The Best Russian Roulette Scenes In Movies

3 October 2012

Sam Riley in 13

Russian roulette has been seen regularly in popular culture since first appearing in a 1950 episode of Bugs Bunny. The violent and risky game is naturally cinematic and exudes tension on the big screen.

The Deer Hunter most famously used it to create one of the most iconic scenes ever put on film. As the thrilling Russian roulette focused new film '13' is released we take a look at the Deer Hunter and the other best uses of it over the years.

- The Deer Hunter (1978)

Michael Cimino's Vietnam drama was a smash hit in the late '70s and rightly deserving of its 5 Academy Awards.

The most famous part of the film is the intense Russian roulette scene which sees Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken's characters forced to play Russian roulette by the Vietcong. The superb acting and claustrophobic nature of the set gave the piece an electric edge which resonated deeply with viewers.

It's an incredibly intense scene. The Deer Hunter was the film to put Russian roulette firmly in the public imagination.

Click here to buy The Deer Hunter on DVD

- Leon (1994)

The Directors cut or 'Version International' of the now classic hitman film Leon features a tense Russian roulette piece.

Various scenes that developed the relationship between Mathilda and Léon were cut from the original edit after test audiences in LA saw an early version. This particular scene shows Natalie Portman's Mathilda threatening to shoot herself play playing Russian roulette.

She does this to try and persuade Jean Reno's Léon character to teach her to become a killer. It's an effective scene and once again shows the dramatic potential of this device in cinema.

Click here to buy Leon on DVD

- LA Confidential (1997)

Curtis Hanson's masterful crime thriller features a Russian roulette element as a key piece of character development.

After Guy Pierce's sensible detective fails to get information out of three criminals in an interrogation, Russell Crowe's unhinged character 'Bud' White storms into the room. He proceeds to force one key suspect to play a one-sided version of Russian roulette with a loaded gun.

White pulls the trigger three times before he is satisfied and the audience learn what a uncompromising and extreme character he is in the process.

Click here to buy LA Confidential on DVD

- The Way Of The Gun (2000)

Christopher McQuarrie followed his triumph of writing The Usual Suspects with the tough as nails and underrated The Way of the Gun.

The plot follows a couple of criminal drifters as they get swept into a kidnapping situation that spirals out of control. The Russian roulette scene focuses on a criminal played by talented character actor Geoffrey Lewis. The doomed mercenary decides to play Russian roulette with himself as a method of committing suicide.

After a failed first attempt he is about to try again when he finally picks up his ringing phone only to tell the person at the other end he's "Not at all" busy. It's a humorous end to another tense use of Russian roulette.

Click here to buy The Way Of The Gun on DVD

- Starsky And Hutch (2004)

The playful Todd Phillips version of Starsky and Hutch features an a Russian roulette element in one of the funniest parts of the film.

The scene in question sees the police duo enter Chinatown looking for information on their case. During the conversation Starsky quickly offers Russian roulette as a way to get the leads he needs.

"All right, you wanna play games? I got a game for you, Chau!" The idea swiftly backfires on Starsky as he fails to understand the rules of the game. This is perhaps the funniest use of Russian roulette yet seen in the movies.

Click here to buy Starsky And Hutch on DVD

- 13 (2012)

13 is a full-throttle new thriller focused on the fictional underground ‘sport’ of Russian roulette. Fiercely organized and ferociously secret, the game attracts depraved gamblers and desperate men.

In the film we follow one naïve young player (played by Sam Riley) who mistakenly becomes a numbered participant in this deadly world of violence and chance. This is writer/director Géla Babluani’s white-knuckle American remake of his 13 Tzameti, the film that swept Europe, shocked Sundance and now translates as one of the most edge-of-your-seat thrillers of the year.