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.

American Hustle

American Hustle. David O. Russell, 2013.
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Edition screened: Columbia Blu-ray, released 2014. English language. Runtime approximately 138 minutes.

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


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L’Amour Braque

L’Amour Braque (Mad Love/Limpet Love). Andrej Å»uÅ‚awski, 1985.
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Edition screened: Mondo Vision DVD, released 2009. French language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 95 minutes.


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

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Andrei Rublev

Andrei Rublev (Andrey Rublev). Andrei Tarkovsky, 1966.
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Edition screened: Criterion Blu-ray #34, released 2018. Russian language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 183 minutes.

Summary: Primitive brutality to animals.

Details:
1) We hear a dog howling as he is beaten to death below screen, 42:56-43:06, then see his body in the snow, through 43:14.
2) A dead and mauled goose, 48:02-48:16.
3) A trapped cow on fire during a battle, 1:45:50-1:46:05.
4) Long shot of an injured horse being killed, 1:50:08-1:50:15.
5) A horse with a broken leg falls down a flight of stairs, 1:52:51-1:53:11. We see him again at 1:53:25 unable to stand, then impaled through the throat, 1:53:35.

The Criterion BD also includes Tarkovsky’s 1960 family film The Steamroller and the Violin, as well as the original 205-minute cut of Andrei Rublev, The Passion According to Andrei, in which the cow and horse scenes mentioned above are slightly longer and more violent.  
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At Land

At Land. Maya Deren, Alexander Hammid, and Hella Hamon, 1944.
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Edition screened: Included on Mystic Fire DVD Maya Deren: Experimental Films, released 2002. No audio track. Runtime approximately 15 minutes.


Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

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Atomic Blonde

Atomic Blonde. David Leitch, 2017.
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Edition screened: Universal Blu-ray, released 2017. English language. Runtime approximately 114 minutes.

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


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Autumn Sonata

Autumn Sonata (Höstsonaten). Ingmar Bergman, 1978.
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Edition screened: Criterion Blu-ray #60, included in Criterion Blu-ray set Ingmar Bergman’s Cinema, released 2018. Swedish language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 93 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Autumn Sonata is on disc #26 of 30 in Ingmar Bergman’s Cinema (part of ‘Centerpiece 3’), and is accompanied by Bergman’s The Making of “Autumn Sonata (1978), a 2003 introduction by Bergman with Marie Nyreröd, and several interview segments with cast, crew, and scholars.

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Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame. Anthony and Joe Russo, 2019.
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Edition screened: Disney Blu-ray, released 2019. English language. Runtime approximately 181 minutes.

Summary: Endangerment to fantasy animals.

Details:
1) Peter Quill/Star-Lord tosses some Morag swamp weasels around while listening to his Walkman, no harm done. 
2) Valkyrie’s pegasus seems to be grazed by some flack in the final battle, but keeps flying and apparently is fine.

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Away from Home

Away from Home. Greg Carson, 2004.
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Edition screened: Included with The Serpent’s Egg in Criterion Blu-ray set Ingmar Bergman’s Cinema, released 2018. English language. Runtime approximately 19 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

An interview program about The Serpent’s Egg, featuring David Carradine and Liv Ullmann.

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5 Years • 5 Films Vol. 3: Golden Age Erotica

5 Years • 5 Films Vol. 3: Golden Age Erotica. Various directors, 1975-1985.
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Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray set #234, released 2018. English language. Cumulative runtime approximately 400 minutes.

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

This compilation offers five previous DVD releases upgraded to Blu-ray. See individual titles for details.

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5 Years • 5 Films Vol. 4: Horror and Exploitation

5 Years • 5 Films Vol. 4: Horror and Exploitation. Various directors, 1969-1986.
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Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray set #235, released 2018. English language. Cumulative runtime approximately 397 minutes.

Summary: Vampire Hookers includes a scene of a rat being murdered. The other four films have no particular depictions of violence to animals.

This compilation offers five previous DVD releases upgraded to Blu-ray. See individual titles for details.

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12 Angry Men (Schaffner)

12 Angry Men. Franklin J. Schaffner, 1955.
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Edition screened: Included on Criterion Blu-ray #591 12 Angry Men, released 2011. English language. Runtime approximately 60 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence toward animals.

A teleplay from the ‘Studio One in Hollywood’ series, predating Sidney Lumet’s better interpretation by two years.
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13 Days in France

13 Days in France (13 jours en France). Claude Lelouch and François Reichenbach, 1968.
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Edition screened: Included on Disc 16 (Grenoble 1968, X Olympic Winter Games) in Criterion Blu-ray set #900 100 Years of Olympic Films 1912-2012, released 2017. French language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 112 minutes.


Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.
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15 Minutes

15 Minutes. John Herzfeld, 2001.
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Edition screened: New Line/Infinifilm DVD, released 20045. English language. Runtime approximately 120 minutes.


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

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B-B-B-Bom and Life Storm

B-B-B-Bom and Life Storm. Jeff Keen, 1990s.
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Edition screened: Included in BFI Gazwrx: The Films of Jeff Keen Blu-ray/DVD set, released 2009. Silent. Runtime approximately 5 minutes.

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


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The Baby

The Baby. Ted Post, 1973.
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Edition screened: Arrow Blu-ray, released 2018. English language. Runtime approximately 86 minutes.

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


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Babyface 2

Babyface 2. Alex de Renzy, 1986.
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Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray #215, released 2018. English language. Runtime approximately 78 minutes.

Summary: No animals or references to animals in the film. 4/5❤


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The Beast (Borowczyk)

The Beast (La bête). Walerian Borowczyk, 1975.
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Edition screened: Arrow Blu-ray, released 2014. English and French language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 98 minutes.

Summary: Implied murder of a lamb. 4/5❤

Details:
1) We find the remains of a lamb that has been killed and eaten by The Beast, 1:02:41-1:03:07. Slight return, 1:06:25-1:06:27.
The Arrow release also includes Borowczyk’s short film Venus on the Half-Shell (1975).

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Beggars of Life

Beggars of Life. William A. Wellman, 1928.
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Edition screened: Kino Lorber Blu-ray, released 2017. Scored and with English intertitles, no dialogue track. Runtime approximately 81 minutes.

Summary: Chicken plucking

Details: A dead chicken is carried into the cabin at 1:08:05, and is intermittently on screen and occasionally plucked through 1:11:35.

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Belladonna of Sadness

Belladonna of Sadness (Kanashimi no beradonna). Eiichi Yamamoto, 1973.
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Edition screened: Cinelicious  Blu-ray, released 2016. Japanese language. Runtime approximately 29 minutes.

Summary: Artwork of animal abuse.

Details: The Black Plague sequence begins with a black-and-white drawing of a crow having its head snipped off; not gory. That scene continues with animated drawings that include images of vague bestiality. 

These animated drawings are open to interpretation and are not rooted in depicting animal abuse.

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Bells Are Ringing

Bells Are Ringing. Vincente Minnelli, 1960.
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Edition screened: Warner Blu-ray, released 2017. English language. Runtime approximately 126 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.


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Bergman 101

Bergman 101. Peter Cowie, 2009.
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Edition screened: Included with The Seventh Seal in Criterion Blu-ray set Ingmar Bergman’s Cinema, released 2018. English language. Runtime approximately 35 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

A dry but accurate overview of Bergman’s evolving cast, themes, and filmmaking techniques.

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Bergman Island

Bergman Island. Marie Nyreröd, 2006.
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Edition screened: Included in Criterion Blu-ray box set Ingmar Bergman’s Cinema, released 2018. Swedish language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 83 minutes.

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

Nyreröd’s pleasant and nicely-paced documentary about the later years of Bergman’s life on FÃ¥rö Island accompanies The Seventh Seal on disc #16 of 30 in Ingmar Bergman’s Cinema.










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Beware My Brethren

Beware My Brethren (The Fiend). Robert Hartford-Davis, 1972.
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Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray #254, released 2018. English language. Runtime approximately 92 minutes.

Summary: There are no particular depictions of violence or harm to animals. There is one brief scene in a meat locker at 1:01, immediately after we see the sign for “cold storage”. There is no effort to make this interior gross: no heads, blood, or gruesome displays.


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The Big Clock

The Big Clock. John Farrow, 1948.
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Edition screened: Arrow Blu-ray, released 2019. English language. Runtime approximately 95 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.


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Bigger Than Life

Bigger Than Life. Nicholas Ray, 1956.
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Edition screened: Criterion Blu-ray #507, released 2010. English language. Runtime approximately 95 minutes.

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


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Bitch Slap

Bitch Slap. Rick Jacobson, 2010.
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Edition screened: 20th Century Fox Blu-ray, released 2012. English language. Runtime approximately 109 minutes.


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

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Black Peter

Black Peter (Černý Petr). Miloš Forman, 1963.
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Edition screened: Second Run Blu-ray #013, released 2018. Czech language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 90 minutes.


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

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The Blackcoat’s Daughter

The Blackcoat’s Daughter. Osgood Perkins, 2016.
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Edition screened: Lionsgate Blu-ray, released 2017. English language. Runtime approximately 95 minutes.


Summary: No animals or references to animals in the film.
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The Blair Witch Project

The Blair Witch Project. Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez, 1999.
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Edition screened: Lionsgate Blu-ray, released 2007. English language. Runtime approximately 87 minutes.

Summary: A dead mouse is discovered in the wood, but there are no depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Details: A dead mouse is found on the forest floor, 18:50-19:00. This comes well before, and is unrelated to, any violence or horror in the film.

The Lionsgate BD also includes the made-for-TV promo film, Curse of the Blair Witch.

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Blatzom films

Blatzom series. Jeff Keen, 1986 through 1990s.
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Edition screened: Included in BFI Gazwrx: The Films of Jeff Keen Blu-ray/DVD set, released 2009. English language and/or with sound effects track. Runtimes as indicated.

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

The BFI set includes these wonderful Blatzom films:

Blatzom, 1986, 12 minutes
Blatzom in Artwar, 1990s, 21 minutes
Blatzomatica, 1990s, 4 minutess
Blazon Blatzom: El Pistolera Blatzo, 1990s, 14 minutess





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Blood Harvest

Blood Harvest. Bill Rebane, 1986.
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Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray #250, released 2018. English language. Runtime approximately 88 minutes.

Summary: Bleeding pig carcass.

Details:
1) Tiny Tim has a Polaroid of his murdered pet pig, 58:22-58:25.
2) A butchered pig is suspended from rafters and drips a little blood on a woman who is struggling to fight off a murderer. The pig carcass is featured 1:19:38-1:19:50, and then can be seen occasionally at the top of the screen through 1:22:03.

The kitty who jumps out of a chest of drawers early in the film is not threatened or seen again.

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Blood Hunger: The Films of José Larraz

Blood Hunger: The Films of José Larraz. 1970-1977 .
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Edition screened: Arrow Blu-ray set, released 2019. English and Spanish language with English subtitles. Cumulative runtime of four feature films approximately 265 minutes.

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

The Arrow set includes an assortment of interview and supplemental material, Simon Birrell’s short horror film His Last Request (2005), and three features by Larraz:

Whirlpool (1970)
Vampyres (1974)


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Blood Theatre

Blood Theatre. Rick Sloane, 1984.
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Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray #231, released 2018. English language. Runtime approximately 75 minutes.

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

The Vinegar Syndrome release also includes Sloane’s 1986 The Visitants.


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