# Unexpected and shocking moments of violence in classic films **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 10, 2019, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-and-shocking-moments-of-violence-in-classic-films/843265 "2019-11-10T23:50:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2019, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-and-shocking-moments-of-violence-in-classic-films/843265/41 "2019-11-15T20:36:12Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > …Leon tells Holden about his mother in _Blade Runner_ (1982) … What struck me most forcibly was the shocking violence perpetrated against female replicants - Zhora is shot in the back whilst running to save her life; Pris is shot and left screaming and threshing her legs in agony until she is finally properly “retired”. I remember this very clearly from the first time I saw the movie, and it stayed with me unexpectedly. With repeated viewings, I now take the view that this violence was critical to the central theme of the nature of humanity, and that was why it hung around in my mind. j ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2019, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-and-shocking-moments-of-violence-in-classic-films/843265/42 "2019-11-15T21:37:55Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > The clipping of Bambi’s mother, although just an offscreen sound effect, is still what everyone remembers. It’s interesting how hardly anybody talks about how much more violent the movie gets after that scene. There’s: [ul] [li]Bambi’s fight with the other buck for Faline’s affection[/li][li]The forest fire[/li][li]The return of the hunters[/li][li]The scared bird who flies off in terror, only to be shot, and whose dead body we see (unlike Bambi’s mother)[/li][li]The attack by the hunting dogs[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2019, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-and-shocking-moments-of-violence-in-classic-films/843265/43 "2019-11-15T22:58:28Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Kid Sampson, not Hungry Joe. Kid Sampson in the book. Hungry Joe in the movie. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/LwELqrqsf_o/maxresdefault.jpg "Catch-22 (8/10) Movie CLIP - Poor Hungry Joe (1970) HD") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwELqrqsf_o) ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2019, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-and-shocking-moments-of-violence-in-classic-films/843265/44 "2019-11-16T03:07:56Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Kid Sampson in the book. Hungry Joe in the movie. > > [https://youtu.be/LwELqrqsf\_o](https://youtu.be/LwELqrqsf_o) And we’re talking about films, not books. Got it. I withdraw my nitpick. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2019, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-and-shocking-moments-of-violence-in-classic-films/843265/45 "2019-11-16T03:19:29Z")
Johnny taking out Snakes with the Tommy gun in \*Angels with Filthy Souls \* is unexpected and violent. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2019, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-and-shocking-moments-of-violence-in-classic-films/843265/46 "2019-11-16T18:42:11Z")
Certainly not a ‘classic’ (but I think that ship sailed long ago), but in movie _To Live And Die In L.A._ has a scene about half-way in, where the Major Character gets shot in the face with a shot-gun. Completely unexpected. _Did not_ see that coming. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2019, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-and-shocking-moments-of-violence-in-classic-films/843265/47 "2019-11-16T18:44:26Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Certainly not a ‘classic’ (but I think that ship sailed long ago), but in movie _To Live And Die In L.A._ has a scene about half-way in, where the Major Character gets shot in the face with a shot-gun. Completely unexpected. _Did not_ see that coming. I would say it’s a classic for the amazing car chase itself. Willam Defoe was amazing and William Friedkin directs. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2019, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-and-shocking-moments-of-violence-in-classic-films/843265/48 "2019-11-16T19:39:57Z")
The scene where they break Paul Newman’s thumbs in _The Hustler_ gave me nightmares for quite a while, even though the violence is mostly implied. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2019, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-and-shocking-moments-of-violence-in-classic-films/843265/49 "2019-11-16T20:09:11Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Certainly not a ‘classic’ (but I think that ship sailed long ago), but in movie _To Live And Die In L.A._ has a scene about half-way in, where the Major Character gets shot in the face with a shot-gun. Completely unexpected. _Did not_ see that coming. Thought it was more towards the end—and it shocked the hell out of me when I saw it—and it’s not ‘classic’ anyways, but it fits. Great B-movie, with, as noted, an amazing car chase, and it has an almost Michael Mann-like verisimilitude to the cop dialogue and some of the gunplay. Worth your time. Scared the US Secret Service—who demanded some edits, IIRC—for the detail it went into about how to counterfeit currency. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2019, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-and-shocking-moments-of-violence-in-classic-films/843265/50 "2019-11-16T20:12:25Z")
Marvin ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2019, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-and-shocking-moments-of-violence-in-classic-films/843265/51 "2019-11-16T20:17:39Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > What struck me most forcibly was the shocking violence perpetrated against female replicants - Zhora is shot in the back whilst running to save her life; Pris is shot and left screaming and threshing her legs in agony until she is finally properly “retired”. I remember this very clearly from the first time I saw the movie, and it stayed with me unexpectedly. With repeated viewings, I now take the view that this violence was critical to the central theme of the nature of humanity, and that was why it hung around in my mind… I thought the overwhelming irony of the movie is that the replicants are far more ‘human’ than Deckard? They certainly show more mercy, and aesthetic appreciation than him. They live; he just exists. Trying to think of ‘classic’ movies shocking violence, and the one I came up with—though it was certainly expected in its context—was the climax of _Sanjuro_. [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SfpagB8wWng](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SfpagB8wWng) The speed and finality of the duel, nevermind the geyser of blood which I understand made its debut in this scene, was shocking to someone brought up on Hollywood fencing between the protagonist/antagonist. Nope. Blink, and you miss it. I’ve had to put the clip on 1/4 speech at YouTube to see the handwork. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2019, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-and-shocking-moments-of-violence-in-classic-films/843265/52 "2019-11-16T20:19:29Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Marvin That’s another great one. You don’t even need to name the movie. And it was shocking. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2019, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-and-shocking-moments-of-violence-in-classic-films/843265/53 "2019-11-16T20:46:42Z")
Lulu’s death in [Pandora’s Box](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandora%27s_Box_(1929_film)) (1929). ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2019, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-and-shocking-moments-of-violence-in-classic-films/843265/54 "2019-11-17T00:09:48Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > That’s another great one. You don’t even need to name the movie. And it was shocking. Even more so because it immediately became “funny.” :eek: ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2019, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-and-shocking-moments-of-violence-in-classic-films/843265/55 "2019-11-17T00:24:19Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > I thought the overwhelming irony of the movie is that the replicants are far more ‘human’ than Deckard? They certainly show more mercy, and aesthetic appreciation than him. Yep. Not merely “More human than humans” – more _humane_ than humans. I see it more as the point of the film, than irony. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2019, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-and-shocking-moments-of-violence-in-classic-films/843265/56 "2019-11-17T08:20:51Z")
> [@ENugent](#): > > The scene where they break Paul Newman’s thumbs in _The Hustler_ gave me nightmares for quite a while, even though the violence is mostly implied. The scene in \* Payback \* where the bad guys torture Mel Gibson by taking a hammer to his bare toes one by one. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2019, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-and-shocking-moments-of-violence-in-classic-films/843265/57 "2019-11-17T18:22:42Z")
Bi-bi-bi-billy Ba-ba-ba-bit’s suicide in Cuckoo’s Nest. All that’s shown is part of a bloody body that is really shocking. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2019, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-and-shocking-moments-of-violence-in-classic-films/843265/58 "2019-11-17T18:53:19Z")
I’m sure audiences in 1939 were shocked when Scarlett O’Hara shot the yankee pillager in his face. The technicolor bloody face was only momentary, but startling for the times. ---
**Author:** ![jerez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@jerez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerez)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2019, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-and-shocking-moments-of-violence-in-classic-films/843265/59 "2019-11-17T19:31:07Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > The murder of Luca Brassi in The Godfather… A couple of other scenes make more lasting impressions in my mind, and I’m not sure why. One is Carlo Rizzi kicking through the windshield as he dies, and the other is the guy kicking Sonny Corleone’s cadaver in the face. Not really a classic film, but how about Willow and the scene where someone gets ripped in half by a two-headed monster? That used to make us howl with laughter when we were young and stupid. I’ll blame it on youth, because it doesn’t make me laugh now and I’m no longer young. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2019, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-and-shocking-moments-of-violence-in-classic-films/843265/60 "2019-11-17T21:21:53Z")
_Scarface_ has lots of violence, but for my money the most shocking is when Tony Montana is forced to watch his partner’s arms get cut off with a chain saw. Although all you see is Tony’s face get splattered with blood, it’s more sickening than all the shootings. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-and-shocking-moments-of-violence-in-classic-films/843265.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpected-and-shocking-moments-of-violence-in-classic-films/843265.md?page=4)