I've read a few reviews that say this movie is bloody & disturbing. I don't mind that, unless it's gratuitous or (in the case of animals) if it's real. An example would be how Francis Ford Coppola slaughtered a live buffalo in Apocalypse Now. I don't like that.
If any of you have the DVD, could you please fast forward to the end and tell me if they print "No animals were harmed" in the end credits? That would answer my concerns. Thanks.
I'm not sure the "no harm" disclaimer was used very widely in non-US films of the time (or even now). I checked, and it wasn't in the credits, but I really didn't expect it to be. Please don't let that prevent you from seeing this amazing film though!
Animals are depicted in a reverential light and as having deep connections with the human characters. Given that, and the skill that went into making the film, I can't imagine any animals were harmed. There's a short, chaotic scene involving a flock of chickens falling a short distance, but they just flutter down and regroup, apparently without undue distress. There's another very brief scene of a struggle with a constricting snake, but it was the one in control and probably would have won, given the chance. The only other thing I can think involves a dying animal character, but it's not a violent scene at all and the animal was obviously unharmed.
There are certainly no scenes of real or simulated cruelty of humans toward animals in the film. I'd hate to spoil it further. I recommend just checking it out.
i have terminal enchantment right now
Thanks Necturus, I feel safe checking it out now :)
I'm not sure the "no harm" disclaimer was used very widely in non-US films of the time (or even now).
A dying elephant and then it being thrown to the peasants to be eaten acceptable to you?
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Abandoning spoiler warnings, as we seem to be...
A dying elephant and then it being thrown to the peasants to be eaten acceptable to you?
(Note: I still haven't seen this movie. Can't find a !@# copy anywhere)
While the elephant scene sounds sad, I don't think anyone would be terribly offended by it. I dunno. Everyone's different tho. Personally, I'm only offended if:
1. a real animal is harmed for the movie, or
2. the scene is deliberately disrespectful (like in "O Brother Where Art Thou" when a gangster yells "I hate cows worse than coppers" and mows down a herd w/ a machine gun. I think this was supposed to get a laugh out of the audience)
On the other hand, I got a big kick out of the scene in "There's Something About Mary" when the guy is fighting with the dog, because the dog is SO OBVIOUSLY FAKE it's like the director is giving us a good-natured wink.
Ok, I'm going to resume my quest to find this movie now >:(
as opposed to the scene in o brother where art thou where the herd of cows was SO OBVIOUSLY being shot to death in real life.
shareGo rent Something About Mary and then you'll know what I'm talking about. 2 minutes of Matt Dillon wrestling with a plastic dog was HILARIOUS. The was nothing funny about the scene in O Brother.
shareSince we've established that even faked scenes trouble you: You would cry over the killing of cows before you would the killing of humans?
shareI don't know if you're trying to pick a fight, SlipGun, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you're asking a pertinent question and not just trying to make dumbass assumptions about animal lovers.
So to answer your question: it depends on the cow and it depends on the human.
Hm, ok. Nothing against animal lovers, just the extremists who trivialize human life to make their point.
shareThe scene is incredibly respectful and oddly touching
"The first rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about fight club
i was young when i first saw this film, and a friend decided to tell me that the elephant was actually dying, though the eating of it was simulated. i have to say, as much as i loved the film, i didn't watch it for years after that because i couldn't condone it. even now, knowing that the elephant of course wasn't harmed, i find it hard to watch that scene. your interpretation of it makes sense, and seems very beautiful as i read about it, but i would say that for any animal lover it's very difficult to get through that scene because it's so graphic.
shareI think that the ultimate graphic violence to animals in a film is Cannibal Holocaust, where they kill around ten animals for the purpose of entertainment. I don't want to see that film because of such cruelty. In Santa Sangre no animals were harmed, (I assume :P).
Try watch Ashes and Snow to counterbalance the sadness of the dying elephant.
Jodorowsky killed a bunch of rabbits and some birds for El Topo, but said in an interview circa-Santa Sangre that he regrets it and would never do anything like that again, chalking it up to the foolish "everything for the film" enthusiasm of youth. The dying elephant scene is kind of disturbing, but there's nothing real or exploitative about it.
shareThere's a short, chaotic scene involving a flock of chickens falling a short distance, but they just flutter down and regroup, apparently without undue distress.
Nope, some stay down and don't move. Though chickens, like several other animals, can get in a state of tonic immobility or thanatosis. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonic_immobility
Fear is the mother of morality.
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a fish gets eaten. it's dead already, but it's pretty graphic.
oh, and a giant elephant is thrown off a cliff and eaten by the starving, but i was more disturbed by the fish scene.
"DOWNEY IS HUNGRY! TABITHA IS HUNGRY!! MELISSA IS EATING HER BABIES!!!!"
What do you mean jodorowsky is good? There were tons of rabbits that were actually killed in El Topo!
David Lynch is the man! Oh yeah and watch Twin Peaks TV series!
The elephant was never depicted during the funeral scene. It was enveloped in a huge coffin. The sharing of the gift from the heavens scene was them reaching into the sarcophagus, but not actually showing the elephant being "dispatched" by the crowd. It's not graphic unless you only watch cartoons... and even then.
Cannibal Holocaust, or other exploitation films like Men Behind the Sun, are what this OP is talking about.
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I control your ocular muscles & synaptic reactions as you read this; you have no say.
Thats really not true. A giant coffin gets thrown down a cliff, and then people remove some meat from inside of it including a fake looking elephant trunk, quite different.
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No real animal killings
shareWeren't frogs also killed (or at least placed in danger, i.e close to controlled mini-explosions) in Santa Sangre? But that was only a short time after El Topo. SS came out many years later. I don't think any animals were harmed there.
shareThe frog scene was from Holy Mountain.
shareSince we've established that even faked scenes trouble you: You would cry over the killing of cows before you would the killing of humans?