A very strange little number which was released, then immediately withdrawn in 1932 to remain banned for over fifty years. Still pretty disturbing today, despite the triumph of the various aesthetically-challenged "freaks" over their so-called normal tormenters, showing the revenge taken by a group of circus freaks on a beautiful trapeze artist and her strongman lover after they have tried to kill a midget for his fortune. find out more...

Christy Brown was an Irish cerebal palsy victim who overcame his severe handicap to become a talented painter and author with just the use of his left foot. Daniel Day Lewis is totally and utterly convincing as Brown - using method acting he became Brown and his thoroughness makes the film a great one. find out more...

A woman living in the modern world gets struck by a C20th disease, an allergy to all things environmentally unfriendly, and is forced to seek sanctuary in the Texas desert with the evangelical and the afflicted. A tale of our possible future? Psychological suspense, horrifying and occasionally comic. find out more...

A man deformed by a rare illness is taken up and patronised by fashionable London society - another freak show for the elephant man to be exhibited in. David Lynch's highly individual style here perfectly complements the film's material. A dark and brooding, yet sympathetic and sentimental film. find out more...

Scraping past the BBTF board by the skin of its teeth thanks to its notorious yet brief orgy scene, "The Idiots" picked up quite a bit of hype. It took the Cannes Film Festival by storm and shocked, disgusted and largely entertained audiences ever since. The plot centres around a group of friends who decide to explore their 'inner idiot' potential. As the characters throw morals aside, the film looks at the subversive effect on the society. Made under the Dogma 95 Manifesto created by 'Breaking find out more...

Originally banned by both the American and British censors, this has an Oscar nominated Frank Sinatra as you've never seen him before - as a strung-out junkie dealing with heroin addiction, a penchant for gambling at poker and a crippled wife, but trying to start a new life as a jazz drummer. A controversial film with an excellent jazz soundtrack. find out more...

Ex-child star Jane is a has-been losing her looks, who lives in a decaying Hollywood mansion with her younger sister, who had previously surplanted her as a movie star. An absolutely brilliant study of sibling rivalry, shattered dreams and power dynamics within relationships. Davis and Crawford at their best in this adaptation of a classic Henry Farrell novel. find out more...

The blind masseur Zatoichi wanders the countryside of 19th Century Japan, a perpetual drifter. Taking respite in a small town riven by gang power struggles, the initially unassuming Zatoichi soon finds reason to unleash the most lethal of skills, his peerless abilities with the sword. Zatoichi is a remarkable mix and match of genres; historical drama, morality tale, action movie and comedy, an often surreal but hugely entertaining slice of Japanese cinema from the director of Hana Bi and Violent find out more...