Directed by the legendary David Cronenberg (Eastern Promises, Crash, The Brood), A History of Violence was released --- gasp --- 20 years ago. Honestly? Rude. Time goes by too fast. Anyway, I heard a rumor that it was the last movie widely released in the U.S. on VHS. But fast-forward to 2025, and our friends at Criterion are releasing a nice 4K and Blu-ray combo package on October 21st.
If you know Cronenberg’s filmography well, you know that he started in Canadian television and went on to make several awesome horror films as part of the Canadian tax shelter scheme. Cronenberg was so wild, so intimately gross (so much oozing, dripping, visceral body horror), that Canada alone could not contain him. He burst out onto the global stage and has remained there ever since, evolving into crime dramas, such as the one we’re here to talk about today.
A History of Violence was based off a lengthy graphic novel by John Wagner and illustrated by Vince Locke. (If you’re curious, you can get it from DC Comics.) The film was nominated for a slew of awards, and won several. Notably, screenwriter Josh Olson was nominated for both an Academy Award and a BAFTA for best adaptation. William Hurt was also nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor --- for less than 10 minutes of screen time. If you’ve seen the film, you know that’s a powerful scene.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. The story begins in idyllic, fictional Millbrook, Indiana, a smalltown, American everywhere --- the kind of place you envision when you see a Norman Rockwell illustration. Funny enough, it was shot in Millbrook, Ontario. A pair of evil men descend on the town, killing hapless motel workers without reason in a grim opening scene. It isn’t long before the thugs descend on the quaint downtown, a place where nothing ever happens. At least until they showed up. They head to Tom Stall’s (Viggo Mortensen, who needs no introduction) diner and wreak havoc, threatening bodily harm on an innocent waitress, to put it lightly. When they get violent, seemingly normal, everyman Tom jumps into action. He delivers swift punishment in the form of a smashed coffee pot and following headshot after he’s stabbed in the foot, as well as sending the other criminal flying through the front door via gunfire. Here is the fictional “good guy with a gun.”
This violence is celebrated by the town, because Tom fought back and protected others. However, it made the news and attracted some shifty mobsters from Philadelphia. Led by the powerful Ed Harris (another acting heavyweight) as Carl Fogarty, the obvious hoods ooze into the diner and confront Tom. It seems that they know him as a guy back home named Joey Cusack, a real bad apple, who disappeared around two decades previous.
Good guy and family man Tom brushes them off at every turn --- until he can no longer ignore them. His wife Edie, played by the captivating Maria Bello (Beef, Lights Out, Coyote Ugly) questions him, in addition to their oldest child Jack (played by Ashton Holmes; Bosch, Nikita), who’s being bullied at school. It’s parallel storytelling for sure.
I hate to spoil a film, but it’s also 20 years old, and the twist that Tom is indeed Joey, is obvious. I’m sure it’s meant to be that way, but the real treat is watching Viggo change the first time, from wide-eyed, mild-mannered good boy Tom into viscous street thug Joey. Very slight changes --- the glint and squint of the eyes, the almost-imperceptible head tilt, the seedy, dangerous change in accent --- it’s great to watch. And it only gets more intense in that scene, and throughout the film, culminating in Joey returning home at the demand of his crime boss brother Richie (William Hurt). And the end scene that follows with Joey/Tom’s family is intriguing and satisfying from a dramatic perspective.
The film looks pristine and sounds that way, as well. I enjoyed the special features quite a bit; the standouts to me, are the making of doc, as well as the interview with screenwriter Josh Olson. There’s a lot to love here. Here’s the full list:
DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
- New 4K digital restoration of the international cut, supervised by director of photography Peter Suschitzky and approved by director David Cronenberg, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
- Audio commentary featuring Cronenberg
- New interview with screenwriter Josh Olson, conducted by writer-producer Tom Bernardo
- Excerpts of Cronenberg and actor Viggo Mortensen in conversation at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival
- Acts of Violence, a documentary on the making of the film, featuring behind-the-scenes footage
- Three featurettes
- Deleted scene with commentary by Cronenberg
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by critic Nathan Lee
- New cover by Connor Willumsen
Love Cronenberg? Love terrific crime dramas? Preorder your copy of A History of Violence now for arrival on October 21st, from Criterion here.