Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsEmmysToronto Int'l Film FestivalHispanic Heritage MonthIMDb Stars to WatchSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayMost popular celebsCelebrity news
    Help centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Blood of the Beasts

Original title: Le sang des bêtes
  • 1949
  • 22m
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
2.7K
YOUR RATING
Blood of the Beasts (1949)
DocumentaryShort

Bucolic scenes from the outskirts of Paris are contrasted with stark footage from slaughterhouses.Bucolic scenes from the outskirts of Paris are contrasted with stark footage from slaughterhouses.Bucolic scenes from the outskirts of Paris are contrasted with stark footage from slaughterhouses.

  • Director
    • Georges Franju
  • Writers
    • Georges Franju
    • Jean Painlevé
  • Stars
    • Georges Hubert
    • Nicole Ladmiral
    • Alfred Macquart
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.7/10
    2.7K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Georges Franju
    • Writers
      • Georges Franju
      • Jean Painlevé
    • Stars
      • Georges Hubert
      • Nicole Ladmiral
      • Alfred Macquart
    • 31User reviews
    • 17Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos3

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster

    Top cast6

    Edit
    Georges Hubert
    • Récitant
    • (voice)
    • …
    Nicole Ladmiral
    • Récitante
    • (voice)
    • …
    Alfred Macquart
    • Self - horse slaughterer
    Maurice Griselle
    • Self - cow slaughterer
    André Brunier
    • Poleaxer
    Henri Fournel
    • Butcher
    • Director
      • Georges Franju
    • Writers
      • Georges Franju
      • Jean Painlevé
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews31

    7.72.7K
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    9lissener

    An astonishing document.

    An astonishing document.

    A documentary shot with a surrealist aesthetic; images of unimaginable horror and violence--all perfectly real and unstaged--filmed with a languid and beautiful poetry. The images in this documentary about the slaughterhouse--the "abattoir," in the language of the narrator--are filmed with an almost cavalier, deadpan, unflinching clarity. The images of the lingering struggles of a decapitated calf; the satiny musculature exposed beneath the skin of a butchered cow, and the horrible but poetic moment when we see that the heart still beats beneath the sinews; the bored whistle of the beret-capped worker tapping the steaming spray of a horse's heart's blood; and then, the canal-concealing camera angle that shows us a barge bisecting a field of grass: "Blood of the Beasts" is a breathtaking celebration of the visual philosophy of surrealism.
    9mitsukurina

    Terrible beauty

    A film of great and terrible beauty.

    This short 1949 film by Georges Franju - about 20 minutes or so in length is narrated by Georges Hubert and Nicole Ladmiral and was the winner of the 1950 Grand Prix International du Court Sujet.

    Filmed in black and white - I doubt it could be watched by many in colour - this film weaves an effective documentary of Paris's various abattoirs out of startling yet non-contrived surrealist images. The scenes of death are presented coldly, without sentimentality but also, in my view, without lessening the suffering of the animals - an indeed the men.
    9Grégoire "Freak" Dubost

    A hard but poetic documentary about the outskirts of Paris.... and their slaughterhouses

    "Le Sang des Bêtes" is a splendid documentary about the life and work of many workers, living just outside the Paris walls after WWII. From the vast and deserted areas that seemed to completely surround the city and its few 'modern' outskirt-constructions, Franju suddenly leads us nearer to the heart of the capital. Where the industrial compounds rise. where, at the fringe of urban and rural worlds, the cattle is being slaughtered. From the horses slaughterhouses of the Porte de Vanves to the huge Halles de la Vilette, where cows, calves and sheep are being prepared to be eaten, this short film is by no means a claim for vegetarianism. Some scenes are certainly hard to watch, but the accurate eye of the director, his tenderness towards the men (and women) doing this very hard work, is the real point here. After all, we've seen animals die before (actually after, from 'Le Cochon' of Jean Eustache and Barbet Schroeder's New Guinea documentaries, to "Benny's Video" and the morbid attraction of Benny towards the film of the cow's death. So let not your prejudices take the better, and let the film deliver its message : that he is the witness of a world not that old, and already so odd to us.
    8Galina_movie_fan

    20 minutes of unspeakable horror

    The Criterion DVD "Les Yeux sans visage" aka Eyes without a Face" also includes the 20 minutes long documentary by Georges Franju, "The Blood of the Beasts" (1949) about an ordinary day at the slaughterhouse in Paris. This short film is one of the most horrifying ever made. What makes it even more difficult to see – the matter-of-fact efficient way the professional and skilled butchers do their jobs never stop smoking or whistling…. In one of the comments, the author recalls the famous eyeball- slicing scene of "Le Chien Andalou" which was a dead cow's eyeball. That shot only last a second, and it is still shocking. Now imagine much more gruesome and unbearable scenes showing the killing of horses, cows, calves and sheep over and over and over again and that unspeakable terror and fear in their eyes...Paris (or London, or New York City or Rome or any other place in the world) needs their steaks, chops, and burgers
    8HumanoidOfFlesh

    Very shocking,but almost lyrical documentary.

    "Blood of the Beasts" by Georges Franju is among the most horrifying documentaries I have ever seen.Its unflinching depiction of animal butchery will certainly upset many potential viewers.The film is set in a Parisian slaughterhouse.We see various butchers slaughtering horses,cows,calves and sheep.This film is very graphic without being exploitative,though-Franju simply documents the activities in a slaughterhouse circa 1949.It's very well done-the images are strong,often disturbing-and the camera acts almost as a neutral observer,seeing all.This is a good film,but I only recommend it with a strong warning about its content.So if you are squeamish don't watch this short.8 out of 10.

    More like this

    Song of Love
    7.5
    Song of Love
    The Hand
    7.9
    The Hand
    Therese
    7.1
    Therese
    At Land
    7.5
    At Land
    Eyes Without a Face
    7.6
    Eyes Without a Face
    Outer Space
    7.1
    Outer Space
    The Tale of Tales
    7.8
    The Tale of Tales
    Judex
    7.0
    Judex
    Land Without Bread
    7.3
    Land Without Bread
    Entr'acte
    7.3
    Entr'acte
    Scorpio Rising
    6.8
    Scorpio Rising
    Ritual in Transfigured Time
    6.9
    Ritual in Transfigured Time

    Related interests

    Dziga Vertov in Man with a Movie Camera (1929)
    Documentary
    Benedict Cumberbatch in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)
    Short

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Was awarded the "Grand Prix International du Court Sujet" in 1950.
    • Connections
      Featured in Cinéma, de notre temps: Georges Franju, le visionnaire (1996)
    • Soundtracks
      La Mer
      Music by Charles Trenet

      Lyrics by Charles Trenet

      Performed by Charles Trenet

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • 1949 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • France
    • Language
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Djurens blod
    • Filming locations
      • Abattoirs de La Villette, Paris 19, Paris, France
    • Production company
      • Forces et voix de la France
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 22m
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb App
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.