Horror, Sleaze and Trash.

The 1980 Italian-made, cult horror hit “Cannibal Holocaust” is considered one of the great cult horror movies of the last 40 years, but it’s not without its fair share of controversy. It’s still banned in a number of countries, and for reasons you’ll soon learn, the director was arrested for murder after its release.
The plot of “Cannibal Holocaust” follows a documentary film crew that goes missing in the Amazon rainforest while trying to find and film real-life cannibals living there. The movie opens with a rescue team recovering the missing crew’s cans of film. The found footage is then flown to New York, where a television station wishes to broadcast it. After that, we learn of the terrors the crew inflicted on the natives as well as the horrors the natives inflicted onto them.Needless to say, upon its release, the film provoked quite a bit of controversy. Because the violence is so realistic and shocking, after the premiere, Italian police confiscated the footage and arrested director Ruggero Deodato.

After his arrest, the courts charged Deodato with murder. They believed he may have actually killed some of the actors during filming. Making matters worse, Deodato had forced his stars to sign agreements not to appear in any media for one year after the movie. The intent was to make the premise of “Cannibal Holocaust” seem more realistic.In court, Deodato (pictured below in 2008) was forced to explain how he and his crew achieved some of the more brutal death scenes.

The actors were forced to come out of hiding and present themselves to the court. Eventually, police dropped the charges, though authorities in Deodato’s native Italy still decided to ban the film. (Source)