I read that they supposedly told Billy that they'd killed his falcon IRL in order to get that performance out of him, when in fact they'd "used a bird that had died of natural causes." Yea, right! What are the odds that they just so happened to find a freshly dead falcon the day of shooting the dead falcon scene!? There's no way in hell. They definitely killed a bird for the filming of this movie.
shareWe kill millions of chickens every day in agriculture. It's sad, but I'm not too worried about one dead bird.
shareA million and one wrongs don't make a right! And it's almost more about the lie than it is about the killing of a bird for the sake of making a stupid movie. Like how dumb does this guy think we are? I've been on this planet for a long time now and I have yet to run across a freshly dead falcon, just lying there waiting for its closeup!
shareI've seen many dead pigeons killed and half eaten by hawks.
I dunno, how do you compare one dead bird for an entire movie which tells a story and entertains millions, to your lunch basket at KFC? Two birds dead.
Sorry, but I'd say if it's necessary for the art, it's worth it.
I don't eat KFC, or any meat for that matter. And Kes only has 23k ratings on IMDb so I doubt millions have even seen the movie, let alone been entertained by it. Also pigeons are way more plentiful than falcons, so you're more likely to run across a pigeon that died "of natural causes" than a falcon.
shareNo, there are hawks around here and they do kill the pigeons.
At least you're sincere as a vegetarian. But for most of us who eat meat, I don't see an ethical problem with killing an animal for a movie, if that's the only way to shoot the scene. Avoid killing it if possible. But I don't see how it's any worse than killing a chicken for dinner.
Kes is a very well liked film in the UK. Maybe not too many youngsters talk about it but then again I don't talk to too many youngsters. Definitely millions have seen it.
shareIt feels likely that they did. Heck, Cannibal Holocaust, Apocalypse Now, Friday the 13th, and The Other Hell (to name just a few) all killed animals for real onscreen.
shareI don't know about those other movies, but Francis Ford Coppola claimed that those water buffalo in Apocalypse Now were going to be slaughtered anyway for a ritual ceremony, so here merely asked the tribe if he could film it. Regardless, I still wish I could unsee that scene.
shareRuggero Deodato said the same thing about the animals killed in Cannibal Holocaust (there was particular upset over the killing of a very large turtle).
shareI read that they supposedly told Billy that they'd killed his falcon IRL in order to get that performance out of him
Whilst its a pretty bad rap party for the kestrel its also incredibly cruel (and immoral imo) to the child actor.
Good point! I hadn't even thought about that. I also read that they lashed those kids' hands too when they'd been told beforehand that they weren't actually going to get lashed. That's how the filmmaker got the shot of that little kid with authentic fear on his face and tears in his eyes.
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