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.

C titles


click Title for details Animal Violence Immaculate Corpse
Cabaret Substantial The expansive middle
Cabin Boy Minimal The expansive middle
Cabin Fever Substantial The expansive middle
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Clean The elusive top
Caddyshack Clean The expansive middle
Caesar and Cleopatra Clean The expansive middle
California Gigolo Clean The expansive middle
The California Kid Clean The expansive middle
California Suite Clean The expansive middle
Caligula Minimal The smeary bottom
The Caller (Parkhill) Clean The expansive middle
The Caller (Seidelman) Minimal The expansive middle
The Calm Clean The expansive middle
Caltiki: The Immortal Monster Clean The expansive middle
Calvaire Substantial The expansive middle
Camera Buff Minimal The expansive middle
Camera Test Clean The expansive middle
Cameramen at War Clean The expansive middle
Camille 2000 Clean The expansive middle
Camouflage Clean The expansive middle
Candy Goes to Hollywood Clean The expansive middle
The Candy Snatchers Clean The expansive middle
The Candy Tangerine Man Clean The expansive middle
Cannibal Holocaust Extreme The smeary bottom
Capitalism: Child Labor Clean The expansive middle
Capitalism: Slavery Clean The expansive middle
La Captive (Akerman) Clean The expansive middle
The Captive (Egoyan) Clean The expansive middle
The Captive (Laloux) Clean The expansive middle
The Car Clean The expansive middle
Car Wash Clean The expansive middle
Careful Minimal The elusive top
The Carl Theodor Dreyer Collection Clean The expansive middle
Carlos Clean The expansive middle
Carnage Substantial The expansive middle your bunny
Carnal Go-Round Clean The expansive middle
Carnal Haven Clean The expansive middle
Carnal Highways Clean The expansive middle
Carnal Olympics Clean The expansive middle
Carnival of Souls Clean The expansive middle
Carousella Clean The expansive middle
Carrots & Peas Clean The expansive middle
The Carter Family: Will the Circle Be Unbroken Clean The expansive middle
The Cartoon Theatre of Dr Gaz Clean The elusive top
Carving Magic Clean The expansive middle
Casa de Lava Minimal The expansive middle
Casablanca Clean The expansive middle
The Case of the Grinning Cat  Clean The expansive middle
Cashback Clean The expansive middle
Casino Clean The expansive middle
Casino Royale (Campbell) Clean The expansive middle
Casque d'or Clean The expansive middle
The Castaways of Turtle Island Clean The expansive middle
Cat Listening to Music Clean The expansive middle
The Cat of the Worm's Green Realm Clean The expansive middle
Cat People (Schrader) Substantial The expansive middle
Cat People (Tourneur) Substantial The expansive middle wartime ethics
Cat Run Minimal The smeary bottom
Cat's Cradle Clean The expansive middle
The Cat's Meow Clean The expansive middle
Catch My Soul Clean The expansive middle
Catfight Clean The expansive middle
Catharsis Clean The expansive middle
Cathouse Fever Clean The expansive middle
Cavalcade of Archery Clean The expansive middle
Cave of Forgotten Dreams Clean The expansive middle
Ceiling Clean The expansive middle
Celebrity Clean The expansive middle
Celia Heavy The expansive middle
Céline and Julie Go Boating Clean The elusive top
The Cement Garden Clean The expansive middle
Cemetery of Terror Clean The expansive middle
Cemetery Without Crosses Heavy The expansive middle
Le Cercle rouge Clean The expansive middle
La Cérémonie Clean The expansive middle
Certain Women Clean The expansive middle
Certified Copy Clean The elusive top
César Clean The expansive middle
César et Rosalie Clean The expansive middle
Chafed Elbows Clean The expansive middle
Chains Clean The expansive middle
A Chairy Tale Clean The expansive middle
The Challenge of Manufacturing Extreme The expansive middle
Challenge of the Masters Clean The expansive middle
Le Chambre Clean The expansive middle
Chambre jaune Clean The expansive middle
The Changeling Clean The expansive middle
The Changes Minimal The expansive middle
Chanson d'armor Clean The expansive middle
Le Chant du styrène Clean The expansive middle
Chantal Akerman in the Seventies (Eclipse 19) Clean The expansive middle
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Clean The expansive middle
Charlotte and Her Boyfriend Clean The expansive middle
A Chat with Nini Clean The expansive middle
Chelsea Bridge Boys Clean The expansive middle
Cherry Flip Clean The expansive middle
Chicken with Vinegar Clean The expansive middle
Chiefs Clean The expansive middle
Un Chien Andalou Minimal The elusive top
The Child Substantial The expansive middle
A Child's Alphabet w/ Casual Referneces to DNA Replication Clean The expansive middle
Child's Play Clean The expansive middle
Children (Davies) Clean The expansive middle
The Children (Kalmanowicz) Minimal The expansive middle
Children of Men Minimal The expansive middle
Children of Paradise  Clean The expansive middle
Children of the Corn Clean The expansive middle
Children of the Damned Substantial The expansive middle
The Chill Factor Clean The expansive middle
China & Silk Clean The expansive middle
China Girl Clean The smeary bottom
China Lust Clean The expansive middle
Chinatown Clean The expansive middle
Chinatown Kid Clean The expansive middle
Chinese Roulette Minimal The expansive middle
Chinese Series Clean The expansive middle
Chloe Clean The expansive middle
Choke Clean The expansive middle
Chris Marker Collection Substantial The expansive middle
Christine (Clarke) CleanThe expansive middle
A Christmas Accident Minimal The expansive middle
A Christmas Carol (1910, unknown director) Clean The expansive middle
Christmas Carole (Varda) Clean The expansive middle
A Christmas Family Tragedy Clean The expansive middle
A Christmas Inventory Clean The expansive middle
A Christmas Past: Vintage Holiday Films Minimal The expansive middle
A Christmas Story (Clark) Clean The expansive middle
A Christmas Story Christmas Clean The expansive middle
A Christmas Tale (Desplechin) Clean The expansive middle
Christo in Paris Clean The expansive middle
Christo's Valley Curtain Clean The expansive middle
The Chronicles of Riddick Clean The expansive middle
C.H.U.D. Heavy The expansive middle
Chumlum Clean The expansive middle
Le ciel est à vous  Clean The expansive middle
La Cienaga Heavy The expansive middle
The Cincinnati Kid Substantial The expansive middle
Cinéastes de notre temps: Jean Vigo Clean The expansive middle
Cineblatz Clean The expansive middle
Cinerama's Russian Adventure Heavy The expansive middle
Citizen Kane Clean The elusive top
City Girl Clean The expansive middle
City Hall Clean The expansive middle
City Lights Clean The elusive top
City of God Substantial The expansive middle
City of Lost Children Clean The expansive middle
City of the Dead (Horror Hotel) Minimal The expansive middle
City of the Living Dead Minimal The smeary bottom
City of Women Clean The expansive middle
The City Tramp Clean The expansive middle
City Walk Clean The expansive middle
Civic DutyCleanThe expansive middle
Claire Dolan Minimal The expansive middle 9 minus 1
Claire’s Knee Clean The expansive middle
The Class Clean The expansive middle
Classe tous risques Clean The expansive middle
Classical Romance Clean The expansive middle
Clean, Shaven Substantial The expansive middle
Cléo from 5 to 7 Minimal The elusive top
Cléo from 5 to 7: Remembrances  Clean The expansive middle
Cléo's Real Path Through Paris Clean The expansive middle
Cleopatra Clean The expansive middle
The Clerk Clean The expansive middle
Climax Clean The expansive middle
A Climax of Blue Power Clean The expansive middle
The Climber Clean The expansive middle
Clinical Sex Clean The expansive middle
The Clowns (Fellini) Clean The expansive middle
Close-Up Clean The expansive middle
Closely Observed Trains Heavy The expansive middle
The Cloud-Capped Star Clean The expansive middle
Cloud Phenomena of Maloja Clean The expansive middle
Cloverfield Clean The expansive middle
The Club of the Laid Off Clean The expansive middle
Coal Miner’s Daughter Clean The expansive middle
Cobra Verde Minimal The expansive middle
Coco Chanel Clean The expansive middle
The Cocoanuts Clean The expansive middle
Code Name Melville Clean The expansive middle
Code Unknown Substantial The elusive top
Coffee and Cigarettes Clean The expansive middle
The Coffin Joe Collection Substantial The expansive middle
Coffin Joe: The Strange World of José Mojica Marin Clean The expansive middle
Coffret Éric Rohmer Clean The expansive middle
Coffy Clean The expansive middle
Cold Creek Manor Heavy The expansive middle
Cold Fish Clean The expansive middle
Cold War Clean The expansive middle
Collette Clean The expansive middle
Collateral  Clean The expansive middle
Colombiana  Clean The expansive middle
Color Me Blood Red Clean The expansive middle
Color Me Kubrick Clean The expansive middle
The Color of Armenian Land Clean The expansive middle
The Color of Pomegranates Heavy The elusive top
Colt 38 Special Squad Clean The expansive middle
Come Back, Africa Clean The expansive middle
Come Drink with Me Clean The expansive middle
Come Deadly Clean The expansive middle
Come Have Coffee with Us Clean The expansive middle
Come On Children Clean The expansive middle
Come Under My Spell Clean The smeary bottom
The Coming of Sin Clean The expansive middle
Commando Fury Clean The smeary bottom
La commare secca Clean The expansive middle
Commingled Containers Clean The expansive middle
Committed Clean The expansive middle
Common Law Wife Clean The expansive middle
Commuters (from Big Town) Clean The expansive middle
The Complete Humphrey Jennings 2: Fires Were Started Clean The expansive middle
The Complete Jacques Tati Minimal The expansive middle
The Complete Jean Vigo Clean The elusive top
The Complete Monterey Pop Festival Clean The expansive middle
The Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection Substantial Mixed set
Computer Chess Clean The expansive middle
Comrades Minimal The elusive top
Concerning Violence Substantia The expansive middle
The Concert Clean The expansive middle
The Concert for Bangladesh Clean The expansive middle
Concert of Requests Clean The expansive middle
Concorde Clean The expansive middle
Conduct Phase Clean The expansive middle
Confessions (McDowell) Clean The expansive middle
Confessions (Spinelli) Clean The expansive middle
Confessions of a Teenage Peanut Butter Freak Clean The expansive middle
Confessions of a Young American Housewife Clean The expansive middle
The Conformist Clean The expansive middle
The Conjuring Minimal The expansive middle
The Conjuring 2 Clean The expansive middle
The Constant Gardner Clean The expansive middle
Contact (Clarke) Clean The expansive middle
Contagion Minimal The expansive middle
Contamination  Substantial The expansive middle
Contempt Clean The expansive middle
Conversation Piece Clean The elusive top
Convulsion Explosion Clean The expansive middle
Cooking Clean The expansive middle
Copycat (Amiel) Clean The expansive middle
Copycat (Lyne) Clean The expansive middle
Le Corbeu Clean The expansive middle
Corner in Wheat Clean The expansive middle
Corporate Assets Clean The expansive middle
Corpse Bride Clean The expansive middle
Corpse Fucking Art Clean The expansive middle
The Corpse Grinders Heavy The expansive middle
The Corpse Grinders II Clean The smeary bottom
Corridors of Blood Clean The expansive middle
Corruption Clean The expansive middle
The Corruption of Chris Miller Substantial The expansive middle
Cosmos (Żuławski) Substantial The expansive middle
Cotton Comes to Harlem Minimal The expansive middle
Count Dracula's Great Love Clean The expansive middle
Count Yorga, Vampire Substantial The expansive middle
Countdown Clean The expansive middle
The Country Comes to Town Clean The expansive middle babbling
Coup de grâce Substantial The expansive middle
Couples Retreat Clean The smeary bottom
Cours du soir  Clean The smeary bottom
Cousin cousine Minimal The expansive middle
Le cousins Clean The expansive middle
Cowards Bend the Knee Clean The expansive middle
The Cowboy and the Frenchman Minimal The expansive middle
CQ Clean The expansive middle
Crack (Moritsugu) Clean The expansive middle
Crack Glass Eulogy Clean The expansive middle
The Cranes Are Flying Clean The elusive top
Crash (Cronenberg) Clean The elusive top
Crash (Haggis) Clean The expansive middle
La Cravate Clean The expansive middle
The Craven Sluck Clean The expansive middle
The Crazies Minimal The expansive middle
Crazy Nights  Clean The expansive middle
Crazy, Stupid, Love.  Clean The expansive middle
Creature from the Black Lagoon  Minimal The expansive middle
The Creatures  Substantial The expansive middle
The Creeping Flesh Heavy The expansive middle
The Creeping Garden Clean The expansive middle
Creepshow 2 Clean The smeary bottom
The Cremator Clean The expansive middle
Cría cuervos Clean The elusive top
Cries and Whispers Clean The elusive top
Crimes and Misdemeanors Clean The expansive middle
Crimes of Passional Clean The expansive middle
Crimson Peak Minimal The expansive middle
Crippled Avengers Clean The expansive middle
Crisis Clean The expansive middle
Critical Mass Clean The expansive middle
Crocus Clean The expansive middle
Cronos Minimal The expansive middle
The Cruise of the Zaca Minimal The expansive middle
Crumb Clean The elusive top
Cry for Cindy Clean The expansive middle
The Cry of the Owl Minimal The expansive middle
Cry Wilderness Clean The expansive middle
Crying Blue Sky Substantial The elusive top
Crypt of the Living Dead Substantial The expansive middle
Cuadecuc, vampir Clean The expansive middle
Cuba Libre Clean The expansive middle
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Clean The expansive middle
The Curious Dr. Humpp Clean The expansive middle
The Curse of Her Flesh Minimal The expansive middle
The Curse of the Cat People Minimal The expansive middle gentle magic
Curse of the Puppet Master Clean The expansive middle
The Curse of the Werewolf Heavy The expansive middle
The Curtis Harrington Short Film Collection Clean The expansive middle
The Curve Clean The expansive middle
The Cut-Throats Clean The smeary bottom Jimmy Johnson
Cute Girl Clean The expansive middle
Cutting Class Clean The expansive middle
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