I hate “Movie Knock-outs”. It is a stupid STUPID movie cliche that drives me ****ing crazy! You guys know what I’m talking about - right? A good guy, in a movie, needs to incapacitate someone like a guard. So the good guy sneaks up and hits the guard (or who ever) with an object of some kind (lamp, pipe, vase, branch, etc…) and the guard is “knocked out”, but is otherwise fine. Oh my ****ing God that is SO ANNOYING!!!!!! Why do they keep using this unnecessary and STUPID cliche in movies!?! I’m not a doctor - but I’m willing to bet that if you hit someone hard enough to incapacitate them - then this is how it would happen:
22% - instant death
32% - unconsciousness, vomiting, bleeding, death occurs in less then an hour unless hospitalized.
27% - severe brain damage requiring hospitalization.
18% - spinal injury requiring hospitalization.
1% - unconsciousness with no permanent consequences.

And what gets me the most is how UNNESSESARY it is as a plot device! If a writer does not want to show the hero killing the guard - then have him use chloroform or a taser! Or have him over power the guard with a struggle. CHRIST! WHY why why do they keep using this stupid cliche!?!?!?!?

Darn! I was hoping for some Keira Knightly or Jessica Alba pics!

Who says movies need to conform to reality? Hardly any movie does.

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Chloroform is far too dangerous to be used to knock people out. It was quickly replaced as an anaesthetic due to the fact it kills a lot of people if not perfectly administered.

And it’s actually not too hard to knock someone out in one hit. If you’re strong and know what you’re doing then you could knock a guard out for the count very, very easily. A fast strike to the jugular vein disrupts the blood flow (the ‘Karate Neck Chop’ of numerous spy films) and if done by an experienced handler, knocks out the poor bugger on the other end.

Oh and actually yes, if you hit a guy with a lamp in the temple you could knock him out or, more likely, incapacitate him (not unconcious but very very stunned and it probably looks the same).

For the record it’s also possible to knock a guy out by nutting him in the face. A Glasgow favourite.

It may be a cliche but it’s got a good solid base in reality.

The only time I’ve ever hit my head hard enough to knock me out (slipping on ice) I had a horrendous headache for days afterwards and was very dizzy.

Sadly I have yet to render a foe unconcious.

Next time I get ambushed by an adversary I’ll be sure to get him out for the count. No matter how much he cries and begs.

Hitting somebody on the head with something hard enough is about the most quick and certain way of incapacitating them with some chance of them surviving (dropping a nuke on them would also be quick and certain, but hardly likely something that they’ll recover from.  Plus, people might notice.).  However, it is also the method that’s most likely to cause permanent harm to the person.  You have to hit them hard enough that the inside of their skull bounces off their brain, and so you’re likely to crack the skull or tear up the brain.

Cutting off the air or blood supply to the brain causes less physical trauma, although you have to be careful not to over-do it.

And yes, chloroform is a bad idea:  not only does it have a very uncertain effect on people, but it is also extremely hazardous to carry around as it can explode or flash up if there’s a spark.

It mostly depends on where you hit, but otherwise it can take a lot of strength to actually knock someone out in one hit, still causing a lot of pain and damage, not to mention the loud cry of pain. I think you should leave the knocking out to a professional, who, b.t.w. might prefer more permanent means of incapacitation rather than risking someone to wake up early.

Meh. While you’re at it, might as well comment on how silencers don’t make bullets do that little ‘fft!‘ noise, or that cars don’t explode in big fireballs..

Also, whenever someone speaks to me in a foreign language I’ve yet to see an English translation pop up out of nowhere at about chest level.

(And believe me, I’ve looked!)

Renquist - 25 September 2007 03:55 PM

And it’s actually not too hard to knock someone out in one hit. If you’re strong and know what you’re doing then you could knock a guard out for the count very, very easily. A fast strike to the jugular vein disrupts the blood flow (the ‘Karate Neck Chop’ of numerous spy films) and if done by an experienced handler, knocks out the poor bugger on the other end.

That’s true, but at the same time, you can crush and damage the artery and kill them by accident. I’ve never been choked unconscious (some people will do it and run the line “you can’t choke someone out till you’ve experienced it”, but honestly, it’s not worth the risk and you can definitely experience the feeling in a slow and controlled manner without passing out) but I’ve applied and been subject to chokeholds that compressed the artery and let go before passing out and it’s quite a trip. You go from struggling and fighting to standing first in line for the “It’s a Small World” ride at Disneyland. Everything gets all dreamy and happy and you go down pretty quick. Chokes that compress the trachea all utterly horrible, though. Think trying to vomit with your throat forcibly closed. Horrible.

Anytime you hit someone anywhere in the neck, there’s a risk of doing way more damage than you might intend. Death, hypoxia, brain damage…the whole lot. Not to mention that they might split their skull open hitting the ground after knocking them to La-La Land.

I always get a kick out of scenes where some hero take a solid shot to the nose and keeps on fighting like it was nothing. I’ve taken some errant and usually accidental good, strong smacks to the nose and the first thing that happens is you can’t see and uncontrolled tears and snot roll out of you. You’re basically useless for a little bit. That’s one of the main reasons boxers tilt their heads down - to prevent straight shots to the nose, among other things.