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Originally Posted by Daemonia  But don't cats feed on mice in the natural world? So why isn't this just a recording of a perfectly natural act? |
Because it was (probably) engineered by the filmmakers themselves for the recording of a film. That's an
absolutely crucial difference and one that the BBFC applies as part of its legal criteria.
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Originally Posted by Daemonia At the end of the day, if you believe that Argento treated an animal cruelly to make his film, then you should boycott it altogether. After all, you're buying a product that involved animal cruelty in its making - even if it's absent from the release. If you feel that strongly, then I fully expect you not to buy it and support this reckless filmmaker by lining his pockets. So just how strongly do you feel about it? |
I've avoided a number of films for reasons of animal cruelty. For years, I avoided MEN BEHIND THE SUN because of the scene in which a cat is supposedly eaten alive by hundreds of starving rats. The director refused to answer direct questions about this material, making him seem like low scum until - lo and behold! - it turns out the whole thing was faked and that the director 'avoided direct questions' in order to maintain the film's brutal reputation. And now that I'm 'free' to see the movie unhindered by moral outrage (!), it's nowhere to be found!!...
I don't mind supporting 'reckless filmmakers' if their work has been censored for reasons of animal cruelty. After all, I have the UK and US version of DEEP RED on DVD since - lizard scene aside - it's a masterpiece. But after seeing CANNIBAL FEROX many years ago (the snake and monkey scene springs immediately to mind), I opted to avoid such foul tripe. I'd like to see the cruelty-free version of CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, but I won't spend money on the US DVD, and the UK version is missing bits of simulated gore and sexual violence alongside the animal stuff, so I can't go with that, either.
Does this make me a hypocrite? Well, if we avoided films created by people whose character and viewpoint we didn't like, we wouldn't be able to watch anything at all! Common sense has to be applied on a film-by-film basis, I think. After all, there's no point watching something if you KNOW beforehand that it contains material that's going to offend you! As you can imagine, I won't be rushing out to buy HIDDEN anytime soon!!
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Originally Posted by Daemonia And likewise here, I'm just having a debate - there's no bad feeling on my part, just enjoying the rapport.  |
Thank gawd for that, sez I!...