Russian roulette in popular culture
Encyclopedia
In film
| Year | Ballot Box Bunny Ballot Box Bunny Ballot Box Bunny is a 1950 animated Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoon short released in 1951, directed by Friz Freleng and written by Warren Foster.-Plot:... |  |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Sholay Sholay Sholay is a 1975 Indian action-adventure film produced by G.P. Sippy and directed by his son Ramesh Sippy. It is considered among the greatest films in the history of Indian cinema. Released on 15 August 1975, it stars Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar, Jaya Bhaduri and... |
 |
| 1978 | The Deer Hunter The Deer Hunter The Deer Hunter is a 1978 drama film co-written and directed by Michael Cimino about a trio of Russian American steel worker friends and their infantry service in the Vietnam War. The film stars Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep, John Savage, John Cazale, and George Dzundza... |
|
| 2011 | 7 Khoon Maaf | |
- At the end of the 1950 Bugs BunnyBugs BunnyBugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
cartoon short Ballot Box BunnyBallot Box BunnyBallot Box Bunny is a 1950 animated Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoon short released in 1951, directed by Friz Freleng and written by Warren Foster.-Plot:...
, Bugs and Yosemite SamYosemite SamYosemite Sam is an American animated cartoon character in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons produced by Warner Bros. Animation. The name is somewhat alliterative and is inspired by Yosemite National Park...
play Russian roulette. Bugs loses and a shot is heard after the picture irises out, then the iris opens again to reveal Bugs saying "I missed!", followed by a pan over to reveal a singed and blackened Sam. Also, at the end of the 1956 Bugs Bunny cartoon short Barbary Coast BunnyBarbary Coast BunnyBarbary Coast Bunny is a 1956 Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon short produced by Edward Selzer. It was directed by Chuck Jones and written by Tedd Pierce....
, Bugs spins the cylinder on Nasty Canasta's revolver and gold coins spill out of the gun's barrel. Nasty Canasta then spins the cylinder, points the gun at his head, and the gun fires. (The scenes in both cartoons are almost always cut when they are shown on television).
- Russian roulette was made famous worldwide with the 19781978 in filmThe year 1978 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 1 - Bob Dylan's film Renaldo and Clara, a documentary of the "Rolling Thunder Revue" tour premieres in Los Angeles, California....
movie The Deer HunterThe Deer HunterThe Deer Hunter is a 1978 drama film co-written and directed by Michael Cimino about a trio of Russian American steel worker friends and their infantry service in the Vietnam War. The film stars Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep, John Savage, John Cazale, and George Dzundza...
, which features three soldiers who are captured during the Vietnam WarVietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
and forced to play Russian roulette as their captors gamble on the results. Their captors demand an especially brutal variation of the game: the game is played until all but one contestant is killed. The game takes place in a bamboo room above where the other prisoners are held, so that the losers' blood drips down on future contestants. Several teen deaths following the movie' release caused police and the media to blame the film's depiction of Russian roulette, saying that it inspired the youths.
In television
- In the episode of Numb3rsNUMB3RSNumb3rs is an American television drama which premiered on CBS on January 23, 2005, and concluded on March 12, 2010. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton, and follows FBI Special Agent Don Eppes and his mathematical genius brother, Charlie Eppes , who helps Don solve crimes...
titled "7 Men Out", investigators track down a group of people involved in a deadly, illegal Russian roulette tournament.
- In a Season 2 episode of Tales from the CryptTales from the Crypt (TV series)Tales from the Crypt, sometimes titled HBO's Tales from the Crypt, is an American horror anthology television series that ran from 1989 to 1996 on the premium cable channel HBO...
entitled "Cutting Cards," two rival gamblers face off in a game of Russian roulette after neither is willing to leave town. Both of them survive because the cartridge turns out to be a dud.
- In the MexicanMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
TV series Mujeres AsesinasMujeres AsesinasMujeres Asesinas is a Mexican drama and psychological thriller type television series produced by Pedro Torres. The series is an adaptation of the Argentine series with the same name, produced by Pol-ka from 2005–2008.-Plot:...
, in the episode Las Garrido, Codiciosas, the Garrido sisters (Concha, Lorena and Marcela) play the Russian Roulette with Juan Antionio (husband of Concha) putting in game the house owned by Juan Antonio. But at the end, the sisters killed him.
In video games
- In 1992, a game called "Russian Roulette" was released in Norway for the Commodore Amiga computer. The game was developed by Necrosoft, coded by Andre Mitrica, with graphics by Eskil Nordhaug. Russian Roulette featured a top-down view of four players playing the game, in an elimination round similar to that of the Deer Hunter movie version of the game.
- Roulette, a 2010 independent video game by Peter Lu, simulates a Russian Roulette game with an imaginary opponent.
In literature
- A one-issue story in the American comic book DaredevilDaredevil (Marvel Comics)Daredevil is a fictional character, a superhero in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Daredevil #1 .Living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood...
(issue #191, which marked the end of Frank MillerFrank Miller (comics)Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
's initial run as writer on the series) involves the titular character telling a story of a recent failure to his then-paralyzed enemy, BullseyeBullseye (comics)Bullseye is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe.A psychopathic assassin, Bullseye uses the opportunities afforded by his line of work to exercise his homicidal tendencies and to work out his own personal vendetta against Daredevil.Although he possesses no...
. Daredevil begins the story by placing a round in a revolver and spinning the cylinder; he punctuates the key elements of the story by alternately aiming at himself and Bullseye and pulling the trigger. The story ends with him pointing at Bullseye with the final chamber, but when the hammer falls, the gun doesn't fire; Daredevil has used it to explain, metaphorically, that he could not let himself kill criminals without becoming one. - While assuming the role of BatmanBatmanBatman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
, Dick GraysonDick GraysonDick Grayson is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger and illustrator Jerry Robinson, he first appeared in Detective Comics #38 in April 1940....
faces new foe the Tally ManTally ManFor the Batman villain who carves tally marks into his body to mark his murders, see Victor Zsasz.The Tally Man is the name of two fictional characters in the DC Universe. Both characters are supervillains.-Original Tally Man:...
in a twisted variation of Russian roulette, Grayson being bound and trapped while the Tally Man faces him with a gun with a single shot, although Grayson escapes before the chamber with the bullet can be fired.