In the 70s I believe there was a large crop of films that followed the
following formula: a scene of brutal rape, torture and/or murder
occurs near the beginning of the film.  A survivor of the attack or a
family member spends a sizeable portion of the rest of the film
exacting violent revenge on the perpetrators.

Please provide a list of films that follow this formula.  It's okay
if some films fit this pattern somewhat loosely, but all films must be
very violent, at least somewhat highly regarded (by critics or fans),
and produced in the 1970s.

Once these requirements are met, films can be from any genre (horror,
action, western, etc.).  

Thanks!

---

Clarification of Question by stancranley-ga on 30 Apr 2006 09:23 PDT

I've decided movies from the early 80s are fine too.

---

Request for Question Clarification by bobbie7-ga on 30 Apr 2006 10:22 PDT

Hi Stancranley!

Please let me know if the following listings would suit your purpose?

Movies about rape, murder and revenge 
There are about 60 titles from 1970 to 1990.
http://www.imdb.com/keyword/murder/rape/revenge/?sort=date

Movies about rape, revenge and violence
55 titles from 1970-1990
http://www.imdb.com/keyword/violence/revenge/rape/?sort=date

There are about 100 movies about violence, murder and revenge from 1970 to 1990. 
See title 123-200
http://www.imdb.com/keyword/revenge/murder/violence/?start=101&sort=date
See titles 201-223
http://www.imdb.com/keyword/revenge/murder/violence/?start=201&sort=date

Thanks, Bobbie7

---

Clarification of Question by stancranley-ga on 01 May 2006 08:54 PDT

An immensely useful search technique--and a great starting point. 
Many of the films listed in your links fit my criteria.

However, I do not feel those links alone answer my question fully.

I want to know which movies on these long lists are *the best*--the
most worthwhile, the most highly-regarded.

So the answer is that those imdb lists are helpful, but I need them to
be filtered somewhat for quality or notability.

I guess I'd like to be steered toward the classics or near-classics of this genre.

I hope I'm not being too demanding.

---

Request for Question Clarification by bobbie7-ga on 01 May 2006 09:48 PDT

Dear Stancranley,

I'm sorry, I will have to pass on this question. Please understand
that it would take too much time for the fee offered to read reviews
for each movie and decide which one to include on your list.
 
Best regards,
Bobbie7

---

Clarification of Question by stancranley-ga on 02 May 2006 00:57 PDT

understood.  Scouring reviews yourself indeed would be a lot of work.
However, if you or one of your colleagues were to help me find good
lists that online fans of the genre have already made, that would be
acceptable.

---

Request for Question Clarification by bobbie7-ga on 02 May 2006 05:55 PDT

Would these films suit your purpose?

Last House on the Left (1972)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068833/
 
Straw Dogs (1971)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067800/

Ms. 45 (1981)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082776/

Day of the Woman (1978) 
Also Known As: I Spit on Your Grave
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077713/

Thriller - en grym film (1974) 
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072285/
Death Wish (1974) 
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071402/

---------------------------------------------------

Last House on the Left (1972)
Straw Dogs (1971)

 ?This week, the BBFC announced that it was finally going to pass Sam
Peckinpah's controversial early 1970s rape-revenge classic Straw Dogs
on video. Hooray! At the same time, however, it informed the
distributors of Wes Craven's controversial early 1970s rape-revenge
classic The Last House On The Left that double the duration of cuts
were required before an 18 certificate would be issued. Boo!?
http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/feature.jsp?id=111076

---------------------------------------------------


Ms. 45 (1981)
 
?Elsewhere on the list, The Driller Killer's Abel Ferrara has gone on
to a critically successful career, authoring his own entry into the
rape-revenge sub-genre, the well-regarded (and banned) Ms 45, before
going on to work with Christopher Walken in King of New York.?
http://film.guardian.co.uk/censorship/news/0,,749447,00.html

---------------------------------------------------


I Spit on Your Grave (1978) 

Never the most acclaimed of the video-nasty cycle, but prized for its
stunningly effective title and the casting of Buster Keaton's niece
Camille. A revenge story with an unblinking half-hour rape scene, this
overlays its exploitation with a "message" about gender empowerment -
laying the groundwork for films like Ms 45, by Abel Ferrara. Director
Meir Zarchi has since pretty much disappeared without trace.

Last House on the Left (1972) 

Pioneering slasher movie shot on 16mm for $90,000, and marking Wes
Craven's solo debut. Following the revenge exacted by the parents of a
girl murdered by drug-crazed psychos, Craven claimed to be borrowing
plot elements from Bergman's Virgin Spring and that the film was a
reaction to the Vietnam war. Craven, of course, found massive success
with, first, A Nightmare on Elm Street and then the self-referential
Scream trilogy.
http://film.guardian.co.uk/censorship/news/0,,749447,00.html


---------------------------------------------------

"Thriller: A Cruel Picture"
?Thriller is quite simply one of the best rape revenge films of the
1970s, an unforgettable precursor to such notorious exploitation
productions as Death Weekend, I Spit on Your Grave, and Forced Entry.?

http://www.dvdverdict.com/printer/thriller1974.php

---------------------------------------------------


??"Last House on the Left", "I Spit On Your Grave", and "Mother's
Day", the 'unholy trio' of classic rape-revenge films.?
http://mymovies.imdb.com/title/tt0138165/usercomments

---------------------------------------------------

---

Request for Question Clarification by bobbie7-ga on 04 May 2006 12:37 PDT

HI Stancranley!

How many films do you need?

---

Clarification of Question by stancranley-ga on 05 May 2006 09:58 PDT

I think this list works great.  The best part is looking at the links
you provided...  I like that some of those reviews refer to other
notable revenge/exploitation films in passing.  So, taken together
with the initial IMDB searches you provided, I think I now have a very
nice list to work with.

Tanks for your help.

Dear Stancranley,

Thank you for accepting my research as the answer to your question. I
am reposting the information below to make it official.

Best regards, 
Bobbie7


Movies about rape, murder and revenge 
There are about 60 titles from 1970 to 1990.
http://www.imdb.com/keyword/murder/rape/revenge/?sort=date

Movies about rape, revenge and violence
55 titles from 1970-1990
http://www.imdb.com/keyword/violence/revenge/rape/?sort=date

There are about 100 movies about violence, murder and revenge from 1970 to 1990. 
See title 123-200
http://www.imdb.com/keyword/revenge/murder/violence/?start=101&sort=date
See titles 201-223
http://www.imdb.com/keyword/revenge/murder/violence/?start=201&sort=date


Last House on the Left (1972)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068833/
 
Straw Dogs (1971)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067800/

Ms. 45 (1981)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082776/

Day of the Woman (1978) 
Also Known As: I Spit on Your Grave
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077713/

Thriller - en grym film (1974) 
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072285/
Death Wish (1974) 
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071402/

---------------------------------------------------

Last House on the Left (1972)
Straw Dogs (1971)

 ?This week, the BBFC announced that it was finally going to pass Sam
Peckinpah's controversial early 1970s rape-revenge classic Straw Dogs
on video. Hooray! At the same time, however, it informed the
distributors of Wes Craven's controversial early 1970s rape-revenge
classic The Last House On The Left that double the duration of cuts
were required before an 18 certificate would be issued. Boo!?
http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/feature.jsp?id=111076

---------------------------------------------------


Ms. 45 (1981)
 
?Elsewhere on the list, The Driller Killer's Abel Ferrara has gone on
to a critically successful career, authoring his own entry into the
rape-revenge sub-genre, the well-regarded (and banned) Ms 45, before
going on to work with Christopher Walken in King of New York.?
http://film.guardian.co.uk/censorship/news/0,,749447,00.html

---------------------------------------------------


I Spit on Your Grave (1978) 

Never the most acclaimed of the video-nasty cycle, but prized for its
stunningly effective title and the casting of Buster Keaton's niece
Camille. A revenge story with an unblinking half-hour rape scene, this
overlays its exploitation with a "message" about gender empowerment -
laying the groundwork for films like Ms 45, by Abel Ferrara. Director
Meir Zarchi has since pretty much disappeared without trace.

Last House on the Left (1972) 

Pioneering slasher movie shot on 16mm for $90,000, and marking Wes
Craven's solo debut. Following the revenge exacted by the parents of a
girl murdered by drug-crazed psychos, Craven claimed to be borrowing
plot elements from Bergman's Virgin Spring and that the film was a
reaction to the Vietnam war. Craven, of course, found massive success
with, first, A Nightmare on Elm Street and then the self-referential
Scream trilogy.
http://film.guardian.co.uk/censorship/news/0,,749447,00.html


---------------------------------------------------

"Thriller: A Cruel Picture"

?Thriller is quite simply one of the best rape revenge films of the
1970s, an unforgettable precursor to such notorious exploitation
productions as Death Weekend, I Spit on Your Grave, and Forced Entry.?

http://www.dvdverdict.com/printer/thriller1974.php

---------------------------------------------------


??"Last House on the Left", "I Spit On Your Grave", and "Mother's
Day", the 'unholy trio' of classic rape-revenge films.?
http://mymovies.imdb.com/title/tt0138165/usercomments

---------------------------------------------------

Thanks again