20 Gritty Revenge Films of Last 50 years
by shanksinha | created - 02 Mar 2011 | updated - 04 Sep 2013 | PublicRevenge is sweet, and also makes for a fairly good yarn. This primal human instinct has been the subject matter of countless stories that continue to entertain us. Here is a list of 20 handpicked revenge themed films from around the world. Note: The list is not as per any ranking. Number 21 is a BONUS entry. Enjoy!
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1. The Virgin Spring (1960)
Not Rated | 89 min | Drama
In 14th-century Sweden, an innocent yet pampered teenage girl and her family's pregnant and jealous servant set out from their farm to deliver candles to church, but only one returns from events that transpire in the woods along the way.
Director: Ingmar Bergman | Stars: Max von Sydow, Birgitta Valberg, Gunnel Lindblom, Birgitta Pettersson
Votes: 31,616 | Gross: $1.53M
2. Nevada Smith (1966)
Not Rated | 128 min | Drama, Western
A half-American Indian and half-white teenager evolves into a hardened killer as he tracks down his parents' murderers.
Director: Henry Hathaway | Stars: Steve McQueen, Karl Malden, Brian Keith, Arthur Kennedy
Votes: 9,103 | Gross: $14.17M
3. Point Blank (1967)
Not Rated | 92 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
After being double-crossed and left for dead, a mysterious man named Walker single-mindedly tries to retrieve the money that was stolen from him.
Director: John Boorman | Stars: Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, Keenan Wynn, Carroll O'Connor
Votes: 23,185
Remade in 1999 as the excllent "Payback" starring Mel Gibson.
4. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
PG-13 | 166 min | Western
A mysterious stranger with a harmonica joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad.
Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards
Votes: 348,791 | Gross: $5.32M
Haunting, moody and technically brilliant.
5. Get Carter (1971)
R | 112 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
When his brother dies under mysterious circumstances in a car accident, London gangster Jack Carter travels to Newcastle to investigate.
Director: Mike Hodges | Stars: Michael Caine, Ian Hendry, Britt Ekland, John Osborne
Votes: 36,735 | Gross: $0.39M
Michael Caine is slick, raw and brutal but at the same time very real and recognizable as Jack Carter ! The stylish 2000 remake with Sylvester Stallone is also good!
6. Death Wish (1974)
R | 93 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A New York City architect becomes a one-man vigilante squad after his wife is murdered by street punks. In self-defense, the vengeful man kills muggers on the mean streets after dark.
Director: Michael Winner | Stars: Charles Bronson, Hope Lange, Vincent Gardenia, Steven Keats
Votes: 43,989 | Gross: $22.00M
Charles Bronson direct and leathal approach echoed a growing mood in the United States as crime rose during the 1970s.
7. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)
R | 112 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An American barroom pianist and his prostitute girlfriend go on a trip through the Mexican underworld to collect the bounty on the head of a dead gigolo.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: Warren Oates, Isela Vega, Robert Webber, Gig Young
Votes: 21,505 | Gross: $0.58M
Sam Peckinpah's underrated classic.
8. Man on Fire (1987)
R | 92 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A former CIA agent, John Creasy, is hired as a bodyguard for a girl in Italy, who becomes the daughter he never had. When she is abducted, Creasy's fiery rage is unleashed, and despite being badly wounded, embarks on a bloody revenge spree.
Director: Élie Chouraqui | Stars: Scott Glenn, Jade Malle, Joe Pesci, Brooke Adams
Votes: 3,001 | Gross: $0.52M
This one is raw compared to the more popular and well made 2004 edition.
9. Out for Justice (1991)
R | 91 min | Action, Crime, Drama
With his partner executed in broad daylight by a psychotic mafia enforcer, a veteran Brooklyn officer vows revenge. But is the unstoppable detective prepared to face the truth and pay the price of blood?
Director: John Flynn | Stars: Steven Seagal, William Forsythe, Jerry Orbach, Jo Champa
Votes: 25,757 | Gross: $39.67M
"Anybody seen Bobby Luppo...?" Segal goes on a one man rampage much before he became a caricature of his own self. Stylish and gritty.
10. El Mariachi (1992)
R | 81 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A traveling mariachi is mistaken for a murderous criminal and must hide from a gang bent on killing him.
Director: Robert Rodriguez | Stars: Carlos Gallardo, Consuelo Gómez, Jaime de Hoyos, Peter Marquardt
Votes: 71,214 | Gross: $2.04M
Smashing debut of writer/director Robert Rodriguez, later adapted into Desperado (1995). The original feels more hardboiled and is not ham acted like the latter.
11. Léon: The Professional (1994)
R | 110 min | Action, Crime, Drama
12-year-old Mathilda is reluctantly taken in by Léon, a professional assassin, after her family is murdered. An unusual relationship forms as she becomes his protégée and learns the assassin's trade.
Director: Luc Besson | Stars: Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, Natalie Portman, Danny Aiello
Votes: 1,244,102 | Gross: $19.50M
Jean Reno shines. Natlie Portman is simply great.
12. Eye for an Eye (1996)
R | 101 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
When the courts fail to keep behind bars the man who raped and murdered her daughter, a woman seeks her own form of justice.
Director: John Schlesinger | Stars: Sally Field, Kiefer Sutherland, Ed Harris, Olivia Burnette
Votes: 18,906 | Gross: $26.79M
13. The Limey (1999)
R | 89 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An extremely volatile and dangerous Englishman goes to Los Angeles to find the man he considers responsible for his daughter's death.
Director: Steven Soderbergh | Stars: Terence Stamp, Peter Fonda, Lesley Ann Warren, Luis Guzmán
Votes: 34,784 | Gross: $3.19M
Tastefully directed by Sodebergh, Terrence stamp at his best.
14. Memento (2000)
R | 113 min | Mystery, Thriller
A man with short-term memory loss attempts to track down his wife's murderer.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, Mark Boone Junior
Votes: 1,321,581 | Gross: $25.54M
Simply great.
15. Irreversible (2002)
Not Rated | 97 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Events over the course of one traumatic night in Paris unfold in reverse-chronological order as the beautiful Alex is brutally raped and beaten by a stranger in an underpass tunnel.
Director: Gaspar Noé | Stars: Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel, Albert Dupontel, Philippe Nahon
Votes: 147,508 | Gross: $0.75M
Explores the cause and effect and ultimate futility of retribution.
16. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
R | 111 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
After awakening from a four-year coma, a former assassin wreaks vengeance on the team of assassins who betrayed her.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Daryl Hannah, Michael Madsen
Votes: 1,191,933 | Gross: $70.10M
Revenge as a dish served in a mix of South East asian martial arts, Japanese Manga and Italian spaghetti western flavours.
17. Oldboy (2003)
R | 120 min | Action, Drama, Mystery
After being kidnapped and imprisoned for fifteen years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must track down his captor in five days.
Director: Park Chan-wook | Stars: Choi Min-sik, Yoo Ji-tae, Kang Hye-jeong, Kim Byeong-Ok
Votes: 634,787 | Gross: $0.71M
Dark, brooding and tragic.
18. Dead Man's Shoes (2004)
Not Rated | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A disaffected soldier returns to his hometown to get even with the thugs who brutalized his mentally-challenged brother years ago.
Director: Shane Meadows | Stars: Paddy Considine, Gary Stretch, Toby Kebbell, Stuart Wolfenden
Votes: 58,316 | Gross: $0.01M
Paddy Considine gives a powerful performance.
19. Seraphim Falls (2006)
R | 115 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
After the end of the American Civil War, a former Confederate colonel hunts down a former Yankee officer with whom he has a grudge.
Director: David Von Ancken | Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Liam Neeson, Anjelica Huston, Michael Wincott
Votes: 34,485 | Gross: $0.42M
A surreal tale of guilt, tragedy and revenge and the incapacity of the latter to heal.
20. Closure (2007)
R | 80 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
After surviving a gang rape and mugging, a businesswoman and her younger boyfriend plot to murder their attackers, but find themselves conflicted about carrying out their plans.
Director: Dan Reed | Stars: Danny Dyer, Gillian Anderson, Adam Rayner, Antony Byrne
Votes: 7,413
21. Harry Brown (2009)
R | 103 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An elderly ex-serviceman and widower looks to avenge his best friend's murder by doling out his own form of justice.
Director: Daniel Barber | Stars: Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, David Bradley, Charlie Creed-Miles
Votes: 91,329 | Gross: $1.82M
Shades of Get Carter. Michael Caine is still the best in revenge business.
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