Cannibal Holocaust
by Ruggero Deodato
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Francesca Ciardi, Gabriel Yorke, Luca Giorgio Barbareschi, Perry Pirkanen, Robert KermanDirector: Ruggero Deodato
Brand: WEA DES Moines Video
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 96 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-08-26
Audience Rating: Unrated
Model: 5
Studio: Grindhouse Releasing
Product features:
- Banned and heavily censored throughout the world, here is a film that surpasses its reputation as a shotgun blast to the senses. CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST presents the "found footage" of four documentary filmmakers who experience brutal death at the hands of a savage South American tribe of flesh-eaters. This footage is so intense, so graphic and so unflinching in its realism that the director an
Movie Reviews of Cannibal Holocaust
Movie Review: An under-appreciated piece of history
Summary: 5 Stars
I think the stigma that still floats around this film--ie. claims that it is the most "shocking", "banned", and "controversial" film of all time, or Grindhouse's fallacious claim that this is the film "that goes all the way!"--is actually doing it a disservice. I would also argue that these claims are grossly inaccurate in this day and age.
True, there were multiple waves of chaos and outrage stemming from the film's release. In fact, Deodato was thought of as a murderer or a "snuff director" and had to produce the living actors in the film in order to clear his name with Italian authorities.
But there is also more to this film than shock, gore, and over-the-top violence. This is what separates Cannibal Holocaust from every other film in this genre. The cover, the description, and the assumed basis of the film lies to you. This is not a shock film about watching tribes cannibalize others.
Robert Kerman makes a pretty good transition from the world of pornography into the world of cannibals. He plays Professor Monroe, "NYU's noted anthropologist", who is commissioned to travel to South American Amazonia to determine the fate of a documentary crew comprised of 4 young adult documentarians. These "brave children of the space age" are partly artists, partly thrill-seekers, and partly sadists. The crew became lost while documenting two primitive tribes on the Orinoco River. Monore is fairly excited about getting in the jungle, and nobody that has been exposed to the jungle can see what interest he could possibly have in the "Green Inferno" (the Rainforest) or in the Amazon "savages".
The film is shot in "found footage" or "gonzo" fashion. This adds a gritty, yet intriguing quality. Perhaps one of the main points that comes across in this film is the uneasiness of the cast. Sure, there was supposed to be some tension built into the script. However, there is a very real, very palpable tension that becomes pervasive and supersedes the actor's roles.
There was a lot of sub-textual communication and struggle evident in the film. The actors appear to have become drained, both physically and mentally, both on and (presumably) off-camera. There was a lot of unintended tension and sorrow that inadvertently 'contaminated' the final print of this film. This adds a dimension that extinguishes the novelty of the cannibal movie genre and casts this flick into a different territory altogether.
There are some negative things about this movie I would be hard-pressed to ignore. The animal violence can be troubling, as Deodato went through 2 monkeys, a river turtle, a pig, a "muskrat" (a South American coatimundi), a snake, and a tarantula (I think). The graphic, up-close cannibal dinner scenes are plentiful. And the documentary team from the new world act as savages in their own right in some very difficult, non-palatable, and chaotic scenes.
While the film has it's share of hard-to-stomach scenes, it also reflects a somewhat simple innocence throughout, highlighted by a better-than-expected soundtrack. Monroe, Chaco, and Miguel are like little kids on a treasure hunt. In this hunt, we observe a savage way of life, but the difficult imagery forces us to question the basis for our contextual morals.
Does modern Westernized society really exemplify human progress and development at the core? Is there really a divide between the state of nature and the exploits of "advanced" thrill-seekers, adrenaline junkies, and exploitative 'artists'? Who are the real antagonists in this story? These are the questions that Kerman's character, and by extension Deodato, force us to confront.
If you are looking for a simple and semi-ridiculous cannibal tale, check out "Cannibal Ferox" (Kerman's other major offering in the cannibal genre), "Eaten Alive", or any other of the cannibal-exploitation era's notable offerings. If you are looking for a thought provoking, challenging, and curious film, give this one a chance.
Summary of Cannibal Holocaust
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