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.

Presentation, or Charlotte and Her Steak

Presentation, or Charlotte and Her Steak (Présentation ou Charlotte et son steak). Éric Rohmer, 1951.
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Edition screened: Included on Criterion DVD #343 The Bakery Girl of Monceau, in Criterion DVD box set #342 Éric Rohmer’s Six Moral Tales, released 2006. French language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 12 minutes..

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

A fun little film starring Jean-Luc Godard and Anna Karina.























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The Premonition

The Premonition. Robert Allen Schnitzer, 1976.
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Edition screened: Arrow Blu-ray included in the American Horror Project Vol. 1 box set, released 2016. English language. Runtime approximately 94 minutes.

Summary: Depicted killing of a turtle.

Details: The little girl plays with her pet turtle several times in the first part of the film, so of course this animal must die. When we see the very small turtle crawling on the floor at 29:50 when human tension is running high, we know the animal’s death is eminent. We see the bloody turtle and a small blood mess on the floor at 31:35.

The Arrow release includes three early student films by Schnitzer, all free of animal violence:

Vernal Equinox (30 minutes, 1968) is a surprisingly watchable commentary on communication and counterculture made when Schnitzer was still in high school.

Terminal Point (41 minutes, 1969) is a drama made as film student.

A Rumbling in the Land (11 minutes, 1969) documents and narrates an anti-ROTC protest, made while Schnitzer was active in his university SDS.















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Pray for Death

Pray for Death. Gordon Hessler, 1985.
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Edition screened: Arrow Blu-ray, released 2016. English language. Runtime approximately 92 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.


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Portrait in Terror

Portrait in Terror. Michael Roy, 1964.
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Edition screened: Included in Arrow Blu-ray box set Blood Bath, released 2016. English language. Runtime approximately 95 minutes.

Summary: Murder of a German Shepherd.

Details: We see a thief about to shoot a German Shepherd, hear the shot off-screen at 16:16, and see the dog’s body dragged 16:19-16:23.

See Blood Bath for an explanation of how Portrait in Terror relates to that more famous film.

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Poor White Trash

Poor White Trash. Michael Addis, 2000.
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Edition screened: Xenon DVD, released 2001. English language. Runtime approximately 89 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.


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Police Tactics

Police Tactics (Battles Without Honor and Humanity Vol. 4 / Yakuza Papers Vol. #4 / Chôjô sakusen). Kinji Fukasaku, 1974.
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Edition screened: Arrow Blu-ray, included in the Battles Without Honor and Humanity box set released 2015. Japanese language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 101 minutes.

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

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La Pointe-Courte

La Pointe-Courte. Agnès Varda, 1956.

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Edition screened: Edition screened: Included in Criterion Blu-ray box set The Complete Films of Agnès Varda (disc 2) released 2020, and also as DVD #419 in Criterion box set #418 4 by Agnès Varda, released 2008. French language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 81 minutes..

Summary: Real image of a dead cat.

Details:

1) A dead cat has washed ashore, 38:58–39:07.

2) Fish netted then struggling in a box, 54:48-55:00

3) Discussion of drowning kittens as though it were a normal and acceptable practice, around 1:20:00, at the very end of the film as the small boat is leaving the dock.


Agnès Varda is an animal lover and her films frequently feature flattering vignettes of cats in homes and outdoors. La Pointe-Courte show many of the cats that work in this fishing village, along with one that has died.


Supplement material for the film includes a 9-minute segment from Cinéastes de notre temps called “La Nouvelle vague par elle-même” (1964, Robert Valey), and a 2007 interview with Varda about the artistic sense of this early film, both very good and free of animal violance.















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Planet of the Vampires

Planet of the Vampires (Terrore nello spazio). Mario Bava, 1965.
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Edition screened: Kino Blu-ray, released 2014. English language. Runtime approximately 88 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.


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Philadelphia, Here I Come

Philadelphia, Here I Come. John Quested, 1975.
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Edition screened: Included in Kino DVD box set The American Film Theatre: The Complete 14 Film Collection, released 2008. English language. Runtime approximately 95 minutes..

Summary: No depictions of violence toward animals.

Siobhan McKenna and Donal McCann star in this presentation of Brian Friel’s play.














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The Perfect Team: The Making of On the Bowery

The Perfect Team: The Making of ‘On the Bowery’. Michael Rogosin, 2009.
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Edition screened: Included on Milestone Blu-ray On the Bowery: The Films of Lionel Rogosin, Volume 1, released 2012. English language. Runtime approximately 46 minutes..

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

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Perceval

Perceval (Perceval le Gallois). Éric Rohmer, 1978.
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Edition screened: Blu-ray included in Potemkine box set Coffret Éric Rohmer, l’intégrale, released 2013. French language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 140 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.                        

                                           
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Out

Out. Lionel Rogosin, 1957.
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Edition screened: Included on Milestone Blu-ray On the Bowery: The Films of Lionel Rogosin, Volume 1, released 2012. English language. Runtime approximately 26 minutes..

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


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Operation Titian

Operation Titian (Operacija Ticijan). Radoš Novaković, 1964.
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Edition screened: Included in Arrow’s 4-film Blu-ray box set Blood Bath, released 2016. English language. Runtime approximately 95 minutes.

Summary: Murder of a German Shepherd.

Details: We see a thief about to shoot a German Shepherd, hear the shot off-screen at 25:25, and see the dog’s body dragged 25:26-25:30.

See Blood Bath for an explanation of how Operation Titian relates to that more famous film.

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L’opéra-mouffe

L’opéra-mouffe (Diary of a Pregnant Woman). Agnès Varda, 1958.
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Edition screened: Included in Criterion Blu-ray box set The Complete Films of Agnès Varda (disc 3) released 2020, and also on Cléo from 5 to 7 DVD #73 in Criterion box set #418 4 by Agnès Varda, released 2008. French language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 16 minutes.

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















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One Naked Night

One Naked Night. Albert T. Viola, 1965.
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Edition screened: Included on Vinegar Syndrome DVD #021 The Blue Hour, released 2013. English language. Runtime approximately 72 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

An extended scene in an interracial Manhattan dance club is a high point in this surprisingly captivating Moral Tale. One Naked Night unwinds as the modest but respectable cousin of I Knew Her Well, also made in 1965.


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On the Bowery

On the Bowery. Lionel Rogosin, 1956.
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Edition screened: Included on Milestone Blu-ray On the Bowery: The Films of Lionel Rogosin, Volume 1, released 2012. English language. Runtime approximately 65 minutes.

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

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The Old Grey Whistle Test

The Old Grey Whistle Test: The Complete Collection. Various directors, 1971-1987.
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Edition screened: BBC  3-DVD box set, released 2006. English language. Cumulative runtime approximately 480 minutes.

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

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Odd Man Out

Odd Man Out. Carol Reed, 1947.
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Edition screened: Criterion Blu-ray #754, released 2015. English language. Runtime approximately 116 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

 The Criterion disc also includes the 1972 biographical feature Home, James: James Mason Turns Again to Huddersfield (1972).


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The Ninja Trilogy

The Ninja Trilogy. Menahem Golan and Sam Firstenberg, 1981-1984.
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Edition screened: Eureka! Blu-ray set, released 2016. English language. Cumulative runtime approximately 282 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

This set includes all three video store staples:


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Ninja III: The Domination

Ninja III: The Domination. Sam Firstenberg, 1984.
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Edition screened: Included in Eureka! The Ninja Trilogy Blu-ray set, released 2016. English language. Runtime approximately 92 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.
















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Nadja in Paris

Nadja in Paris (Nadja à Paris). Éric Rohmer, 1951.
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Edition screened: Included on Criterion DVD #344 Suzanne’s Career, in Criterion DVD box set #342 Éric Rohmer’s Six Moral Tales, released 2006. French language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 12 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.







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My Architect

My Architect. Nathaniel Kahn, 2003.
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Edition screened: New Yorker DVD, released 2005. English language. Runtime approximately 116 minutes.

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


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The Mutilator

The Mutilator (Fall Break). Buddy Cooper, 1985.
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Edition screened: Arrow Blu-ray, released 2016. English language. Runtime approximately 86 minutes.

Summary: Gratuitous hunting talk and souvenirs.

Details:
1) Display of just-killed game birds, 2:01-2:18 and 3:06-3:15.
2) Discussion of murdering fetal sharks, 17:50-18:02.
3) Frequent juvenile interaction with hunting trophies in the beach house.

What a boring, irritating movie. The only thing that breaks up the tedium is the provoking annoyance of horrible joke-based dialogue. I am as unaffected by the violence of slasher-style movies as I am unentertained by stupid dialogue masquerading as comedy. Yep, that’s me. Unaffected and unentertained. Just bored and annoyed.

The disastrous final season of Happy Days came just one year before The Mutilator. I think our director subconsciously knew how terrible his film was going to be, and like a killer leaving clues for the police, named his red-headed juvenile jokester ‘Ralph’, worked in a pointless reference to sharks, and contracted a stylistically anachronistic Party Time theme song, much more catchy than the movie itself. 

The cover art is the most satisfying part of the package, but notice that the copy does not conclude with the enticement “Buy buy.” Nonetheless, the cover is far more entertaining than any aspect of the film, and the girl on the cover is far more attractive than any girl in the film.

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Morocco

Morocco. Josef von Sternberg, 1930.
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Edition screened: Criterion Blu-ray #931 included in box set # 930 Dietrich & von Sternberg in Hollywood, released 2018. English language. Runtime approximately 92 minutes.

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

To watch Morocco is to understand why a big deal is made of Marlene Dietrich, especially the “Hot Voodoo” stage show.













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Moonrise Kingdom

Moonrise Kingdom. Wes Anderson, 2012.
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Edition screened: Criterion Blu-ray #776, released 2015. English language. Runtime approximately 94 minutes.

Summary: Depiction of a murdered dog.

Details:
1) Close view of a terrier lying dead after being shot through the neck by an arrow, 37:53-37:55.
2) The dead dog is in the background 38:39-38:44.

You can skip this combat scene by knowing that Suzi stabs one of the attacking boys in the kidney with her scissors.

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Mon oncle Antoine

Mon oncle Antoine. Claude Jutra, 1971.
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Edition screened: Criterion DVD #438, released 2008. French language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 104 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Supplemental materials on the Criterion DVD include Jutra’s 10-minute short A Chairy Tale (1957), a delightful early work evocative of both Jørgen Leth’s The Perfect Human (1967) and of Jodorowsky’s La Cravate (1957). 


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Momma Don’t Allow

Momma Don’t Allow. Tony Richardson and Karel Reisz, 1955.
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Edition screened: Included on BFI Blu-ray The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, released 2011. English language. Runtime approximately 22 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

This short ‘Free Cinema’ film documents the Chris Barber Jazz Band (with Beatle friend Lonnie Donegan on banjo) performing at the Wood Green Jazz Club. Without dialogue, it also tells the story of several people who finish their day jobs and meet at the club. The film is a sometimes-exhilarating document of ’50s dance styles and Teddy Boy cool.

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