The Wolf Man. George Waggner, 1941.
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Edition screened: Included in Universal Classic Monsters Blu-ray set, released 2012. English language. Runtime approximately 70 minutes.
Summary: At the 18:00 minute mark Lon Chaney Jr. beats - a wolf - to death. This happens discreetly behind a tree with no impacts shown.
Throne of Blood (Kumonosu jô). Akira Kurosawa, 1957.
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Edition screened: Criterion Blu-ray #190, released 2014. Japanese language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 149 minutes.
Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals. A scattered rain of arrows targets men on horseback but there is no depiction of the horses being hit or hurt.
I consider this moody adaptation of Macbeth one of Kurosawa’a best films.
The Prince and the Nature Girl (Nackt im Sommerwind). Doris Wishman, 1964.
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Edition screened: Included in AGFA Blu-ray set The Films of Doris Wishman: The Daylight Years. German language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 60 minutes.
Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.
Phantom of the Opera. Arthur Lubin, 1943.
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Edition screened: Included in Universal Classic Monsters Blu-ray set, released 2012. English language. Runtime approximately 93 minutes.
Summary: No particular depictions of violence toward animals.
Mondo Freudo. Lee Frost, 1966.
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Edition screened: Included in Severin Blu-ray Mondo Freudo/Mondo Bizarro, released 2019. English language. Runtime approximately 76 minutes.
Summary: Staged religious ceremony with dead animals.
Details:
1) As part of an obviously phony satanic ritual, an already-dead chicken is suspended by the feet, stabbed, and we see blood drip (54:48 - 55:03). The chicken is tossed to the floor and occasionally visible in the background through 55:45.
2) Same scene, a fake-looking pig’s head on a table with blood on the face, 56:42 - 56:46, and again 59:11 - 59:18.
Mondo Bizarro. Lee Frost, 1966.
😿 😿
Edition screened: Included in Severin Blu-ray Mondo Freudo/Mondo Bizarro, released 2019. English language. Runtime approximately 80 minutes.
Summary: Animals murdered in a staged religious ceremony.
Details:
1) As part of a staged vodou ritual, a live chicken is beheaded and its blood drained into a a cup, followed by a small boa constrictor similarly beheaded and its blood drained into the same cup. This all happens at a distance and the image is dark and grainy, 11:00 - 12:20.
Mallrats. Kevin Smith, 1995.
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Edition screened: Arrow Blu-ray, released 2020. English language. Runtime approximately 94 minutes.
Summary: Mean humor about kittens.
Details:
1) The movie begins with a voice-over about killing kittens for an obscene reason, 00:20 - 00:52. The comic book-style opening credits come next, the best part of Mallrats by far.
2) We meet Jay 16:16 - 18:55, who pounds at the kittens on the glass pet shop window just like you never should.
Shannen Doherty’s performance is good and her physical appearance is lovely. The scattered vignettes of Jay and Silent Bob are somewhat entertaining. Everything else about Mallrats is wretched.
Mad Monkey Kung Fu (Feng hou). Liu Chia-Liang, 1979.
😿 😿 😿
Edition screened: Included in the Arrow Blu-ray box set Shawscope: Volume Two, released 2022. Mandarin language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 115 minutes.
Summary: Depicted abuse and murder of a trained monkey.
Details:
1) A street performer has a monkey on a chain leash. The monkey is made to perform backflips when the owner jerks him upward via the chain, 21:12-21:22.
2) The monkey is seized by thugs at 32:46, who swing the monkey violently in circles by his chain before smashing him against a tree. The dead monkey is tossed to the ground and picked up by his owner through 33:24.
The Invisible Man. James Whale, 1933.
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Edition screened: Included in Universal Classic Monsters Blu-ray set, released 2012. English language. Runtime approximately 72 minutes.
Summary: A young white cat is sprayed overall with something like pressurized black paint from a distance of about six feet, 1:02:21 - 1:02:24. This short scene is mean and upsetting.
I had been enjoying The Invisible Man much more than I expected to, but the short “comedy” scene with the poor cat ruined the movie somewhat.
I’m No Angel. Wesley Ruggles, 1933.
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Edition screened: Kino Lorber Blu-ray, released 2021. English language. Runtime approximately 87 minutes.
Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.
Friday the 13th. Sean S. Cunningham, 1980.
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Edition screened: ‘Uncut’ edition included in Paramount Friday the 13th: 8-Movie Collection DVD set, released 2017. English language. Runtime approximately 95 minutes.
Summary: A snake in a camp cabin is harassed by shrieking teens then hacked into pieces with a machete, 26:59 - 27:04.
Five Superfighters (Shao Lin da peng da shi). Lo Mar, 1979.
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Edition screened: Included in the Arrow Blu-ray box set Shawscope: Volume Two, released 2022. Mandarin language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 100 minutes.
Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.
The Films of Doris Wishman: The Daylight Years. 1960-1964.
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Edition screened: AGFA Blu-ray, released 2022. English language. Combined runtime of feature films approximately 428 minutes.
Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.
Click on individual titles for additional information:
Hideout in the Sun (1960)
Nude on the Moon (1961)
Diary of a Nudist (1961)
Blaze Starr Goes Nudist (1962)
Gentlemen Prefer Nature Girls (1963)
The Prince and the Nature Girl (1964)
Diary of a Nudist. Doris Wishman, 1961.
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Edition screened: Included in AGFA Blu-ray set The Films of Doris Wishman: The Daylight Years. English language. Runtime approximately 72 minutes.
Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.
Diary of a Nudist has the highest aspirations of these early Wishman films despite the female lead’s resemblance to Butt-Head in a blonde wig.
Creature from the Black Lagoon. Jack Arnold, 1954.
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Edition screened: Included in Universal Classic Monsters Blu-ray set, released 2012. English language. Runtime approximately 80 minutes.
Summary: The surface of the lagoon is littered with dead fish after rotenone is put in the water, 44:07-44:23. The use of rotenone comes up several other times in the film, always emphasizing that the fish are drunk and will recover in a few hours. No.
Concerning Violence (Om våld). Göran Hugo Olsson, 2014.
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Edition screened: Reported with reliability. Swedish with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 90 minutes.
Summary: The film begins with cows being shot, and was watched no further.
Classe tous risques (The Big Risk). Claude Sautet, 1960.
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Edition screened: BFI Blu-ray, released 2014. French and Italian languages with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 112 minutes.
Summary: A bratty young woman teases a cat with a goldfish plucked from an aquarium. The fish is replaced unharmed.
César et Rosalie. Claude Sautet, 1972.
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Edition screened: Studio Canal Blu-ray, released 2012. French language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 111 minutes.
Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.
52 Pick-Up. John Frankenheimer, 1986.
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Edition screened: Koch Lorber Blu-ray, released 2014. English language. Runtime approximately 110 minutes.
Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.