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.

The Act of Killing

The Act of Killing. Joshua Oppenheimer, 2012.
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Edition screened: Dogwoof, released 2015. English and Indonesian with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 115 minutes.

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


The Dogwood Blu-ray also includes the 260 minute Director’s cut, recommended.
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The Act of Seeing with one’s own eyes

The Act of Seeing with one’s own eyes. Stan Brakhage, 1971.
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Edition screened: Included in Criterion Blu-ray box set #518 By Brakhage: An Anthology, Volumes One and Two, released 2010. Silent. Runtime 31 minutes, 50 seconds.


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

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Adieu Philippine

Adieu Philippine. Jacques Rozier, 1961.
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Edition screened: Included in Potemkine DVD box set Jacques Rozier, released 2008. French language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 106 minutes.

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


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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Alfred L. Werker, 1939.
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Edition screened: Included in MPI The Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection Blu-ray set, released 2011. English language. Runtime approximately 85 minutes.

Summary: Endangerment of a horse.


Details: Holmes flips the carriage he is driving over on one side, taking the poor horse with it. We see the horse struggle, but he is freed and able to stand and walk off. This happens toward the end of the film at the culmination of Homes’ reckless drive to the Tower of London.

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The Affairs of Aphrodite

The Affairs of Aphrodite. Alain Patrick, 1970.
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Edition screened: Included on Vinegar Syndrome Blue Money Blu-ray #151, released 2017. English language. Runtime approximately 75 minutes.


Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals. 0/5❤

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After Death

After Death. Evgeni Bauer, 1915.
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Edition screened: Included on Milestone DVD Mad Love: The Films of Evgeni Bauer, released 2002. Russian intertitles with English subtitles, no dialogue track. Runtime approximately 46 minutes.


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

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Aguirre, the Wrath of God

Aguirre, the Wrath of God (Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes). Werner Herzog, 1972.
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Edition screened: Included in Shout! Factory Blu-ray box set Herzog: The Collection, released 2014. German language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 94 minutes.

Summary: Rough handling of a monkey.

Details:
1) A pig is carried around very roughly then held down on the ground. Two men plan to slaughter it with a knife, an act fortunately not shown, 50:22-50:36.
2) A horse is violently frightened by a screaming Klaus Kinski and falls down, 53:36-53:46.
3) A horse that already is having trouble standing on the raft, is further freighted and stressed by a bunch of men,shouting and pushing it around. The horse falls several times and finally is being pushed off the raft and must try to swim to land. (1:07:54-1:09:03)
4) Mild fishing violence of bringing in one fish and a late stage of prep, 1:05:53-1:06:36, with other action simultaneous.
2) Klaus Kinski grabs a squirrel monkey roughly, lectures at it, then tosses it aside, 1:32:00-1:32:15.











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Alice in the Cities

Alice in the Cities (Alice in den Städten). Wim Wenders, 1974.
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Edition screened: Criterion Blu-ray #814, included in The Road Trilogy box set #813 released 2016. German language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 113 minutes.

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

This disc in The Road Trilogy also includes Wenders’ Same Player Shoots Again (1967, 12 minutes) and Silver City Revisited (1968, 25 minutes), both free of animal violence.







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All the Sins of Sodom

All the Sins of Sodom. Joseph Sarno, 1968.
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Edition screened: Included with Vibrations on Film Movement’s Joseph W. Sarno Retrospect Series Vol. 2 Blu-ray, released 2017. English language. Runtime approximately 87 minutes.


Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals. 3/5❤



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Along Came Polly

Along Came Polly. John Hamburg, 2003.
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Edition screened: Universal DVD, released 2004. English language. Runtime approximately 91 minutes.

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

American Honey. Andrea Arnold, 2016.
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Edition screened: Lionsgate Blu-ray, released 2016. English language. Runtime approximately 162 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals. Star (the female lead played by Sasha Lane) helps small animals such as bees throughout the film.
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The American Soldier

The American Soldier (Der Amerikanische Soldat). Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1970.
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Edition screened: Included in Arrow DVD box set The Rainer Werner Fassbinder: Commemorative Collection 69-72 Volume 1, released 2007. German language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 77 minutes.


Summary: No depictions of violence toward animals.


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Angels and Insects

Angels and Insects. Philip Haas, 1995.
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Edition screened: MGM DVD, released 2002. English language. Runtime approximately 116 minutes.

Summary: Entomological collections and similar natural history specimens.

Details: We see many specimens of insects and small animals throughout the film, mostly in the form of antique displays of insects pinned in boxes. We do not see killing or tormenting of animals.

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Animal Crackers

Animal Crackers. Victor Heerman, 1930.
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Edition screened: Included in Universal Blu-ray box set The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection, released 2016. English language. Runtime approximately 99 minutes.

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

Animal Factory. Steve Buscemi, 2000.
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Edition screened: Arrow Blu-ray, released 2017. English language. Runtime approximately 94 minutes.

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


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The Animatrix

The Animatrix. Various directors, 2003.
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Edition screened: Included in Warner The Ultimate Matrix Collection Blu-ray box set, released 2008. English language. Runtime approximately 102 minutes.

Summary: Fleeting cartoon images of dead animals. 

Details:
1) Animated duotone ‘surveillance footage’ image of murdered pets in an apartment (The Second Renaissance Part I, 12:53:12:59 when viewed consecutively).
2) Stagnant animated depiction of a dead cartoon monkey (Matriculated, 1:31:38-1:31:42 when viewed consecutively).

The Animatrix is a series of nine short animations that provide anecdotal backstory to the three Matrix films. Most were written or conceptualized by the Wachowskis, directors of the three original films. The Animatrix includes:

Final Flight of the Osiris (Andy Jones, approximately 17 minutes)
The Second Renaissance, Part I (Mahiro Maeda, approximately 9 minutes)
The Second Renaissance, Part II (Mahiro Maeda, approximately 9 minutes)
Kid’s Story (Shinichiro Watanabe, approximately 9 minutes)
Program (Yoshiaki Kawajiri, approximately 7 minutes)
World Record (Takeshi Koike, approximately 13 minutes)
Beyond (Koji Morimoto, approximately 17 minutes)
A Detective Story (Shinichiro Watanabe, approximately 10 minutes)
Matriculated (Peter Chung, approximately 16 minutes)


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Anna Boleyn (Lubitsch)

Anna Boleyn. Ernst Lubitsch, 1920.
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Edition screened: Eureka! Masters of Cinema Blu-ray #179, included in the box set Lubitsch in Berlin: Fairy-Tales, Melodramas, and Sex Comedies, released 2017. Scored, with German intertitles and English subtitles, no dialogue track. Runtime approximately 118 minutes.

Summary: Brief kitchen montage of fish cleaning, a piglet on a spit, and a chicken being (discreetly, quickly) slaughtered, 22:12-22:55

















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Anonymous

Anonymous. Roland Emmerich, 2011.
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Edition screened: Sony Blu-ray, released 2012. English language. Runtime approximately 130 minutes.

Summary: Bear baiting.

Details: A bear baiting scene, 1:04:58-1:06:14, shows mostly dialogue among the crowd with cuts to snarling dogs, the swatting bear, and unspecific thrashing of fur. Still, the sense of violence and criminal brutality is present.


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Arabic 12

Arabic 12. Stan Brakhage, 1982.
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Edition screened: Included in Criterion Blu-ray box set #518 By Brakhage: An Anthology, Volumes One and Two, released 2010. Silent. Runtime 17 minutes, 1 second.


Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

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Aria Diva

Aria Diva. Agnieszka Smoczyńska, 2007.
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Edition screened: Included on Criterion Blu-ray The Lure #896, released 2017. Polish language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 30 minutes.

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

A superb early work by an outstanding female director, making me recall the excitement of seeing Angela Arnold’s first short films.
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Armageddon

Armageddon. Michael Bay, 1998.
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Edition screened: Buena Vista DVD, released 2005. English language. Runtime approximately 150 minutes.

Summary: A dog is imperiled.

Details: A small dog hangs by his harness and leash in a gaping chasm, 7:30-7:40.  This threat is softened by an attentive owner who stays with the dog at his own peril, promising the animal’s rescue.  We see the dog in his owner’s arms soon thereafter.
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Around Trapeze Artists

Around Trapeze Artists. Agnès Varda, 2008.
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Edition screened: Included in Criterion Blu-ray box set The Complete Films of Agnès Varda (disc 15) released 2020. French language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 10 minutes.


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


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Art Flies Free

Art Flies Free. Ian Helliwell, 2000.
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Edition screened: Included in BFI Gazwrx: The Films of Jeff Keen Blu-ray/DVD set, released 2009. Scored and/or with sound effects track. Runtime approximately 3 minutes.

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


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Artwar

Artwar. Jeff Keen, 1990s.
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Edition screened: Included in BFI Gazwrx: The Films of Jeff Keen Blu-ray/DVD set, released 2009. Scored and/or with sound effects track; no dialogue track.

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

The Artwar works include: 

  • Artwar (1993, 6 minutes, some English narration in addition to sound effects)
  • Artwar - The Last Frontier (1993, 20 minutes)
  • Artwar Fallout and Artwar 3  -  a split-screen presentation known as Irresistible Attack in this assembled state (1993-1995, approximately 10 minutes).
  • Artwar Loop 1 and Artwar Loop 2, each is a 1-minute full-screen continuous loop edit of Fallout and Artwar 3 (1990s).
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The Assignation

The Assignation. Curtis Harrington, 1953.
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Edition screened: Included on Flicker Alley Blu-ray The Curtis Harrington Short Film Collection, released 2013. English language. Runtime approximately 8 minutes.


Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.



















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L’Atalante

L’Atalante (Le Chaland qui passe). Jean Vigo, 1934.
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Edition screened: Included on Criterion Blu-ray #578, The Complete Jean Vigo, released 2011. French language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 87 minutes.

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

Cats play prominently in some scenes. Occasionally they are handled (tossed) carelessly, but there is no real abuse apparent. First mate Père Jules (played by the great Michel Simon) is the cat fancier in the film, and his affectionate interaction with the animals contributes to L’Atalante’s appropriate status as one of the world’s very finest films.

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Ä€tman

Ä€tman. Toshio Matsumoto, 1975.
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Edition screened: Included on Cineliciouspics Blu-ray Funeral Parade of Roses, released 2017. No dialogue track, score by Toshi Ichiyanagi. Runtime approximately 11 minutes.


Summary: No animals or references to animals in the film.
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The Atomic Submarine

The Atomic Submarine. Spencer Gordon Bennet, 1959.
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Edition screened: Criterion DVD #366, included in Monsters and Madmen box set #364, released 2006. English language. Runtime approximately 72 minutes.


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














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Audition

Audition (Ôdishon). Takashi Miike, 1999.
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Edition screened: Arrow Blu-ray, released 2016. Japanese language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 115 minutes.

Summary: Murdered dog.

Details: Early in the movie we meet a nice house dog, who later is seen murdered and lying on the bloody floor with a broken neck, 1:33:53-1:33:58.

This short scene can be skipped with no harm done to the structure or comprehensibility of the film.


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The Autopsy of Jane Doe

The Autopsy of Jane Doe. André Øvredal, 2016.
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Edition screened: IFC Blu-ray, released 2017. English language. Runtime approximately 87 minutes.

Summary: A cat is attacked and subsequently killed.

Details: The cat who lives at a crematorium is found badly injured, near death, at 35:09. He is held gently and comforted by his owner, who then snaps the cat’s neck to end the presumed suffering at 35:49. The wrapped body is placed in the crematorium furnace, 36:20.


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