How important is Movie Violence?
Johnny Depp’s got a new movie coming soon this fall. It’s called SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET. It’s a collaboration between him and director Tim Burton for the millionth time. It’s based on a 19th century legend of a murderous barber who killed everyone who’s ever done him wrong. Now here’s the word on the web, apparently the studio has seen early footages from the movie and thought that the violence was too graphic. They loved the movie but… they wanted Tim to take the level down a bit so it can be presented not in R-rated but PG-13. The idea is to get it watched by wider audience, which means more money would be coming in.
Tim who is an artistic filmmaker was definitely not happy with the studio’s request for so many cuts. How can you not show graphic violence in a story like this one? SWEENEY TODD by the way will slit theaters’ throats December 21st.
Which brings me to the question: How important is movie violence?
1). There are movies out there that show violence without any purpose or relation to the storyline at all. It shows grotesque graphics and images just so the filmmaker could prove to the audience that they’ve crossed the boundaries. At the same time it is necessary for certain films to have such high level of violence in order to serve the audiences that love that sort of thing. It’s their niche and it’s all about satisfying that target market. George Romero will keep on making zombie movies til the day he dies… and becomes a zombie.
George A. Romero and his movies
2). Let’s briefly talk about art. Now this is a subject that most people won’t find fascinating. The second they hear the word ‘art’, immediately they’ll think of boring museums filled with large paintings to stare at for hours and hours. But where I’m going with this is that movies like Kill Bill, Sin City and 300 have been the Champions in presenting violence in a very artful manner. It would take away the beauty of it all if the violence level was toned down.
Uma thurman in KILL BILL Vol. 1
3). Another way a movie violence can be important is that if it’s a part of the character so much so that we just can’t see that character becomes somebody who is without violence. That’s one thing I was concerned about the movie LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD that now is PG-13 unlike its R-rated predecessors. The character John McLane has been so closely associated with curse words and violence that I couldn’t see John McLane any other way. But luckily the movie Live Free or Die Hard was very well made in my opinion and it was very action-packed that it didn’t take away the heroic image of the iconic man who’s always at the wrong place at the wrong time.
One interesting fact, if you’ve seen the movie Die Hard with a Vengeance and remember the bad guy Simon, played by the great Jeremy Irons, well.. before Jeremy,.. Sean Connery was actually offered the role but he turned it down on the account that the character was too violent and evil.
4). Movie Violence is important in history-based movies. ‘Saving Private Ryan’ is a great movie, especially the beginning scene at the bloody beach, because it stays true to the real-life situation of D-Day. By showing violence, the movie gives homage to those who actually lived the event.
On the other hand we have another great movie called ‘Hotel Rwanda’. You’d think that because it’s a movie about genocide that the filmmaker would go the distance to show some disturbing scenes. But that’s not the case. This movie is very excellent because it gives graphic bloodshed through their dialogues, through their faces. You can see and feel the brutality just by watching their eyes which hold fear, anger, and disbelief. Hotel Rwanda is filled with talented actors and a gifted writer who can display violence without having to display violence.
HERE IS THE LATEST MOVIE POSTER OF SWEENEY TODD.
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HAhahaha, violence is so important in movies that well… it’s not really even funny anymore. Consider the fact that there are now categories… “Artful violence” “Tasteless violence” don’t you think this all in the end pretty much sums up how meaningless violence is that we’re coming up with inane categories?
Lol
I look at it like this…
Movies of today are story telling of ancient times. In other words, if we lived 1000 years ago, we would hear stories around a campfire or in some hut. Today we go to the theater for the most part.
Imagine sitting around a campfire today, and someone telling you a story with the “realism” that is presented in movies. Think specifically in terms of sex and violence. There would be a lot of awkward moments as well a questioning of whether the producer of the story was a psychopath and a sexual deviant.
I enjoy movies. However, much of the violence, and almost all of the sex is there to appeal to our most base impulses. It is actually kind of embarrassing that we all fall for it. Some people pretend it adds to the story…it does not. You do not need to see someone’s skin pealing off in order to understand what happened in a certain battle. You do not need a graphic sex scene in 300…or any movie for that matter. It is purely a ploy.
Now it may sound like the conservative side of me is really coming out right now, and that is partly true. However, the fact is that these movies add these things in here to the detriment of the story and overall execution of the story. This happens in two ways.
1) Either they focus so much of this extra stuff, that other parts of the movie get neglected.
2) They add this stuff is because the rest of the movie would not be good enough without it.
In that sense, all true artists should be weary of these cheap ploys in movies.
One side note. I love how when Apacalypto came out, there were people who were saying it was so violent and dark and how it was a real insight into the dark mind of Mel Gibson. I don’t know if you heard that, but I heard that a few places. Two points:
1) It wasn’t all that dark or violent compared to a lot of other movies.
2) If that logic can be applied to Mel Gibson, I think we have a town full of people in Hollywood who are nothing but psychotic deviants.
One more thing…they used to make WWII movies PG. They didn’t have PG-13 back then, so you could make the argument that some could have been…
The point is that many of these older WWII movies are better than the newer and more edgy WWII movies. Take a look at the list of great movies, many of them don’t use violence and sex for gimmicks and many of them are older.