9 Violent Mainstream Movie Scenes That Went Too Far

2. Nicky Watches His Brother Beaten To A Pulp - Casino

Mob movies are typically forgiven for containing what might otherwise be considered a gratuitous amount of bloodshed, because the film simply wouldn't be a realistic portrayal of that world without it. All the classics feature a heavy dose of extreme violence: Goodfellas, The Godfather II, Scarface, even The Departed.

But none can hold a candle to the stomach-turning displays of sadism inflicted on the characters of Martin Scorsese's Casino. Although the scene of Joe Pesci's character interrogating a guy by squeezing his head in a vice is pretty gruesome, there's an underlying element of dark humor to it that makes the whole thing a little more palatable. Not so for the scene in which Pesci and his onscreen brother are relentlessly bludgeoned to within an inch of their lives with aluminum baseball bats.

Pesci's brother is the first to get worked over, and the sound of metal striking bone reverberates with a sickening thud. It's made so much worse by the fact that Pesci is made to watch the whole thing. He's completely helpless, and that translates over to the audience, as well. By the time they start pounding away on Pesci, even Scorsese has enough sense to know that we've seen enough, and mercifully cuts away after a few swings.