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Video Nasties & Underground

1980s–90s·7 films

UK banned 72 films. NYC punks shot on Super 8. Hong Kong turned gunfights to ballet. VHS democratized transgression.

Home video made every living room a potential cinema of transgression.

bannedpunkcult

Filmography

Possession

1981

Żuławski

Subway scene is legendary. Transcends genre.

Come and See

1985

Klimov

Most devastating war film. Actor's hair turned grey.

A Better Tomorrow

1986

Woo

Started it all. Chow Yun-fat became icon.

City on Fire

1987

Ringo Lam

Tarantino borrowed for Reservoir Dogs.

The Killer

1989

Woo

Peak gun opera.

Bullet in the Head

1990

Woo

Vietnam-era. Woo's most brutal.

Hard Boiled

1992

Woo

Greatest action sequence ever filmed.

7 films in Video Nasties & Underground