A Test of Violence

1969 0h 14m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 10

Documentary

Synopsis

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Stuart Cooper's short about the work of Spanish artist Juan Genovés is an inspired introduction to the works of this extraordinary artist, exploring its minimalist aesthetic and storytelling qualities through a variety of cinematic techniques, including rostrum, animation, news footage and live action recreations.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

Criterion ChannelSubscription

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Stuart Cooper

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 6

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 14-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 6

ERA

Did you know

57 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 6

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 6

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Alex Rayment shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 6

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0234868 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 6

WILD

Did you know

Only 10 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Stuart Cooper directs. Alex Rayment cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 14-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
257 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Editor Alex Rayment shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5IMDB entry: tt0234868 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
6Only 10 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Editing: Alex Rayment
Runtime: 14 min · 0h 14m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: A Test of Violence (1969)

Also by

Stuart Cooper

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-06-06
★ 5/10
This takes quite an interesting look at the paintings of Spaniard Juan Genovés but I found it rather submerges them in a little too much confusing artistic gimmickry that rather overwhelms the artistry in a blur of augmented and sometimes quite oblique graphics and imagery. His paintings, when they do feature, offer us a starkly powerful and often bleakly crafted monochrome look at our inhumanity to each other with the only colour involved being blood red, but as this film’s creator Stuart Cooper starts to add his own perspective to the man’s work it loses it’s focus, especially when the wartime video - that doesn’t look so very authentic, to be honest - starts to superimpose itself and a bit repetitively too. I found this to be a bit messy, busy and disappointing.