Movie Tattoos That Aren't Just Tattoos 

As of the time of writing this, I have fifteen tattoos - this sounds like a lot, but I rarely think of myself as someone who looks very heavily tattooed, especially compared to friends who lost count of theirs years ago. About half of these are related to media I like, and most in this category are Studio Ghibli tattoos, from Howl's Moving Castle's Heen and Whisper of the Heart's Muta on my ankles up to Princess Mononoke's San and Kiki and Jiji from Kiki's Delivery Service on my right arm. But while I was considering what I might get next, I had another thought:

There are an awful lot of movie tattoos (tattoos on real life people referencing their favourite movies), but not a lot of movie tattoos (tattoos on characters in movies that have narrative or thematic significance).

Think about it - how many movies can you think of that feature prominently tattooed characters in a lead role, with these tattoos at some point getting the spotlight? Surprisingly few, especially compared to the number of people I see every day who are covered in the things, myself included.

So for this blog, I tried to think of all my favourite instances of tattoos onscreen; ones that aren't just decoration on a gangster or the signifier of a thug, but that carry a weight beyond the ink.

The Dragon Tattoo on the Girl of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

This is likely the first one lots of you thought of when you read the title of this blog, and for good reason - it's in the damn title. Rooney Mara's Lisbeth Salander has gone to hell and back, and she has the tattoo to prove it.

Acquired as a symbol of the first time she stood up to the abusive men who have defined her past, the Dragon Tattoo itself is a fantastic bit of black and grey realism with a memorable placement up her torso and an even more memorable character attached. Tattoos come into the story through other means, too, but as a means of branding and humiliating defilers rather than an act of self empowerment (though in Lisbeth's case and for the scene I'm referring to, I guess maybe both are true).

The Red Dragon Tattoo of the Guy with the Red Dragon (Sorry)

Francis Dolarhyde is a serial killer given the nickname ‘Tooth Fairy’ by the police, but he takes his instructions from the Great Red Dragon, another personality based on the paintings of William Blake, and given physical form through a fantastically detailed tattoo that covers and extends out from his back.

It should be noted that this tattoo does first appear onscreen in the original Lecter adaptation, Michael Mann's Manhunter (Mannhunter?), but in my mind, it's always Ralph Fiennes and his enormous back tat that had the greater visual and emotional impact. This is largely because of Phillip Seymour Hoffman's (RIP) horrified reaction amplifying the intimidation factor tenfold, his defeated moans of ‘oh God’ serving as a devastated acceptance of his fate.

And now for something completely different.

The Coincidental Tattoos of Duck Soup

The oldest movie on this list by over five decades, Duck Soup isn't the kind of film where you expect to see an awful lot of tattoos (or bare skin in general, really). But it is a movie with a ton of gags, and where the Marx Brothers see an opportunity, a silly joke will almost always take form - or several that keep building on each other.

Groucho asks the famously mute Harpo who he is, and he replies by getting out a tattoo of his own face. He then asks to see something by the old masters, so Harpo gets out his other arm, decorated with a pin up girl who he can make wiggle by flexing his muscles. Upon asking for her phone number, Groucho is presented with the digits on Harpo's side. Finally, he asks where Harpo lives - he opens his shirt to reveal a doghouse, and a fantastic bit of 1930s special effects work where Groucho meows at his chest, only to be met with a real dog sticking his head out of the door.

It's such a wonderful bit of absurdist comedy and one of my all time favourite Marx Brothers bits - I may have to get one or two of those tattoos myself one day (though I fear the dog may be out of reach).

The Animated Tattoos of Moana

You can pretty much count on one hand the number of Disney characters who have tattoos; despite how prolific the company has been over the past century, they still don't seem too keen to put off potential viewers with an aesthetic choice that can be seen on millions throughout the world (or characters who happen to be LGBT, but that's a discussion for another day).

In one of the most creative uses of tattoos for storytelling on this list next to Harpo's communicative ink, we have the demigod Maui's tattoos from Moana, which tell tales of his exploits, move around on his body, and offer moral guidance like a tiny angel on his shoulder (or pecs, I guess). It's an unusual and welcome choice for a Disney movie and a fascinating nod to Polynesian myths and culture, elevated by some fantastic creative decisions from the writers and animators involved.

The Highly Incriminating Tattoos of Cape Fear

In Martin Scorsese's Cape Fear, Robert De Niro turns in his most intimidating performance as Max Cady, a convicted rapist recently released and seeking vengeance on the defence attorney who hid evidence to ensure he received the maximum sentence.

His actions late in the film are horrifying, but it's the tension building up to them that's truly unbearable, and his many tattoos - all demonstrating a 14 year long obsession with revenge - tell us early on just how far Cady is willing to go to satisfy his bloodlust. His enormous back tat - the second on this list to indicate malicious intent - depicts the scales of justice, narrating his overwhelming sense of being dealt with unfairly despite his own horrible crimes. However, the smaller ones always stuck more in my mind, particularly phrases like ‘VENGEANCE IS MINE’, ‘MY TIME IS AT HAND’, and ‘TIME THE AVENGER’ that, frankly, really don't help his case.

Of course, these tattoos are also so famously incriminating that they were commented upon in The Simpsons with Sideshow Bob's classic ‘DIE BART DIE’ ink (German for The Bart, The, I hear).

We need more!

Tattoos are a part of the everyday backdrop of life in the 2020s and a unique form of visual storytelling, and putting this list together has taught me that more movies need to take advantage. Maybe it's because they remain something of a taboo, particularly in certain countries, but the fact that I could only find a handful of Hollywood tattoos with genuine narrative impact was a real shame to me.

The more specific lesson that I took away from this list is that there are woefully few heavily tattooed women in iconic movies. This needs to be remedied ASAP, and if you have any recommendations for films with cool tatted chicks (I feel like a 10 year old emo boy making his first incognito Google search) then please sling them over to me in the comments, as well as any other movie tattoos I've not included here (I know there's a few!)