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.

The Complete Jacques Tati

The Complete Jacques Tati. Jacques Tati et al., 1934-1978.
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Edition screened: Criterion Blu-ray box set #729, released 2014. French language with English subtitle. Cumulative runtime approximately 600 minutes.

Summary: On demande une brute features the cruel killing of a fish. The other films have no particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.

The Criterion set includes the following films by or relevant to Tati, along with ample bonus material. Click on individual titles for details:

Gai dimanche (1935)
Jour de fête (1949 B&W, 1964 partially colorized, and 1995 fully colorized versions)
Mon oncle (1958, along with My Uncle version)
Cours du soir (1967) 
Play Time (1967)
Trafic (1971)
Parade (1974)
Forza Bastia (1978)
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The Complete Jean Vigo

The Complete Jean Vigo. Jean Vigo, 1930-1934.
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Edition screened: Criterion Blu-ray set, released 2011. French language with English subtitles. Cumulative runtime of feature films approximately 163 minutes.

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

This indispensable collection includes all four of Vigo’s feature films:

Taris (1931)
L’Atalante (1934)

The Criterion release includes a trove of better-than-average supplemental material, including Jacques Rozier’s 1964 documentary made for French TV and an animated tribute by Michel Gondry.
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The Complete Monterey Pop Festival

The Complete Monterey Pop Festival. D.A. Pennebaker, 1968-1986.
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Edition screened: Criterion Blu-ray box set #167, released 2017. English language. Compiled runtime of feature films, approximately 288 minutes.

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

This third release by Criterion of the Monterey Pop Festival includes a slew of interviews and other supplemental material, along with the features:

Monterey Pop (D.A. Pennebaker, 1968)
Jimi Plays Monterey (D.A. Pennebaker, 1986)
Shake! Otis at Monterey (D.A. Pennebaker, 1986)
Chiefs (Richard Leacock and Noel E. Parmentel, 1968)
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The Concert for Bangladesh

The Concert for Bangladesh. Saul Swimmer, 1972.
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Edition screened: Rhino DVD, released 2005. English language. Runtime approximately 103 minutes.

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

Concert of Requests (Koncert zyczen). Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1967.
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Edition screened: Included with The Scar in the Kino DVD box set The Krzysztof Kieślowski Collection, released 2005. Polish language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 15 minutes.


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

Concorde. Pierre Jallaud, 1966.
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Edition screened: Included on Flicker Alley Blu-ray Cinerama’s Russian Adventure, released 2016. English language. Runtime approximately 15 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

A documentary about the design and theoretical testing of the Concorde.


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The Conformist

The Conformist (Il Conformista). Bernardo Bertolucci, 1970.
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Edition screened: Raro Blu-ray, released 2014. Italian language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 113 minutes.


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

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The Conjuring 2

The Conjuring 2. James Wan, 2016.
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Edition screened: Warner Blu-ray, released 2016. English language. Runtime approximately 134 minutes.

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

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Conversation Piece

Conversation Piece (Gruppo di famiglia in un interno). Luchino Visconti, 1974.
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Edition screened: Eureka! Masters of Cinema Blu-ray # 148, released 2016. English language. Runtime approximately 122 minutes.


Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.
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Corporate Assets

Corporate Assets. Thomas Paine, 1985.
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Edition screened: Included in Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray set #234, 5 Films • 5 Years Vol 3: Golden Age Erotica, released 2018; also released in 2016 as DVD #124. English language. Runtime approximately 104 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals. 5/5❤
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Corpse Fucking Art

Corpse Fucking Art. Jörg Buttgereit, 1992.
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Edition screened: Included on the Der Todesking 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 58 minutes.

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

This documentary about the making of Buttgereit’s first three full-length features is better than most such featuretts. Humble but intelligent discussions of the home-made special effects and glimpses of cast and crew on-set reflect well on all involved. Much better than cable TV-style making-ofs that showcase talentless 20-year-olds calling Robert De Niro “Bob” and saying it was “Soooo amazing – really really really great – to work with him.”



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The Corpse Grinders

The Corpse Grinders. Ted V. Mikels, 1971.
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Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray #192, released 2017. English language. Runtime approximately 73 minutes.

Summary: Rough handling and autopsy of cats.

Details:
1) A Siamese cast is handled roughly then thrown to the floor, 10:35-10:43. He walks away appropriately angry and insulted, but is ok.
2) A black cat is thrown violently by a derelict man (we see only the man’s upper body, with all implied violence offscreen with sound effects), 23:36-23:40.
3) Autopsy of the black cat -- a real autopsy scene of a real dead cat strapped to a table. There is a jump cut to this unexpected scene as soon as the derelict man says “Poor Annie” to the doctor (25:07). At that moment, skip ahead to 25:33, to hear the nurse ask “How’s it goin’?” as she enters the room.

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Corruption

Corruption. Roger Michael Watkins (as Richard Mahler), 1983.
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Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray #098, released 2015. English language. Runtime approximately 79 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.1/5❤

The Vinegar Syndrome release also includes an unrestored transfer of Watkins’ The Last House on Dead End Street (1977).

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Cosmos (Żuławski)

Cosmos. Andrzej Żuławski, 2015.
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Edition screened: Arrow Blu-ray, released 2016. French language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 102 minutes.

Summary: Recurring scenes of hanged animals.

Details:
1) Scenes of a dead sparrow hanging by the neck, of a plucked chicken hanging by the neck, or both, appear frequently throughout the film. The scenes are not gory in excess of their factual content, and occur at 0:52-1:04, 3:58-4:12, 6:57-7:000, 16:10-16:33, 18:35-18:57, 41:43-41:47, 48:28-48:38, 49:48-49:52, and 59:09-59:12.
2) A house cat is found dead, hanged in the backyard at 49:05 and remains on screen during dialogue through 50:09.

Cosmos is many things, including a murder mystery about who killed these animals and what the next crime might be. As such, we repeatedly see the same few incidents while characters discuss and rehash. 
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Count Dracula’s Great Love

Count Dracula’s Great Love (El gran amor del conde Drácula). Javier Aguirre, 1973.
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Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray #132, released 2016. Original Spanish language with English subtitles, or English dub. Runtime approximately 83 minutes.

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

Bonus points! . . . 

This is the version of the Dracula tale where the Count strolls through the woods releasing rabbits from traps unharmed.
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Crash (Haggis)

Crash. Paul Haggis, 2004.
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Edition screened: Artisan DVD, released 2005. English language. Runtime approximately 113 minutes.


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

The Craven Sluck. Mike Kuchar, 1967.
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Edition screened: Unknown VHS. English language. Runtime approximately 20 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.


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The Crazies

The Crazies. George A. Romero, 1973.
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Edition screened: Included in Arrow Blu-ray box set George A. Romero: Between Night and Dawn, released 2017. English language. Runtime approximately 103 minutes.

Summary: An animal is shot for no reason.

Details: A hazmat-suited patrol shoots at a small animal running toward a pond, 1:01:56, then triumphantly raises a dead rabbit, through 1:02:18.  Hazy and not graphic, but still a pointless injection of animal murder having nothing to do with the plot, character development, or any of the other usual justifications. 
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The Creeping Flesh

The Creeping Flesh. Freddie Francis, 1972.
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Edition screened: Included on Mill Creek Blu-ray Psycho Circus Triple Feature, released 2017. English language. Runtime approximately 92 minutes.

Summary: Abuse of a caged lab monkey.

Details:
1) The small monkey is held down by the neck while injected (off screen) with a serum, 37:14-37:19.
2) Several quick shots show the monkey in increasing distress, lying on his side in a cage and breathing heavily: 38:29-32; 39:43-46; 40:12-15 (by which time he is twitching); 46:00-46:03; and finally screaming at 46:24.
3) The monkey is on the floor, nearly dead and convulsing lightly, 49:13-49:28.

When the nearly dead monkey is discovered by the doctors (#3 above), one exclaims “Lucille!  Thank God we didn’t use it on human being!”


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The Creeping Garden

The Creeping Garden. Tim Grabham and Jasper Sharp, 2014.
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Edition screened: Arrow Blu-ray, released 2017. English language. Runtime approximately 81 minutes.

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




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Creepshow 2

Creepshow 2. Michael Gornick, 1987.
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Edition screened: Arrow Blu-ray, released 2016. English language. Runtime approximately 90 minutes.

Summary: The second story contains a quick depiction of a duck on a lake apparently in some distress, but there are no meaningful depictions of violence or harm to animals.

The hardware store has a 1977 Sonic Super Straight and a 1976 Williams Aztec pinballs in the hardware store.

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Crimes of Passion

Crimes of Passion. Ken Russell, 1984.
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Edition screened: Arrow Blu-ray, released 2016. English language. Runtime approximately 107 minutes.

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

Early in the film we see a spoof of an MTV video, in which a birdcage containing a bird apparently is thrown into a swimming pool. An obviously fake bird is skimmed from the water, and then we see a craft store-type fake bird in a little coffin. No one could see it as anything but a joke about 1980s music videos.


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Crimson Peak

Crimson Peak. Guillermo del Toro, 2015.
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Edition screened: Universal Blu-ray, released 2016. English language. Runtime approximately 119 minutes.

Summary: Butterfly mortality.

Details:
1) A cluster of dead and dying butterflies is found. One is placed at an ant colony at 25:00, with close-ups of the ants attacking it through 25:16.
2) A few images of butterflies pinned to specimen boards, scattered throughout the film.


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Critical Mass

Critical Mass. Hollis Frampton, 1971.
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Edition screened: Included on Criterion Blu-ray #607 A Hollis Frampton Odyssey, released 2012. English language. Runtime approximately 25 minutes.


Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

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Crumb

Crumb. Terry Zwigoff, 1994.

Edition screened: Criterion Blu-ray #533, released 2010. English language. Music performed by David Boeddinghaus  and Craig Ventresco. Runtime approximately 120 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.


An extremely fine tour around the edges of the psyche of Robert Crumb. Of particular interest is an introduction to his talented brother Charles.
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Cry for Cindy/Touch Me/An Act of Confession

Cry for Cindy/Touch Me/An Act of Confession. Anthony Spinelli, 1971-1976.
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Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome DVD #051 Peekarama: Cry for Cindy/Touch Me, released 2014. English language. Cumulative runtime approximately 224 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals in any of the three features:

Cry for Cindy. Anthony Spinelli as Wendy Lions, 1976, 86 minutes. 3/5❤
Touch Me. Anthony Spinelli as Sam Weston, 1971, 78 minutes. 1/5❤
An Act of Confession. Anthony Spinelli as Sybil Kidd, 1972, 60 minutes. 0/5❤


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Cuadecuc, vampir

Cuadecuc, vampir (Vampir Cuadecuc). Pere Portabella, 1970.
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Edition screened: Second Run Blu-ray, released 2017. No dialogue track, except for a short reading by Christopher Lee from Dracula at the conclusion of the film. Runtime approximately 69 minutes.

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

The Second Run release also includes two short films by Portabella, La Tempestra (2003) and No al no: Visca el piano! (2006).



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The Curse of the Werewolf

The Curse of the Werewolf. Terence Fisher, 1960.
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Edition screened: Included in Universal Blu-ray set Hammer Horror: 8-Film Collection, released 2016. English language. Runtime approximately 93 minutes.

Summary: Exhibition of dead and dying animals.

Details:
1) A roast goose at a fancy wedding banquet is so gruesome that the bride is taken aback, 5:30-6:15.
2) A dead goat is found, its throat bloody and obviously killed by a wolf or a dog, 30:28-30:43, and again at 31:24-31:28.
3) A herding dog is shot, and we see him lying on his side bloody and panting, 47:37-47:40.



















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The Curtis Harrington Short Film Collection

The Curtis Harrington Short Film Collection. Curtis Harrington, 1946-2002.
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Edition screened: Flicker Alley Blu-ray, released 2013. English language, or scored with no dialogue track. Cumulative runtime approximately 123 minutes.

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

The Flicker Alley collection includes:

Picnic (1948)
On the Edge (1949)
Usher (2002)

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