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Lizards in Movies   El Topo  (1970)   Spoiler Alert ! Some of these pictures and descriptions may give away plot details that you might not want to know before watching the film.   This is an ultra-bloody sphagetti western eastern mystical freak show of a movie that was made by avant-garde cult director Alejandro Jodorowsky. It was one of the first "midnight movie" hits when it had an extended late-night run in New York City. John Lennon saw it there and convinced the president of the Beatle's company to distribute it. Basically, it's about a wandering Mexican gunslinger who is searching for spiritual enlightenment. In the first lizard scene, we see a man slaughtering a chicken. He's one of a group of the most nihilistic murderers ever seen in a movie. Between him and the viewer are about a dozen sedentary Ctenosaurs (large black lizards) that are tied up with small rope around their necks to some logs on the ground. Some of the Ctenosaurs appear to be dead (and this film definitely does not have a "no animals were harmed" disclaimer) but a few of the lizards can be seen breathing. The man pushes a chicken leg in the face of one of the lizards just as the film cuts away. Then he drags a lizard by the rope as if it was a leash. Later, four of the outlaws each grabs a lizard and holds it out in front of their waist. Then they hold the lizards up to harass a woman with them. In another lizard scene, a man is standing in a ditch full of water talking to a woman on the bank, when we see a small piece of wood floating on the water with a rock icon on it. A hand reaches over and stands a small lizard up on the icon. It appears to be a species of Sceloporous, but I'm not familiar with the species. The film was shot in various places in Mexico.