10 movies that shock and awe

"Crash" (1996)

Tagline: Love in the dying moments of the twentieth century.

Director: David Cronenberg

The plot: No, not the "Crash" with Ludacris (which is shocking only in its myopic vision of L.A.). Cronenberg’s "Crash," based on the book by J.G. Ballard, is about a TV director (James Spader) who enters a sexual subculture of miscreants turned on by car wrecks.

The shock: Gruesome car crashes and kinky sex scenes. The film caused some critics to storm out of screenings at the Cannes film festival, where it also earned a Special Jury Prize.