A History of Violence

2005
18
1h 36m

IMDb RATING

7.4/10

260K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

1,694

Viggo Mortensen and Maria Bello in A History of Violence (2005)

Play trailer2:26

8 Videos

99+ Photos

Gangster One-Person Army Action Action Crime Drama Thriller

A mild-mannered man becomes a local hero through an act of violence, which sets off repercussions that will shake his family to its very core.A mild-mannered man becomes a local hero through an act of violence, which sets off repercussions that will shake his family to its very core.A mild-mannered man becomes a local hero through an act of violence, which sets off repercussions that will shake his family to its very core.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.4/10

260K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

1,694

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 37 wins & 84 nominations total

Videos8

Trailer 2:26

A History of Violence

Clip 0:42

A History of Violence

Clip 0:42

A History of Violence

Clip 0:53

A History of Violence

Clip 0:43

A History Of Violence Scene: Witness Protection

Clip 0:54

A History Of Violence Scene: Who's Joey

Clip 1:05

A History Of Violence Scene: My Name Is Tom

Photos142

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
For the sex scene on the stairs, David Cronenberg was concerned about the two actors getting hurt on the hard wooden steps. He asked his stunt man whether or not he had any stunt pads to soften up the stairs. The stunt man laughed, saying that in the twenty years he had been working as a stunt man, no director had ever asked him for stunt pads for a sex scene. Pads were not used for most of the scene however, and in the shot when Edie is naked on the bed with bruises visible on her back, make-up was used to hide the amount of bruises that Maria Bello received from the scene.

Goofs
In the high school softball game, the bully comes up to the plate carrying a wooden bat, but the sound heard when he hits the ball is the sound of an aluminum bat.

Quotes
[last lines]
Richie Cusack: [Joey holds a gun to Richie's head] Jesus, Joey.
Tom Stall: [as Joey shoots Richie in the head, then stands over his dead body] Jesus, Richie.

Alternate versions
There are some minute differences between the US and the International version when it comes to some of the violent scenes:
Fogarty's thug, who gets his nose smashed into his skull has more blood spurt out in the International version in the shot where he is dying on the ground.
When Joey stomps on Richie's thug's throat, he spits blood (instead of it 'welling up') and the sound effect of the neck breaking is louder. Both shots last the same length of time and use the same take, the amount of blood was simply toned down digitally for the MPAA. Most video versions outside the U.S. use the 'international version' but the shots appear in the supplements on the U.S. DVD (In the featurette titled 'Violence's History', Cronenberg shows the U.S. and international cut scenes side by side and explains the reason why there wasn't a standard 'unrated' version in the U.S. was because the changes were so small).

Connections
Edited into A History of Violence: Deleted Scene - Scene 44 (2006)

Soundtracks
Life of a Fool
Written by Paul Burch
Performed by Paul Burch
Courtesy of Bloodshot Records

User reviews1.2K

Review

Featured review

10/10

Cronenberg hits a deep nerve brilliantly

I expected bloody senselessness and instead saw a film laden with the deepest human emotions. It was real. From youthful loving to hard violence, from simple innocent joys to the full depth of adult violence and sex, and ultimate redemption, this film has it all. Every piece of clothing and set, every camera angle and lighting propelled the story relentlessly. I was never bored, and never overwhelmed with overdone violence. Nothing was gratuitous. Viggo Mortensen proved he's one of the finest actors to come along in a long while. Maria Bello carries so much on her talented shoulders. With Mortensen she shines with alternately warming and heartbreaking truthfulness. Ed Harris was delightfully menacing, and William Hurt gave the liveliest and best performance I've seen from him.

This movie is about truth and redemption. It's the best film I've seen in a very long time. Kudos to Cronenberg, Mortensen, Bello, and all the cast and crew for what was for me a nearly perfect movie.

See it, then see it again. It's brilliant.