ABSTRACT
Depictions of violence have been an enduring feature of motion pictures since the inception of the medium. Violence has drawn filmmakers to explore its potential for cinematic stylization, and its presence on screen has fueled efforts to censor and regulate the medium. Movie violence has attracted audiences so deeply and incessantly that one might argue with much justification that depictions of violence constitute one of cinema's essential pleasures and appeals for viewers. Indeed, violent genres, such as westerns, war and gangster movies, emerged very early in cinema and have been with us ever since. Director Brian De Palma (Dressed to Kill [1980], The Untouchables [1987]) observed that cinema, as a medium emphasizing movement and action, is inescapably drawn toward violent action:
Motion pictures are a kinetic art form; you're dealing with motion and sometimes that can be violent motion. There are very few art forms that let you deal with things in motion and that's why Westerns and chases and shoot-outs crop up in film. (Pally 1984: 14)
