New Hollywood violence is a groundbreaking collection of essays devoted to an interrogation of various aspects, dimensions, and issues relating to the depiction of violence in New Hollywood filmmaking. 'New Hollywood' refers to the return to genre filmmaking following America's flirtation with European art cinema in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and is characterised by vast production budgets, and special effects.

Focusing on the motivations, the formal and stylistic qualities and the cultural politics of violence as well as the effects on viewers, the collection is divided into four sections: 'Surveys and schemas'; 'Spectacle and style'; 'Race and gender' and 'Politics to ideology'. An Afterword by Stephen Prince reflects on the various essays and points the way towards areas of future exploration.