – You may remember hearing about this one getting banned in Egypt and Malaysia because of religious issues. We actually like to think of Morgan Freeman as God – it gives us hope that our lives might have a voiceover as awesome as the Shawshank Redemption.

Saturday Night Fever – Yes, the one with John Travolta and The Bee Gees. This one was banned in three countries, which, we can only assume, was to defend against everyone in those countries having “Stayin’ Alive” stuck in their heads forever.

Monty Python’s Life of Brian – This comedy classic was completely banned in Norway for blasphemy and (just to bring it all back to the Swedes) is now marketed in Sweden as “the movie so funny it was banned in Norway!”

Did we miss a one of your favorite banned films? Let us know in the comments.