Top 10 Choking/Strangulation Scenes In Movies
Sometimes you can't knock 'em out, you gotta choke 'em out. There will be some spoilers considering that some of these cinematic chokes will be the end of a violent confrontation or the death of a character. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
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- DirectorSpike LeeStarsDanny AielloOssie DavisRuby DeeOn the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, everyone's hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence.In Spike Lee's 1989 classic we follow the character of Mookie who works for Sal's pizzeria. Sal is accused of not having any "black brothers" on his wall of fame in his pizzeria by Buggin' Out. Yes that's his name. Buggin' Out demands that Sal puts a famous black face on his wall of fame or he'll sabotage his pizzeria.
Buggin' Out recruits Radio Raheem to join him in his cause due to nobody else wanting in on it. At the very end of the day Buggin' Out and Radio Raheem come to confront Sal. With both Sal and Buggin' Out outraged by one another a fight between the two men ensue which then involves the whole neighborhood as spectators.
When the police arrive they break up the fight and in doing so strangulate Radio Raheem to death. With the officers realizing that they just killed Raheem, a young black man in a black neighborhood, they throw his body in the back of a squad car and high tale it out of there. This leaves Sal and his pizzeria unprotected by an angry mob who want nothing more than to *beep* his s*** up.
The death of Radio Raheem symbolizes police brutality towards African Americans, white power dominating the minorities. This film was so ahead of its time that the things that were depicted in the film such as Raheem's death are still present to this day. Many white police officers are shooting kids, mostly black kids on the street.
Raheem's death in the film doesn't just leave a mark on the film itself but of what the world has truly come to. - DirectorMilos FormanStarsJack NicholsonLouise FletcherMichael BerrymanIn the Fall of 1963, a Korean War veteran and criminal pleads insanity and is admitted to a mental institution, where he rallies up the scared patients against the tyrannical nurse.While being served a short sentence for the rape of a teenage girl, Randle McMurphy is sent to a mental institution to be examined. Showing no signs of a mental illness, he insists that he'd like to serve his sentence in a more relaxed environment.
Randle befriends nearly every patient in the institution and has a name for himself. One night when he illegally throws a party in the ward of the institution he plans his escape. He fails to do so because he grows tiresome due to alcohol and falls asleep.
When he wakes he finds Nurse Ratched (the head of the ward. She's also a major b****) outraged. She takes Billy (a young stuttered and under confident man) and publicly insults him for having sex with one of the party girls (that Randle recruited) and threatens to inform his mother of what he has done. This automatically takes all the confidence Billy shortly had away, he locks himself in the nurse's office and kills himself.
McMurphy, outraged by Nurse Ratched for pressuring Billy to commit suicide tackles her to the floor and nearly strangles her to death before being knocked unconscious and detained by the ward employees.
Even though Nurse Ratched didn't die it was very pleasing to see her get a taste of her own medicine. The next scene we see her in she has a neck brace on, and her stern, unyielding, and steely personality is overcome by a thin, weak voice. - DirectorM. Night ShyamalanStarsBruce WillisSamuel L. JacksonRobin WrightA man learns something extraordinary about himself after a devastating accident.The film follows David Dunn, a stadium security guard who is searching for meaning in his life, and also has a marriage slowly deteriorating due to the distress of his son. Dunn was a victim of a very catastrophic train accident that killed everyone on board except for him. Following after this, Elijah Price, the owner of a comic art gallery and believes that superheroes walk the Earth.
Long story short Elijah convinces David that he truly is a super being and sends him on a mission of justice. David tracks down a man who murdered a family and has the daughter, son, and mother hostage. David tracks down the criminal/villain and neutralizes him with a very strong choke hold.
The way the scene was shot was so beautifully done. It was done as a long take and it's an overhead angle shot of the two men. Along with a very moving score this is quite possibly the most inspirational and uplifting scene in a movie. But the thing is that by detaining the criminal he proves to himself, his son, and his wife that he's a better man and that he has truly found meaning in his life. - DirectorEthan CoenJoel CoenStarsTommy Lee JonesJavier BardemJosh BrolinViolence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong and over two million dollars in cash near the Rio Grande.Within the first five minutes of the film we are introduced to the character of Anton Chigurh. The movie opens with Chigurh being pulled over and arrested by a deputy. You do not see his face until the deputy sits down at his desk and makes a phone call. You see Chigurh in the background sitting on a bench with his hands cuffed behind him. Chigurh slips the cuffs under his legs so he has his hands in front of him. He walks over to the deputy and strangles him to death with the cuffs hooked to his hands.
This is where we get to see the face of Chigurh who has a sick psychotic, savage stare on his face as he strangles the deputy to death. Chigurh looks as if he has an expression of pleasure while doing it as well. The deputy squirms as he kicks his shoes on the floor leaving marks on it.
This scene not only introduces us to this character but also what this character is fully capable of doing. It's only the beginning as Chigurh literally kills everyone he meets in the film. - DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsBrad PittDiane KrugerEli RothIn Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a plan to assassinate Nazi leaders by a group of Jewish U.S. soldiers coincides with a theatre owner's vengeful plans for the same.As the Inglourious Basterds, led by Lt. Aldo Raine, attempt to infiltrate a German cinema full of many Nazi leaders including Hitler himself and blow it up; they are confronted by the Jew Hunter himself Lt. Hans Landa.
With one of the Basterds associates (Bridget Von Hammersmark) being an actress and able to get them in the cinema, she just so happens to be a friend of Landa's, who intentionally goes over to talk to her knowing that she is working with the Basterds.
Before the screening for the film starts Landa pulls Hammersmark to the side to have a private discussion with her. This leaves Hammersmark completely vulnerable as she is not protected by either Raine nor his men. Landa with prior knowledge of where she was the night before toys with her as he presents the shoe she wore when she was shot while meeting with the Basterds. He puts the shoe on her foot to see if it fits which he already knows is hers. As she asks what the point of all of this is she is tackled to the floor and strangled to death by Landa.
This demonstrates the seriousness of the situation as Landa is willing to kill a friend of his to complete his mission in stopping the Basterds. Landa seems unfazed by what he has done. Due to the sheer brutality of Hammersmark's strangulation you can tell that this was personal. - DirectorJeremy SaulnierStarsAnton YelchinImogen PootsAlia ShawkatA punk rock band is forced to fight for survival after witnessing a murder at a neo-Nazi skinhead bar.When the young punk band The Ain't Rights, get done playing their gig in a Neo-Nazi bar in front of tons of Neo-Nazis, all they want to do is get paid and get out of there as soon as possible. When one of the band members accidentally stumbles in on a murder in the green room of the bar the band is held hostage in the green room. As the band attempts to negotiate their way out of this crazy predicament they sadly find out that that's not going to happen as one of the member's arms is mutilated during a negotiation deal. With the band holding one of the Neo-Nazis (Big Justin) hostage in the green room at the same time things spiral out of control.
As Big Justin fights back the drummer for the band (Reese) takes him down and puts him in a choke hold. With each character not knowing what to do in this situation they desperately attempt to just choke him out. Thinking that Big Justin is unconscious he let's go just for him to gasp himself back to life. Reece desperately chokes him out again but doesn't know how long it takes to choke Big Justin out and just doesn't let go. Not knowing whether he's unconscious or dead, Amber (a Nazi Punk who is also held hostage in the green room) cuts Big Justin up the belly with a box cutter, ending his life.
The death of Big Justin doesn't bring joy to any of the characters due to most of them crying. Big Justin's death symbolizes the biggest choice the characters have ever made in their lives, to kill or be killed. The death of Big Justin also demonstrated no turning back for these characters as they just dug a hole they know they can't get out of now.
For the character of Big Justin to be choked to death demonstrates the violence and brutality of the situation which will only escalate even more as the movie goes on. - DirectorGeorge LucasStarsHayden ChristensenNatalie PortmanEwan McGregorThree years into the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi pursues a new threat, while Anakin Skywalker is lured by Chancellor Palpatine into a sinister plot to rule the galaxy.In the last installment of the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy we see the character of Anakin Skywalker become the most infamous villain in cinematic history, Darth Vader.
During the climax of the film Padme comes to reason with Anakin and to pull him from the Dark Side. When she sees what he has truly become she grows fearful of him. When Anakin sees that she was accompanied by Obi-Wan he becomes enraged and force chokes Padme. This proves lethal as later on we find out she dies after giving birth to our favorite cinematic siblings Luke and Leia Skywalker.
For Anakin now Darth Vader to harm his wife and at the same time possibly harm his unborn children demonstrates that he is forever lost and one with the Dark Side. It also shows his complete transformation in becoming Darth Vader as he will destroy anything that will go against the Sith and support the Jedi/Force. - DirectorKelly ReichardtStarsJesse EisenbergDakota FanningPeter SarsgaardThree radical environmentalists look to execute the protest of their lives: the explosion of a hydroelectric dam.When two environmentalists Josh and Dena, and ex-Marine Harmon decide to bomb a dam because they think it's harming the environment, things can't possibly go wrong. After the dam has been destroyed the three return to their daily lives without communicating or getting hold of each other. They eventually find out that someone was in the dam and was killed in the process, this takes an emotional toll on the three, especially Jena, who starts to run her mouth off a little too much. Knowing that Jena can give away Josh and Harmon as well, Josh decides to confront his friend. Things go south, Jena attacks Josh and runs away, he eventually finds her and strangles her to death.
For Jena to be the only on screen death we see says something about the importance of her role in the film and how her death was just in the minds of Josh and Harmon. Despite Josh strangling her to death, it was really sad to see Josh kill his only real friend depicted in the film. For Josh to strangle Jena to death says something about how a friendship can end with just one action, how serious the situation is, and how sick hearted do you have to be to do that. - DirectorClark GreggStarsSam RockwellAnjelica HustonKelly MacdonaldA sex-addicted con-man pays for his mother's hospital bills by playing on the sympathies of those who rescue him from choking to death.For the title of the film to be "Choke" then you should expect to see some choking, and boy do you get a lot of that. The protagonist of the film is Victor, he is a sex addict, a historical interpreter for Colonial America, and possibly the Second Coming. As if this guy has enough going on in his life his mother is terminally ill and doesn't recognize him each time he goes and visits her.
Victor will go to restaurants and purposely choke on food to have someone be a hero and save him from dying. This not only helps pay for his mother's medical bills but it also gives the character of Victor a therapeutic experience as someone saves his life and cradles him in his or her arms. This not only benefits Victor but it also benefits the person who saved him from choking as well. During a scene in the film a woman tells Victor that her son saved his life but also saved his dying marriage with his wife at the same time. It's beautiful and sick all at the same time.
Throughout the entire film Victor puts his life on the line by nearly choking himself to death to keep his mother alive and well. But it's at the very end when Victor unintentionally kills his mother by feeding her pudding. Ironic, sick, and saddening all at the same time. - DirectorRichard MarquandStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherAfter rescuing Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt, the Rebel Alliance attempt to destroy the second Death Star, while Luke struggles to help Darth Vader back from the dark side.In the third and final instalment of the Star Wars Original Trilogy we find our heroes trapped in Jabba's palace. With Leia as Jabba's sex slave and Luke, Han, and Chewy about to be fed to a Sarlacc pit, things don't look so good for our heroes.
But fortunately our heroes are one step ahead of the bad guys and fight back. While a battle is happening outside above the Sarlacc pit, inside Leia fights Jabba. She easily takes the chains she's bound to and strangles the alien crime boss to death.
Though this is the most straightforward death in the film I found it entertaining that you don't need a lightsaber or a laser gun to kill something in this universe, all you need is brute strength. Plus Leia was exacting a bit of revenge by strangling Jabba for making her nearly get down to her birthday suit.