A sublimely ridiculous thesp-filled porno-togarama - with a gob-smacking combination of luvvies, Ancient Rome and Penthouse magazine. Malcolm McDowell plays the dastardly, epileptic Roman Emperor hell-bent on testing his authority before he goes mad and his subjects get even. The cast includes John Gielgud, Peter O'Toole and Helen Mirren, but the undoubted star of the show is Danilo Donati's staggering set design complete with fabulously grandiose beheading machine. As a Penthouse funded Tinto Brass film, expect a lot of nudity that's rarely explicit but entirely gratuitous.

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A plane carrying models, Vietnam vets, palaeontologists and drunk wives crashes in the 'Valley of the Dinosaurs', a remote part of a cannibal-infested jungle in this extreme piece of cinema. Featuring cockfighting, death by quicksand, heart ripping, piranha shin-shredding, sacrificial rites and copious female nakedness, Cannibal Ferox 2 certainly has its moments. Even within the realm of low-grade exploitation fare, this comedy-tinged adventure film, like its impenetrable location, is pretty hard going.

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One of the most notorious films to emerge from the Italian exploitation boom, Deodato's shockumentary-style film, investigating the disappearance of American reporters in the South American jungle, is extreme viewing. Be warned: this film contains scenes that most will find offensive and is not recommended for unprepared viewers. Featuring alarming moments of penis chopping, violent rape and brutal abortion, the film's most lasting image is that of a young Yamamomo girl skewered from rectum to mouth to by a large pole.

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Adapted from Anthony Burgess's slim best-selling novel written in the invented street slang Nadsat, A Clockwork Orange tells the story of Alex (Malcolm McDowell) and his thug friends, addicted to mindless acts of violence, killing tramps and raping women. Equally violent is the state's aversion therapy Alex is forced to endure to cure him of his addiction. A Clockwork Orange became infamous in 1973, not because of the extreme violence on show, but for director Stanley Kubrick's decision to withdraw the movie in the UK, because of copycat acts of violence blamed on the film.

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Even by his high standards, the column inches dedicated to David Cronenberg's adaptation of JG Ballard's tale of autophilia were notable. Agitation from the usual reactionary suspects came in response to the film's provocative deviance - in the form of fetishising car crashes and turning them into auto-erotic experiences. Cinema and automobiles were born in the same year - 1897 – and so it's fitting that Cronenberg managed to find a way to unite the two. The media storm surrounding Crash failed to comprehend the film's power. People driving themselves to destruction in cars, isn't that rather fitting?

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