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.

A Woman’s Torment

A Woman’s Torment. Roberta Findlay (as Robert W. Norman), 1977.
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Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray #194, released 2017. English language. Runtime approximately 84 minutes.

Summary: No animals or references to animals in the film. 3.5/5❤

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Women at Play/Good Girls, Bad Girls

Women at Play/Good Girls, Bad Girls. Ron Dorfman (as Art Ben), 1984.
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Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome DVD #217 Peekarama: Women at Play/Good Girls, Bad Girls, released 2018. English language. Cumulative runtime approximately 191 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals in either feature.

Women at Play. 1984, approximately 85 minutes. 3/5❤
Good Girls, Bad Girls. 1984, approximately 83 minutes. 4.5/5❤



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Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios). Pedro Almodóvar, 1988.
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Edition screened: MGM ‘World Film’ DVD, released 2001. Spanish language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 89 minutes.


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

The Wonder Ring. Stan Brakhage, 1955.
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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 5 minutes, 34 seconds.


Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

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The Wormwood Star

The Wormwood Star. Curtis Harrington, 1955.
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Edition screened: Included on Flicker Alley Blu-ray The Curtis Harrington Short Film Collection, released 2013. English language. Runtime approximately 10 minutes.


Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.




















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Yellow

Yellow. Ryan Haysom, 2012.
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Edition screened: Included on Arrow’s Blood and Black Lace Blu-ray, released 2015. English language. Runtime approximately 26 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.



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Yggdrasill: Whose Roots Are Stars in the Human Mind

Yggdrasill: Whose Roots Are Stars in the Human Mind. Stan Brakhage, 1997.
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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 16 minutes, 58 seconds.


Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

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Young Girls Do

Young Girls Do. Bob Vossé, 1984.
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Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome DVD #206, released 2018. English language. Runtime approximately 76 minutes.

Summary: No animals or references to animals in the film. 2/5❤


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Yumeji

Yumeji. Seijun Suzuki, 1991.
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Edition screened: Included in Arrow Blu-ray set The Taishō Roman Trilogy, released 2017. Japanese language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 128 minutes.

Summary: Display of a cow’s head.

Details:
1) A black cow’s head is lying on the ground, 24:32-24:34.
2) The same cow’s head is shown as a centerpiece in a display of food three times: 1:42:34-50; 1:47:35-46; and 2:01:30-36.

This prop is not bloody or intentionally gruesome. 




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Yumurta

Yumurta (Egg). Semih Kaplanoğlu, 2007.
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Edition screened: Included in Artificial Eye box set The Yusuf Trilogy, released 2011. Turkish language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 97 minutes.

Summary: Ram slaughter.

Details: A ram is ceremonially slaughtered, barely below screen, 1:16:11-1:16:36, followed by a stagnant shot of women ceremonially butchering the body, 1:17:13-1:17:43.

While these scenes are not especially graphic, the slaughter is a disappointing surprise. Earlier in the film we hear that a ram sacrifice has been promised, but then we are relieved when that event seems to be derailed. It is a disappointing turn-around then to see a beautiful ram with his feet bound lifted from the back of a car at a ceremonial destination.









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The Yusuf Trilogy

The Yusuf Trilogy. Semih Kaplanoğlu, 2007-2010.
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Edition screened: Artificial Eye DVD box set, released 2011. Turkish language with English subtitles. Cumulative runtime approximately 299 minutes.

Summary: Each of these otherwise clean films has some minor, unfortunate, and unnecessary action with the bodies of dead animals.

The Artificial Eye set includes all three films of The Yusuf Trilogy. Click on individual titles for details.

Yumurta (2007)
Süt (2008)
Bal (2010)

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Zatoichi on the Road

Zatoichi on the Road (Zatōichi kenka-tabi). Kimiyoshi Yasuda, 1963.
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Edition screened: In Criterion Blu-ray box set #679 Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman, released 2013. Japanese language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 87 minutes.
Summary: No depictions of violence toward animals.


The fifth film in the Zatoichi series.
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Zatoichi the Fugitive

Zatoichi the Fugitive (Zatōichi kyōjō-tabi). Tokuzo Tanaka, 1963.
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Edition screened: In Criterion Blu-ray box set #679 Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman, released 2013. Japanese language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 86 minutes.

 Summary: No depictions of violence toward animals.
The fourth film in the Zatoichi series.

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Zéro de conduite

Zéro de conduite (Zero for Conduct / Zéro de conduite: Jeunes diables au collège). Jean Vigo, 1933.
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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 45 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.
















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Zigeunerweisen

Zigeunerweisen. Seijun Suzuki, 1980.
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Edition screened: Included in Arrow Blu-ray set The Taishō Roman Trilogy, released 2017. Japanese language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 144 minutes.


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













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Zombie Strippers

Zombie Strippers. Jay Lee, 2008.
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Edition screened: Sony Blu-ray, released 2008. English language. Runtime approximately 94 minutes.


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

Zoology (Zoologiya). Ivan I. Tverdovskiy 2016.
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Edition screened: Arrow Blu-ray, released 2017. Russian language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 91 minutes.

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

Zoology is rife with animals and references to them. Frequently there is a tense feeling that some animal is about to be injured, but it doesn’t happen. A drawer full of mice are dumped out on the floor, and a family grieves over the death of a house cat we never see. That’s as bad as it gets.
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“. . .” Reel Five

“. . .” Reel Five (Ellipses Reel Five). Stan Brakhage, 1998.
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Edition screened: Included in Criterion Blu-ray box set #518 By Brakhage: An Anthology, Volumes One and Two, released 2010. Scored, no dialogue track. Runtime 14 minutes, 6 seconds.


Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

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1 (The Beatles 1)

1 (The Beatles 1). Various directors, 1963-1995.
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Edition screened: Universal Blu-ray, released 2015. English language. Runtime approximately 110 minutes.


Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals.
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3 Documentaries by Alex de Renzy

3 Documentaries by Alex de Renzy. Alex de Renzy, 1970-1971.
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Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome DVD #144, released 2016. English language. Runtime approximately 292 minutes.

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

The Vinegar Syndrome DVD compiles three early films by de Renzy. Click on individual titles for details.

Weed (1971)

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3 Films by Roberto Rossellini Starring Ingrid Bergman

3 Films by Roberto Rossellini Starring Ingrid Bergman. Roberto Rossellini, 1950-1954.
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Edition screened: Criterion Blu-ray set #672, released 2013. English and Italian language with English subtitles. Cumulative runtime of feature films approximately 309 minutes.

Summary: Stromboli includes graphic images of large tuna being mutilated while still alive. The other two films contain no animal violence.


The Criterion set includes the Rossellini features
Stromboli (1950)
Europe ’51 (1952)

and supplemental material including

Surprised by Death (James Quadt, 2013)
Ingrid Bergman Remembered (Gene Feldman, 1995)
My Dad Is 100 Years Old (Guy Maddin, 2005)

Rossellini Under the Volcano (Walter Hart, 1988)

The Chicken (Roberto Rossellini, 1952)

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5 Years • 5 Films Vol. 1: Golden Age Erotica

5 Years • 5 Films Vol. 1: Golden Age Erotica. Various directors, 1978-1985.
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Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray set #201, released 2018. English language. Cumulative runtime approximately 415 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. 2: Horror and Exploitation

5 Years • 5 Films Vol. 2: Horror and Exploitation. Various directors, 1962-1984.
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Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray set #202, released 2018. English language. Cumulative runtime approximately 428 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.

The Hang Up (1970)
The Muthers (1976)
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16 Days of Glory

16 Days of Glory. Bud Greenspan, 1986.
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Edition screened: Included in Criterion’s 100 Years of Olympic Films 1912-2012 Blu-ray box set #900, released 2017. English language. Runtime approximately 284 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

A documentary about the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics, featuring star athletes including Carl Lewis, Mary Lou Retton, Joan Benoit, and Greg Louganis.




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23rd Psalm Branch

23rd Psalm Branch. Stan Brakhage, 1967.
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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 63 minutes, 47 seconds.


Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

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24 Films

24 Films. Jeff Keen, 1972-75.
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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. Runtime approximately 18 minutes.


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

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47 Ronin

47 Ronin. Carl Rinsch, 2013.
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Edition screened: Universal Blu-ray, released 2014. English language. Runtime approximately 119 minutes.

Summary: Animals killed during fantasy combat.

Details:
1) Numerous horses are killed during the rampage of a huge fantasy beast, 6:28-7:17.
2) A dragon (an evil dragon) is slain, 1:36:50-1:37:25.

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88

88. April Mullen, 2015.
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Edition screened: Millennium Blu-ray, released 2015. English language. Runtime approximately 88 minutes.


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