The vigilante film is a film genre in which the protagonist or protagonists engage in vigilante behavior, taking the law into their own hands. Vigilante films are usually revenge films in which the legal system fails protagonists, leading them to become vigilantes. The vigilante film has in recent years often crossed over with the superhero genre, due to character origin stories frequently involving an injustice having been committed against them.

History

In United States cinema, vigilante films gained prominence during the 1970s with "touchstones" like Death Wish and Dirty Harry, both of which received multiple sequels. The 1974 film Death Wish has been described as officially starting the genre, causing many cheap imitations and knockoffs such as Vigilante and Vigilante Force, with the most financially successful being 1980's The Exterminator.[1]

The Los Angeles Times reported, "Vigilante vengeance was the cinematic theme of the [1970s], flourishing in the more respectable precincts of the new American cinema even as it fueled numerous exploitation flicks," referring to Taxi Driver as a respectable example of the genre.[2] It reported in 2009 that such films were making a comeback after "the comparatively prosperous and peaceable 1990s", with examples like Walking Tall (2004), Death Sentence (2007) and Law Abiding Citizen (2009).[2]

List of films

Pre-1965 vigilante films

Film Year Ref.
Tracked by Bloodhounds; or, A Lynching at Cripple Creek1904
The White Caps1905[3]
The Birth of a Nation1915
Judex1916
The Adventures of Robin Hood1938[4]
The Mark of Zorro 1940
The Ox-Bow Incident1943[5]
The Big Heat 1953 [6]
The Bravados1958[7]
The Virgin Spring1960[8]
Treasure of the Silver Lake1962[9]
Youth of the Beast1963[10]

Late 60s-mid 80s vigilante film wave

Film Year Ref.
The Sons of Katie Elder1965[11]
The Elusive Avengers1967[12]
The Born Losers1967[13]
The Bride Wore Black1968
The Wild Bunch1969[14]
Cold Sweat1970[15]
Joe1970
Ned Kelly1970[16]
Violent City1970
Billy Jack1971[17]
Chrome and Hot Leather1971
Dirty Harry1971[2]
Straw Dogs1971
Shaft1971[18]
Execution Squad1972
Ulzana's Raid1972[14]
Female Prisoner 701: Scorpion1972[19]
The No Mercy Man1973[20]
Coffy1973
Milano trema: la polizia vuole giustizia1973
Magnum Force 1973
Revolver1973
Robin Hood1973[21]
Thriller – A Cruel Picture1973
Tony Arzenta1973
Walking Tall1973[22]
What Have They Done to Your Daughters?1974
Death Wish1974[2]
Street Law1974
Foxy Brown1974
Three the Hard Way1974
The Street Fighter1974
The Black Six1974[23]
Black Belt Jones1974[24]
Act of Vengeance1974[25]
The Black Gestapo1975
Syndicate Sadists1975
The Common Man1975
Kidnap Syndicate1975
Manhunt in the City1975
The "Human" Factor1975
The Big Racket1976
Taxi Driver1976[2]
Colt 38 Special Squad1976
Vigilante Force1976
Zebra Force1976
The Enforcer1976
Lipstick1976
Strange Shadows in an Empty Room1976
Trial by Combat1976
Keoma1976[26]
The Outlaw Josey Wales1976[27]
Mad Dog Morgan1976[28]
An Average Little Man1977
Double Game1977
Rolling Thunder1977[29]
I Spit on Your Grave1978[21]
A Dangerous Toy1979
Mad Max1979[30]
Defiance1980
The Exterminator1980[2]
Ms. 451981
Lovely But Deadly1981[31]
Death Wish II1982
Krodham1982
1990: The Bronx Warriors1982[32]
First Blood1982[33]
Burst City1983[34]
The Graduates of Malibu High1983
The Star Chamber1983
Sudden Impact1983
Escape from the Bronx1983[35]
Vigilante1983[14]
Alley Cat1984
The Toxic Avenger1984[36]
Exterminator 21984
Savage Streets1984
Streets of Fire1984[37]
Blastfighter1984[38]
Death Wish 31985
Naked Vengeance1985
The Last Dragon1985[39]
Thou Shalt Not Kill... Except1985[40]

Late 1980s to the present

Film Year Ref.
The Gladiator1986[21]
The Seventh Curse1986[41]
Death Wish 4: The Crackdown1987
Man on Fire1987
Rolling Vengeance1987[21]
Miami Connection1987[42]
Her Vengeance1988
I'm Gonna Git You Sucka1988[43]
Pumpkinhead1988[44]
Traxx1988[45]
Batman1989
The Punisher1989[46]
Darkman1990
Total Recall1990[47]
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves1991[48]
Falling Down1993[21]
The Crow1994[21]
Dark Angel: The Ascent1994[49]
Death Wish V: The Face of Death1994
Mr. Payback: An Interactive Movie1995
Blood and Donuts1995[50]
One Tough Bastard1995[51]
Rumble in the Bronx1995
A Time to Kill1996[2]
Eye for an Eye1996[2]
Night Hunter1996[52]
Spawn1997[53]
Blade1998[54]
The Boondock Saints1999[22]
Shaft2000
Faust: Love of the Damned2000[55]
Collateral Damage2002[56]
Spider-Man2002[57]
Kill Bill2003[21]
A Man Apart2003[14]
The Hebrew Hammer2003[58]
Hellboy2004
Man on Fire2004[59]
Walking Tall2004[2]
The Punisher2004[14]
Bad Reputation2005[60]
Batman Begins2005[22]
Constantine2005[61]
V for Vendetta2005[22]
Munich2005[14]
Four Brothers2005[14]
Hard Candy2006[62]
Death Note2006
The Brave One2007[2]
Death Sentence2007[2]
Urban Justice2007
El Muerto2007[63]
The Dark Knight2008[59]
Taken2008[21]
Gran Torino2008[22]
The Horseman2008
Gutterballs2008[64]
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day2009
Defendor2009[65]
Law Abiding Citizen2009[2]
Harry Brown2009[22]
Inglourious Basterds2009[2]
Watchmen2009[21]
13 Assassins2010[66]
The Man from Nowhere2010[67]
Red: Werewolf Hunter2010[68]
22 Bullets2010[69]
Faster2010[21]
Machete2010[21]
Kick-Ass2010[70]
Super2010[21]
Batman: Under the Red Hood2010[71]
Drive Angry2011[72]
Hobo with a Shotgun2011[21]
Drive2011
Gallowwalkers2012[73]
Scary or Die2012[74]
The Amazing Adventures of the Living Corpse2012[75]
The Amazing Spider-Man2012[21]
The Dark Knight Rises2012[21]
Bad Ass2012
Taken 22012
Fire with Fire2012[76]
The Man with the Iron Fists2012[77]
The Last Stand2013
Snitch2013
Prisoners2013[78]
Avenged2013[79]
Kick-Ass 22013[80]
The Outlaw Michael Howe2013[81]
Skin Trade2014[82]
John Wick2014
John Doe: Vigilante2014
In Order of Disappearance2014
The Equalizer2014[83]
Mr. X2015
Taken 32015
The Accountant2016
Vengeance: A Love Story2017
The Foreigner2017
Burning2018
Peppermint2018
The Equalizer 22018
Death Wish2018
Mandy2018[84]
War2019
Rambo: Last Blood2019[85]
6 Underground2019
Birds of Prey2020
Promising Young Woman2020
Nobody2021[86]
The Batman2022
The Equalizer 32023
Jawan2023

See also

References

  1. ↑ Richard B. Armstrong, Mary Willems Armstrong. (2010). Encyclopedia of Film Themes, Settings and Series. McFarland. p. 216. ISBN 978-0-7864-4572-1
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Lim, Dennis (October 19, 2009). "Revenge, our cinematic tradition". Los Angeles Times.
  3. ↑ "Before the Nickelodeon: Edwin S. Porter and the Edison Manufacturing Company - American Themes and Values: Family and Society". University of California Press.
  4. ↑ "The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) - Michael Curtiz, William Keighley - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  5. ↑ "The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) - William A. Wellman | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  6. ↑ The Big Heat (1953) - Fritz Lang | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie, retrieved 2021-07-17
  7. ↑ "The Bravados (1958) - Henry King - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  8. ↑ "The Virgin Spring (1959) - Ingmar Bergman - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  9. ↑ "Treasure of Silver Lake (1962) - Harald Reinl | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  10. ↑ "Youth of the Beast (1963) - Seijun Suzuki - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  11. ↑ "The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) - Henry Hathaway | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  12. ↑ "Elusive Avengers (1966) - Edmond Keosayan | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  13. ↑ "Born Losers (1967) - Tom Laughlin, T.C. Frank | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Lichtenfeld, Eric (September 13, 2007). "Killer Films". Slate. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Cold Sweat (1971) - Terence Young, Gail Harvey - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  16. ↑ "Ned Kelly (1970) - Tony Richardson | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  17. ↑ Lichtenfeld, Eric (2007). Action Speaks Louder: Violence, Spectacle, and the American Action Movie. Wesleyan. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-8195-6801-4.
  18. ↑ "Shaft (1971) - Gordon Parks | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  19. ↑ "Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (1972) - Shunya Ito | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  20. ↑ "The No Mercy Man (1975) - Daniel Vance - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Staff (August 13, 2013). "24 Frames: Vigilante Justice!". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Plumb, Alistair (April 1, 2010). "The 8 Most Kick-Ass Movie Vigilantes". Empire. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  23. ↑ "The Black Six (1974) - Matt Cimber | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  24. ↑ "Black Belt Jones (1974) - Robert Clouse | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  25. ↑ "Act of Vengeance (1974) - Robert Kelljchian, Bob Kelljan, Robert Kelljan | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  26. ↑ "Keoma (1976) - Enzo G. Castellari, Enzo Castellari | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  27. ↑ "The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) - Clint Eastwood | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  28. ↑ "Mad Dog Morgan (1976) - Philippe Mora | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  29. ↑ "Rolling Thunder (1977) - John Flynn | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  30. ↑ "Mad Max (1979) - George Miller - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  31. ↑ "Lovely but Deadly (1983) - David Sheldon | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  32. ↑ "1990: The Bronx Warriors (1983) - Elisa Livia Brighanti, Enzo G. Castellari, Dardana Sachetti, Enzo Castellari | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  33. ↑ https://www.allmovie.com/movie/teenagers-from-outer-space-vm1072267
  34. ↑ "Burst City (1982) - Sogo Ishii | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  35. ↑ "Escape 2000 (1985) - Enzo G. Castellari | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  36. ↑ "The Toxic Avenger (1985) - Michael Herz, Samuel Weil, Lloyd Kaufman - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  37. ↑ "Streets of Fire (1984) - Walter Hill | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  38. ↑ "Blastfighter (1984) - Lamberto Bava | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  39. ↑ "The Last Dragon (1985) - Michael Schultz | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  40. ↑ "Thou Shalt Not Kill... Except (1987) - Josh Becker | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  41. ↑ "The Seventh Curse (1986) - Ngai Kai Lam, Lan-Wei Tsang - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  42. ↑ "Miami Connection (1987) - Y.K. Kim, Richard W. Park, Park Woo-Sang | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  43. ↑ "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988) - Keenen Ivory Wayans | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  44. ↑ "Pumpkinhead (1988) - Stan Winston - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  45. ↑ "Traxx (1988) - Jerome Gary | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  46. ↑ "The Punisher (1989) - Mark Goldblatt | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  47. ↑ "Total Recall (1990) - Paul Verhoeven | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  48. ↑ "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) - Kevin Reynolds - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  49. ↑ "Dark Angel: The Ascent (1994) - Linda Hassani, J. Hassani - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  50. ↑ "Blood & Donuts (1996) - Holly Dale - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  51. ↑ "One Man's Justice (1995) - Kurt Wimmer | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  52. ↑ "Night Hunter (1995) - Rick Jacobson, Rik Jacobson - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  53. ↑ "Spawn (1997) - Mark A.Z. Dippe - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  54. ↑ "Blade (1998) - Stephen Norrington, Steve Norrington - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  55. ↑ "Faust: Love of the Damned (2000) - Brian Yuzna - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  56. ↑ "Collateral Damage (2001) - Andrew Davis | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  57. ↑ "Spider-Man (2002) - Sam Raimi | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  58. ↑ "The Hebrew Hammer (2003) - Jonathan Kesselman | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  59. 1 2 Firecloud, Johnny (November 18, 2009). "10 Best Vigilante Films". CraveOnline. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  60. ↑ "Bad Reputation (2005) - Jim Hemphill | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  61. ↑ "Constantine (2005) - Francis Lawrence - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  62. ↑ Stringer, Rebecca (January 2011). "From Victim to Vigilante". Feminism at the Movies: Understanding Gender in Contemporary Popular Cinema. Routeledge. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  63. ↑ "The Dead One (2007) - Brian Cox - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  64. ↑ "Gutterballs (2008) - Ryan Nicholson | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  65. ↑ Rohit, Parimal. "Defending 'Defendor'". Archived from the original on 2010-08-08. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
  66. ↑ "13 Assassins (2010) - Takashi Miike - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  67. ↑ "The Man From Nowhere (2010) - Lee Jeong-beom - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  68. ↑ "Red: Werewolf Hunter (2010) - Sheldon Wilson - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  69. ↑ "22 Bullets (2010) - Richard Berry - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  70. ↑ Scott, A. O. (April 15, 2010). "Brutal Truths About Violence". The New York Times.
  71. ↑ "Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010) - Brandon Vietti | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  72. ↑ "Drive Angry (2011) - Patrick Lussier - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  73. ↑ "Gallowwalkers (2013) - Andrew Goth | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  74. ↑ "Scary or Die (2012) - Michael Emanuel, Bob Badway, Igor Meglic - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  75. ↑ "The Amazing Adventures of the Living Corpse (2012) - Justin Paul Ritter - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  76. ↑ "Fire with Fire (2012) - David Barrett | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  77. ↑ "The Man with the Iron Fists (2012) - the Rza | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
  78. ↑ "Hugh Jackman to Star in Vigilante Thriller PRISONERS for November 2013 Release". Collider.com. March 15, 2012. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
  79. ↑ "Savaged (2013) - Michael S. Ojeda - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  80. ↑ Coyle, Jake (June 24, 2013). "Carrey says 'Kick-Ass 2' too violent after Newtown". The Big Story. Associated Press. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  81. ↑ "The Outlaw Michael Howe (2013) - Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Archived from the original on 2015-11-02.
  82. ↑ "Skin Trade (2015) - Ekachai Uekrongtham - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  83. ↑ Steinberg, Don (September 18, 2014). "'The Equalizer': Vigilante Justice". The Wall Street Journal.
  84. ↑ "Mandy (2018) - Panos Cosmatos - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie.
  85. ↑ "Last Blood Isn't a Rambo Story, It's An Old Man Punisher Movie". 22 September 2019.
  86. ↑ "Nobody Trailer Turns Bob Odenkirk Into a Brutal Vigilante". Movieweb.

Bibliography

  • Hoppenstand, Gary (1993). "Lethal weapons: The gun as icon in the popular urban vigilante film". In Loukides, Paul; Fuller, Linda K. (eds.). Beyond the Stars 3: The Material World in American Popular Film. Popular Press. ISBN 978-0-87972-623-2.
  • Novak, Glenn D. (November 1987). "Social Ills and the One-Man Solution: Depictions of Evil in the Vigilante Film". International Conference on the Expressions of Evil in Literature and the Visual Arts.
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