Violence in Films
In the world I came from, the world I knew, violence was a valid form of expression. That's the human condition, and it's tragic and it will do us in as a species if we don't learn about it.
I have always had difficulty with how to show violence in a picture. Its meaning depends on the world you're depicting, it depends on the audience you're aiming for, and then there's the issue of your responsibility to the story. When it came time for me to make movies, I knew my films were not going to be for children. I knew they would never be shown on television, and if they were they would be edited. I wouldn't want them shown at six o'clock at night or eight o'clock at night for a child of mine to see.
When Mean Streets and Taxi Driver were shown on television, they were edited. When cable started, that became another issue. Cable was a service that you paid for, and you got the complete film. Still, a picture like Taxi Driver or Goodfellas should be shown at ten o'clock or twelve o'clock at night. There is a responsibility on the part of filmmakers to make sure that certain kinds of material is restricted from viewing by younger people.