One Hundred of the Best, Most Violent Films Ever

What's the connection between Star Trek and Shaft? What made William Holden go study his lines? Which 1970s film star was a dead ringer for a 1930s gangster? Which actor from You Only Live Twice was attacked by an army of naked ninja girls? What's the film referenced by the glowing case in Kill Bill? In which film did Pam Grier send her female adversary her boyfriend's, uh, anatomy in a pickle jar? What was the action film set in New York which had Canadian mountains in the background? Who is the action star who one reviewer said "runs like he's covered in bees"? On which gangster film was it easier to get a spliff than a cup of tea? Who ran The Gauntlet in a bullet-riddled bus? Which Coronation Street star got thrown off the top of a high rise car park? What is the Kiss of the Dragon? Which book answers all these questions and gives you even more detail on one hundred of the best action movies ever? Clue: see left

From Cagney and Corman to Jackie Chan and Chow Yun Fat, from Coffy and Black Caesar to Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction, from Republic serials to the Die Hards and their clones, from Shaft and Get Carter to Schwarzenegger and Stallone, these are films faked the hard way, with real stunts, real explosions, real muscles, real imagination, strong scripts, serious carnage, and real cars on real roads.

Written with a sense of humor, but packed with information, here are one hundred of the best, most violent action movies ever. Where they came from, why they're great, and what's in 'em that makes them great. JON ABBOTT has been writing professionally about 20th century pop culture for over thirty years, with over four hundred articles on TV and film published in over two dozen different magazines, trade, specialist, and populist. This is his sixth book of seven. He lives in Brighton, England.