THEME EXPLORATION

Law vs. frontier violence

43 films · 2 directors

Tracing the thread…

FILMS THAT EXPLORE THIS
Johnny Guitar
Johnny Guitar
1954 · Nicholas Ray
Crook Buster
Crook Buster
1925 · William Wyler
L'Atalante
L'Atalante
1934 · Jean Vigo
Massacre At Grand Canyon
Massacre At Grand Canyon
1964 · Sergio Corbucci
Patlabor 2
Patlabor 2
1993 · Mamoru Oshii
Two Bits
Two Bits
1916 · Frank Borzage
From What Is Before
From What Is Before
2014 · Lav Diaz
She Shoots Straight
She Shoots Straight
1990 · Corey Yuen
Audition
Audition
1999 · Takashi Miike
The Act of Killing
The Act of Killing
2012 · Joshua Oppenheimer
Dillinger Is Dead
Dillinger Is Dead
1969 · Marco Ferreri
71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance
71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance
1994 · Michael Haneke
Oldboy
Oldboy
2003 · Park Chan-wook
A City of Sadness
A City of Sadness
1989 · Hou Hsiao-hsien
No
No
2012 · Pablo Larraín
A Letter to Uncle Boonmee
A Letter to Uncle Boonmee
2009 · Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Once Were Warriors
Once Were Warriors
1994 · Lee Tamahori
Wild Tales
Wild Tales
2014 · Damián Szifron
City of God
City of God
2002 · Fernando Meirelles
American Psycho
American Psycho
2000 · Mary Harron
Naked
Naked
1993 · Mike Leigh
The Milk of Sorrow
The Milk of Sorrow
2009 · Claudia Llosa
We Need to Talk About Kevin
We Need to Talk About Kevin
2011 · Lynne Ramsay
A History of Violence
A History of Violence
2005 · David Cronenberg
Ali Zaoua Prince of the Streets
Ali Zaoua Prince of the Streets
2000 · Nabil Ayouch
Cabaret Balkan
Cabaret Balkan
1998 · Goran Paskaljević
From Afar
From Afar
2015 · Lorenzo Vigas
Matador
Matador
1986 · Pedro Almodóvar
On the Job
On the Job
2013 · Erik Matti
The Sin
The Sin
1965 · Henry Barakat
Gimme Shelter
Gimme Shelter
1970 · Maysles Brothers
Injustice
Injustice
2025 · Max Boekbinder & Jim Batt
Police Story
Police Story
1985 · Jackie Chan
State of Fear
State of Fear
1990 · Janusz Kijowski
Utøya: July 22
Utøya: July 22
2018 · Erik Poppe
Winchester '73
Winchester '73
1950 · Anthony Mann
A Touch of Sin
A Touch of Sin
2013 · Jia Zhangke
7 Dogs
7 Dogs
2026 · Adil El Arbi
Ghost in the Cell
Ghost in the Cell
2026 · Joko Anwar
Kara
Kara
2026 · Vignesh Raja
Kattalan
Kattalan
2026 · Paul George
Scary Movie
Scary Movie
2026 · Michael Tiddes
The Long Walk
The Long Walk
2025 · Francis Lawrence
DIRECTORS WHO EXPLORE THIS
Damien Leone Italy

His spaghetti westerns deconstruct the myth of law and order by depicting a lawless frontier where morality is negotiable and violence is the only currency.

 Francis Ford Coppola United States

His iconic westerns explore the tension between civilizing law and frontier individualism, questioning whether progress requires sacrificing freedom and personal justice.