# Head butts in cinema (or on tv) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 3, 2007, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-butts-in-cinema-or-on-tv/414296 "2007-08-03T14:59:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-butts-in-cinema-or-on-tv/414296/1 "2007-08-03T14:59:59Z")
I’m compiling a list of movies that include head butts for a staff report. The list might as well include tv shows . Here’s what I’ve got so far: La Balance (1983) Lethal Weapon (1987) Kindergaten Cop (1990) Dances With Wolves (1990) One Good Cop (1991) Batman Returns (1992) Internal Affairs (1990) The Hard Way (1991) Hook (1991) Star Trek VI (1991) The Commitments (1991) Black Rain (1989) Red Eye (2005) I’d appreciate any additions you folks can supply. ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-butts-in-cinema-or-on-tv/414296/2 "2007-08-03T15:13:22Z")
Last night I watched _Following_ (Dir. Christopher Nolan, 1998) which features quite a nice one. ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-butts-in-cinema-or-on-tv/414296/3 "2007-08-03T15:16:17Z")
First one I thought of, just because I saw it again recently, is **Leaving Las Vegas** , when Nicolas Cage gets head butted in the bar. That led me to find that IMDB actually has “head butt” as a searchable keyword, believe it or not. [Link is here](http://www.imdb.com/keyword/head-butt/?sort=date) It’s obviously not all-inclusive (only more recent movies seem to be included), but does have several of the ones you mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-butts-in-cinema-or-on-tv/414296/4 "2007-08-03T15:24:11Z")
[QUOTE=jk1245] That led me to find that IMDB actually has “head butt” as a searchable keyword, believe it or not. [/QUOTE] Heh. I’d intended to check that, but forgot about it. Thanks. As you note, though, it doesn’t appear to generate a comprehensive list, so I’m still glad I started this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-butts-in-cinema-or-on-tv/414296/5 "2007-08-03T17:03:23Z")
I seem to remember Bob Hoskins doing a pretty wicked head butt in _Mona Lisa._ ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-butts-in-cinema-or-on-tv/414296/6 "2007-08-03T17:09:20Z")
If you’re including TV shows, Kate delivers a few decent headbutts on “Lost”. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-butts-in-cinema-or-on-tv/414296/7 "2007-08-03T17:10:39Z")
This list would be so much easier … and longer … if the two search words had been reversed. In an episode of the Simpsons, Bart and Homer pots on their heads and butt heads with one another. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-butts-in-cinema-or-on-tv/414296/8 "2007-08-03T17:11:54Z")
Mean Machine from the Judge Dredd movie, but hardly the best example. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-butts-in-cinema-or-on-tv/414296/9 "2007-08-03T17:18:59Z")
Road Warrior has a rare lethal headbutt, including a closeup of the victim’s dished-in forehead. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-butts-in-cinema-or-on-tv/414296/10 "2007-08-03T17:24:54Z")
Okay then, so is there anything before 1980 ( **The Road Warrior** )? You often see the headbutt used in period dramas (okay action flicks), but did anyone use them in fights 40-50+ years ago? ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-butts-in-cinema-or-on-tv/414296/11 "2007-08-03T17:29:20Z")
IIRC, there’s a mean head butt in **Trainspotting**. I’d want independent verification, though. It’s been a few years. Accidental, and non, head butts happen all the time in boxing matches. The recent Hopkins-Wright fight had a head butt that opened a nasty cut, if you’re looking for some footage. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-butts-in-cinema-or-on-tv/414296/12 "2007-08-03T17:38:10Z")
TV shows are fair game? Then I think in one episode of _Black Adder Goes Forth_, a loudmouthed fighter pilot character gives a potent head butt to Captain Darling. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-butts-in-cinema-or-on-tv/414296/13 "2007-08-03T17:38:52Z")
[QUOTE=John DiFool] Okay then, so is there anything before 1980 ( **The Road Warrior** )? You often see the headbutt used in period dramas (okay action flicks), but did anyone use them in fights 40-50+ years ago? [/QUOTE] I didn’t add it because it’s a show, not a movie, but in the History of Ballooning episode of Monty Python’s flying circus, King Louis the 14th or so (played by Michael Palin with a strong Scottish accent), head butts one of the Montgolfier brothers when he questions whether he’s really the king. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-butts-in-cinema-or-on-tv/414296/14 "2007-08-03T17:46:29Z")
[QUOTE=John DiFool] Okay then, so is there anything before 1980 ( **The Road Warrior** )? You often see the headbutt used in period dramas (okay action flicks), but did anyone use them in fights 40-50+ years ago? [/QUOTE] 1. I’ve been wondering the same thing, even though that’s not really the focus of the staff report. One of my sources for the staff report is a New York Times article that says it was rare before the mid-1980s. 2. Yeah. TV shows, too. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-butts-in-cinema-or-on-tv/414296/15 "2007-08-03T17:47:26Z")
If this is for a Staff Report, make sure you make note of The First Rule of Film Headbutts: “It won’t hurt you if it was your idea”. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-butts-in-cinema-or-on-tv/414296/16 "2007-08-03T17:48:05Z")
There’s one in **Hot Fuzz** , during the fight between Sgt. Angel and Michael “Lurch” Armstrong. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-butts-in-cinema-or-on-tv/414296/17 "2007-08-03T17:49:13Z")
If it’s just “on TV”, I saw a wicked head butt on some compilation show like “Totally Outrageous Behaviour” not long ago. A basketball ref was knocked out cold by a head butt from a player. Not sure If I would be able to nail it down though. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-butts-in-cinema-or-on-tv/414296/18 "2007-08-03T17:50:58Z")
[QUOTE=Hal Briston] If this is for a Staff Report, make sure you make note of The First Rule of Film Headbutts: “It won’t hurt you if it was your idea”. [/QUOTE] Definitely. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-butts-in-cinema-or-on-tv/414296/19 "2007-08-03T17:57:31Z")
In the “Wonder Woman” TV show, she head-butted an alien during a fight. It was in the episode “The Boy Who Knew Her Secret, Part Two” from season three. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-butts-in-cinema-or-on-tv/414296/20 "2007-08-03T17:59:09Z")
Oh, Happy Gilmore head butts Bob Barker in “Happy Gilmore”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-butts-in-cinema-or-on-tv/414296.md?page=2)