At first it might seem counterintuitive that comedies would have much violence in them. But humor is often rooted in pain and misfortune, as shown in the classic “slipping on a banana peel” gag. Some movies, though, take things a lot further than a simple slip-and-fall.
From Mel Brooks to Monty Python to the Coen Brothers, our favorite comedy filmmakers have delighted in pushing the envelope of how much blood and gore you can show while still getting a laugh. Here’s a selection of violent scenes in funny movies. Which ones made you laugh hardest?
Photo: EMI Films
It’s one of the most celebrated scenes in all of comedy: King Arthur (Graham Chapman) bests the sinister Black Knight (John Cleese) in single combat, only to find that his opponent refuses to admit defeat – even after all of his limbs have been lopped off. It’s safe to say that dismemberment has never been funnier.
- Actors: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Neil Innes
- Released: 1975
- Directed by: Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones
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‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’ – The Killer Rabbit
Photo: EMI Films
In this scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the enchanter Tim (John Cleese) leads King Arthur (Graham Chapman) and his knights to a cave where the next clue in their quest for the grail can be found. At first, the scene is funny because of Tim’s bizarre insistence that a small white rabbit guarding the cave is dangerous. Then, it becomes even funnier when the bunny proves Tim right in spectacular fashion.
Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
John Hurt, whose character died gruesomely in 1979‘s Alien, was such a good sport that he reprised the role for Mel Brooks’s sci-fi parody Spaceballs. Though this version of the chestbuster scene lacks the copious blood of the original, it’s still pretty intense for a comedy – until, that is, the xenomorph pops on a straw hat and does his own interpretation of One Froggy Evening.
- Actors: Mel Brooks, John Candy, Rick Moranis, Bill Pullman, Daphne Zuniga
- Released: 1987
- Directed by: Mel Brooks
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Photo: Sony Pictures Releasing
A parody of musical biopics like Ray and Walk the Line, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story skewers the common scene where a future musician, in childhood, tragically loses a sibling.
After spending a whole day doing outrageously dangerous things like tossing rattlesnakes and playing horse-vs-tractor chicken, young Dewey (Conner Rayburn) and his brother Nate (Chip Hormess) duel with machetes. It goes badly.
- Actors: John C. Reilly, Jenna Fischer, Raymond J. Barry, Kristen Wiig, Tim Meadows
- Released: 2007
- Directed by: Jake Kasdan
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Photo: Sony Pictures Releasing
2008’s action comedy Pineapple Express climaxes with a confrontation between laid-back drug dealer Saul (James Franco) and trigger-happy criminal henchman Matheson (Craig Robinson). Matheson seems to have the drop on Saul, until Saul’s friend Red (Danny McBride) comes barreling in with a yellow car and runs Matheson over.
- Actors: Seth Rogen, James Franco, Gary Cole, Rosie Perez, Danny McBride
- Released: 2008
- Directed by: David Gordon Green
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Photo: Paramount Pictures
To drive home the point that Derek Zoolander’s (Ben Stiller) male-model buddies are not very bright, the 2001 comedy Zoolander includes a scene where they playfully douse each other with gasoline, then one of them lights a cigarette – with predictable results.
- Actors: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, Christine Taylor, Milla Jovovich
- Released: 2001
- Directed by: Ben Stiller
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Photo: Focus Features
Perhaps the most memorable moment in the Coen Brothers’ black comedy Burn After Reading has dim-witted personal trainer Chad (Brad Pitt) sneaking into the home of ex-CIA analyst Osbourne Cox (John Malkovich) to steal some computer files.
When US Marshal Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney), who is sleeping with Cox’s wife, enters the house and takes a shower, Chad hides in the closet. When Harry opens the closet to find Chad, he reflexively shoots him in the head. The scene is mostly played for suspense and shock, but the absurd smile on Chad’s face makes the whole thing hilarious.
- Actors: George Clooney, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Brad Pitt
- Released: 2008
- Directed by: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Photo: Netflix
Not all of the Coen Brothers’ Western anthology The Ballad of Buster Scruggs qualifies as silly comedy, but the opening segment certainly does.
Singing cowboy Buster Scruggs (Tim Blake Nelson) gets into a series of scrapes, each of which he escapes with quick thinking, clever quips, and an almost supernatural skill at gunslinging. (Until, that is, someone better comes along.) In this moment, Buster makes short work of an opponent.
- Actors: Tim Blake Nelson, Willie Watson, David Krumholtz, James Franco, Stephen Root
- Released: 2018
- Directed by: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
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Photo: Universal Pictures
Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life, the final feature film from the legendary British comedy troupe, features perhaps their most violent scene.
Two state workers barge into a man’s home and proceed to cut out his liver, because he signed an organ donor card. His protest – “I’m using it!” – falls on deaf ears as the men cut him open and yank out the organ with a giant pair of pliers.
- Actors: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones
- Released: 1983
- Directed by: Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones
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Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Waking Ned Devine focuses on a tiny Irish village whose inhabitants band together to claim the winning lottery ticket of their friend Ned, who died from shock upon learning that he had won. They cover up Ned’s demise and engage in an elaborate ruse to get his money, but one villager, curmudgeonly Lizzie (Eileen Dromey), refuses to go along and threatens to blackmail the others. While she is in a telephone booth attempting to report the fraud, a van crashes into it, sending her rocketing to her doom.
- Actors: Ian Bannen, David Kelly, Fionnula Flanagan, Susan Lynch, James Nesbitt
- Released: 1998
- Directed by: Kirk Jones
