Revenge is one of our most primal instincts. The need to inflict suffering and punishment on those who have wronged us goes back to our days in the dark old caves. Because movies about turning the other cheek are a lot less interesting than movies about stabbing someone through the cheek, there have been a pile of great revenge films over the years.
This is our list of the best of the genre – hand picked for your viewing pleasure! Notably absent are films which have a revenge aspect, but not as the primary focus – such as Shawshank Redemption.
[Competition] If we get over 150 comments on this list, I will randomly select one registered user who has commented to select any one of the DVDs on this list as a prize. This includes non-US residents. Random or pointless comments added just to take us over the 150 threshold will not be included. The prize will be drawn tomorrow (7 May, 2008) at 1pm GMT. Good luck! ADDITIONALLY, if we get 200 comments, I will give away a second DVD, and if we get 300, I will give away a third DVD. Get commenting!
Upon moving to Britain to get away from American violence, astrophysicist David Sumner and his wife Amy are bullied and taken advantage of by the locals hired to do construction. When David finally takes a stand it escalates quickly into a bloody battle as the locals assault his house. This is Dustin Hoffman as you have never seen him. This is one of my favorite revenge movies – it is definitely worth the purchase/download.
In Mexico City, the former CIA assassin and presently an alcoholic decadent man John Creasy is hired by the industrialist Samuel Ramos, with the recommendation of his old friend Rayburn, to be the bodyguard of his young daughter Pita and his wife Lisa. Pita changes the behavior of the cold Creasy, making him live and smile again, and he feels a great affection for her. When the girl is kidnapped Creasy swears to kill each one responsible for the abduction. While this one isn’t my favorite on the list, I had to include it because it has Christopher Walken in it – and any film with him is a film worth watching.
Set in beautiful 14th century Sweden, this is the sombre, powerful fable of peasant parents whose daughter, a young virgin, is brutally raped and murdered by goat herders after her half sister has invoked a pagan curse. By a bizarre twist of fate, the murderers ask for food and shelter from the dead girl’s parents, who, discovering the truth about their erstwhile lodgers, exact a chilling revenge. This Ingmar Bergman film won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Jack Carter is a vindictive and amoral London gangster who returns to his home town of Newcastle after his brother dies in a car accident. Carter, however, is convinced that he was murdered, and begins an investigation into Newcastle’s criminal underworld. When Carter is ordered to leave town by the minions of a shadowy mob boss, his suspicious become confirmed, and he begins his brutal vengeance. This film was nominated for a BAFTA and it is about a million times better than the 2000 remake.
Leather clad Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) husband, father and cop turns judge, juror and executioner after his best friend, wife and baby are killed. Here we see the final days of normality of a man who had everything to live for, and his slip into the abyss of madness. With its astounding car stunts, unbelievable bike chases and constant ultra violence Mad Max is the antihero on the road to vengeance and oblivion. If you have not seen this film, you must – it is a classic.
Carrie White is a shy young girl who doesn’t make friends easily. After her class mates taunt her about her horrified reaction to her totally unexpected first period one of them takes pity on her and gets Tommy Ross, her boyfriend and class hunk to invite Carrie to the senior prom. Meanwhile another girl who has been banned from the prom for her continued aggressive behaviour is not as forgiving and plans a trick to embarrass Carrie in front of the whole school. What she doesn’t realise is that Carrie has supernatural powers and all hell is about to break loose. No one manages to escape Carrie’s revenge in this film.
Paul Kersey is an architect, who is a peaceful man. But when his wife and daughter are attacked in their apartment, his world changes. His wife is killed and his daughter is in catatonic state. His boss decides that Paul needs to get out of New York so he sends him to Arizona to meet with a client. While their the client, a gun enthusiast gets Paul interested in guns and even gives him one. When Paul returns, he brings the gun with him when he goes out and when a mugger tries to hit him Paul shoots and kills him. After that he goes on killing spree.
On the day of his daughter’s birthday, Ho Dae-su gets completely drunk and is arrested. His best friend No Joo-hwan releases him from the police station, and while calling home from a phone booth, Dae-su vanishes. Indeed he has been abducted and imprisoned in a room for fifteen years. One day, he is suddenly released, receives clothes, money and a cellular and meets the Japanese chef Mido, and they feel a great attraction for each other. However, Dae-su seeks for his captor and the reason of his long imprisonment. While looking for revenge, Dae-su discloses deep secrets from the past.
The lead character, called ‘The Bride,’ was a member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, lead by her lover ‘Bill.’ Upon realizing she was pregnant with Bill’s child, ‘The Bride’ decided to escape her life as a killer. She fled to Texas, met a young man, and on the day of their wedding was gunned down by an angry and jealous Bill (with the assistance of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad). Four years later, ‘The Bride’ wakes from a coma, and discovers her baby is gone. She, then, decides to seek revenge upon the five people who destroyed her life and killed her baby.
Frank, a gunslinger, is hired by the powerful owner of a railroad conglomerate to kill anyone who derails the project. But Frank contends with the wrong person when he murders Brett, a landowner. After his death, Brett’s wife demands revenge, hiring 2 renegades to go after Frank. This epic masterpiece by Sergio Leone is number 18 on the IMDB top 250 films ever – watch it and you will see why.
Notable Omissions: Unforgiven, Rolling Thunder, The Crow, I Spit on your Grave, and Point Blank (also remade as Payback)
Synopses courtesy of IMDB
You left out The Crow! To me, that one is up there on my all time favorite revenge flicks.
Mad Max, and that series are pretty damn great.
I was told about Straw Dogs recently, and have every intention of seeing it. If I’m chosen to get the DVD, then that’s the one I’m going to pick.
Yeah, I agree about the crow. REVENGE!!!!!! also the remake of last house on the left had MAJOR revenge for the entire movie.
Oops, just noticed the notable mentions! Great list.
CFAustin: Straw Dogs has some pretty horrific scenes in it – but it is a really great film. Dustin Hoffman is great in it too – and normally I am not his biggest fan.
Great list, although I think I’ve only seen about 4 of these movies.
I really need to do something about that!
Straw Dogs looks really good.
Hoffman’s a great actor.. i’ll be stopping off at the video store sometime soon.
Unforgiven should be in the top three.
wiscesq: Thanks for mentioning it – it is now in the notable omissions list.
Only one I havent seen there is Virgin Springs..maybe I’ll take a looksee now! I wonder if Uma wants to go all Kill-Bill revenge-stylee on her stalker!
Great list, I love film lists, even if they do provoke half a day of *****ing about so and so’s favourite movie. I’m quite ashamed to have only seen 2 of these movies, but I haven’t seen too many movies from the seventies/eighties, i just never had the chance. I’ll definitely go rent Once Upon A Time In The West, i’ve been meaning to for quite some time.
I’m very pleased you didn’t put Death Sentence (the new Kevin Bacon movie) on here, it was poorly acted, scripted and pieced together.
It’s always nice to see a reward list, they get much more comments, more people to argue with!
I knew Charles Bronson would be on this list somewhere, and he’s in it twice!
By the way, is ‘Great’ on the list title necessary? I thought those adjectives were only necessary when you don’t have “Top” in the title.
i like em all, although some, like kill bill and man on fire, are specialy my type of revenge movies. when you make a movie about something so violent and viceral like revenge, the movie itself must be like that.
i’d like to see a top 20 of this list. there’s just not enough movies in this one. great anyway.
Once Upon a Time in the West is a great flick and who would of thought the Henry Fonda would be such a bad ass bad guy. Here is another “Notable Omission” or maybe placed on the actual list: The Unforgiven w/ Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman.
I haven’t seen any of these…
Carrie is such a freaky film. But then again Stephen King wrote the novel so what else would you expect…
DanOhh: Unforgiven is added to the notable omissions now
warningdontreadthis: Carrie is one of my favorite all time movies – I never get sick of watching it!
dangorironhide: Oh dear – you better get shopping
leinad: I could definitely consider a second list.
Gah, I hate the movie Old Boy. It’s really gross and I had to take like three showers after watching it. Same director did an even better revenge movie called “Lady Revenge.” Fitting, hunh?
I’m just thankful you left out The Brave One.
I love Man on Fire!!! And I liked Kill Bill quite a bit too, though everyone I know said it was one of the crappiest movies ever made. Weirdo’s.
I have a couple other movies that I think deserve at least an honorable mention:
The Outlaw Josey Wales
The Punisher
The Italian Job
Sin City
I thing The Punisher should be on this list. Thats a great revenge movie!
Man on Fire shouldn’t be on this list, Tony Scott made a superior revenge flick in the late 80′s called “Revenge” which is one of his best movies in my opinion,despite starring Kevin Costner. The Lady Snowblood movies are also great revenge flicks, watch them and you can see how much Tarantino ripped it off for the Kill Bills.
I have to agree that Man on Fire was not the best movie, but Denzel did hold his own with Walken, the movie also holds up to repeated viewings on a rainy Sunday afternoon.
how about Star Trek 2, The Wrath of Khan…
Khan: From hell’s heart, I stab at thee. For hate’s sake, I spit my last breath at thee. And “Do you know the Klingon proverb that tells us revenge is a dish that is best served cold? It is very cold in space”.
I just thought of a couple more Notable Omissions (maybe?): “The Fugitive”. He goes through a lot to find the killer of his wife. Also, “Payback” w/ Mel Gibson. The name says it all.
I agree somewhat with Finsfan, it wasn’t the best made movie, but the story itself is quite deserving. Could be an honorable mention maybe… Or not, I’m guessing you don’t want a million honorable mentions, it kinda defeats the purpose of the list in the first place.
Oh yeah and the Outlaw Josie Wales..great film, except the Sondra Locke nude scene useless and I dont think anyone really wanted to see Sondra Locke nude.
I did. Still do.
“Old Boy” is the second part of a trilogy of revenge films by director Park Chan-Wook. I probably would have stuck all three on my list as one entry. The other two films “Sympathy for Mr.Vengeance” and “Sympathy for Lady Vengeance” are equally as bizarre, though perhaps slightly less ultra-violent than “Old Boy”. They are definitely worth a watch and rate much higher for me than that terrible Denzel Washington flick.
Wouldn’t Gladiator be a revenge movie?
wiscesq was right; Unforgiven deserves a promiment spot. One of my favorites
Some good flics here. If “I spit on your grave” is a notable omission, then I suggest “Ms.45″.
Anyway, I love the early Bergman/Sydow. Some of them being the first time I found “something other” in film. Serious and haunting.
Virgin Spring-when the father starts lashing himself inside the steam house, the old knight is preparing…
Strawdogs–Bloody Sam’s non-westerns are really good to. And this one doesn’t have a macho lead-turning the tables. It’s sort of an “all-American” movie.
“The Visitors” directed by Kazan has a similiar feel. Maybe not as good but worth viewing.
Jeez, I’m sounding like a movie geek this morning. I better stop and get on with my day.
note:
For the first time, pop-ups are happing when I click on this site.
DanOhh: Payback is mentioned in the omissions
Diogenes alone: are you sure it is from here? All of my advertisers have strict instructions not to show popup or audio ads.
I’d definitely have Unforgiven in there ahead of Man on Fire; whilst Walken is indeed worth watching, Man on Fire was a substandard movie compared to most other stuff Denzel is in. Plus it had that horrifically annoying little girl. I really can’t stand her!
Great list! I agree The Punisher should be on here! Great movie. How about Four Brothers? I happen to like that movie a lot…
I like the twist at the end of Oldboy, and what Ho Dae-su’s captor says at the end, too. It still sticks with me.
Man On Fire is a modern classic.
And I can’t decide if Kill Bill is brilliant or so hilariously bad that it’s good.
Good list, all great movies. I was hoping to see ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ on the list. But that’s OK, It’s still a good list
very cool list and I’ve only seen a few of those movies. Definitely will check more of them out, especially Once Upon a Time in th West
Man on fire could have been great, as it is, it’s just fairly good. Problem I have is that Hollywood makes such sanitized films (or at least for my taste). Would have loved to seen this Denzel character in a grittier, independent style version, just to see it with more edge. Plus I agree with McSquida above, that it had Dakota Fanning, who I can’t stand because she is so freakin’ precious and polished.
I definitely think a second/expanded list is warranted. Although it’s like a B movie, “I Spit on Your Grave” is one of the most twisted yet believable revenge movies. -Spoiler Alert!-
A young woman is gang raped and beaten by four men while camping in the woods. She survives, recovers and seeks revenge. She systematically seduces (yes, seduces) her assailants, lulls them into a sense of security and then kills them using a variety of unique and increasingly violent means. The best (or worst, depending on your point of view) occurs in the bathtub. (SPOILER ALERT!) Nah, nevermind! Believe me, you need to see it to believe it!
Great list, jfrater!
“Training day” could also be considered a good revenge movie, although you don’t realize it’s one until the very end…
Otherwise, Carrie beats ‘em all. Revengeful teenagers are just something you don’t mess with
Another notable omission: Munich
…and who could forget: Revenge of the Nerds.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street!!
I’m not sure about a few of the movies on this list but I think either lock stock and two smoking barrels or even snatch should be on this list. Oh and boon dock saints, I only saw that movie not that long ago and think it’s a killer…literally.
Revenge of the Sith!
Anakin was badass at the end, when he killed all those Jedi without flinching… and those Padawans!
tindoggy:
I hate Guy Ritchie with a passion. He keeps money rolling in by churning out gangster movies, his little security net. Do something else, man!
His ‘movies’ should only exist in a WORST revenge movies list.
this list is ttly awethum.
iluv all dese movies
sweeny todd’s a good choice david, i didn’t even think of that
I’ve only seen Kill Bill 1. But those others seem quite good.
Great list. I’ve only seen one of these movies, Carrie.
true his quality has turned to *****, including his choice in woman, and he does stick to one theme but I thought he started out strong.
Revenge of the seth? u gotta be kidding? with that dead pan acting, even james earl jones didnt have the chops to pull of a convincing noooooooooooooo. I saw that recently and forget how bad it was.
Yay, I’ve seen 8 of 10. I consider myself well-versed in revenge.
Did you mention the Dustin Hoffman movie in another list? This is the second time I have heard of it. I guess it is time to rent it and watch.
I don’t know if anyone ever watched it growing up one of the main reasons i liked lock stock so much was seeing spike from junior gazette in it after so many years. That show so bad it was awesome
Some advice: Stay away from the Sylvester Stallone remake of Get Carter, it might make you never want to see a movie ever again!
And let me throw in Desperado with Antonio Banderas, and Lucky Number Slevin with probably the best cast of the decade: Bruce Willis, Ben Kinsley, Morgan Freeman, Lucy Liu.
How could you forget V for Vendetta?
SLEEPERS!!! Great movie. Awesome cast.
The Virgin Spring sounds similar to Last House on the Left. And dare I say Sweeney Todd, Princess Bride, and Swimming with Sharks? I absolutely had love Carrie, everybody went down. Funny, Carrie had the “powers” I always wanted (and Evie’s from Out of This World).
I have only seen three of these, so I’m sure I’m missing out. Man on Fire wins for the revenge/torture scenes. Which brings up a suggestion for the top movie torture scenes.
While we are on the “and what about ..” trail. I find that “gladiator” should have earnes a honorable mention.
Great list, btw