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| Blood of the Beasts | |
|---|---|
 Video Cover | |
| Directed by | Georges Franju |
| Written by | Georges Franju |
| Produced by | Paul Legros |
| Narrated by |
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| Cinematography | Marcel Fradetal |
| Edited by | André Joseph |
| Music by | Joseph Kosma |
| Distributed by | The Criterion Collection |
Release date |
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Running time | 22 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
Blood of the Beasts (Le Sang des bêtes) is a 1949short Frenchdocumentary film written and directed byGeorges Franju. It is Franju'sfirst film and is narrated by Georges Hubert and Nicole Ladmiral.
The film is a special feature onThe Criterion Collection DVD for Franju'sEyes Without a Face (1960).
Franju's film contrasts peaceful scenes ofParisian suburbia with scenes from aslaughterhouse. The film documents theslaughtering and butchering ofhorses,cattle, andsheep. The film is narrated without emotive language.
Franju states that he wasn't interested in the subject of slaughterhouses when he decided to make the film, but the location around the building was theOurcq Canal, allowing him to make adocumentary film. Franju stated by using a documentary film format, he was able to use both locations as lyrical counterpoints and "to explain it as arealist while remaining asurrealist by displacing the object in another context. In this new setting, the object rediscovers its quality as an object".[1] The film marked the debut of documentary photographerPatrice Molinard who took stills during the shoot.
Blood of the Beasts was made as ablack and white film as anaesthetic. Franju states "If it were in colour, it'd be repulsive... the sensation people get would be a physical one."[1]
Blood of the Beasts had no commercial release outside of Paris.[2]