One Hundred Violent Films that Changed Cinema

Here are 100 of the most violent films in cinema history, the ones that viscerally affected moviegoers and stayed fixed in their minds forever. Understand how and why these films work through an illuminating analysis of their influence and iconography in such classics as Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch, and John Woo's The Killer. See how directors kept pushing back the boundaries of acceptable violence, from the slicing of an eyeball in Un Chien Andalou to the chopping of an ear in Reservoir Dogs, from the creepy voyeurism of Peeping Tom to the shocking shower scene in Psycho, Amorality, anti-heroism, censorship, controversy, and the continuing popularity of the violent image to kickstart a movie and provide thrills all receive an enlightening discussion. Plus: an endpiece written in the light of September 11th .