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Original title: History of Violence, A Directed by
David Cronenberg Written by
John Wagner, Vince Locke, Josh Olson Cast
Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris, William Hurt, Ashton Holmes [more]
Release Date
• USA: Sep 30, 2005
• UK: 30 Sep 2005
DVD Release Date
• R1: Mar 14, 2006
Budget USD 32,000,000
BoxOffice: $31.4M
Official Website:
A History of Violence Website
MPAA Rating
Rated R for strong brutal violence, graphic sexuality, nudity, language and some drug use.
Running Time
1 hour, 30 minutes
Country USA | Germany
Production Companies
New Line Productions, BenderSpink, Media I! Filmproduktion München & Company
Studio New Line Cinema
More info on IMDb.com
Other Titles
• A History of Violence (2005)
• more
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A History of Violence Reviews |
Cronenberg knows Americans have a history of violence. It's wired into our DNA. Without a hint of sermonizing, he shows how we secretly crave what we publicly condemn, and how we even make peace with it. The family tableau that ends the film is as chilling and redemptive as anything Cronenberg has ever crafted. You won't know what hit you. [read review] 
--Peter Travers (Rolling Stone)
Director, David Cronenberg certainly isn't afraid to take his violence to the next level and he does that again with this movie as he mixes the violence and emotion to such a level several will consider it disturbing, but all-in-all I found it to be a breath of fresh air in a world where watered down features have become all to traditional. [read review] B-
The Bottom Line is that critics are clamoring over absolutely nothing. Every once in a while they’ll latch onto a garbage movie that leaves everyone else scratching their heads. That’s what A History of Violence is. It isn’t complex, and it isn’t great. It’s a dull thriller which is poorly conceived and executed. Skip it. [read review] 4/10
Howard Shore's classic movie music sets a perfectly tranquil mood with just the slightest hint of danger in the air. This is coupled with Peter Suschitzky's handsome cinematography, which has a warm and intimate glow. A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE is a little gem, well worth seeking out. [read review]
With “A History Of Violence” David Cronenberg has crafted a morbidly funny, surprisingly sexy and ultimately unsettling masterpiece, filled to the brim with phenomenal performances across the board. A concise, mesmerizing portrait of our naive fascination with blood and gore, and one man’s attempt to come to terms with a past that is no longer solely his, but that of his loved ones, “A History Of Violence” is a movie that resonates long after the lights have come up. [read review] 
--Tom Ciorciari (eFilmCritic.com)
Shakespeare understood that comedy and tragedy were mirror images of one another- that's why "Much Ado About Nothing" is a tragedy all the way until its happy ending, and "Hamlet" is full of high farce all the way until everybody dies. In David Cronenberg, the Bard would recognize a kindred spirit. [read review]
This is when the Cronenberg sensibility mind-melds with the hyper-real graphic novels that are all the rage these days with the cool kids, but "Violence" also suffers for its source material, too often detached when it gets close to human beings and one-dimensional in its approach to complex themes. [read review]
A History of Violence gives us a very realistic and disturbing look at exactly how complicated things can become when lives are touched by violence. The repercussions can be staggering. The film is a graphic illustration of what might have happened had Charles Manson visited Mayberry…only darker! [read review]
On every level, this is the work of a master filmmaker at the top of his form–a dark and dizzying exploration of the heart of darkness that beats within all of us that will force anyone who watches it to re-examine their own feelings regarding the subjects that it raises. [read review]
--Peter Sobczynski (eFilmCritic.com)
A History of Violence is well worth looking into if you’re tired of dumb action thrillers. It most definitely has substance (efficiently packed into 96 minutes), but judged on what it tries to be and who it should be for, the movie simply has too little to offer to be praised the way it is. As far as a history of violence is concerned, this is the Cliff notes version. [read review] 
--Chris Wilson (eFilmCritic.com)
Who points it out when the Emperor is wearing no clothing? I guess in this case, me. A History of Violence is an education in bad filmmaking. It's sad that all Hollywood has to do to cater to the upper-crust yuppies is release a film that has the appearance of being "different." The movie is a novelty and in 10 years it will be all but forgotten. [read review]
The graphic novel source material does not summon the visualist in Cronenberg, as, say "Road to Perdition" did in Sam Mendes. But there is an equivalence in the portraits that both paints of flawed men caught in violent spirals of their own making, and shows how those spirals spin out of their control. [read review] 
...wasn't perfect but man was it a full and satisfactory meal! It sported an awesome premise, stellar execution, engaging acting, back handing violence while acting as an emotionally gripping, thought provoking and endearingly ambiguous bitter pill. Yes theoccasional lousy dialogue hurt the film in places and I could’ve gone without William Hurt’s “Cage au Folles” routine which weakened the scene in question; but on the whole this was one was a keeper. [read review] 
--'The Arrow' (Arrow)
A History of Violence gives us a very realistic and disturbing look at exactly how complicated things can become when lives are touched by violence. The repercussions can be staggering. The film presents a graphic illustration of what might have happenedhad Charles Manson visited Mayberry …only darker! [read review]
Really, there’s two wildly impressive things in this movie. One is the remarkable contrast between the innocent life of Tom Stall, and one is the disgusting brutality of his former life as Joey Cusack. Cronenberg purposely drags out [read review] A
--Zak Santucci (TheCinemaSource)
Once you know what evil lurks in the hearts of men, Cronenberg asks, how do you live with that knowledge? For all the bloodshed, it's fundamentally a cold, cold fable, the icy whisper that turns every happy thing to ash. [read review] 
Cronenberg here appears to have (unwittingly?) stumbled on to a truth taught in the Bible — that is, however much we might try to reform, the person we once were is only too willing to come out when he gets the chance. [read review] 1/5, 3.5
A brilliant piece of work, coming as a real relief after the depressing plod of 2002's Spider. David Cronenberg still has it - even if you'd be hard-pressed to identify this as a Cronenberg film if you didn't know... [read review] 
-- (slasherama.com)
Blood gets spilled as the plot takes twists and turns, but the real suspense comes from the sense that should the bond between the couple break, its snap will be the most destructive act Cronenberg could film. [read review]
Thus, it is amusingly ironic that a film such as A History of Violence, which chooses to scrutinize initial reaction, may fall victim to impulsive judgments that are not accompanied with proper contemplation. [read review]
"A History of Violence" can be enjoyed strictly on face value, as a modern-day "Death Wish," but this is a David Cronenberg film. Plenty is bubbling underneath for those willing to look and debate. [read review]
Few films dare you to pretend that you’re not learning something while you’re enjoying the suspense, the gunplay and the blood. In the case of “History”, it’s a lesson worth learning – go see it. [read review]
--Brian Buzz Juergens (Bloody-Disgusting.com)
Why was this routine (if slightly unpredictable) multiplex movie made as a low-budget independent? And just what drew such talented, independent filmmakers and actors to its shrug-worthy script? [read review] 
In "A History of Violence,'' director David Cronenberg's delirious wow of a movie about violence and sex and the American dream, cinema regains all its original power to shock and surprise. [read review]
The whey-faced William Hurt is miscast as a backstabber, and the way one of the characters slips in and out of a Philadelphia accent has symbolic significance but little plausibility. [read review]
Tightly-plotted, brilliantly directed, thought-provoking thriller with terrific performances from its three leads. This is one of the best films of the year. [read review]
--Matthew Turner (ViewLondon)
Yet the star of the show is Cronenberg, whose tightrope walk between spectacle and critique hits hard at both gut and mind. [read review]
-- (BBC Films)
This is a film with good and bad elements, but the good elements I have been familiar in films for almost half a century. [read review]
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