preahko Posted March 20, 2007 Report Share Posted March 20, 2007 Now let me say up front that I am not a fan of violence--either perpetrated by myself (ha!) or others--in real life. I'm an incrediblly peaceful person and I detest everything from wars to bar brawls, and I will go to great lengths to stay clear of same. However, I love violent scenes in movies--not all of them, but those which just seem to resonate with the emotions in a visceral way. There are also scenes that I've never been able to watch all the way through (though I watch the film again and again), scenes which are almost beautiful for the poetic way they portray violence, scenes which make me cheer because someone is getting their comeuppance, and scenes so over the top bloody and violent they're actually funny ("cartoonish" is usually the term applied...think "Kill Bill"). Granted, this last category is not my favorite and hence doesn't account for many entries on my list. I'm more partial to the visceral scenes that really affect your psyche in one way or another. Again, I think it's totally possible to appreciate violent scenes in film which are done with power and subtlety and still be a perfectly sane, peace-loving person in everyday life. Harvey Kietel once said in an interview something to the effect of "violence in movies is something that should be fondly loved, carefully crafted, and preserved at all costs..." I totally agree with him. I don't think violent movies inspire real-life violence at all (though I guess they can in otherwise unstable individuals), if anything, they provide a harmless "outlet" for it. So, here are my choices, not in any order of ranking...and remember, by no means am I claiming these to be the *most* violent or gory scenes in movies (you'll notice there's no American X, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer or Evil Dead on my list), they just happen to be my personal favorites. BTW, I've also stuck to movies that most board members will be familiar with (no Japanese, Hong Kong or other entries here), and I've also focused on movies over the past 15 or so years. Warning...there are a few "spoilers" below as well. 1. A History of Violence. This definitely falls in the "beautiful" and "poetic" category. I can't single out any one scene, but basically anytime otherwise mild-mannered Viggo Mortenson is shooting off someone's face, breaking their neck, etc., it's just gorgeous. It probably has to do with the contrast of how his character usually acts, a very mild-mannered and good-hearted quiet family man, who's actually trying to escape his violent past... He does some nasty shit in that film, but it's almost impossible not to root for him. Directed by David Cronenberg, who excels at doing extreme things with the human body that you just can't look away from... 2. Sleeping With the Enemy. This falls into the "cheer for the killer" category: it's the scene at the very end where Julia Roberts is holding a gun on her abusive husband (brilliantly played by Patrick Bergin), who's confident she'll never actually shoot him, and she calls 911 and says "I've just killed an intruder..." You know what comes next. 3. Sideways. The scene where Thomas Haden Church's reprehensible misogynist playboy has his nose broken by Sandra Oh (yum). Just exquisite. 4. Hellraiser. This is one of the few gore-fests on my list. The best scene for me is the one at the end where Andrew Robinson is slowly ripped apart with hooks in his flesh by several different types of cartoonish demons (they looked pretty cool back in 1987, though)...and his last words, "And Jesus Wept..." 5. Reservoir Dogs. Yes, *that* scene ("Stuck in the Middle With You"). I still have never watched all the way through the scene, even though I know that at no time do you see the knife (razor?) actually touch the cop's ear. Tarantino is a genius...it all takes place in your mind. 6. True Romance. The scene where Patricia Arquette is brutally, horribly beaten by James Gandolfini--beautifully violent enough in its own right--and THEN turns the tables on him and bashes his brains out and repeatedly blasts his body with his own shotgun. Perversely, the problem the censors had with this scene was not where he beats her, but where SHE beats HIM! 7. Silence of the Lambs. Gotta love the way Hannibal Lechter dispatches the two cops while he's locked up in a cage...and then eats the face off the one and places it over his own face to facilitate his escape. Yikes! 8. Robocop. This is one of those violent scenes that makes me feel sad, but I still overall adore the movie: typical brilliant social commentary by the great director Paul Verhoven. The scene is the one where the cop who later becomes Robocop, "Murphy" (Peter Weller) is brutally near-murdered in a surprisingly extreme (but never "cartoonish") way by a gang of sadistic thugs. You just don't expect how far it will go the first time you watch it, and it's like you die with him... Also see Verhoven's fantastic commentary on fascism (which rings uncomfortably close to home in 2000s AmeriKKKa), Starship Troopers, for some truly over-the-top (and very well-done) violence. 9. Fight Club. I was really disturbed by the scene where Brad Pitt gives Ed Norton a base burn while he's demonstrating the soap-making process to him...his maniacal anarchist philosophy which he spouts throughout only adds to the creepiness of it all. Of course, (spoiler, don't read the end of this sentence if you haven't seen the movie) we find out later that Norton's character was doing it to himself... 10. Witness. This is a lot less extreme than all of my choices above, but I think it's still a beautifully crafted scene: where Harrison Ford's tough Philly cop character is hiding out among the Amish, masquerading as one of them, and a band of local yokels figure they can push him around just like any other big pacifist Amish farm boy...WRONG. The tension that comes when Ford tells the lead punk "You're making a mistake" in a clear voice is just awesome..as is the bloodshed that follows. One of those rare movie blows-to-the-nose that bleeds as much as the real thing. preahko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lazyphil Posted March 20, 2007 Report Share Posted March 20, 2007 i saw thread title, thought he better have the true romance scene, and you did!!......'ok no more mr nice guy' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bust Posted March 20, 2007 Report Share Posted March 20, 2007 American History X, The truck scene in the Hitcher, Once Upon a Time in America, Scarface, Casino, A Clockwork Orange, Saving Private Ryan and Telletubbies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted March 20, 2007 Report Share Posted March 20, 2007 Texas chainsaw... Saw... one and two Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiLeakHunt Posted March 20, 2007 Report Share Posted March 20, 2007 The pistol whipping in Goodfellas has a particularly convincing resonance and zeal. Its good honest "common or garden" violence none of your exploding head blockbuster nonsense. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckwoww Posted March 20, 2007 Report Share Posted March 20, 2007 Cinematic violence fans might enjoy the scene in 'Pan's Labyrinth' where El Capitan gets his mouth widened and has to stitch it up himself. Beautifully done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiLeakHunt Posted March 20, 2007 Report Share Posted March 20, 2007 Pan's Labyrinth is either very old or very new. Gives a bit of a lowdown man. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junglesoup Posted March 20, 2007 Report Share Posted March 20, 2007 I like this oneI ll seocond the goodfellas beaten, infact theres a couple of great beatens in it. Also the beaten at the end of Casino in the cornfields is pretty bad... I like these ones... gangster film parody more of the same... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckwoww Posted March 20, 2007 Report Share Posted March 20, 2007 New. Best thing I've seen in a long time. Clever mixture of reality and fantasy...some special effects but not overdone. http://www.panslabyrinth.com/about_synopsis.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lazyphil Posted March 20, 2007 Report Share Posted March 20, 2007 'wheres ya tool' nasty scene, you know from where SLH, or i'll go the the foot of my stairs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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