Ultraviolent Movies: From Sam Peckinpah to Quentin Tarantino

by Laurent Bouzereau

A history of extreme violence in movies analyzes the public response to this ever-growing phenomenon, tracing its beginnings in films such as Bonnie and Clyde and discussing how it fits into the artistic vision of filmmakers including Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorcese. Original.

Genres: Nonfiction, Film

272 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Lucy Batson · Rating 3 out of 5]

An overview of what would be the most high-profile ultraviolent movies as of the mid-90s, this is the kind of book that the internet basically did away with the need for. Having said that, it's a quick read.

[Jacob · Rating 1 out of 5]

This reads like an undergraduate essay that never ends and never makes any points. Bouzereau addresses critical reception and behind-the-scenes anecdotes (production, ratings board drama, etc.), but never in support of any cohesive ideas. He jumps around pointing toward the shadow of an issue. Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the book is that he never addresses the titular "ultraviolence" and what constitutes it. If the Afterword of the second edition is meant to be read as a conclusion, then it seems that Bouzereau ultimately plays the old "for violence to 'work,' it must be less than or equal to the amount of character development in the film" card. And even then he doesn't much discuss quality/quantity. I guess we'll know it when we see it.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far, this keeps up my interest because it has some fun interviews with cool people - but the author himself just doesn't have anything interesting to say. I really like this book for its pretty exhaustive recounting of so many "Ultra-Violent Movies", many of which I now want to watch based on some of the oldies but goodies that are *obviously* in here (Clockwork Orange, Natural Born Killers, etc) and are near and dear to my heart. Many, many interesting tidbits and fun facts.

[Hilary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not that interesting overall. This book was a more a synopsis of the films than an analytical work, so I was disappointed. The author cherry-picks some interesting quotes from the directors, but those are usually widely-published quotes from very accessible interviews, so I'd say the scholarship and time spent on this book was minimal... and it shows.