Most controversial films
A poster for the movie "The Interview" is carried away by a worker after being pulled from a display case at a Carmike Cinemas movie theater, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014, in Atlanta, Georgia.
Here are some other films that have drawn controversy over the years.
Birth of Nation, 1915
The first 12-reel film in the U.S. (lasting 133 minutes) "Birth of a Nation" is seen by many as an artistic masterpiece and a landmark in film history. It also glorifies the Ku Klux Klan. Riots brooke out in several cities where the film was shown and it was banned in many others. The film is credited with a rise in Klan membership that lasted into the 1920s.
The Great Dictator, 1940
Jack Oakie as Benzino Napaloni, left, and Charlie Chaplin as Adenoid Hynkel.
Charlie Chaplin's political satire of Adolf Hitler was released as war raged in Europe but before the U.S. entered the conflict. The film was banned in many parts of Europe.
Lolita, 1962
The adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov's book focuses on a relationship between an adult man and a teenager girl. The film toned down the nature of their relationship to meet censor's approval, but was still limited to audiences 16 and older in Great Britain.
Blow-Up, 1966
Set in London's swinging sixties the film's depiction of sex and nudity is credited (along with "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?") with the abandonment of the Hays Code which had been in use since the 1930s and the creation of the MPAA.
A Clockwork Orange, 1971
The depiction of sex and violence were shocking to audiences in 1971. Stanley Kubrick is said to have personally asked Warner Brothers to pull the film from distribution in Great Britain following several copycat crimes. It was made available again after Kubrick's death in 1999.
Last Tango in Paris, 1972
The story of an anonymous affair was given an X rating in the U.S. and faced censorship in several forms in many countries.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, 1984
Due to scenes the MPAA found gory, the group gave the second Indiana Jones movie and "Gremlins" a brand new rating: PG-13.
The Last Temptation of Christ, 1988
Martin Scorsese's interpretation of the Gospels depicts Jesus consummating his marriage to Mary Magdalene. Fundamentalist Christian groups protested the film and several theater chains refused to show it. Activists firebombed a Paris, France theater during a screening, injuring 13.
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, 1989
Noting the film's nude, violent and cannabalistic scenes, the MPAA gave the producers the choice of receiving an X rating or being distributed unrated to adults only. Soon after the film's release, as well as that of "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" in 1990, the MPAA changed the X rating to NC-17.
American Psycho, 2000
Christian Bale plays a serial killer who gleefully begins his killing spree to the tune of Huey Lewis and the News. Some saw it a dark comedy, others as overly macabre.
Team America: World Police
Though the MPAA objected to scenes of marionette sex before its release, the film is facing scrutiny for its depiction of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il as a terrorist leader.
The Interview
Following a hack at Sony Pictures Entertainment and threats of violence at screenings of "The Interview," Sony pulled the Dec. 25 release of the film.
Sony pulled the release of the Seth Rogen and James Franco comedy about a planned assassination of current North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.