# Most Violent Scene in a Movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 25, 2003, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-violent-scene-in-a-movie/150855 "2003-01-25T14:01:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![RealTronic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9dc877/32.png) [@RealTronic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealTronic)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-violent-scene-in-a-movie/150855/81 "2003-01-27T19:49:02Z")
Yes, I agree on American History X. The fact that the camera turned away and didn’t show the actual (unspeakable act) didn’t actually lessen the effect. The same goes for one of the most gruesome murder scenes, but, ironically, also one of the most beautifully photographed ones, and that is the infamous “bullet-through-the-keyhole” scene in Dario Argento’s Opera. ---
**Author:** ![Sejal\_Traurig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Sejal\_Traurig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sejal_Traurig)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-violent-scene-in-a-movie/150855/82 "2003-01-27T20:37:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by vivalostwages \* > **And let’s add Lord of Illusions, which has an awful lot of blood and gore.** One of my favorite movies (Yes… I know this says something about me) and also the source of the sound clip that starts up my computer… “I have so much power to give you… All you have to do… Is beg…” ---
**Author:** ![beckwall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b487fb/32.png) [@beckwall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beckwall)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-violent-scene-in-a-movie/150855/83 "2003-01-27T21:35:57Z")
I haven’t seen **Pulp Fiction** in years. Overall I love the movie and can stomach the violence, but IIRC there is a scene where John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson go to an apartment to find some low-lifes. The tension mounts, and then SLJ starts shouting scripture, then lots of gunfire. That, to me, is tension and violence all rolled up into one scene. I can’t really complain about the scene where they’re driving in the car and they hit a bump, and JT accidentally blows away the guy in the back seat - I remember laughing out loud, maybe out of sheer nervousness, in the theater. ---
**Author:** ![lout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a6a055/32.png) [@lout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lout)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-violent-scene-in-a-movie/150855/84 "2003-01-27T22:17:35Z")
Not to argue with the others, but some of the fight scenes in Raging Bull were very well done, and extremely brutal. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecccb3/32.png) [@Evil\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Death)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2003, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-violent-scene-in-a-movie/150855/85 "2003-01-27T22:49:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by beckwall \* > \*\*I haven’t seen **Pulp Fiction** in years. Overall I love the movie and can stomach the violence, but IIRC there is a scene where John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson go to an apartment to find some low-lifes. The tension mounts, and then SLJ starts shouting scripture, then lots of gunfire. That, to me, is tension and violence all rolled up into one scene. \*\* Speak for yourself - I find the scene where Ving Rhames is being raped up the ass _far_ more violent. ---
**Author:** ![pure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@pure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pure)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2003, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-violent-scene-in-a-movie/150855/86 "2003-01-28T01:24:39Z")
Originally posted by _DRNick_ > [@](#): > > The torture scene in Gangster No. 1 is incredibly harsh, as is the chicken wire bit in Audition. > > For implied violence, look no further than Ben Kingsley’s terrifying turn in Sexy Beast. I was about to post the same thing. The scene in Gangster No.1 was incredible. On the one hand i was disgusted, and on the other hand i was fascinated and couldn’t look away. My GF at the time had to leave the room. For those who haven’t seen it, it’s mostly shot from the victims POV, complete with occasional blackouts. I’m normally very squeemish, but that movie was just WOW. I didn’t find Sexy Beast to be that violent. And ring up another vote for American History X. I think it’s so powerful in that movie because of the quality of the film as a whole. If it was in a B movie that scene would be “Meh” but the movie brings in so much emotion that it heightens the “OH MY GOD!” factor. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2003, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-violent-scene-in-a-movie/150855/87 "2003-01-28T03:08:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RikWriter \* > \*\*The murder of Officer Murphy at the beginning of RoboCop. I still won’t re-watch that movie because of that scene. \*\* Have you seen the “uncensored” version of _RoboCop_, with 30 seconds of gratuitous violence added back in? The scene with the malfunctioning Ed 209 blasting hell out of that Junior Executive near the beginning makes Murphy’s murder look pretty tame in comparison. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2003, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-violent-scene-in-a-movie/150855/88 "2003-01-28T03:32:27Z")
The scene I remember from **The Krays** was the charming incident with the sword. Ben Kingsley was so creepy in **Sexy Beast** that I wished that he would do something violent to release the tension I felt. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2003, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-violent-scene-in-a-movie/150855/89 "2003-01-28T03:42:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tracer \* > \*\*Have you seen the “uncensored” version of _RoboCop_, with 30 seconds of gratuitous violence added back in? > > The scene with the malfunctioning Ed 209 blasting hell out of that Junior Executive near the beginning makes Murphy’s murder look pretty tame in comparison. \*\* As I said, I haven’t watched the movie again. I saw it in the theater when it came out, that was it. ---
**Author:** ![Magickly\_Delicious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magickly\_Delicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magickly_Delicious)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2003, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-violent-scene-in-a-movie/150855/90 "2003-01-28T05:34:06Z")
Any fight scene from _Gangs of New York_. It won’t spoil anything if I say this, cuz it’s already in the previews… Seeing men fight with knives, and _shudder_ meat cleavers is chilling. Guns, pistols, even swords in fighting give you a bit of distance, both physical and emotional, from what is happening in the scene. But cutting people with the same thing you use to slice meat? Brrrrr. ---
**Author:** ![vandal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/858c86/32.png) [@vandal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vandal)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2003, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-violent-scene-in-a-movie/150855/91 "2003-01-28T06:15:50Z")
I’d have to say the gang rape scene in **Bad Lieutenant** involving the nun. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2003, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-violent-scene-in-a-movie/150855/92 "2003-01-28T07:00:38Z")
This is bad, because I can’t remember if it was in a Die Hard movie or a Lethal Weapon movie - but, either Bruce Willis or Mel Gibson grabs a bad guy and slams his head in a car door. I was SO not ready for that. I don’t watch movies that I know are going to be really gory or gross, but you figure you’re safe with something that’s basically franchise action/comedy. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2003, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-violent-scene-in-a-movie/150855/93 "2003-01-28T07:35:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TwistofFate \* > **the wife beating scene in _Once Were Warriors_.** Wow, finally someone cited this scene. It was pretty damned disturbing, and i think it’s my choice for number 1. The curbing in _American History X_ was brutal; the sound made my whole head hurt. And, with respect to the issue of teeth, i don’t think anyone has yet mentioned the dentist scene in _Marathon Man_ with Dustin Hoffman. I thought that was pretty frightening. It’s really the personal, one-on-one type of violence and gore that i find most disturbing. For me, scenes like the opening of _Saving Private Ryan_ are more about sensory overload than anything else, and _Starship Troopers_ was downright funny. ---
**Author:** ![Skeezix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@Skeezix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skeezix)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2003, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-violent-scene-in-a-movie/150855/94 "2003-01-28T08:15:27Z")
**LifeOnWry** : That was **Lethal Weapon 2** , IIRC. Right after Mel gets chucked in the drink in a straight jacket, and discovers his new lady’s body under the pier. Understandable reaction, I thought. [sub]Although I’m sure that wasn’t the only instance of such in an action-type flick.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![puckstopper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@puckstopper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puckstopper)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2003, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-violent-scene-in-a-movie/150855/95 "2003-01-28T08:18:29Z")
> [@](#): > > **There is a very old movie made by Salvador Dali and Luis Bunuel in the 1920’s i believe, called Un Chien Andalou. it opens with a man cutting a woman’s eyeball open with a shaving razor. Creepy stuff!!** I saw this film when I was about 15 years old (at a David Bowie concert, of all places). Shocked the crap outta me. One of the characters kept looking at his hand - had a hole in the center of it with ants crawling in and out. Bizarre. No one has mentioned the rape/murder scene from Boys Don’t Cry. That was just sad and wrong… ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2003, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-violent-scene-in-a-movie/150855/96 "2003-01-28T08:43:17Z")
I nominate [Guinea Pig: Flower of Flesh and Blood](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0161635) because someone [really](http://www.snopes.com/horrors/madmen/snuff.htm) got killed in it! ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2003, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-violent-scene-in-a-movie/150855/97 "2003-01-28T09:16:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by HubZilla \* > \*\*I nominate [Guinea Pig: Flower of Flesh and Blood](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0161635) because someone [really](http://www.snopes.com/horrors/madmen/snuff.htm) got killed in it! \*\* Is this a whoosh? Or do you just not read your own links? The snopes link says: > [@](#): > > Early in 1991, a film of Asian origin rumored to contain actual snuff footage came into the possession of actor Charlie Sheen. Sheen turned it over to the FBI, quite convinced he’d stumbled onto the real thing, and heartily sickened by what he’d seen. > > The film in question was Flower of Flesh and Blood, part of a series of films collectively known as “Guinea Pig.” Some of the “Guinea Pig” films have at least temporarily fooled the authorities, fueling news stories about the unearthing of snuff films. It’s no wonder either; the special effects are very cleverly executed. Flower of Flesh and Blood is the episode which stirs much of the controversy. It features a samurai torturing, then dismembering a captive girl until she eventually expires in front of the cameras. > > It wasn’t real. According to The San Francisco Chronicle: > > > [@](#): > > > > The FBI confiscated Sheen’s tape and proceeded to investigate all involved, including Charles Balun, an early distributor of the film. Balun fiercely asserted that the film was a hoax and was merely a series of startling special effects. Propitiously, the Japanese took this time to release ‘‘Guinea Pig Two: The Making of Guinea Pig One,’’ revealing the technical sleight of hand in all its bone-cracking glory. After viewing this film, the FBI backed off and dropped the investigation. And the comments on the IMDB site you linked to say: > [@](#): > > Sheen saw _Guinea Pig II: The Flower of Flesh and Blood_ in 1990 at a party he was attending, and he was convinced that it was a true snuff film, so he took the copy and gave it to the local branch of the FBI. Large-scale investigations in both American and Japan followed, culminating ultimately in (a) the finding that GP2, like all other supposed snuff films, isn’t real, and (b) Hino exploding in popularity in the United States. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecccb3/32.png) [@Evil\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Death)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2003, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-violent-scene-in-a-movie/150855/98 "2003-01-28T09:16:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by HubZilla \* > \*\*I nominate [Guinea Pig: Flower of Flesh and Blood](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0161635) because someone [really](http://www.snopes.com/horrors/madmen/snuff.htm) got killed in it! \*\* You know, there was no point giving the Snopes link - every user comment on the site says that it’s fake. ---
**Author:** ![Keith\_Berry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/22d042/32.png) [@Keith\_Berry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keith_Berry)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2003, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-violent-scene-in-a-movie/150855/99 "2003-01-28T10:39:59Z")
**Emanuelle In America** …lots of stomach-turning snuff movie footage. Forget \*\*8mm.\*\*This one has women being gang raped, whipped, beaten with fists, having their nipples sliced off, hung up with meathooks through their vaginas, being forced to drink boiling oil, shot through the head, etc. etc. etc. Second for second the grossest shit I’ve ever seen in my life, and that’s saying something. A cut version without this snuff footage plays on cable a lot, but the fully uncut version is supposedly hitting U.S. DVD sometime this year, though I really don’t recommend it to anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Donllad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ba8739/32.png) [@Donllad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donllad)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2003, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-violent-scene-in-a-movie/150855/100 "2003-01-28T14:59:05Z")
Battle Royal is one of the more disturbing films out there. Its Japanese by a acclamed director (can’t remember his name, but he just recently passed away). The thing about the movie is the majority of the violence is done by 9th graders who must kill each other off as part of a “game”. While the vioence in the move at times is graphic and at others implied the situation of the movie lends a lot to the mood and feel. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-violent-scene-in-a-movie/150855.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-violent-scene-in-a-movie/150855.md?page=6)