Violence to Animals in Film: August 2017

Heads Up, Ears Down

This blog accurately identifies depictions of violence and cruelty toward animals in films. The purpose is to provide viewers with a reliable guide so that such depictions do not come as unwelcome surprises. Films will be accurately notated, providing a time cue for each incident along with a concise description of the scene and perhaps relevant context surrounding the incident. In order to serve as a useful reference tool, films having no depictions of violence to animals will be included, with an indication that there are no such scenes. This is confirmation that the films have been watched with the stated purpose in mind.

Note that the word depictions figures prominently in the objective. It is a travesty that discussions about cruelty in film usually are derailed by the largely unrelated assertion that no animals really were hurt (true only in some films, dependent upon many factors), and that all this concern is just over a simulation. Not the point, whether true or false. We do not smugly dismiss depictions of five-year-olds being raped because those scenes are only simulations. No, we are appalled that such images are even staged, and we are appropriately horrified that the notion now has been planted into the minds of the weak and cruel.

Depictions of violence or harm to animals are assessed in keeping with our dominant culture, with physical abuse, harmful neglect, and similar mistreatment serving as a base line. This blog does not address extended issues of animal welfare, and as such does not identify scenes of people eating meat or mules pulling plows. The goal is to itemize images that might cause a disturbance in a compassionate household.

These notes provide a heads-up but do not necessarily discourage watching a film because of depicted cruelty. Consuming a piece of art does not make you a supporter of the ideas presented. Your ethical self is created by your public rhetoric and your private actions, not by your willingness to sit through a filmed act of violence.

Macbeth (Welles)

Macbeth. Orson Welles, 1948.

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Edition screened: Olive Blu-ray, released 2012. English language. Runtime approximately 107 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Mad Love: The Films of Evgeni Bauer

Mad Love: The Films of Evgeni Bauer. Evgeni Bauer, 1913-1917.

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Edition screened: Milestone DVD, released 2002. Russian intertitles with English subtitles, no dialogue track. Cumulative runtime approximately 144 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

The Milestone DVD compiles three early romantic dramas by Bauer:

Twilight of a Woman’s Soul (1913)

After Death (1915)

The Dying Swan (1917)

Mad Max

Mad Max. George Miller, 1979.

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Edition screened: Included Warner Mad Max Trilogy 3-Blu-ray set, released 2013. English language. Runtime approximately 93 minutes.

Summary: Murdered dog.

Details: During a chase through the woods, the pet dog is found mutilated and hanging from a tree, 1:07:08-1:07:12. The bloody mass of fur itself is indistinct and not particularly graphic, but is a “jump scare” even though you know it must be coming. There also is a quick image of a dead rabbit lying along the road, somewhere early in the movie.

Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome

Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. George Miller and George Ogilvie, 1985.

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Edition screened: Included Warner Mad Max Trilogy 3-Blu-ray set, released 2013. English language. Runtime approximately 107 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Despite a back-story of pigs kept in abject conditions, there are no depictions of brutality and in fact we come to understand that it is illegal to kill a pig.

Mad Max: Fury Road

Mad Max: Fury Road. George Miller, 2015.

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Edition screened: Warner Blu-ray, released 2015. English language. Runtime approximately 120 minutes.

Summary: Eating a lizard.

Details:

1) The opening scene shows a mutant two-headed lizard or iguana (1:15) that scurries across the ground, then is snatched up and eaten. Max’s back is to the camera but we see the tail disappearing into his mouth through 1:48.

The Warner release includes numerous making-of documentaries, including Mad Max: Fury on Four Wheels, an enjoyable look at the design and fabrication of the wonderful custom vehicles made for Fury Road.

Madhouse

Madhouse. Ovidio Assonitis, 1981.

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Edition screened: Arrow Blu-ray, released 2017. English language. Runtime approximately 92 minutes.

Summary: Murdered cat and dog.

Details:

1) The very nice cat we meet is, of course, found hanged and dead, 54:45-54:48.

2) The killer dog is killed by electric drill to the head, 1:25:02-1:25:32. Stupid and phony looking.

Madman

Madman. Joe Giannone, 1982.

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Edition screened: Arrow Blu-ray, released 2015. English language. Runtime approximately 89 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Jean Renoir’s The River (1951) is the only movie I’ve seen with a physically uglier cast.

Magellan: At the Gates of Death, Part I: The Red Gate 1, 0

Magellan: At the Gates of Death. Hollis Frampton, 1976.

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Edition screened: Included on Criterion Blu-ray #607 A Hollis Frampton Odyssey, released 2012. Silent. Runtime approximately 5 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Mai Lin vs. Serena/Oriental Hawaii

Mai Lin vs. Serena/Oriental Hawaii. Carlos Tobalina, 1981-1982.

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Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome DVD #053 Peekarama: Mai Lin vs. Serena/Oriental Hawaii, released 2016. English language. Cumulative runtime approximately 158 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals in either feature.

Mai Lin vs. Serena. Carlos Tobalina as Troy Benny, 1981, 79 minutes. 1/5❤

Oriental Hawaii. Carlos Tobalina as Troy Benny, 1982, 79 minutes. 4/5❤

Malibu High

Malibu High. Irvin Berwick, 1979.

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Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray #167, released 2017. English language. Runtime approximately 90 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

The best that can be said about Malibu High is that it doesn’t try to be funny. Half a star for that good decision.

The Vinegar Syndrome release also contains two short films by Lawrence Foldes, producer of Malibu High. Grandpa and Marika (1975, 11 minutes) and Struggle for Israel (1976, 20 minutes) were made when Foldes was about 18 years old, and both are far superior to Berwick’s Malibu High.

The Man Who Knew Too Much (Hitchcock 1934)

The Man Who Knew Too Much. Alfred Hitchcock, 1934.

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Edition screened: Criterion Blu-ray #643 released 2013. English language. Runtime approximately 75 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.

The Man Who Lies

The Man Who Lies (L'homme qui ment). Alain Robb-Grillet, 1968.

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Edition screened: Included in Criterion BFI 3-Blu-ray set Alain Robbe-Grillet: Six Films 1963-1974, released 2014. French language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 97 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Management

Management. Stephen Belber, 2008.

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Edition screened: Image DVD, released 2009. English language. Runtime approximately 93 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Maniac (Lustig)

Maniac. William Lustig, 1980.

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Edition screened: Blue Underground Blu-ray, released 2010. English language. Runtime approximately 88 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project No. 1

Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project No. 1. Various directors, 1936-1981.

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Edition screened: Criterion dual format box set #684, released 2013. Cumulative runtime of feature films approximately 590 minutes.

Summary: Click individual titles for details as they become available.

The Criterion box set includes:

Touki Bouki (Djibril Diop Mambéty, 1973)

Redes (Fred Zinnemann and Emilio Gómez Muriel, 1936)

A River Called Titas (Ritwik Ghatak, 1973)

Dry Summer (Metin Erksan and David Durston, 1964)

Trances (Ahmed El Maanouni, 1981)

The Housemaid (Kim Ki-Young, 1960)

Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project No. 2

Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project No. 2. Various directors, 1931-2000.

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Edition screened: Criterion dual format box set #873, released 2017. Cumulative runtime of feature films approximately 595 minutes.

Summary: Click individual titles for details as they become available.

The Criterion box set includes:

Insiang (Lino Brocka, 1976)

Mysterious Objects at Noon (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2000)

Revenge (Yermek Shinarbayev, 1989)

Limite (Mário Peixoto, 1931)

Law of the Border (Lüfti Akad, 1966)

Taipei Story (Edward Yang, 1985)

The Mass

The Mass (Omša). Dušan Hanák, 1967.

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Edition screened: Included on Second Run DVD #92 Pictures of the Old World, released 2015. Czech language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 11 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

The Matrix Reloaded

The Matrix Reloaded. Lana and Lilly Wachowski (as Larry and Andy Wachowski), 2003.

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Edition screened: Included in Warner The Ultimate Matrix Collection Blu-ray box set, released 2008. English language. Runtime approximately 138 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.

The Matrix Revolutions

The Matrix Revolutions. Lana and Lilly Wachowski (as Larry and Andy Wachowski), 2003.

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Edition screened: Included in Warner The Ultimate Matrix Collection Blu-ray box set, released 2008. English language. Runtime approximately 129 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.

The Matrix

The Matrix. Lana and Lilly Wachowski (as Larry and Andy Wachowski), 1999.

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Edition screened: Included in Warner The Ultimate Matrix Collection Blu-ray box set, released 2008. English language. Runtime approximately 136 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Me, Myself, & Irene

Me, Myself, & Irene. Bobby & Peter Farrelly, 2000.

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Edition screened: 20th Century Fox Blu-ray, released 2012. English language. Runtime approximately 116 minutes.

Summary: Depictions of violent animal abuse as comedy.

Details:

1) A diary cow is found lying on the road, presumably hit by a vehicle. From 30:45 through 33:09, Jim Carrey attempts to put the completely still cow “out of her misery” by repeatedly shooting, kicking, wrestling, and strangling her. It is shockingly violent and unfunny.

2) From 1:23:03 through 1:23:17 a man is seen with the head of a live chicken up his anus. The chicken is flapping its wings and the man is yelling for help. I kid you not.

The first 30 minutes of this movie were disappointing enough, but the scene with the cow is a total bomb and goes on forever, even if the viewer isn’t offended by the animal abuse. The chicken thing also is on the screen way too long. Even if those scenes were cut, Me, Myself, & Irene would remain boring, socially offensive in a just rude and not provocative way, and distinctly unfunny.

Mein Papi

Mein Papi (My Daddy). Jörg Buttgereit, 1981-1995.

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Edition screened: Included on the Schramm Blu-ray in the Cult Epic box set Sex Murder Art: The Films of Jörg Buttgereit, released 2016. German language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 8 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

A short memorial film to the director’s father, made from video shot in the Buttgereit home from 1981 until Papi’s death in 1993.

Memento

Memento. Christopher Nolan, 2000.

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Edition screened: Lionsgate ‘10th Anniversary’ Blu-ray, released 2011. English language. Runtime approximately 113 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

The Merchant of Four Seasons

The Merchant of Four Seasons (Händler der Vier Jahreszeiten). Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1971.

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Edition screened: Included on Arrow Blu-ray The Merchant of Four Seasons & Beware of a Holy Whore, released 2016. German language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 88 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence toward animals.

Microwave Massacre

Microwave Massacre. Wayne Berwick, 1983.

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Edition screened: Arrow Blu-ray, released 2016. English language. Runtime approximately 76 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Surprisingly, the little house dog is not mistreated in any way.

A Mighty Wind

A Mighty Wind. Christopher Guest, 2003.

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Edition screened: Warner DVD, released 2003. English language. Runtime approximately 92 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Mirror (Schorstein)

Mirror. John Schorstein, 1970.

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Edition screened: Included on BFI ‘Flipside’ Blu-ray #29 That Sinking Feeling, released 2014. English language. Runtime approximately 33 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Mirror (Tarkovsky)

Mirror (The Mirror/Zerkalo). Andrei Tarkovsky, 1975.

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Edition screened: Criterion Blu-ray # 1084, released 2016. Russian language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 105 minutes.

Summary: Comparatively mild indications of bullfighting and chicken slaughter.

Details:

1) Vintage film clip of bullfighting, 37:40-37:47.

2) We hear a rooster killed just below camera and see feathers flying, 1:32:15-1:32:50.

The Mizoguchi Collection

The Mizoguchi Collection. Kenji Mizoguchi, 1936-1946.

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Edition screened: Artificial Eye Blu-ray box set, released 2012. Japanese language with English subtitles. Cumulative runtime of feature films approximately 361 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.

The Artificial Eye set includes:

Osaka Elegy (1936)

Sisters of the Gion (1936)

The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (1939)

Utamaro and His Five Women (1946)

A Moment of Silence at the Grave of Ed Gein

A Moment of Silence at the Grave of Ed Gein. Jörg Buttgereit, 2012.

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Edition screened: Included on the Nekromantik 2 Blu-ray in the Cult Epic box set Sex Murder Art: The Films of Jörg Buttgereit, released 2016. No dialogue track. Runtime approximately 2 minutes.

Summary: No animals or references to animals in the film.

Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven

Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven (Mutter Küsters' Fahrt zum Himmel). Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1975.

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Edition screened: Included in Arrow DVD box set The Rainer Werner Fassbinder: Commemorative Collection 73-82 Volume 2, released 2007. German language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 113 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence toward animals.

Murder Unincorporated

Murder Unincorporated (Toba no mesu neko: Sha kiba no shobu). Haryasu Noguchi, 1965.

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Edition screened: Included on Arrow Blu-ray Nikkatsu Diamond Guys Volume 2, released 2016. Japanese language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 89 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Murder Weapon

Murder Weapon. David DeCoteau (as Ellen Cabot), 1989.

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Edition screened: On Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray #138 Murder Weapon/Deadly Embrace, released 2016. English language. Runtime approximately 89 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals. 3/5❤

My 20th Century

My 20th Century (Az én XX. századom). Ildikó Enyedi, 1989.

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Edition screened: Second Run Blu-ray #BD 005, released 2017. Hungarian language with English subtitle. Runtime approximately 103 minutes.

Summary: Implications of animal torture and murder.

Details:

1) Beginning at 29:05 and continuing through 33:00, we see a laboratory dog wearing head straps with simulated electronic attachments. We see the dog break free and go on a life-changing adventure to experience the world – still wearing his headgear.

2) We see a man reach into a birdcage and grasp a dove, then at 33:45 we hear a noise suggesting that he has broken the bird’s neck.

Important: The “lab dog” sequence clearly is rooted in compassion. There are no background images of the laboratory, and the headgear is intentionally joke-like. The dog is happy. Also, the caged birds are seen several times throughout the movie and the sound effect suggesting off-screen killing is not glamorized.

These scenes are not a reason to avoid this wonderful and creative film.

My Chauffeur

My Chauffeur. David Beaird, 1985.

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Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray #177, released 2017. English language. Runtime approximately 97 minutes.

Summary: Depiction of animal abuse as slapstick comedy.

Details: A poodle on a leash is twirled overhead as a weapon, 21:05-21:18.

Oh, I almost forgot: twirled overhead by a fat old woman who is trying to protect herself from a panty-thieving British punk singer. The scene featuring the comedic stylings of Penn and Teller is almost as hilarious.

My Darling Clementine

My Darling Clementine. John Ford, 1946.

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Edition screened: Arrow Blu-ray, released 2015. English language. Runtime approximately 97 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.

The Arrow BD package also includes Allan Dwan’s Frontier Marshal (1939).

My Man Godfrey

My Man Godfrey. George Gregory La Cava, 1936.

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Edition screened: Criterion DVD #114, released 2001. English language. Runtime approximately 93 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

A key title in America’s Yelling Is Hilarious film tradition.