Violence to Animals in Film

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.

Mother Joan of the Angels

Mother Joan of the Angels (Matka Joanna od aniołów). Jerzy Kawalerowicz, 1960.

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Edition screened: Second Run DVD #71, released 2012. Polish language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 105 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence toward animals.

The Second Run DVD also includes a 21-minute appreciation and exploration of the film by Michael Brooks.

Morvern Callar

Morvern Callar. Lynne Ramsay, 2002.

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Edition screened: Palm DVD, released 2003. Scots English language. Runtime approximately 97 minutes.

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

More

More. Barbet Schroeder, 1969.

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Edition screened: BFI Blu-ray, released 2011. English language. Original soundtrack music by Pink Floyd. Runtime approximately 116 minutes.

Summary: Fishing violence.

Details:

1) A short but somewhat graphic scene of cleaning small fish, 55:30-55:42.

2) A short scene of Stefan emerging from the sea with a small fish on a spear, 55:56-56:07.

These two short and consecutive scenes are not taxing to watch, but easily can be skipped with no compromise to the story.

A 1964 Gottlieb Ship-Mates is played about seven minutes into the film.

Monsieur Verdoux

Monsieur Verdoux. Charles Chaplin, 1947.

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Edition screened: Criterion Blu-ray #652, released 2013. English language. Runtime approximately 124 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence toward animals.

Bonus points …

Chaplin’s title character prescribes humane euthanasia in 1947, describing how terminally ill animals could simply be put to sleep and allowed to die painlessly. He also cares for homeless cats. As neither of these details advance the film in any way, Chaplin is using his clout as writer, director, and star for social education.

The Criterion Release also contains Bernard Eisenschitz’s Monsieur Verdoux-related installment from the Chaplin Today series, animal cruelty-free.

Monamour

Monamour. Tinto Brass, 2005.

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Edition screened: Cult Epics 2-Disc Special Edition Blu-ray, released 2011. Italian language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 98 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence toward animals. 3.5/5❤

This Cult Epics release also includes Tinto Brass’s 2008 featurette, Kick the Cock (The New Maid) containing no violence to animals.

Mona Lisa

Mona Lisa. Neil Jordan, 1986.

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Edition screened: Criterion DVD #107, released 2001. English language. Runtime approximately 104 minutes.

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

Modern Times

Modern Times. Charles Chaplin, 1936.

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Edition screened: Criterion Blu-ray #543, released 2010. Scored and with English intertitles; no dialogue track for most of the film with some English language. Runtime approximately 87 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence toward animals.

Chaplin’s gibberish performance of Léo Daniderff’s Je cherche après Titine, (also known as The Nonsense Song because of the way it is performed here) is the first time movie-goers heard Chaplin’s voice. It also is one of cinema’s great joys.

The Criterion Blu-ray includes numerous critical video essays and some important short films:

The Rink (1916) - a hilarious short film by Chaplin

All at Sea (1933) - a home movie of Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, and Alistair Cooke on Chaplin’s yacht. Warning: graphic murder of a shark.

For the First Time (1967) - A short documentary about a traveling film projection crew that shows the people of a remote Cuban village their first movie, Modern Times.

Mimic

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Mimic. Guillermo del Toro, 1997.

Edition screened: Miramax Lions Gate Blu-ray, released 2011. English language. Runtime approximately 105 minutes.

Summary: Persistent killing of CGI insects.

The three-minute opening title sequence is a montage consisting largely of trays of insects pinned to specimen boards in the usual way. After that special effect creatures, mostly cockroaches, are killed regularly. Most of these computer-generated insects are unrealistically large, sometimes human scale, and certainly count more as monsters than representations of animals. At no point in Mimic do we see a real insect being killed.

Klimt

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Klimt. Raúl Ruiz, 2006.

Edition screened: Loch Lorber DVD, released 2008. English language. Runtime approximately 97 minutes.

Summary: Caged lab animals and taxidermy props, but no scenes of harm.

Details:

1) Caged lab rabbits are in the background during dialogue when John “Klimt” Malkovich visit his doctor at 45:05-46:30 and again at 1:14:46. Nothing cruel is depicted or suggested, just bunnies in cages.

2) The penultimate delusion/fantasy sequence, 1:29:23-1:32:09, has crazed Klimt in a snowstorm with pet cats mounted as taxidermy specimen. Not gory but unexpected and a little shocking.

I have a weakness for buying films about artists, but I rarely select one of these films to actually watch. Klimt validates that predilection. Pialat’s Van Gogh is a refreshing exception, a film strongly aligned with the talent and style of that superb director rather than with the sea of artist bio films.

Kill List

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Kill List. Ben Wheatley, 2011.

Edition screened: StudioCanal Blu-ray , released 2012. English language. Runtime approximately 95 minutes.

Summary: Numerous depictions of murdered animals

Details:

1) A small pile of gore in the front yard at 22:50 is identified as a rabbit, and presumed left as a gift by the cat. Jay later cooks the meat and eats it.

2) A dog is found murdered along with his human companion, 53:17-53:21.

3) A cat is found hung and suffocated at the family home, 1:01:45-1:01:55. We see the bound dead body again 1:02:10-1:02:16.

4) Gal carries two dead rabbits he has shot and tosses them down by the campfire, 1:12:05-1:12:14. He skins and butchers them fairly graphically, 1:12:36-1:13:00.

The first two depictions pass quickly. The last two are rather graphic with follow-up scenes, as noted, that really allow the images to sink in. You can skip the entire hanged sequence (1:01:45 through 1:02:16), and the only missed dialogue is Jay’s and Gal’s general grief about the incident and Jay’s determination to get to the bottom of things. Similarly, you can skip the entire rabbit butchering (1:12:05-1:13:00) and miss only general camaraderie.

Kill List is a challenging film. It has brutally violent moments of the Irreversible type, and director Wheatley makes the unpopular decision to concentrate on mood and image rather than spoon-feeding plot. As such, it obliges our preference to scream that a film (or a painting or a sculpture) makes no sense, rather than to attempt understanding. Please allow me to point you in the right direction: An unexplained incident in Kiev indicates Jay as a potential antichrist figure. Fiona, a member of a Satanic cult, infiltrates Jay’s home and helps set him on a path toward becoming a Devil incarnate, a “reconstruction” as the mysterious wealthy client says.

L'Ennui

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L'Ennui. Cedric Kahn, 1999.

Edition screened: Fox Lorber DVD, released 2000. French language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 122 minutes.

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

Day for Night

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Day for Night. (La Nuit américaine). François Truffaut, 1973.

Edition screened: Warner DVD, released 2003. French language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 115 minutes.

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

The Cement Garden

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The Cement Garden. Andrew Birkin, 1993.

Edition screened: Arrow DVD, released 2011. English language. Runtime approximately 105 minutes.

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

Bellflower

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Bellflower. Evan Glodell, 2011.

Edition screened: Oscilloscope DVD #40, released 2011. English language. Runtime approximately 107 minutes.

Summary: Killing insects as a joke.

Details: Live crickets are eaten in a barroom game, 5:30-5:55.

Monster

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Monster. Jennifer Kent, 2005.

Edition screened: Included on IFC/Shout! Factory Blu-ray The Babadook, released 2015. English language. Runtime approximately 10 minutes.

Summary: A cat gums a large moth, 0:30-0:33. Cats do that.

The Babadook

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The Babadook. Jennifer Kent, 2014.

Edition screened: IFC/Shout! Factory Blu-ray, released 2015. English language. Runtime approximately 92 minutes.

Summary: Murder of a dog.

Details: From 1:09:35 through 1:09:50 a small dog is picked up, strangled, has its neck snapped, and is dropped to the floor.

Just skip the scene, which serves as proof that the monster has possessed the mother and that she will try to kill her son next, per prophecy.

The Blu-ray also includes Kent’s early short Monster, interesting and similar to The Babadook but with a completely different resolution.

The Joke

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The Joke (Zert). Jaromil Jireš, 1969.

Edition screened: Included in Criterion Eclipse Series 32: Pearls of the Czech New Wave 4-DVD set, released 2012. Czech language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 81 minutes.

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

A Report on the Party and Guests

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A Report on the Party and Guests (O slavnosti a hostech). Jan Němec, 1966.

Edition screened: Included in Criterion Eclipse Series 32: Pearls of the Czech New Wave 4-DVD set, released 2012. Czech language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 70 minutes.

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

Mystics in Bali

Mystics in Bali (Leák). H. Tjut Djalil, 1981.

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Edition screened: Mondo Macabro DVD, released 2007. Indonesian with English dub. Runtime approximately 89 minutes.

Summary: Mistreatment of white mice.

Details: Cathy looks ill at 47:56 and runs to the bathroom to vomit. We see something begin to come out of her mouth, interrupted by a cut to the shower floor where a live white mouse plops down drenched in colorful chunky spew. A second mouse lands soon thereafter, and Cathy is done puking live rodents by 48:15.

It is typical of Mystics in Bali that Cathy’s boyfriend, his pleasant morning just interrupted by unearthly mouse vomiting, stands by Cathy’s side at the stinky shower, provides a comforting embrace, and agrees “Yes, it must have been something you ate at the dinner party last night.” Cathy never mentioned any dinner party, and we viewers saw no such thing. However Cathy did turn into a python that evening and presumably swallowed a few live mice. But see, her boyfriend doesn’t know about that and it hadn’t come up in conversation yet. The mouse barf merits no further discussion and the couple go on about their day jam-packed with unnecessary costume changes.

I hear folks who watch a pretty limited range of movies say, “It’s like something from David Lynch” when trying to describe how ‘weird’ (their term) a film is. David Lynch’s movies deal with the subconscious and the unspoken and are not particularly weird unless the general concepts of metaphor and symbolic expression threaten the viewer to such a degree that those qualities must be denounced as “weird” – just in case some important Amish client might be hiding around a corner, listening in silent judgement. The truly cloistered come to describe anything lacking a linear plot as “really weird.”

Mystics in Bali comes close to demonstrating genuine weirdness in film. Several times in Mystics, Cathy’s head levitates off her neck and flies around the village with a kite tail of spine and internal organs dangling below, then returns home and neatly reconnects until next time. The weirdness of these rather boring scenes lies in the fact that they are not gory or horrifying. If the flying head were in a Wes Craven film, that presentation would provide a limited range of comfortable options for viewer reaction: close your eyes and pretend to be scared; or roll your eyes and demonstrate nonchalance; or feign moral outrage on behalf of the fantasy Amish auditor. But the calm depiction in Mystics, lacking emotion or consequences, leaves the viewer not knowing how to react. A sputtering flail of self-conscious laughter is the usual release valve.

Rocky Horror, for example, is the exact opposite of this, a testament to its enduring popularity. Rocky Horror provides non-stop comfort and assurance to the viewer in a variety of ways: 1) It’s just a musical comedy with a linear plot, telegraphed gags, traditionally staged dance routines, and all the other attributes that make South Pacific equally beloved by previous generations; 2) Rather than being set in the 1940s, Rocky Horror presents a 1970s concept of the edgy and outrageous, thus making today’s vital hip audience only forty years behind the times rather than seventy; 3) As a straight-forward musical comedy, there never is any question of how you are supposed to react to a line, a gag, or plot development; 4) These well-trod reactions themselves have become a scripted and memorized part of the movie-watching experience; 5) Most significantly, you don’t really watch the movie at all -- a fantasy-come-true for people who really aren’t interested in films. The experience is entirely about you, and the film supports The Wonder of You. You and your bag of props. Your fascinating account of the first time you saw Rocky Horror. Your belief that memorization of dialogue is an indicator of something. Your repulsive turning sideways to share a giggle with someone else about his or her bag of crap. Your recounting of what an awesome experience it is. But be prepared: It’s kinda weird.

The Mutant Chronicles

The Mutant Chronicles. Simon Hunter, 2009.

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Edition screened: Magnolia DVD, released 2009. English language. Runtime approximately 111 minutes.

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

Mildred Pierce (Haynes)

Mildred Pierce. Todd Haynes, 2011.

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Edition screened: HBO Blu-ray, released 2012. English language. Runtime approximately 300 minutes.

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

Michael Clayton

Michael Clayton. Tony Gilroy, 2007.

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Edition screened: Warner Blu-ray, released 2008. English language. Runtime approximately 120 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Maxwell’s Demon

Maxwell’s Demon. Hollis Frampton, 1968.

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Edition screened: Included on Criterion Blu-ray #607 A Hollis Frampton Odyssey, released 2012. No dialogue track. Runtime approximately 3 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Martyrs

Martyrs. Pascal Laugier, 2008.

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Edition screened: Genius “Unrated” DVD, released 2009. French language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 99 minutes.

Summary: A woman displays a dead white mouse to her family, 10:11-10:24.

Mark of the Devil

Mark of the Devil (Hexen bis aufs Blut gequält). Michael Armstrong, 1970.

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Edition screened: Arrow Blu-ray, released 2015. German language or English dub. Runtime approximately 97 minutes.

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

Manual of Arms

Manual of Arms. Hollis Frampton, 1966.

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Edition screened: Included on Criterion Blu-ray #607 A Hollis Frampton Odyssey, released 2012. Silent. Runtime approximately 17 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Maniac Cop

Maniac Cop. William Lustig, 1988.

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Edition screened: Arrow Blu-ray, released 2013. English language. Runtime approximately 85 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Lulu on the Bridge

Lulu on the Bridge. Paul Auster, 1998.

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Edition screened: Lions Gate DVD, released 1999. English language. Runtime approximately 103 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Loves of a Blonde

Loves of a Blonde (Lásky jedné plavovlásky). Miloš Forman, 1965.

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Edition screened: Janus Essential Art House DVD (Criterion #144), released 2010. Czech language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 85 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Peter Jackson, 2002.

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Edition screened: Included in New Line The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy - Extended Edition Blu-ray box set, released 2011. English language. Runtime approximately 222 minutes.

Summary: Combat killing of fantasy animals.

Like the other films in Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, various animals are depicted as killed in combat situations that are clearly computer animated. Most of these animals are menacing fantasy creatures that accompany or bear human riders, usually killed by spear or bow. Their deaths come quickly with no emphasis on silly blood sprays or gratuitous gore.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Peter Jackson, 2003.

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Edition screened: Included in New Line The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy - Extended Edition Blu-ray box set, released 2011. English language. Runtime approximately 251 minutes.

Summary: Combat killing of fantasy animals.

Like the other films in Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, various animals are depicted as killed in combat situations that are clearly computer animated. Most of these animals are menacing fantasy creatures that accompany or bear human riders, usually killed by spear or bow. Their deaths come quickly with no emphasis on silly blood sprays or gratuitous gore.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Peter Jackson, 2001.

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Edition screened: Included in New Line The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy - Extended Edition Blu-ray box set, released 2011. English language. Runtime approximately 210 minutes.

Summary: Combat killing of fantasy animals.

Like the other films in Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, various animals are depicted as killed in combat situations that are clearly computer animated. Most of these animals are menacing fantasy creatures that accompany or bear human riders, usually killed by spear or bow. Their deaths come quickly with no emphasis on silly blood sprays or gratuitous gore.

Locke

Locke. Steven Knight, 2013.

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Edition screened: Lions Gate Blu-ray, released 2014. Scots English with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 84 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Like Water for Chocolate

Like Water for Chocolate (Como agua para chocolate). Alfonso Arau, 1992.

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Edition screened: Arrow Blu-ray, released 2015. Spanish language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 105 minutes.

Summary: Mild cooking violence.

Details:

1) Brief scene of quails being plucked, 27:06-27:10

2) A butchered pig’s head hangs on the wall during dialogue and action, 44:43-46:07.

3) A pig is impaled on a spit over a fire, 1:16:54-1:17:00

Lemon

Lemon. Hollis Frampton, 1969.

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Edition screened: Included on Criterion Blu-ray #607 A Hollis Frampton Odyssey, released 2012. Silent. Runtime approximately 7 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Last Words

Last Words (Letzte Worte). Werner Herzog, 1968.

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Edition screened: Included in BFI The Werner Herzog Collection Blu-ray box set, released 2014. Greek language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 13 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Lady Snowblood

Lady Snowblood (Shurayukihime). Toshiya Fujita, 1973.

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Edition screened: Criterion Blu-ray # 790, included in The Complete Lady Snowblood, released 2016. Japanese language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 89 minutes.

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

The Criterion package also contains Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance (1974).

Swords and Hearts

Swords and Hearts. D.W. Griffith, 1911.

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Edition screened: Included on Kino Blu-ray The Birth of a Nation, released 2011. English intertitles, no dialogue track. Runtime approximately 16 minutes.

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

A Jester’s Tale

A Jester’s Tale (Bláznova kronika). Karel Zeman, 1964.

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Edition screened: Second Run DVD #89, released 2014. Czech language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 81 minutes.

No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.

A Jester’s Tale is a delightful fantasy romance, generously crafted by the director and populated with likable characters and attractive actors. The charisma of Zeman’s pre-computerized effects is achingly admirable.

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