Lord Attenborough, 84, claims viewers have become desensitised to real-life crime. "Thirty years ago if Gary Cooper pulled out a gun the audience would give a sharp intake of breath," said Lord Attenborough, who began his career as an actor and came to prominence after starring as the vicious gang leader Pinkie in the 1947 film adaptation of Graham Greene's novel Brighton Rock.

He told the media that he "abhors the pornography of violence" in modern films. "Now the act of violence with a gun or a knife is the norm and we in the entertainment industry are partly responsible in making the presence of weapons such as knives almost an acceptable commonplace," Attenborough was quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph newspaper on Friday.

The Oscar-winning director warned that "pornography of violence" that proliferates modern cinema has created a culture where people are no longer shocked when weapons are used.

Last month, the Pope spoke out against violence on television, the internet and film warning it was causing "great harm" to society.

According to the British daily, many commentators believe the violence contained in computer games is more damaging to youths, as they spend more time playing them than watching films and because they are becoming increasingly realistic and detailed.