Cannibal Holocaust

"Cannibal Holocaust" is more than a brilliant title, is more than a clever business move and is more than a genre film. Ruggero Deodato with this film enters into the history of cinema, creating controversy, shocking the audience, but also bringing an important message. Because first of all "Cannibal Holocaust" is an accuse of the media and the lies that often them offer to the public, which compared to the year of release, it’s a strong message.

Then it is true everything else, "Cannibal Holocaust" is a clever move of a director who wants (and succeeds) to create a film that looks real, that look as "Snuff Movie". And to do that Deodato takes a lot of effort, creating nervous breakdown among the crew, using true tribes, real videos of executions and two / three tricks handmade, which pretend to be real shocking scenes, such as the rape one or the stake of a indigenous.

Apparently not yet satisfied, he hide also is also the actors during the launch of the film. Robert Kerman, famous American porn actor and actor also in several Italian genre films, Salvatore Basile, another actor of movies and TV series and Luca Barbareschi (if he had not reappeared more would have been better for Italian cinema) are the best-known names and the protagonists as well of Deodato’s clever plan, that doesn’t work entirely.In fact, "Cannibal Holocaust" was released in Italy in February 1980 and only two months after, a huge scandal broke out. The director is accused of everything from animal abuse, violence, through murder and for having created a work against decency and morality.

"Cannibal Holocaust" is removed from the cinemas and then Deodato reappear the protagonists. He avoids jail, but he gets a fine and have to wait a few years before the Supreme Court rehabilitates his work. A clamor which strangely doesn’t bring luck to the film, re-evaluated and appreciated only in recent times.

Twenty-eight years after the world always speak about “Cannibal Holocaust”, a movie ahead of its time, an accuse movies cleverly realized. Deodato's work really has the appearance of being real, thanks to the film scratched in some places (by hand of course), thanks to the techniques of hand shooting  and certain moments in which you can see the hysteria of the actors and some lines in the original language . A film full of scenes that have made history, among which we mention again the rape scene, the stake one(which has seriously scared the indigenous protagonist) and the execution of the pregnant woman, played, they say, but Deodato then denied, by the costumer because the indigenous refused.

To all this must be added also the only aspect that we would like to criticize, that is the killing, sometimes barbaric, of different animals. A little pig shot to the head, a turtle, quartered, a couple of monkeys beheaded, whose death seems to have caused the death of other monkeys who were there as reserves.

Four documentarists of the BDC, very popular and beloved, go to the Amazon to shoot a documentary on the cannibals tribes. The four disappear. The BDC sends Prof. Monroe in search of the group, who, aided by a guide (similar to Indiana Jones) begins his wanderings between the forest and the tribes, ending up in the midst of battles and tribal rituals, rather brutal. Coincidentally recovers the corpses of the four filmmakers, but with the camera and the shot still intact.

Back to home, Monroe, was commissioned to watch their films. which reveal the violence, murders, rapes, torture, and finally the destruction of a village, made by the four to create a documentary of great impact. Except that at some point the tribes have lost patience. And bon appetit!

Shot in Colombia, the film is structurally divided into two parts. The first is on the journey of the professor, "The Last Road To Hell", the notes on the official site report was shot in 35mm. The second is the flash back of the four, "The Green Hell", shot in 16mm film scratched to give a sense of real movie.

 The music is created by the great Ritz Ortolani able to create a soundtrack that emphasize the dramatic moments at the level of the great Hollywood movie.

Just to fuel the legend, it’s said that there are various versions of the movie, more or less cut and a 135 'uncut. We recommend the purchase of the DVD, in which there is also a long documentary on the "Making Of" film, which clarifies a number of interesting details.

Fact Sheet

 

 

Original Title: Cannibal Holocaust

Alternative Titles: Canibal Holocaust (Brazil, Peru) Cannibal holocaust (Argentina, Venezuela) For kannibalov (Russia), Holocaust Canibal (Portugal), Cannibal Holocaust (Spain) Kannibaalien polttouhrit (Finland) Kannibal massakren (Denmark), Nackt und zerfleischt (Germany ), Nadzy the rozszarpani (Poland), Ruggero Deodato's Cannibal Holocaust (USA) (complete title), To olokaftoma ton kannivalon (Greece)

Year of Release: 1980

Country: Italy

Duration: 95 '(uncut version)

Directed by: Ruggero Deodato

Cast: Robert Kerman, Francesca Ciardi, Perry Pirkanen, Luca Barbary, Salvatore Basile, Ricardo Fuentes

Production House: F.D. Film