Best Callous Movies
Ranked by how strongly each film carries the visual signature of callous cinema — measured across 1,006 indexed frames from 16 films, against a 404,689-frame catalogue baseline. Not by box office, and not by vote.
Callous films over-index on neon sign, necklace and table — the objects that make the genre recognisable before a line is spoken.
- 1
Showgirls (1995)
Paul VerhoevenDP Jost VacanoIMDb 5.1TMDB 5.6See in full on FrameThrower →
All alone in the world, Nomi Malone, making her way to Las Vegas, is determined to make a name as a dancer while putting her unspoken past behind her. Her tough, streetwise veneer is not as infallible as she would like, she, as she arrives in Vegas, becoming more cautious in the way she approaches strangers who seem willing to help her purely out of the goodness of their heart. Her talent and connections in combination are only able to get her a job at the Cheetah Club, a strip joint. Her first true friend in Vegas, Molly Abrams, works as the costumer for Goddess, the topless production at the Stardust. It is through Molly that Nomi catches the eye of Goddess' headliner, Cristal Connors. Nomi has a love/hate feeling toward Cristal: she doesn't much like her but wants to become her. Being at the Stardust, Nomi also catches the eye of Cristal's boyfriend, Zack Carey, Stardust's entertainment director. Through these contacts, Nomi is presented opportunity after opportunity to be part of the Stardust/Goddess family. She has to decide how far she will go to achieve her dream. James Smith, a struggling dancer/choreographer who works whatever odd jobs he can get and who is also attracted to Nomi largely for her natural albeit very raw talent, doesn't see Nomi's chosen path as the one she should pursue as he considers Goddess illegitimate: while the Cheetah is what it appears on the surface, Goddess is the Cheetah hiding behind its big name. Through it all, Nomi will discover the good, the bad and the very bad about Vegas life, especially among the rich and beautiful.
- Watch
- Fawesome
- 2
Taxi Driver (1976)
Martin ScorseseDP Michael ChapmanIMDb 8.2TMDB 8.1See in full on FrameThrower →
Travis Bickle is an ex-Marine and Vietnam War veteran living in New York City. As he suffers from insomnia, he spends his time working as a taxi driver at night, watching porn movies at seedy cinemas during the day, or thinking about how the world, New York in particular, has deteriorated into a cesspool. He's a loner who has strong opinions about what is right and wrong with mankind. For him, the one bright spot in humanity is Betsy, a worker on the presidential nomination campaign of Senator Charles Palantine. After an incident, he believes he has to do whatever he needs to make the world a better place.
- 3
Boyz In The Hood (1991)
John SingletonDP Charles MillsIMDb 7.8TMDB 7.6See in full on FrameThrower →
Writer and Director John Singleton's portrayal of social problems in inner-city Los Angeles, California takes the form of a tale of three friends growing up together in the "hood". Half-brothers Doughboy (Ice Cube) and Ricky Baker (Morris Chestnut) are foils for each other's personality, presenting very different approaches to the tough lives they face. Ricky is the "All-American" athlete, looking to win a football scholarship to USC and seeks salvation through sports, while Doughboy succumbs to the violence, alcohol, and crime surrounding him in his environment, but maintains a strong sense of pride and code of honor. Between these two is their friend Tre Styles (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), who is lucky to have a father, Furious Styles (Laurence Fishburne), to teach him to have the strength of character to do what is right and to always take responsibility for his actions.
- 4
Whiplash (2014)
Damien ChazelleDP Sharone MeirIMDb 8.5TMDB 8.4See in full on FrameThrower →
Nineteen year old Andrew Niemann wants to be the greatest jazz drummer in the world, in a league with Buddy Rich. This goal is despite not coming from a pedigree of greatest, musical or otherwise, with Jim, his high school teacher father, being a failed writer. Andrew is starting his first year at Shaffer Conservatory of Music, the best music school in the United States. At Shaffer, being the best means being accepted to study under Terence Fletcher and being asked to play in his studio band, which represents the school at jazz competitions. Based on their less than positive first meeting, Andrew is surprised that Fletcher asks him to join the band, albeit in the alternate drummer position which he is more than happy to do initially. Andrew quickly learns that Fletcher operates on fear and intimidation, never settling for what he considers less than the best each and every time. Being the best in Fletcher's mind does not only entail playing well, but knowing that you're playing well and if not what you're doing wrong. His modus operandi creates an atmosphere of fear and of every man or woman for him/herself within the band. Regardless, Andrew works hard to be the best. He has to figure out his life priorities and what he is willing to sacrifice to be the best. The other question becomes how much emotional abuse he will endure by Fletcher to reach that greatness, which he may believe he can only achieve with the avenues opened up by Fletcher.
- 5
The Neon Demon (2016)
Nicolas Winding RefnDP Natasha BraierIMDb 6.1TMDB 6.5See in full on FrameThrower →
The sixteen year-old aspiring model Jesse arrives in Los Angeles expecting to be a successful model. The aspirant photographer Dean takes photos for her portfolio and dates her. Jesse befriends the lesbian makeup artist Ruby and then the envious models Gigi and Sarah in a party. Meanwhile, the agency considers Jesse beautiful with a "thing" that makes her different and she is sent to the professional photographer Jack. Jesse attracts the attention of the industry and experiences a successful beginning of her career. Ruby, Gigi and Sarah, however, will do whatever is necessary to get this "thing" for themselves.
- 6
Mississippi Burning (1988)
Alan ParkerDP Peter BiziouIMDb 7.8TMDB 7.7See in full on FrameThrower →
Two FBI agents investigating the murder of civil rights workers during the 60s seek to breach the conspiracy of silence in a small Southern town where segregation divides black and white. The younger agent trained in FBI school runs up against the small town ways of his partner, a former sheriff.
- 7
David FincherDP Jeff CronenwethIMDb 7.8TMDB 7.4See in full on FrameThrower →
Jesse Eisenbergas Mark Zuckerberg
Andrew Garfieldas Eduardo Saverin
Armie Hammeras Cameron Winklevoss / Tyler Winklevoss
On a fall night in 2003, Harvard undergrad and computer programming genius Mark Zuckerberg sits down at his computer and heatedly begins working on a new idea. In a fury of blogging and programming, what begins in his dorm room soon becomes a global social network and a revolution in communication. A mere six years and 500 million friends later, Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire in history... but for this entrepreneur, success leads to both personal and legal complications.
- 8
Saturday Night Fever (1977)
John BadhamDP Ralf D. BodeIMDb 6.8TMDB 6.7See in full on FrameThrower →
Nineteen-year-old Brooklyn native Tony Manero lives for Saturday nights at the local disco, where he's king of the club, thanks to his stylish moves on the dance floor. But outside of the club, things don't look so rosy. At home, Tony fights constantly with his father and has to compete with his family's starry-eyed view of his older brother, a priest. Nor can he find satisfaction at his dead-end job at a small paint store. However, things begin to change when he spies Stephanie Mangano in the disco and starts training with her for the club's dance competition. Stephanie dreams of the world beyond Brooklyn, and her plans to move to Manhattan just over the bridge soon change Tony's life forever.
- 9
Dead Man Walking (1995)
Tim RobbinsDP Roger DeakinsIMDb 7.5TMDB 7.3See in full on FrameThrower →
A convicted murderer on Death Row and the nun who befriends him. Through the portrayal of finely drawn characters and their interactions as the days, hours, and minutes tick down to the condemned man's execution, powerful emotions are unleashed. While Matthew Poncelet and Sister Prejean desperately try to gain a stay of execution from the governor or the courts, scenes are intercut from the brutal crime, gradually revealing the truth about the events that transpired. In addition to her temporal help, the nun also tries to reach out spiritually and assist as a guide to salvation.
- 10
Road To Perdition (2002)
Sam MendesDP Conrad HallIMDb 7.6TMDB 7.3See in full on FrameThrower →
1931. Mike Sullivan and Connor Rooney are two henchmen of elderly downstate IL-based Irish-American mobster John Rooney, Connor's father. In many respects, John treats Mike more as his son, who he raised as his own after Mike was orphaned, than the volatile Connor, who nonetheless sees himself as the heir apparent to the family business. One evening, Mike's eldest son, twelve year old Michael Sullivan Jr., who has no idea what his father does for a living, witnesses Connor and his father gun down an associate and his men, the situation gone wrong initiated from an action by Connor. Caught witnessing the incident, Michael is sworn to secrecy about what he saw. Regardless, Connor, not wanting any loose ends, makes an attempt to kill Mike, his wife and their two sons. Mike and the surviving members of his family know that they need to go on the run as Connor, who has gone into hiding, will be protected through mob loyalty, especially by John, who cannot turn on his own flesh and blood. Still, Mike has to figure out a way for retribution for what Connor did, while still protecting him and his family, not only from Connor, but from John and his fellow associates. Through it all, Mike wants those in his family that had no say in what he chose as a living, to have some redemption for their eternal souls.
What callous films are made of
How much more often each element appears in a callous frame than in an average frame from the catalogue. A ratio, not a share — neon sign is not in most frames, it is simply far more common here than anywhere else.
- neon sign2.3×
- necklace2.2×
- table1.8×
- t-shirt1.8×
- blazer1.6×
- shirt1.5×
- car1.5×
How callous films are shot
Weaker signals than the objects above, and worth saying so: most dramatic genres skew dark and night-heavy, so these numbers separate callous from the catalogue far more than they separate it from its neighbours.
- 25%widevs 20% baseline
- 84%eye levelvs 69% baseline
What breaks the pattern
Planet of the Apes (1968) (1968) is the least typical film here — it carries the least of what the rest of this list is made of. Which is either a failure of the genre label, or the most interesting film on the page.
Method
Every frame in the FrameThrower catalogue is tagged for shot size, lighting, time of day, camera angle, colour and the objects visible in it. This page aggregates those tags across 1,006 frames from 16 films carrying the callous label, and compares each figure to the same measurement across the whole catalogue (404,689 frames). Films are ranked by how closely they match the theme’s over-indexed elements, weighted by how distinctive each element is; one film per series. Only films with at least 20 indexed frames and 500 TMDB votes are listed.
Machine-readable: /api/list/callous
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