Cabin Fever

Cabin Fever. Eli Roth, 2002.

😿😿

Edition screened: Lions Gate Blu-ray, released 2007. English language. Runtime approximately 94 minutes.

Summary: Routine exploitation of dead animals for rural buffoonery.

Details:

1) The film opens with a hermit walking through the woods with a dead rabbit, who then discovers his dog dead and gory, 2:53-3:56.

2) The Character You Wish Dead shoots at a woodchuck and thinks he has killed it at 16:12. Unresolved, no visual except the scurrying animal.

3) Brief pig gutting with the disemboweled body in the background during dialogue, 32:14-33:49.

4) Depiction of a deer hit by a truck and in extreme distress until it is shot, followed by the body on the road during other action, 1:15:16-1:16:10. 

The Lions Gate DVD also includes three episodes of the animated comedy short The Rotten Fruit by Eli Roth and Noah Benson, each about five minutes long. 

Carnival of Souls

Carnival of Souls. Herk Harvey, 1962.

😸

Edition screened: Criterion Blu-ray #63, released 2016. English language. Runtime approximately 78 minutes.

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

The 2000 Criterion DVD also includes an 83-minute Director’s Cut of the film, absent in the 2016 Blu-ray release. Both editions include Harvey’s 1989 documentary The Movie That Wouldn’t Die! The Story of ‘Carnival of Souls’ (30 minutes).

1958 Gottlieb Double Action in the club.

The Cartoon Theatre of Dr Gaz

The Cartoon Theatre of Dr Gaz. Jeff Keen, 1976-79.

😸

Edition screened: Included in BFI Gazwrx: The Films of Jeff Keen Blu-ray/DVD set, released 2009. Scored and/or with sound effects track; no dialogue track. Runtime approximately 14 minutes.

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

Casque d’or

Casque d’or (Golden Marie). Jacques Becker, 1952.

😸

Edition screened: Criterion DVD #270, released 2005. French language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 98 minutes.

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

Cat Run

Cat Run. John Stockwell, 2011.

😿

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

Summary: Mild slaughterhouse.

Details: We are in a slaughter house with pig carcasses in early stages of processing, 36:38-37:15, specifically, hanging on the belt and lying on the dipping fork. No actual killing, blood, or dismemberment, just sadness.

I hated this movie. Spastic, loaded with childish jokes and hastily over-written dialogue for our two young male leads. 

Certain Women

Certain Women. Kelly Reichardt, 2016.

😸

Edition screened: Criterion Blu-ray #893, released 2017. English language. Runtime approximately 107 minutes.

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

Certified Copy

Certified Copy (Copie Conforme). Abbas Kiarostami, 2010.

😸

Edition screened: Criterion Blu-ray #612, released 2012. French language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 110 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

The Criterion Blu-ray also includes Kiarostami’s The Report (1977).

The Child

The Child. Robert Voskanian, 1977.

😿😿

Edition screened: Included in Arrow box set American Horror Project Vol. 2, released 2019. English language. Runtime approximately 82 minutes.

Summary: Bobcat mangled by ghouls.

Details:

1) The opening sequence of the film tales place in a graveyard, and we see a little girl place a kitten in a ghoul’s hand. Cut. 

2) A bloody, mangled bobcat is found in the woods, 11:44-11:48.

The Children

The Children. Max Kalmanowicz, 1980.

😿

Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray #256, released 2018. English language. Runtime approximately 93 minutes.

Summary: Dead chickens and a dummy of a dead dog.

Details:

1) Three small dead chickens are discussed and offered for sale on the counter of a country store, 19:30-20:53. No blood, limp bodies with feathers still on, apparently strangled.

2) A closet door is opened cautiously as part of a police investigation. The body of a dead nukezombied Doberman tumbles out and the sheriff shoots it several times out of alarm, 47:50-48:23. The camera lingers on the nukezombied dummy.

The Chill Factor

The Chill Factor. Christopher Webster, 1993.

😸

Edition screened: Arrow Blu-ray, released 2019. English language. Runtime approximately 97 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

The Chill Factor consists primarily of non-dramatic scenes of snowmobile riding, spiced with a few gory kills and implied incest. I did not dislike this movie nearly as much as I expected to.

Cineblatz

Cineblatz. Jeff Keen, 1967.

😸

Edition screened: Included in BFI Gazwrx: The Films of Jeff Keen Blu-ray/DVD set, released 2009. Scored and/or with sound effects track; no dialogue track. Runtime approximately 3 minutes.

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

Classic Bergman: 5 Films by the Master of Cinema

Classic Bergman: 5 Films by the Master of Cinema. Ingmar Bergman, 1946-1958.

😿

Edition screened: Artificial Eye Blu-ray /box set, released 2012. Swedish language with English subtitles. Cumulative runtime approximately 451 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals, except It Rains on Our Love in which a dog is lightly struck.

The set features five Bergman films including It Rains on Our Love which in not included in the massive Criterion set, plus two 2008 documentaries by Eva Beling, The Women and Bergman and The Men and Bergman.  Click on individual titles for details:

It Rains on Our Love (1946)

A Ship to India (1947)

Sawdust and Tinsel (1953)

Dreams (1955)

So Close to Life (aka Brink of Life, 1958)

A Climax of Blue Power

A Climax of Blue Power. Lee Frost (as F.C. Perl), 1974.

😸

Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray #262, released 2019. English language. Runtime approximately 82 minutes.

Summary: No animals or references to animals in the film. 1.5/5❤

Cloud Phenomena of Maloja

Cloud Phenomena of Maloja (Das Wolkenphänomen von Maloja). Arnold Fanck, 1924.

😸

Edition screened: Included on Kino DVD Storm Over Mont Blanc, released 2005, and also on Criterion Blu-ray #822 Clouds of Sils Maria, released 2014 . Scored, with German intertitle cards and English subtitles; no dialogue track. Runtime approximately 10 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Color Me Blood Red

Color Me Blood Red. Herschell Gordon Lewis, 1965.

😸

Edition screened: Included with Something Weird in the Arrow box set The Herschell Gordon Lewis Feast, released 2016. English language. Runtime approximately 79 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

This disc in the set also includes the short film A Hot Night at the Go Go Lounge! (1966)

The Color of Armenian Land

The Color of Armenian Land (Tsvet armyanskoy zemli). Mikhail Vartanov, 1969.

😸

Edition screened: Included on Criterion Blu-ray #918 The Color of Pomegranates, released 2018. Armenian language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 17 minutes.

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

An inspiring documentary about Armenian art and culture, made around the same time as The Color of Pomegranates and including some scenes from that film as well as a particularly good closing dance performance. 

The Color of Pomegranates

The Color of Pomegranates (Sayat Nova). Sergei Parajanov, 1969.

😿😿😿

Edition screened: Criterion Blu-ray #918, released 2018. Armenian language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 79 minutes.

Summary: Sacrificing of animals.

Details:

1) Fish gasp and suffer in a staged vignette, 4:54-5:04.

2) A decapitated rooster is used ceremonially, 12:33-12:54.

3) Three rams are sacrificed, gutted, butchered, and their ribbon-decorated heads displayed, 1:02:10-1:03:36.

4) Chickens are handled roughly, in the way many people consider acceptable. They are held inverted by their feet while the perp talks and gestures with his chicken-holding hands, 1:04:00-1:04:25.

5) Decapitated roosters flail and die around a dying man, 1:18:43-1:19:03.

Culturally-sanctioned animal murder is the only aspect of this film that is not wonderful. I strongly recommend this Criterion remaster, skipping several brief scenes as I have notated, if you so choose. The Criterion Blu-ray also includes several excellent supplemental films:

• Mikhail Vartanov’s important 1969 documentary about Armenian art The Color of Armenian Land.

• a 43-minute video essay by James Steffen, Decoding The Color Pomegranates, which does include some quick images of the animal sacrifices.

• Martiros Vartanov’s short abstraction, The Last Film (2014).

• Patrick Cazals’ excellent 2003 documentary about our director, Sergei Parajanov: The Rebel.

• A 26-minute 1977 documentary by Carlos de los Llanos about the poet Sayat-Nova, subject of Parajanoz’s film (from the series “Faith and Traditions of the Oriental Orthodox Churches”).

The Coming of Sin

The Coming of Sin (La visita del vicio/Vice Makes a Visit). José Ramón Larraz, 1977.

😸

Edition screened: Included in Arrow Blu-ray set Blood Hunger: The Films of José Larraz, released 2019. Spanish language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 90 minutes.

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

The Complete Sartana

The Complete Sartana. Gianfranco Parolini and Giuliano Carnimeo, 1968-1970.

😿

Edition screened: Arrow Blu-ray box set, released 2018. Italian language with English subtitles. Cumulative runtime of feature films approximately 484 minutes.

Summary: Sartana’s Here … Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin includes minor depictions of animal abuse for comedic effect.

The Arrow box set includes five films from the Sartana franchise. Click on individual titles for details:

If You Meet Sartana … Pray for Your Death (1968)

I Am Sartana, Your Angel of Death (1969)

Sartana’s Here … Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin (1970)

Have a Good Funeral, My Friend … Sartana Will Pay (1970)

Light the Fuse … Sartana Is Coming (1970)

Confessions

Confessions. Curt McDowell, 1972.

😸

Edition screened: Included in Synapse Thundercrack! Blu-ray/DVD set, released 2015. English language. Runtime approximately 11 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Confessions of a Teenage Peanut Butter Freak

Confessions of a Teenage Peanut Butter Freak. Zachary Strong (as Zachary Young), 1975.

😸

Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome DVD #216, released 2018. English language. Runtime approximately 91 minutes.

Summary: No animals or references to animals in the film. 2/5❤

Confessions of a Young American Housewife

Confessions of a Young American Housewife. Joseph Sarno, 1974.

😸

Edition screened: Included in Film Movement’s Joseph W. Sarno Retrospect Series Vol. 4 Blu-ray, released 2018. English language. Runtime approximately 74 minutes.

Summary: No animals or references to animals in the film. 3/5❤

Copycat

Copycat. Charlie Lyne, 2015.

😸

Edition screened: Included on Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray #260 There’s Nothing Out There, released 2019. English language. Runtime approximately 9 minutes.

An unusual and unauthorized biography of director Rolfe Kanefsky (There’s Nothing Out There), made from audio interviews and film clips.  Presented on the Vinegar Syndrome release with a 2-minute introduction by Kanefsky.

Corridors of Blood

Corridors of Blood. Robert Day, 1959.

😸

Edition screened: Criterion DVD #368, included in Monsters and Madmen box set #364, released 2006. English language. Runtime approximately 97 minutes.

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

The Corruption of Chris Miller

The Corruption of Chris Miller (La Corrupción de Chris Miller). Juan Antonio Bardem. 1973.

😿😿

Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray #271, released 2019. Spanish language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 107 minutes.

Summary: Murder of a rabbit.

Details: A rabbit is killed by a quick blow to the head, with a follow-up shot of the dead rabbit lying on a table, 52:50-53:37.

Crack Glass Eulogy

Crack Glass Eulogy. Stan Brakhage, 1991.

😸

Edition screened: Included in Criterion Blu-ray box set #518 By Brakhage: An Anthology, Volumes One and Two, released 2010. Scored, no dialogue track. Runtime 6 minutes, 6 seconds.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Cría cuervos

Cría cuervos. Carlos Saura, 1976.

😿

Edition screened: BFI Blu-ray, released 2913. Spanish language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 110 minutes.

Summary: A pet guinea pig dies.

Details: We see the adorable pet guinea pig several times in the film. He is loved and well cared for. One day Ana goes to her room and finds him in bad shape. She gently picks him up, tells him that she will take care of him, and lays him on a pillow. The camera focuses on the girl’s face as she whispers “You’re dead.” The discovery and off-camera ‘death’ occur 1:25:20-1:26:20, followed by a serious, modest, and appropriate funeral as only a little girl would design.

I annotate this scene on principle, but there is NO reason to skip this brief and non-violent acknowledgement of beloved pet’s death. Cría cuervos is a truly superb film, distinguished by an excellent script, one of the best child performances I’ve ever seen, and time shifts within scenes that are handled with unequalled fluidity and directorial good judgement.

Cry Wilderness

Cry Wilderness. Jay Schlossberg-Cohen, 1986.

😸

Edition screened: Included in Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray set #235, 5 Films • 5 Years Vol 4: Horror and Exploitation, released 2018. Previously released as VS#048. English language. Runtime approximately 83 minutes.

Summary: Creepy smug attitude about animals throughout, but no actual depictions of genuine violence or harm.

Cute Girl

Cute Girl (Jiu shi liu liu de ta). Huo Hsiao-Hsien, 1980.

😸

Edition screened: Eureka! Masters of Cinema Blu-ray #188 in the set Early Huo Hsiao-Hsien: Three films 1980-1983, released 2018. Mandarin language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 90 minutes.

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

Cutting Class

Cutting Class. Rospo Pallenberg, 1989.

😸

Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray #255, released 2018. English language. Runtime approximately 91 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.