In 127 Hours, Aron Ralston’s lower arm joins one of the many body parts lost to the world of celluloid. Below, Street Film recounts some other notorious amputations, from the traumatizing to the downright hilarious.
Movie: Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) Body part: Eye Method: Fingers Gross out factor: High. If the Bride’s vengeful snatching of villainess Elle Driver’s eye doesn’t get you, the subsequent crushing of it under her bare foot will.
Movie: Cat Ballou (1965) Body part: Nose Method: Human teeth gross out factor: Low. Lee Marvin plays an evil gunslinger who wears a prosthetic nose because his own was bitten off in a bar brawl. Sadly, said scene is not in the movie.
Movie: Reservoir Dogs (1992) Body part: Ear Method: Pocket Knife gross out factor: Medium. Mr. Blonde’s impromptu operation on a bound cop isn’t exactly shown, though the sound of screams and the shots of the aftermath give many viewers the lasting impression that it is.
Movie: Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) Body part: Lower body Method: Sword gross out factor: Low. It was just a flesh wound.
Movie: Cutting Moments (1997) Body part: Lips Method: Brillo pad, scissors gross out factor: Very high! In this disturbing short, Nicholas Ray’s real–life daughter mutilates her mouth in order to capture her apathetic husband’s attention. The film packs an unshakable wallop in under 30 minutes.
Movie: Ichi the Killer (2001) Body part: Nipple Method: Razor blade gross out factor: High. The cartoonish violence in this Japanese shocker does not adequately prepare one to see a nipple stretched and then sliced in a way that looks exactly how you would imagine it to.
Movie: Drowning Mona (2000) Body part: Hand Method: Kitchen knife gross out factor: Low. The PG–13 rating of this black comedy prevents us from seeing any true knife–to–skin contact shots. Bette Midler plays the titular Mona, who gives her loser son what’s coming to him when he reaches for her beer while she’s chopping vegetables.
Movie: The Piano (1993) Body part: Index finger Method: Axe gross out factor: Medium. Psychologically disturbing rather than graphic, as the victim is an adulterous mute who can only express herself by playing the piano.
Movie: Antichrist (2009) Body part: Genitals Method: Scissors gross out factor: Very high! The self–mutilation in Lars von Trier’s brilliant nightmare will scar you for life and leave you fearing for your crotch for days to come.
Movie: Touch of Evil (1958) Body part: Foot Method: Unknown gross out factor: Low. In Welles’ exploration of a violent border town, an old lady finds a shoe with a foot in it, which initiates a police investigation.
Movie: Audition (1999) Body part: Lower Leg Method: Razor wire gross out factor: High. A seemingly innocent girl teaches a creepy middle–aged man a lesson he won’t soon forget — and neither will we, due to the visceral punch of this surreal sequence.
