The Blood of Beasts was first released in France in 1949 only five years after the trauma of World War II, in which the French

were subjected to occupation, violence, and many other atrocities. The documentary, directed by Georges Franju (Eyes Without a Face), depicts the brutal realities of the Parisian meat industry and does not conceal the grotesque methods used to slaughter and slice these animals. It was neither for nor against carnivorism, however one can make the surrealist connection between these slaughterhouses and the meat-grinding violence committed unto fellow human beings in the recent war.

Franju, while discussing the color format, said, “If it were in colour, it’d be repulsive… the sensation people get would be physical one.”

Forgive the unintended censor but please be warned that this documentary contains graphic scenes.