Shocking Cinema of the 70s

This collection offers a serious examination of 1970s cinema that pushed boundaries across international filmmaking, from mainstream productions to marginalized works. Julian Petley analyzes films that courted controversy by tackling difficult subjects, creating a decade of cinema that consistently challenged audiences. Rather than simply cataloging shocking moments, this book investigates why these films provoked such strong reactions and what they revealed about their cultural moments. The analysis spans global cinema, examining how different societies defined transgressive content during this turbulent decade.

What distinguishes this work is its refusal to romanticize cinematic shock value, instead providing nuanced cultural context for why certain images and narratives disturbed audiences. Petley explores the gap between artistic intention and public reception, making this particularly valuable for film students and cinephiles interested in the relationship between society and screen. The book's international scope reveals fascinating patterns in what different cultures found unacceptable during the 1970s. Readers will come away with a deeper understanding of how controversial cinema both reflected and shaped the era's social anxieties.