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.

M titles



click Title for details Animal Violence Immaculate Corpse
M Clean The elusive top
M. Hulot's Holiday Clean The expansive middle
Ma mère Clean The expansive middle
Macbeth (Welles) Clean The expansive middle
Machete Clean The expansive middle
Machine Animal Clean The expansive middle
The Machine of Eden Clean The expansive middle
The Machinist Clean The expansive middle
Macon County Line Minimal The expansive middle
Mad Love (Keen) Clean The elusive top
Mad Love: The Films of Evgeni Bauer Clean The expansive middle
Mad Max Substantial The expansive middle
Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome Clean The expansive middle
Mad Max: Fury Road Minimal The expansive middle
Mad Monkey Kung Fu Heavy The expansive middle
Madame Bovary Clean The expansive middle
Made in Britain Clean The expansive middle
Madhouse Substantial The expansive middle
Madman Clean The smeary bottom Renoir
The Madness of King George Clean The expansive middle
Madonna and Child Clean The expansive middle
Madonna of the Seven Moons Clean The expansive middle
The Maestro: King of the Cowboy Artists Clean The expansive middle
The Maestro Rides Again! Clean The expansive middle
Magellan: At the Gates of Death, Part I: The Red Gate Clean The expansive middle
Magic Clean The expansive middle
The Magic Flute Clean The expansive middle
The Magic Treasure Clean The expansive middle
Magical Mystery Tour Clean The elusive top
The Magician Clean The expansive middle
Magick Lantern Cycle Substantial The expansive middle
The Magnificent Ambersons (Welles) Clean The expansive middle
Magnificent Obsession Clean The expansive middle
Magnolia Heavy The expansive middle
The Magus Substantial The expansive middle
Mahler (Russell) Minimal The expansive middle
Mai Lin vs. Serena Clean The expansive middle
Maid in Sweden Clean The expansive middle
The Maids Clean The expansive middle
Maine Océan Clean The expansive middle
La Maison Tellier Clean The expansive middle
The Major and the Minor Clean The expansive middle
Major Barbara Clean The expansive middle
Make Way for Tomorrow Clean The expansive middle
The Making of "Autumn Sonata" Clean The expansive middle
The Making of "Fanny and Alexander" Clean The expansive middle
Mako: The Jaws of Death Substantial The expansive middle
Malabimba Clean The expansive middle
Malatesta's Carnival of Blood Clean The expansive middle
Malibu Express Clean The expansive middle
Malibu High Clean The smeary bottom
Mall Rats Minimal The smeary bottom
The Maltese Falcon Clean The expansive middle
Mammals Clean The expansive middle
The Mammals of Victoria Clean The expansive middle
A Man and a Woman Clean The expansive middle
The Man in the Glass Booth Clean The expansive middle
Man Marked for Death, 20 Years Later Clean The expansive middle
Man of a Thousand Faces Clean The expansive middle
Man of the West Clean The expansive middle
Man of Violence Clean The expansive middle
A Man Vanishes Clean The expansive middle
The Man We Want to Hang Clean The expansive middle
The Man Who Fell to Earth Clean The expansive middle
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) Clean The expansive middle
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) Clean The expansive middle
The Man Who Lies Clean The expansive middle
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance Clean The expansive middle
The Man Who Wasn't There Clean The expansive middle
The Man with a Movie Camera Clean The expansive middle
The Man with a Shotgun Minimal The expansive middle
The Man with the Cigar in His Mouth Clean The expansive middle
The Man with the Golden Gun Clean The expansive middle
Man Yuk: A Portrait of Maggie Cheung Clean The expansive middle
Management Clean The expansive middle
The Manchurian Candidate Clean The expansive middle
Manhatta Clean The expansive middle
Manhattan Clean The expansive middle
Manhattan Murder Mystery Clean The expansive middle
Mania Clean The expansive middle
Maniac (Khalfoun) Clean The expansive middle
Maniac (Lustig) Clean The expansive middle
Manic Cop Clean The expansive middle
Manon 70 Clean The expansive middle
Manon of the Spring Substantial The expansive middle
Man's Peril: The Making of 'Good Times, Wonderful Times' Clean The expansive middle
Manual of Arms Clean The expansive middle
Marie Antoinette Clean The expansive middle
Mario Banana (No. 1) Clean The expansive middle
Marius Clean The expansive middle
Mark of the Devil Clean The expansive middle
Mark of the Witch Clean The expansive middle
Market Update Clean The expansive middle
Marketa Lazarová Heavy The elusive top
The Marquise of O Clean The expansive middle
The Marriage of Maria Braun Clean The expansive middle
A Married Couple Clean The expansive middle
A Married Woman: Fragments of a Film Shot in 1964 in Black and White Clean The elusive top
Marseille Clean The expansive middle
Marseille Trilogy Clean The elusive top
Marsha: The Erotic Housewife Clean The expansive middle
Martha Marcy May Marlene Minimal The expansive middle
Martin Heavy The expansive middle
Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project No. 1 Extreme The expansive middle
Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project No. 2 Substantial The expansive middle
Martyrs Minimal The expansive middle
Marvo Movie Clean The elusive top
Mary Last Seen Clean The expansive middle
Mary! Mary! Clean The expansive middle
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Minimal The expansive middle
Mascara Clean The expansive middle
M*A*S*H Clean The expansive middle
Le Masque Clean The expansive middle
The Mass Clean The expansive middle
The Massacre Clean The expansive middle
Massacre Gun Clean The expansive middle
Massacre Time Clean The expansive middle
The Master Clean The expansive middle
Master of the House Clean The expansive middle
Match Point Clean The expansive middle
Matinee Idol Clean The expansive middle
The Matrix Clean The expansive middle
The Matrix Reloaded Clean The expansive middle
The Matrix Revolutions Clean The expansive middle
Mausoleum Clean The expansive middle
Maxwell's Demon Clean The expansive middle
Maya Deren: Experimental Films Clean The expansive middle
McCabe & Mrs. Miller Clean The expansive middle
Me, Myself, & Irene Heavy The smeary bottom
Meatdaze Clean The expansive middle
Medea (von Trier) Clean The expansive middle
Meditation on Violence Clean The expansive middle
Medium Cool Clean The expansive middle
Medium Cool Revisited Clean The expansive middle Glenn Beck
Meek's Cutoff Clean The expansive middle
Meet Jackie Coogan Clean The expansive middle
The Meeting Clean The expansive middle
The Meg Substantial The expansive middle
The Meg 2: The Trench Minimal The expansive middle
Mein Papi Clean The expansive middle
Melancholia Minimal The elusive top
La Melangite Clean The expansive middle
Memento Clean The expansive middle
Memorial Valley Massacre (Memorial Day) Clean The expansive middle
Memories of Murder Clean The expansive middle
Memories Within Miss Aggie Clean The expansive middle
Memory for Max, Claire, Ida and Company Clean The expansive middle
Men in Black Minimal The expansive middle
The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail Clean The expansive middle
The Menu Clean The expansive middle
The Mephisto Waltz Substantial The expansive middle
The Merchant of Four Seasons Clean The expansive middle
Merci pour le chocolat Clean The expansive middle
Meshes in the Afternoon Clean The elusive top
The Mesmerist Clean The expansive middle
Message of Stones Part II Clean The expansive middle
Message of Stones Part III Clean The expansive middle
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc Clean The expansive middle
Metastasis: Shinchin taisha Clean The expansive middle
Metropolis (Lang) Clean The elusive top
Metropolis (Moroder) Clean The expansive middle
Mexican Footage (Eisenstein) Clean The expansive middle
The Mezzotint (Bell) Clean The expansive middle
The Mezzotint (Fox) Clean The expansive middle
¡Mi burro! Clean The expansive middle
Michael (Schleinzer) Minimal The expansive middle
Michael Clayton Clean The expansive middle
Michael Haneke: Trilogy Heavy The elusive top
Michelangelo Eye to Eye Clean The expansive middle
Microwave Massacre Clean The expansive middle
Midnight in Paris Clean The expansive middle
Midsommar Minimal The expansive middle
A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy Clean The expansive middle
Mighty Aphrodite Clean The expansive middle
The Mighty Peking Man Heavy The smeary bottom
A Mighty Wind Clean The expansive middle
Mildred Pierce (Curtiz) Clean The expansive middle
Mildred Pierce (Haynes) Clean The expansive middle
Milk (Arnold) Clean The expansive middle
Mill of the Stone Women Clean The expansive middle
Miller's Crossing Clean The expansive middle
Millhouse: A White Comedy Clean The expansive middle
Le Million Clean The expansive middle
Mimic Minimal The expansive middle
Miracle in Milan Clean The expansive middle
Mirror (Schorstein) Clean The expansive middle
Mirror (Tarkovsky) Minimal The elusive top
The Mischief Makers Clean The expansive middle
Les Misérables (Bernard) Clean The elusive top
Les Misérables (Hooper: warning! The Musical) Clean The expansive middle
The Miser's Heart Clean The expansive middle
Misery Clean The expansive middle
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters Clean The expansive middle
Miss Thompson Goes Shopping Clean The expansive middle
Missing Close-Ups Clean The expansive middle
Mission: Impossible (De Palma) Clean The expansive middle
Mister Lonely Minimal The expansive middle
Misterio Clean The expansive middle
Moana: With Sound Substantial The expansive middle
Moby Dick Heavy The expansive middle
Mod Fuck Explosion Substantial The expansive middle
Le Modèle Clean The elusive top
A Modern Coed Heavy The expansive middle
Modern Times Clean The elusive top
A Moment of Silence at the Grave of Ed Gein Clean The expansive middle
Momma Don't Allow Clean The expansive middle
Mon oncle Antoine Clean The expansive middle
Mona Lisa (Jordan) Clean The expansive middle
Mona Lisa (Matsumoto) Clean The expansive middle
Monamour Clean The expansive middle
Mondo Bizarro Substantial The expansive middle
Mondo Freudo Minimal The expansive middle
The Money Machine Clean The expansive middle
Monkey Business Clean The expansive middle
Monkey's Teeth Clean The expansive middle
Monsieur Verdoux Clean The expansive middle a real prince
Monster (Jenkins) Clean The expansive middle
Monster (Kent) Minimal The expansive middle
Monster a Go-Go Clean The expansive middle
Monsters and Madmen Minimal The expansive middle
Monsters Crash the Pajama Party Clean The expansive middle
Montery Pop Clean The expansive middle
Monterey Pop: The Outtake Performances Clean The expansive middle
Monty Python and the Holy Grail Minimal The expansive middle
Mood Boobs Clean The expansive middle
Moonfall Clean The expansive middle
Moonraker Substantial The smeary bottom
Moonrise Kingdom Substantial The expansive middle
Moonshine Mountain Clean The expansive middle
Moonstruck Clean The expansive middle
Moony's Kids Don't Cry Clean The smeary bottom
More (Ell) Clean The expansive middle
More (Schroeder) Minimal The expansive middle
More Than Sisters Clean The expansive middle
More Things That Happened Clean The elusive top
Morocco Clean The elusive top
Mortal Engines Clean The expansive middle
Morvern Callar Clean The expansive middle
The Mosaic Code Clean The expansive middle
Moscow Zero Clean The expansive middle
The Most Beautiful Clean The expansive middle
mother! Clean The elusive top
Mother Joan of the Angels Clean The expansive middle
Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven Clean The expansive middle
Mother Night Clean The expansive middle
The Mothering Heart Clean The expansive middle
Mothlight Clean The expansive middle
Moulin Rouge (Huston) Clean The expansive middle
Mountaintop Motel Massacre Minimal The smeary bottom
The Mourning Forest Clean The expansive middle
Movie That Invites Pausing Clean The expansive middle
Mr. Hoover and I Clean The elusive top
Mr. Marsh Comes to School Clean The expansive middle
Ms. 45 Minimal The expansive middle
Ms. Magnificent. Clean The smeary bottom
The Muffled Hammerfall in Action Clean The expansive middle
Mulholland Drive Clean The elusive top
Multiple Maniacs Clean The expansive middle
The Mummy (Freund) Clean The expansive middle
Mur murs Minimal The expansive middle
Murder (Polanski) Clean The expansive middle
Murder in Winter Clean The smeary bottom
Murder on the Emerald Seas Clean The expansive middle
Murder Psalm Clean The expansive middle
Murder Unincorporated Clean The smeary bottom
Murder Weapon Clean The expansive middle
The Murderer Lives at 21 Clean The expansive middle
Muriel, or The Time of Return Clean The elusive top
Murita Cycles Clean The expansive middle
Muscles and Bustles Clean The expansive middle
The Music of Michel Legrand Clean The expansive middle
The Musicians (Karabasz) Clean The expansive middle
The Musketeers of Pig Alley Clean The expansive middle
The Mutant Chronicles Clean The expansive middle
Mutant War Clean The expansive middle
The Muthers Clean The expansive middle
The Mutilator Minimal The smeary bottom Ralph Malph
Muzak: A Tool of Management Clean The expansive middle
My 20th Century Minimal The expansive middle
My Ain Folk Clean The expansive middle
My Architect Clean The expansive middle
My Beautiful Laundrette Minimal The expansive middle
My Best Fiend Clean The elusive top
My Chauffeur Substantial The expansive middle
My Childhood Substantial The expansive middle resentment
My Cousin Vinny Clean The expansive middle
My Darling Clementine Clean The expansive middle
My Dear Killer Clean The expansive middle
My Degeneration Heavy The expansive middle
My Dinner with André Clean The expansive middle
My Father Was Right Clean The expansive middle
My Man Godfrey Clean The expansive middle
My Master My Love Clean The expansive middle
My Name Is Bruce Minimal The smeary bottom embarrassment
My Name Is Pecos Clean The expansive middle
My Night at Maud's Clean The expansive middle
My Nights with Susan, Sandra, Olga & Julie Clean The expansive middle
My Old Fiddle: A Visit with Tommy Jarrell Clean The expansive middle
My Sinful Life Clean The expansive middle
My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done Clean The expansive middle
My Sweet Satan Substantial The expansive middle
My Way Home (Douglas) Minimal The expansive middle
My Way Home (Jancsó) Minimal The expansive middle
My Wife's Lodger Clean The expansive middle
My Winnipeg Minimal The elusive top
My Winnipeg: Live in Toronto Clean The expansive middle
Mysteries of Lisbon Clean The expansive middle
Mysterious Object at Noon Clean The expansive middle
Mystery Train Clean The expansive middle
The Mystic Clean The expansive middle
Mystics in Bali Minimal The expansive middle Rocky Horror

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