MOVIEmeter
Top 5000
Down 30 this week

A History of Violence (2005)

7.5
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 7.5/10 from 136,356 users   Metascore: 81/100
Reviews: 1,091 user | 426 critic | 37 from Metacritic.com

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.

Director:

Writers:

(graphic novel), (graphic novel), 1 more credit »
Watch Trailer
0Check in
0Share...

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 2364 titles created 4 months ago
 
a list of 703 titles created 03 May 2011
 
a list of 10000 titles created 2 months ago
 
a list of 100 titles created 18 Feb 2012
 
a list of 50 titles created 13 Dec 2011
 

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: A History of Violence (2005)

A History of Violence (2005) on IMDb 7.5/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of A History of Violence.
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 35 wins & 34 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Batman Begins (2005)
Action | Adventure | Crime
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.3/10 X  

After training with his mentor, Batman begins his war on crime to free the crime-ridden Gotham City from corruption that the Scarecrow and the League of Shadows have cast upon it.

Director: Christopher Nolan
Stars: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson
Taken I (2008)
Action | Crime | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

A retired CIA agent travels across Europe and relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who has been kidnapped while on a trip to Paris.

Director: Pierre Morel
Stars: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Leland Orser
Elite Squad (2007)
Action | Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8/10 X  

1997, Captain Nascimento has to find a substitute for his occupation while trying to take down drug dealers and criminals before the Pope comes to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Director: José Padilha
Stars: Wagner Moura, André Ramiro, Caio Junqueira
Man on Fire (2004)
Crime | Drama | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.7/10 X  

In Mexico City, a former assassin swears vengeance on those who committed an unspeakable act against the family he was hired to protect.

Director: Tony Scott
Stars: Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, Marc Anthony
Action | Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.1/10 X  

After a prison riot, former-Captain Nascimento, now a high ranking security officer in Rio de Janeiro, is swept into a bloody political dispute that involves government officials and paramilitary groups.

Director: José Padilha
Stars: Wagner Moura, Irandhir Santos, André Ramiro
Action | Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

A martial artist agrees to spy on a reclusive crime lord using his invitation to a tournament there as cover.

Director: Robert Clouse
Stars: Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Jim Kelly
Speed (1994)
Action | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X  

A young cop must prevent a bomb exploding aboard a city bus by keeping its speed above 50 mph.

Director: Jan de Bont
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock
16 Blocks (2006)
Action | Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.6/10 X  

An aging cop is assigned the ordinary task of escorting a fast-talking witness from police custody to a courthouse. There are however forces at work trying to stop prevent them from making it.

Director: Richard Donner
Stars: Bruce Willis, Mos Def, David Morse
Crime | Drama | History
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

A dramatization of the one possibly successful escape from the notorious prison.

Director: Don Siegel
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Patrick McGoohan, Roberts Blossom
Patriot Games (1992)
Action | Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

When CIA Analyst Jack Ryan interferes with an IRA assassination, a renegade faction targets him and his family for revenge.

Director: Phillip Noyce
Stars: Harrison Ford, Anne Archer, Patrick Bergin
Crime | Drama | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

Three unconnected Brooklyn cops wind up at the same deadly location after enduring vastly different career paths.

Director: Antoine Fuqua
Stars: Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke
Street Kings (2008)
Action | Crime | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X  

An undercover cop, disillusioned by the recent murder of his wife, is implicated in the murder of an officer and must struggle to clear himself.

Director: David Ayer
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
...
...
...
...
Sheriff Sam Carney
...
...
Billy
...
Bobby Singer
...
Gerry Quigley ...
Mick
Deborah Drakeford ...
Charlotte
...
Sarah Stall
...
Charlie Roarke
Bill MacDonald ...
Frank Mulligan
Edit

Storyline

This is the story of a mild-mannered man, named Tom Stall, who becomes a local hero through an act of violence, he lives a happy and quiet life with his lawyer wife and their two children in the small town of Millbrook, Indiana. But one night their idyllic existence is shattered when Tom foils a vicious attempted robbery in his diner. Sensing danger, he takes action and saves his customers and friends in the self-defense killings of two-sought-after criminals. Heralded as a hero, Tom's life is changed overnight, attracting a national media circus, which forces him into the spotlight. Uncomfortable with his newfound celebrity, Tom tries to return to the normalcy of his ordinary life only to be confronted by a mysterious and threatening man who arrives in town believing Tom is the man who wronged him in the past. As Tom and his family fight back against this case of mistaken identity and struggle to cope with their changed reality, they are forced to confront their relationships and the... Written by Anthony Pereyra {hypersonic91@yahoo.com}

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

violence | indiana | robbery | diner | mobster | See more »

Taglines:

Tom Stall had the perfect life... until he became a hero. See more »

Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong brutal violence, graphic sexuality, nudity, language and some drug use | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Country:

|

Language:

Release Date:

30 September 2005 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Una historia violenta  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Box Office

Budget:

$32,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$34,911 (Chile) (17 March 2006)

Gross:

$89,838 (Chile) (31 March 2006)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

| |

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

The scenes in the diner were all shot on a sound stage in Ontario. They constructed a street scene for outside the window and lit it appropriate to day or night time. See more »

Goofs

When Tom is driving from Indiana to Philadelphia, a sign in the highway lists the travel distances as "Indianapolis 36", "Columbus 247" and "Philadelphia 680". But Indianapolis in 170 miles west of Columbus and 585 miles from Philadelphia, so if he is 36 miles from Indianapolis, he's only 206 miles from Columbus and 611 miles from Philadelphia. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
William Orser: So we keep headin' east?
Leland Jones: Yeah, that's the idea.
William Orser: Stay out of the big cities?
Leland Jones: Uh-huh.
See more »

Connections

Referenced in Dans Paris (2006) See more »

Soundtracks

"Club Hoppin'"
Written by Michael Foster and Darrell 'Digga' Branch
Performed by Blinky Blink
Courtesy of Spirit Music Group
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
Falls Short
22 February 2008 | by (Queens, New York) – See all my reviews

A History of Violence to me was a very mediocre movie to me. It built up the suspense for the first hour making you wonder who is this guy and why did he change his identity. Yet the ending was horrible, it really brought the wrong type of closure and really made me feel like I wasted my time. Technically this movie was not that well made either. The acting, the cinematography, music and writing were all very mediocre and filled with clichés.

First of all the fact that William Hurt got an Oscar nomination for barely 10 minutes in this movie is absolutely ludicrous. I cannot even talk about his performance because he was hardly in the movie. Ed Harris who I respect very much as an actor gave a regular, stereotypical portrayal of a gangster which wasn't to satisfying. Viggo Mortensen played average, he was not good or bad, he was just there.

The cinematography wasn't even there and the moments it was, it was easy to see what was coming next. The music added to this as well with a very simple soundtrack that was also just there to fill the void.

Lastly the writing was not good enough to get an Oscar nomination. All it had was a simple dialog and stereotypical small town life. Very disappointing in every aspect. I would not recommend this film.


29 of 49 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
What's with all the hate? felipe-kira2
Would It Be Better If... thornhill54
Fighting style reckless_life
I had hopes for this movie... DylbertReviews
Discuss A History of Violence (2005) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?