There is a lot of competition out there for the attention of your eyeballs. Advertising is everywhere, which is why the people who design movie posters will use every trick they can to make you look twice. Sex? Of course. Violence? Absolutely. Random controversy? Sure, if it works. This has led to many posters being banned by the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) and even other international organizations and governments. Here are 12 of our favourites posters that never survived being seen in public. Thankfully, the internet exists and isn’t governed by the stupid censorship of the MPAA.
12. Taxi To The Dark Side
While most of the posters on this list fall into two categories — too much sex or too much violence — the banning of this poster was more political than anything. The movie is a documentary about the usage of torture and interrogation in America’s War on Terrorism. The MPAA decided that the image of a prisoner with a bag over his head was too much, and banned the poster.
“Not permitting us to use an image of a hooded man that comes from a documentary photograph is censorship, pure and simple,” said the director Alex Gibney.