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.

9 Songs

9 Songs. Michael Winterbottom, 2004.

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Edition screened: Tartan DVD, released 2005. English language. Runtime approximately 69 minutes.

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

Bob Marley: One Love

Bob Marley: One Love. Reinaldo Marcus Green, 2024.

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Edition screened: Paramount Blu-ray, released 2024. English language. Runtime approximately 107 minutes.

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

The Chicken

The Chicken. Roberto Rossellini, 1952.

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Edition screened: Included on Criterion Blu-ray #675 Journey to Italy in Blu-ray set #672, 3 Films by Roberto Rossellini Starring Ingrid Bergman released 2013. English language. Runtime approximately 16 minutes.

Summary: Ingrid Bergman gets into a battle of wills with a chicken. The chicken is briefly shut in a cupboard but not injured.

The Chicken was Rossellini’s contribution to the omnibus film Siamo donne.

A Double Life

A Double Life. George Cukor, 1947.

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Edition screened: Olive DVD, released 2012. English language. Runtime approximately 104 minutes.

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

The Dreaming

The Dreaming. Mario Andreacchio, 1988.

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Edition screened: Included in Severin Blu-ray box set All the Haunts Be Ours: A Compendium of Folk Horror, released 2021. English language. Runtime approximately 77 minutes.

Summary: Mutilated sea lion.

Details: A decapitated and partially disemboweled sea lion is found on the beach, 1:04:08-1:04:13. Cathy drags the carcass into a pit she has dug in the sand and buries it, 1:05:11-1:05:30.

The The Dreaming BD in the Severin box set also includes Kadaicha (1988 James Bogle).

Homicide

Homicide. David Mamet, 1991.

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Edition screened: Criterion DVD #486, released 2009. English language. Runtime approximately 101 minutes.

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

Invincible Shaolin

Invincible Shaolin (Unbeatable Dragon/Nan Shao Lin yu bei Shao Lin). Chang Cheh, 1978.

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Edition screened: Included in the Arrow Blu-ray box set Shawscope: Volume Two, released 2022. Mandarin language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 106 minutes.

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

Joker

Joker. Todd Phillips, 2019.

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Edition screened: Warner Blu-ray, released 2020. English language. Runtime approximately 122 minutes.

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

Journey to Italy

Journey to Italy (Viaggio in Italia). Roberto Rossellini, 1954.

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Edition screened: Criterion Blu-ray #675 included in 3-Blu-ray set #672, 3 Films by Roberto Rossellini Starring Ingrid Bergman released 2013. English language. Runtime approximately 85 minutes.

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

The Journey to Italy BD includes good supplemental material, all free of animal violence although Ingrid Bergman does handle a chicken awkwardly through the last part of The Chicken.

My Dad Is 100 Years Old (Guy Maddin short film, 2005)
The Chicken (Roberto Rossellini short film, 1952)
The Rossellinis on Capri (Swedish newsreel, 1953)
Surprised by Death (James Quadt, 2013 film essay)
Living and Departed (Tag Gallagher film essay)
Ingrid Bergman Remembered (Gene Feldman comments, 1995)
Rossellini Through His Own Eyes (Walter Hart comments, 1992)
Comments by critic Adriano Apra
An interview with twin sisters Ingrid and Isabella Rossellini
Comments by Martin Scorsese

The Kid with the Golden Arm

The Kid with the Golden Arm (Jin bi tong). Chang Cheh, 1979.

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Edition screened: Included in the Arrow Blu-ray box set Shawscope: Volume Two, released 2022. Mandarin language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 86 minutes.

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

The Magnificent Ruffians

The Magnificent Ruffians (Mai ming xiao zi). Chang Cheh, 1979.

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Edition screened: Included in the Arrow Blu-ray box set Shawscope: Volume Two, released 2022. Mandarin language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 106 minutes.

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

My Dad Is 100 Years Old

My Dad Is 100 Years Old. Guy Maddin, 2005.

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Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

The Speech

The Speech (Le discours). Laurent Tirard, 2020.

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Edition screened: Warner Blu-ray, released 2021. French language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 87 minutes.

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

Ten Tigers of Kwangtung

Ten Tigers of Kwangtung (Guangdong shi hu xing yi wu xi). Chang Cheh, 1980.

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Edition screened: Included in the Arrow Blu-ray box set Shawscope: Volume Two, released 2022. Mandarin language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 91 minutes.

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

Truth or Die

Truth or Die (Truth or Dare). Robert Heath, 2012.

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Edition screened: Salient DVD, released 2012. English language. Runtime approximately 96 minutes.

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

Bad Girls Go to Hell

Bad Girls Go to Hell. Doris Wishman, 1965.

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Edition screened: Included in AGFA Blu-ray set The Films of Doris Wishman: The Moonlight Years. English language. Runtime approximately 65 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

The Beastmaster

The Beastmaster. Don Coscarelli, 1982.

😿 😿

Edition screened: Vinegar Syndrome UHD #VSU 01, released 2021. English language. Runtime approximately 118 minutes.

Summary: Depictions and implications of dead animals.

Details:

1) An ox lies on her side while a kneeling witch blocks our view of a fetus being removed from the animal’s stomach. We see a thin bloody incision as the witch leaves. 8:15-8:30.

2) A dog whimpers when he is shot with an arrow at 19:49, but manages to drag wounded Marc Singer to safety. Followed by several images of the dog lying dead, 21:00 - 21:58.

3) Marc Singer affectionately adds the dead dog to the funeral pyre of murdered villagers, 23:21-24:44

4) One of the two companion ferrets nearly drowns in quicksand saving Marc Singer, 30:00-30:40.

5) One of the two companion ferrets lunges at Rip Torn to save Marc Singer, and falls in the sacrificial fire, 1:39:05. There is no depiction of the animal actually hitting the flames.

6) Horses and riders are trapped in a moat of flaming tar, 1:44:36-1:46:00

Europe ’51

Europe ’51. Roberto Rossellini, 1952.

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Edition screened: Criterion Blu-ray #674 included in 3-Blu-ray set #672, 3 Films by Roberto Rossellini Starring Ingrid Bergman released 2013. English language with alternate Italian language version. Runtime approximately 118 minutes.

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

Friday the 13th Part 3

Friday the 13th Part 3. Steve Miner, 1982.

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Edition screened: Included in Paramount Friday the 13th: 8-Movie Collection DVD set, released 2017. English language. Runtime approximately 87 minutes.

Summary: Dead rabbits.

Details:

1) Dead rabbits found in their small hutch, 13:08-13:15.

2) A dead and slightly mutilated rabbit lies alongside the road, 21:10-21:13.

Indecent Desires

Indecent Desires. Doris Wishman, 1968.

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Edition screened: Included in AGFA Blu-ray set The Films of Doris Wishman: The Moonlight Years. English language. Runtime approximately 75 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

The Aviator’s Wife

The Aviator’s Wife: Comedies and Proverbs #1/6 (La femme de l'aviateur). Éric Rohmer, 1981.

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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 143 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

The Boy Friend

The Boy Friend. Ken Russell, 1971.

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Edition screened: Warner Archive Blu-ray, released 2017. English language. Runtime approximately 137 minutes.

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

The Day of the Beast

The Day of the Beast (El día de la bestia). Álex de la Iglesia, 1995.

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Edition screened: Severin UHD, released 2021. Spanish language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 104 minutes.

Summary: A woman prepares a rabbit in the kitchen and cuts it into pieces, 15:11 - 16:40.

Friday the 13th Part 2

Friday the 13th Part 2. Steve Miner, 1981.

😿😿

Edition screened: Included in Paramount Friday the 13th: 8-Movie Collection DVD set, released 2017. English language. Runtime approximately 87 minutes.

Summary: The mangled body of a small dog is found in the woods, 37:43-37:46.

Identifiable in the bar scene about 50 minutes in are a 1979 Bally KISS and a 1978 Williams Pokerino.

The Incredible Sex Revolution

The Incredible Sex Revolution. Albert Zugsmith, 1966.

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Edition screened: Included with On Her Bed of Roses in Vinegar Syndrome ‘Drive-In Collection’ DVD #093, released 2015. English language. Runtime approximately 112 minutes.

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

Love in the Afternoon

Love in the Afternoon: Six Moral Tales #6/6 (L'amour l’après-midi; Chloé in the Afternoon). Éric Rohmer, 1972.

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Edition screened: Blu-ray included in Potemkine box set Coffret Éric Rohmer, released 2013. French language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 95 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

On Her Bed of Roses

On Her Bed of Roses (Psychedelic Sexualis/Psychopathia Sexualis). Albert Zugsmith, 1966.

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Edition screened: Included with The Incredible Sex Revolution in Vinegar Syndrome ‘Drive-In Collection’ DVD #093, released 2015. English language. Runtime approximately 111 minutes.

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

Zatoichi’s Pilgrimage

Zatoichi’s Pilgrimage (Zatōichi umi o wataru). Kazuo Ikehiro, 1966.

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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 82 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence toward animals.

The fourteenth film in the Zatoichi series.

The Wolf Man

The Wolf Man. George Waggner, 1941.

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Edition screened: Included in Universal Classic Monsters Blu-ray set, released 2012. English language. Runtime approximately 70 minutes.

Summary: At the 18:00 minute mark Lon Chaney Jr. beats - a wolf - to death. This happens discreetly behind a tree with no impacts shown.

Throne of Blood

Throne of Blood (Kumonosu jô). Akira Kurosawa, 1957.

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Edition screened: Criterion Blu-ray #190, released 2014. Japanese language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 149 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence or harm to animals. A scattered rain of arrows targets men on horseback but there is no depiction of the horses being hit or hurt.

I consider this moody adaptation of Macbeth one of Kurosawa’a best films.

The Prince and the Nature Girl

The Prince and the Nature Girl (Nackt im Sommerwind). Doris Wishman, 1964.

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Edition screened: Included in AGFA Blu-ray set The Films of Doris Wishman: The Daylight Years. German language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 60 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Phantom of the Opera (Lubin)

Phantom of the Opera. Arthur Lubin, 1943.

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Edition screened: Included in Universal Classic Monsters Blu-ray set, released 2012. English language. Runtime approximately 93 minutes.

Summary: No particular depictions of violence toward animals.

Mondo Freudo

Mondo Freudo. Lee Frost, 1966.

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Edition screened: Included in Severin Blu-ray Mondo Freudo/Mondo Bizarro, released 2019. English language. Runtime approximately 76 minutes.

Summary: Staged religious ceremony with dead animals.

Details:

1) As part of an obviously phony satanic ritual, an already-dead chicken is suspended by the feet, stabbed, and we see blood drip (54:48 - 55:03). The chicken is tossed to the floor and occasionally visible in the background through 55:45.

2) Same scene, a fake-looking pig’s head on a table with blood on the face, 56:42 - 56:46, and again 59:11 - 59:18.

Mondo Bizarro

Mondo Bizarro. Lee Frost, 1966.

😿 😿

Edition screened: Included in Severin Blu-ray Mondo Freudo/Mondo Bizarro, released 2019. English language. Runtime approximately 80 minutes.

Summary: Animals murdered in a staged religious ceremony.

Details:

1) As part of a staged vodou ritual, a live chicken is beheaded and its blood drained into a a cup, followed by a small boa constrictor similarly beheaded and its blood drained into the same cup. This all happens at a distance and the image is dark and grainy, 11:00 - 12:20.

Mallrats

Mallrats. Kevin Smith, 1995.

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Edition screened: Arrow Blu-ray, released 2020. English language. Runtime approximately 94 minutes.

Summary: Mean humor about kittens.

Details:

1) The movie begins with a voice-over about killing kittens for an obscene reason, 00:20 - 00:52. The comic book-style opening credits come next, the best part of Mallrats by far.

2) We meet Jay 16:16 - 18:55, who pounds at the kittens on the glass pet shop window just like you never should.

Shannen Doherty’s performance is good and her physical appearance is lovely. The scattered vignettes of Jay and Silent Bob are somewhat entertaining. Everything else about Mallrats is wretched.

Mad Monkey Kung Fu

Mad Monkey Kung Fu (Feng hou). Liu Chia-Liang, 1979.

😿 😿 😿

Edition screened: Included in the Arrow Blu-ray box set Shawscope: Volume Two, released 2022. Mandarin language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 115 minutes.

Summary: Depicted abuse and murder of a trained monkey.

Details:

1) A street performer has a monkey on a chain leash. The monkey is made to perform backflips when the owner jerks him upward via the chain, 21:12-21:22.

2) The monkey is seized by thugs at 32:46, who swing the monkey violently in circles by his chain before smashing him against a tree. The dead monkey is tossed to the ground and picked up by his owner through 33:24.

The Invisible Man

The Invisible Man. James Whale, 1933.

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Edition screened: Included in Universal Classic Monsters Blu-ray set, released 2012. English language. Runtime approximately 72 minutes.

Summary: A young white cat is sprayed overall with something like pressurized black paint from a distance of about six feet, 1:02:21 - 1:02:24. This short scene is mean and upsetting.

I had been enjoying The Invisible Man much more than I expected to, but the short “comedy” scene with the poor cat ruined the movie somewhat.

I’m No Angel

I’m No Angel. Wesley Ruggles, 1933.

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Edition screened: Kino Lorber Blu-ray, released 2021. English language. Runtime approximately 87 minutes.

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

Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th. Sean S. Cunningham, 1980.

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Edition screened: ‘Uncut’ edition included in Paramount Friday the 13th: 8-Movie Collection DVD set, released 2017. English language. Runtime approximately 95 minutes.

Summary: A snake in a camp cabin is harassed by shrieking teens then hacked into pieces with a machete, 26:59 - 27:04.

Five Superfighters

Five Superfighters (Shao Lin da peng da shi). Lo Mar, 1979.

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Edition screened: Included in the Arrow Blu-ray box set Shawscope: Volume Two, released 2022. Mandarin language with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 100 minutes.

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

The Films of Doris Wishman: The Daylight Years

The Films of Doris Wishman: The Daylight Years. 1960-1964.

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Edition screened: AGFA Blu-ray, released 2022. English language. Combined runtime of feature films approximately 428 minutes.

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

Click on individual titles for additional information:

Hideout in the Sun (1960)

Nude on the Moon (1961)

Diary of a Nudist (1961)

Blaze Starr Goes Nudist (1962)

Gentlemen Prefer Nature Girls (1963)

The Prince and the Nature Girl (1964)

Diary of a Nudist

Diary of a Nudist. Doris Wishman, 1961.

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Edition screened: Included in AGFA Blu-ray set The Films of Doris Wishman: The Daylight Years. English language. Runtime approximately 72 minutes.

Summary: No depictions of violence or harm to animals.

Diary of a Nudist has the highest aspirations of these early Wishman films despite the female lead’s resemblance to Butt-Head in a blonde wig.

Creature from the Black Lagoon

Creature from the Black Lagoon. Jack Arnold, 1954.

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Edition screened: Included in Universal Classic Monsters Blu-ray set, released 2012. English language. Runtime approximately 80 minutes.

Summary: The surface of the lagoon is littered with dead fish after rotenone is put in the water, 44:07-44:23. The use of rotenone comes up several other times in the film, always emphasizing that the fish are drunk and will recover in a few hours. No.

Concerning Violence

Concerning Violence (Om våld). Göran Hugo Olsson, 2014.

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Edition screened: Reported with reliability. Swedish with English subtitles. Runtime approximately 90 minutes.

Summary: The film begins with cows being shot, and was watched no further.