Pope John Paul II publicly condemned the film, stating that it was likely to offend the deeply religious. His remarks have since been used as a means to advertise the film.
Under pressure from Catholic Church organizations, the film was banned in Brazil when it was released in 1986. It was released in 1988, after the new Brazilian Constitution dismantled the censorship system inherited from the military dictatorship.
When a Minneapolis theater attempted to show this in 1985, the theater was broken into and the print was destroyed.
Columbia Pictures was initially set to release the film in the US through its joint venture with Gaumont, Triumph Films. However, the ensuing controversy over the film's content, combined with disagreements with Gaumont, led them to drop the film. Columbia ended the venture shortly after and New Yorker Films released the film.
All screenings in its initial theatrical distribution were preceded by the short film Le livre de Marie (1985) by Jean-Luc Godard's longtime companion and collaborator Anne-Marie Miéville. It is generally the case as well in TV and home video presentations.