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.

T titles



click Title for details Animal Violence Immaculate Corpse
Taboo (Nyholm & Engstöm mini-series) Substantial The elusive top
Taboo (Stevens) Clean The expansive middle
Taboo II (Stevens) Clean The expansive middle
Taboo III (Stevens) Clean The expansive middle
Taboo IV (Stevens) Clean The expansive middle
Tabu (Gomes) Substantial The expansive middle
Tabu: A Story of the South Seas (Murnau) Minimal The expansive middle
Taipei Story Clean The expansive middle
The Taishō Roman Trilogy Minimal The expansive middle
Take a Chance Clean The expansive middle
Take Me Naked Clean The expansive middle
Taken Clean The expansive middle
Taken 2 Clean The expansive middle
Taken 3 Minimal The expansive middle
The Taking of Pelham 123 (Scott) Clean The expansive middle
Taking Tiger Mountain Clean The expansive middle
Taking Tiger Mountain Revisited Clean The expansive middle
Tale of Tales Substantial The expansive middle
The Tale of Zatoichi Clean The expansive middle
The Tale of Zatoichi Continues Clean The expansive middle
Tales from the Golded Age Minimal The expansive middle
Talking Heads Clean The expansive middle
Talladega Nights Clean The expansive middle
Tam Lin Clean The expansive middle
Tammy and the T-Rex Minimal The expansive middle
Tampopo Heavy The expansive middle
Tanner '88 Clean The expansive middle
Tapeheads Clean The expansive middle
Tapestry of Passion Clean The expansive middle
Tara Tara Tara Tara Clean The expansive middle
Taris Clean The expansive middle
Tarrafal Clean The expansive middle
The Tarnished Angels Clean The expansive middle
Tartuffe Clean The expansive middle
Tarzana, The Wild Woman Substantial The expansive middle
A Taste of Blood Clean The expansive middle
A Taste of Flesh Clean The expansive middle
Tasty Clean The expansive middle
The Taviani Brothers Collection Heavy The expansive middle
Tchaïka Clean The expansive middle
Teddy Bear Minimal The elusive top Evangelicals
Teenage Masseuse Clean The expansive middle
Teenage Seductress Clean The smeary bottom
Teenage Yakuza Clean The expansive middle
Teeth Smile Clean The expansive middle
Tekkonkinkreet Minimal The expansive middle
The Telephone Book Clean The expansive middle
Tempest Heavy The expansive middle
La Tempestra Clean The expansive middle
Ten Tigers of Kwangtung Clean The expansive middle
Tenderness of the Wolves Clean The expansive middle
Tenga fe Clean The expansive middle
Terence Conran Clean The expansive middle
Terence Davies Collection Clean The expansive middle
Terminal Degeneration: The Films of Jon Moritsugu Extreme The expansive middle
Terminal Point Clean The expansive middle
Terminal USA Substantial The expansive middle
The Terminator Minimal The expansive middle
Terminator 2: Judgement Day Clean The expansive middle
Terror Clean The expansive middle
Terror by Night Clean The expansive middle
Terror in a Texas Town Clean The expansive middle
Tess Clean The expansive middle
A Test of Violenc: The Paintings of Juan Genovés Clean The expansive middle
Testament of Orpheus  Clean The expansive middle
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Hooper) Substantial The expansive middle
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 Clean The smeary bottom no-liner
That Most Important Thing: Love Clean The expansive middle
That Obscure Object of Desire Clean The expansive middle
That Sinking Feeling Clean The expansive middle
That Touch of Mink Clean The expansive middle
That's Outrageous Clean The expansive middle
Theatre of Blood Substantial The expansive middle
The Theatre of Mr. & Mrs. Kabal  Minimal The expansive middle
Them (Moreau & Palud) Clean The expansive middle
Them a.k.a. Hellmaster (Schuylze) Clean The expansive middle
Theorem Clean The elusive top
The Theory of Sets Clean The expansive middle
There Is No Rose Without Fire Clean The expansive middle
There Was a Door Clean The expansive middle
There Will Be Blood Clean The expansive middle
There's Always Vanilla Clean The expansive middle
There's Nothing Out There Clean The expansive middle
There's Something About Mary Substantial The expansive middle
Therese and Isabelle Clean The expansive middle
These Places We’ve Learned to Call Home Substantial The expansive middle
They Call Her One Eye Clean The expansive middle
They Caught the Ferry Clean The expansive middle
They Drive by Night Clean The expansive middle
They Took Us to the Sea Clean The expansive middle
Thicker Than Water Clean The expansive middle
Thief (Mann) Clean The expansive middle
The Thief of Bagdad (Berger, Powell, Whelan) Clean The expansive middle
The Thief of Bagdad (Walsh) Minimal The expansive middle
The Thin Blue Line Clean The expansive middle
The Thin Red Line Substantial The expansive middle
The Thing (Carpenter) Substantial The expansive middle
The Thing (van Heijningen) Minor The expansive middle
Things to Come Clean The expansive middle
The Third Eye Substantial The expansive middle
The Third Part of the Night Minor The expansive middle
Thirdworld Clean The expansive middle
Thirst (Bergman) Substantial The expansive middle
Thirst (Park Chan-Wook) Clean The expansive middle
Thirst for Love Heavy The expansive middle
Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould Clean The expansive middle
This Man Must Die Minimal The expansive middle
This Is England  Clean The expansive middle
This Is Spïnal Tap Clean The elusive top
This Night I Will Possess Your Corpse  Substantial The expansive middle
This Property Is Condemned  Clean The expansive middle
This Stuff'll Kill Ya! Clean The expansive middle
The Thomas Crown Affair Clean The expansive middle
Thorvaldsen Clean The expansive middle
Those Awful Hats Clean The expansive middle
A Thousand and One Erotic Nights Clean The expansive middle
A Thousand and One Erotic Nights Part II: The Forbidden Tales Clean The expansive middle
A Thousand Pleasures Clean The expansive middle
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Clean The expansive middle
Three Cheers for the Whale Heavy The expansive middle
Three Classic Films by Claude Chabrol Minimal The expansive middle
Three Coins in the Fountain Clean The expansive middle
Three Colors: Blue Clean The expansive middle
Three Colors: Red  Minimal The elusive top
Three Colors: White Clean The expansive middle
Three Films by Carl Theodor Dreyer Clean The expansive middle
Three Films by Hiroshi Teshigahara Substantial The expansive middle
Three Installations Clean The expansive middle
Three Popular Films by Jean-Pierre Gorin (Eclipse 31)  Clean The expansive middle
Three Ripening Cherries Clean The expansive middle
Three Sisters Clean The expansive middle
Three Songs About Motherland Clean The expansive middle
Three Video Haikus Clean The expansive middle
Three Wicked Melodramas from Gainsborough (Eclipse 36) Clean The expansive middle
Threshold Clean The expansive middle
Thriller: A Cruel Picture Clean The expansive middle
Throat: 12 Years After Clean The expansive middle
Throat: A Cautionary Tale Clean The expansive middle
Throne of Blood Clean The expansive middle
Through a Glass Darkly Clean The expansive middle
Through the Olive Trees Clean The elusive top
Thunderball  Minimal The expansive middle
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot Minimal The expansive middle
Thundercrack! Clean The expansive middle
Thursday's Children Clean The expansive middle
THX 1138 Clean The expansive middle
Tideland Substantial The expansive middle
Tijuana Blue Clean The expansive middle
Tilbury Clean The expansive middle
Time Bandits Minimal The expansive middle
Time of Terror Clean The expansive middle
Time Out of Mind Clean The expansive middle
A Time to Heal Clean The expansive middle
The Tin Drum Heavy The expansive middle
Tinseltown Clean The expansive middle
Titane Clean The expansive middle
Titanic Clean The expansive middle
Titicut Follies Clean The expansive middle
Titillation Clean The expansive middle
TNT Jackson Clean The expansive middle
To Be a Woman Clean The expansive middle
To Be or Not To Be Clean The expansive middle
To Catch a Thief Clean The expansive middle
To Encourage the Others Clean The expansive middle
To Joy (Bergman) Clean The expansive middle
To Live and Die in LA Clean The expansive middle
To Rome with Love Clean The expansive middle
Tod Browning’s Sideshow Shockers Clean The expansive middle
Today in Britain Clean The expansive middle
Der Todesking Minimal The expansive middle
Tokyo 1958 Clean The expansive middle
Tokyo Chorus Minimal The expansive middle
Tokyo Decadence Clean The expansive middle
Tokyo Drifter Clean The expansive middle
Tokyo Knights Clean The expansive middle
Tokyo Mighty Guy Substantial The expansive middle
Tokyo Olympiad Clean The expansive middle
Tokyo Sonata Clean The expansive middle
Tokyo Story Clean The elusive top
Tokyo Tribe Clean The expansive middle
Tom Jones Substantial The expansive middle
A Tom, Tom Chaser Clean The expansive middle
Tom, Tom, the Piper’s Son (Jacobs) Minimal The expansive middle
Tomb It May Concern Clean The expansive middle
Tomb Raider Clean The expansive middle
Tommy Clean The expansive middle
Tommy Boy Minimal The expansive middle
Tomorrow Never Dies  Clean The expansive middle
Tomorrow We Move Clean The expansive middle
Tomorrow's Merseysiders Clean The expansive middle
Too Hot to Handle Substantial The expansive middle
Too Late Blues Clean The expansive middle
Too Naughty to Say No Clean The expansive middle
Top of the Lake Substantial The expansive middle
El Topo  Extreme The expansive middle
Topsy-Turvy Clean The expansive middle
El torero de Cordoba Substantial The expansive middle
Torment Clean The expansive middle
Tormented Clean The expansive middle
Torso Clean The expansive middle
Torture Garden Clean The expansive middle John Coltrane
Tosca Clean The expansive middle
Total Balalaika Show Clean The expansive middle
The Touch (Bergman) Clean The expansive middle
The Touch (uncredited) Clean The expansive middle
Touch Me Clean The expansive middle
A Touch of Class Clean The expansive middle
A Touch of Genie Clean The expansive middle
The Touch of Her Flesh Clean The expansive middle
A Touch of Zen Clean The expansive middle
Tough Guys Don’t Dance Substantial The expansive middle
Touki Bouki Extreme The expansive middle
Tourist Trap Clean The expansive middle
Toute la mémoire du monde  Clean The expansive middle
Toy Story 4 Clean The expansive middle
Toys Are Not for Children Clean The expansive middle
A Trace Clean The expansive middle
Track of the Vampire Clean The expansive middle
Trafic Clean The expansive middle
The Train (Frankenheimer & Penn) Clean The elusive top
Train (Raff) Clean The expansive middle
Trainspotting Substantial The expansive middle
Trainwreck Clean The expansive middle
Tramway Clean The expansive middle
Trance Clean The expansive middle
Trances Heavy The expansive middle
Trans-Europ-Express Clean The expansive middle
Transformations Clean The expansive middle
Transformers Clean The expansive middle
The Transporter Clean The expansive middle
Transporter 2 Clean The expansive middle
Transsiberian Clean The expansive middle
A Trap for Santa Clean The expansive middle
Trapped Alive Clean The expansive middle
Trashy Lady Clean The expansive middle
Trauma Minimal The expansive middle
Traumata Clean The expansive middle
The Traveler Clean The expansive middle
Treasure of the Abbot Thomas Clean The expansive middle
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre Clean The elusive top
Treasures IV: American Avant-Garde Film, 1947-1986 Clean The expansive middle
Treibjagd in der Südsee Substantial The expansive middle
Tremors Substantial The expansive middle
Triangle of Sadness Minimal The expansive middle
Trilogy of Terror (Curtis) Clean The expansive middle science fiction
The Trip Clean The expansive middle
A Trip on the Metropolitan Railway Clean The expansive middle
The Trip to Greece Clean The expansive middle
The Trip to Italy Clean The expansive middle
The Trip to Spain Clean The expansive middle
Trip with the Teacher Clean The expansive middle
Tristana Clean The expansive middle
Triumph of the Will  Clean The expansive middle
Trixie Friganza in My Bag o' Tricks  Clean The smeary bottom
Troll Clean The expansive middle
Tropic of Desire Clean The expansive middle
Tropic Thunder Substantial The expansive middle
Tropical Malady Minimal The expansive middle
Le Trou Clean The elusive top film concrete
Trouble in Paradise Clean The expansive middle
True Romance Clean The expansive middle
Truthe or Die Clean The expansive middle
The Turin Horse Minimal The elusive top
Turksib Clean The expansive middle
Turn on with Kelly Nichols Clean The expansive middle
Twenty Questions Clean The expansive middle
The Twenty-Four Dollar Island Clean The expansive middle
Twilight (Fehér) Clean The expansive middle
Twilight of a Woman's Soul Clean The expansive middle
Twin Peaks (Television Series) Minimal The expansive middle
Twin Peaks: A Limited Event Series Minimal The elusive top
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me Clean The elusive top
Twist Craze Clean The expansive middle
Twister Minimal The expansive middle
Twister’s Revenge Clean The expansive middle
Two: Creeley/McClure Clean The expansive middle
Two Days, One Night Clean The expansive middle
Two for the Road Clean The smeary bottom Scooby-Doo
Two-Lane Blacktop Clean The expansive middle
Two Lovers Clean The expansive middle
Two Men and a Wardrobe Heavy The expansive middle So What?
Two Much Clean The expansive middle
Two Street Artists: Jérôme Mesnager & Miss.Tic Clean The expansive middle
Two Thousand Maniacs! Minimal The expansive middle
Two Tons of Turquoise to Taos Tonight Clean The elusive top
Two Witches SubstantialThe expansive middle
Tystnad! Tagning! Trollflöjten! Clean The expansive middle
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