Lights, Camera, Friction: Violence in film

Violence has become less controversial in recent years, but it has sparked quite a bit of controversy throughout film's history. Psycho became the first widely controversial film due to violence in 1960. Prior to this film, violent films had been so far removed from mainstream audiences, that early films containing any significant level of violence were completely unheard of. While Psycho is fairly tame in the world of Tarantino that we live in today, in 1960 it was quite shocking. Violence came up again in 1967 with Bonnie and Clyde. The bloody shoot outs, including the gory killing of the duo shocked audiences in full color, while Psycho had simply been in black and white. The sprays of red blood heralded a new era, creating the sort of R rated masterpieces that still win Academy Awards today (Note No Country for Old Men and the Hurt Locker). Despite Bonnie and Clyde's trailblazing, violence continued to be a controversial subject in film. When the Wild Bunch was released in 1969 it shocked western viewers who were used to the bloodless, straight laced films of John Wayne and James Stewart. Wild Bunch director Sam Peckinpah earned the nickname "Bloody Sam" for the brutal violence in this film. Peckinpah's next film, Straw Dogs in 1971 also sparked controversy due to its glorification of violence. The glorification of violence present in 1971's A Clockwork Orange kept debate on violence in film heated as violent films became more common. Horror films like The Last House on the Left (1972) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) used unprecedented levels of violence leading to controversy around these types of films as well. After these films, overly violent movies began to go underground. With the exception of Taxi Driver in 1976, the rest were played in cheap grindhouse theaters if they were even played at all. All throughout the 60s and 70s imported samurai films from Japan like Hanzo the Razor, Lady Snowblood, and Sex and Fury, caused controversy for their strong levels of violence. In these samurai films it was quite common to use a hose to literally spray fake blood after a limb was severed. Things died down until the ultra violent Cannibal Holocaust in 1980. Perhaps the most violent film ever made, Cannibal Holocaust showed graphic footage of people literally being eaten. The over the top level of violence caused another whiplash against violent films, but it was short lived. Violence became less controversial, violent films became more mainstream, and the debates over it became less heated. While a few films like those of Quentin Tarantino still spark some anger over their levels of violence, these arguments usually die down fast and are only carried out by extremists.