Cannibal Holocaust
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Movie Reviews of Cannibal Holocaust
Movie Review: One of the most effective horror films ever made
Summary: 5 Stars
*** May contain possible Spoilers ***
At the beginning of the movie, I was treated to a very long disclaimer from the distributor that they do not want to be blamed for the content provided by the filmmakers. (They do, however, want to make loads of money off of it.) They even went so far as to quote Thomas Jefferson (?!?!), play the opening credits, then provide another disclaimer.
This film has the most interesting history behind. It is famous for the real animal slayings and for being accused of killing real humans. Deodato went to court to prove the film was not snuff and appeared on TV with his actors to prove they were still alive. The film grossed $1.9 million ($5 million today) in the first 10 days of it's opening before the film was banned in it's native country of Italy. Besides for the sheer cruelty and "realness" of the film, they put fake documentary information on their DVD Extras and website ([...]) to pretend this was real. I am not surprised the filmmaker was accused of making snuff.
The basic plot is this: A Professor and Explorers discover the fate of a missing documentary crew that disappeared in the jungle. They locate the missing footage and learn what really happened with the "savages". The Professor finds that after the crew finds the tribe to be docile, they push them to the brink of madness for the sake of good film-making, with disastrous consequences.
It is hard to side with anyone other than the Professor in this. The young crew members are shown at first as just young filmmakers looking for the truth. They have fun together, fall in love, and want to expose the truth. The real truth comes when the Professor discovers their footage and watches their slow decent into chaos. They become savage themselves by first killing animals, then the people. They suffer a horrible fate by the end.
Deodato should be proud for blurring the lines. The direction here is excellent. There is a social commentary at the nasty little heart of this film. It speaks volumes of civilization, the effect of media on society, ethics, morals, etc. This is not a sleazefest as you would think by its outward appearance. There are nuances added to every scene that adds something new to the story. For instance, in one scene the couple in the crew is having sex in the jungle. What adds to the creepiness is when you realize that their friend is filming it. The camera slowly turns and you can see that they forced about 50 villagers to watch this happen to "teach them how Americans have sex." The sex was not put in this film to draw attention, but to draw attention to the complete disregard of humanity.
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This is an incredibly effective and powerful film. It is too realistic to be considered entertaining, but it is the first film in a long time that made me feel something real. Horror films disappoint many adult lovers of horror today. They can no longer make you squirm or give you nightmares. Well, this one hit home for me. It might be today's events (War on Iraq, Genocide in Africa, Bordertown in Mexico, etc.) that make this all too real. I felt shell-shocked when it was over. I felt like a victim watching this as though I was assaulted too as these are crimes against all of humanity. At the same time, I felt guilty for watching as though I was committing the crimes myself by not intervening. There is a huge blame placed on the rest of society because these crimes do occur everyday and we sit and watch the news and believe everything that is told to us without question. This film will make you either hate mankind or want to hug your neighbor.
I should mention the animal slayings. These are all real. The camera looms over the animals with the gore shown in detail. The worst part is hearing the animals screaming. The muskrat killing was the worst and almost brought me to tears. It took multiple stabbings before it was killed.
The sound quality was decent considering it was shot in a jungle, but there was weird transitioning between dialogue and background noise causing a bit of "popping" in a couple scenes. The film quality of course was fantastic. The look and feel of the film was real giving the viewer the sensation that they were watching actual footage.
Favorite Quote: One of the main characters says, "It's Survival of the Fittest. The strong overcoming the weak," as a little piglet is tied to a stake in the ground, kicked repeatedly, falls down squealing, then is shot for no reason at all. This scene is real. It is said that the actor practiced his lines repeatedly then flubbed them due to the nastiness of this scene. They could not reshoot it as they could not find any more pigs to kill.
DVD Extras: Audio Options, Commentary, and Trailers. "Inside the Green Inferno" gives detailed fake bios for each character, tribes, "New Findings", and the original script.
Bottom Line: Do I think it should be Banned? No. For the disillusioned horror fan of today, I highly recommend this. It will blow your mind. The 25th Year Anniversary Collectors Edition is being released now. But for the weak of heart with weak stomachs, most definitely pass on this. Animal lovers beware.
Rating: 0/10 for the Atrocities and a Perfect 10/10 for Effectiveness.
Molly Celaschi
[...]
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Movie Review: Extreme horror, never bettered!
Summary: 5 Stars
Deodatos Holocaust is undoubtedly one of the most famous exploitation horrors that emerged from the wildly inventive 1970's. This was the era that had ripped open the horror genre and quite literally pulled it's insides out for all to see and holcaust neatly bookended the 70's by taking it that one bit further. Often reviled and critisised by the media around the time of it's release CH was thrown into the stew with abominations like 'Driller Killer', 'Devil Hunter' and 'SS Hell camp' as so called video nasties along with other benchmark horrors like 'Last house on the left' & 'Evil Dead'. Only in the wake of modern horror films like 'Blair witch Project' and current indie horror directors like Rob zombie & Eli roth who cite CH as a major influence has CH finally got its justification. Watching it today you can see why Mother was a little worried about our poor children, it's not disney but even in 1979 something tells me that mother still had the option of hiding the tapes or better still not bringing the tape into the house at all. Yes it's shocking to see fetus's being pulled out of women by hand, or watching strange moustached man's genitals being lopped off but it wasn't just the senationalism of the violence that got the censors and the peoples front against artistic freedom all bothered it was the realism of the movie within a movie scenario thats so well documented. Deodato shot his film makers so well that once the pay off kicks in in the final third of the movie, not only do you believe that these guys are being slaughtered you actually secretly detest them so much that you want them to get eaten, the director intensified this belief by showing various real deaths of animals, most famously the needless slaughter of a turtle by the film crew, in the hope that it would make the whole exercise seem more real, that maybe this could all be happening and it's here that holocaust has to be critisised, for all it's inventiveness surely the film makers could have made a fake turtle or shot blanks after all they did an excellent job on the human make up surely it was possible to drum up some fake animals. There really is no excuse for it and for the most part this is where the film has suffered at the hands of most critics & those alike, it's not pleasent viewing and largely quite hypocritical of the movies underlying message. These points aside, Deodato is clever in not giving his protagonists an inch of regret in there barbaric behaviour as not to make any emotional attachment to the audience, this after all is the point of the movie with the famous 'who are the real cannibals' voice over. The effects are still fantastic but this is largely due to super 8 film and a lot of inventive camera work and editing (Latex never looked this real ever again) and believe it or not for an italian horror a pretty solid and believable cast. These days theres not much point in dissecting these movies too much as with alot of these so called 'Video nasties' the people who critisised them in the first place missed the point completely. Deodato was making a horror film and succeeded, yes a bit of social commentary was thrown in aswell but for the most he made an entertaining horror film that opened the doors for future genre movies by pushing 2 fingers up to the censor (if only he had removed the animal violence.) Horror movies have evolved into cartoons almost with lunchbox accessible slasher figures and tom and jerry violence so it's nice that companies like Grindhouse make special efforts to dig out classics that can still pack a punch even today, after all with efforts like Boogeyman, the fog and Jeepers creepers we have to get our shocks somewhere haven't we. Buy it.Movie Review: The ultimate cannibal movie hands down!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Cannibal Holocaust what can I say that has not already been said about this classic. You know your in for a good movie when the movie in question is still being banned in countries to this day. Everything you have heard about this movie is true, and the movie has had a troublsome history and upon it's release it landed Deodato in jail, and even gained him alot of enemies but in the long run it solidified Deodato as one of the greats.
This is the holy grail of the cannibal movies, there is no other that comes close, this a tough movie to take in I have shown it to friends who watched a couple of moments of it and than left the room due to disgust, I can handle the gore element very well but there were some parts of the movie I had a tough time with. Before going into viewing the film you really have to go in with an open mind, and you have to metally prepare for what you are going to see.
I would like to point out that The Blair With Project blatantly ripped this movie off. Cannibal Holocaust tells the story of a group of reporters who go down to the amazon to document cannibalism, and mysteriously end up missing. Another doctor soon travels down not to long after to investigate the dissapearance the doctor soon learns the truth as to what exactly happened, he also has to go through some test to gain the trust of the cannibal tribes in doing so he obtains the footage the crew members shot while down their, the footage also holds the key to the truth. What ensues is horror history, if you want more you'll just have to see it for yourself.
The movie is not uncut as stated on the box, there is still one scene that is missing and that scene is one of the most infamous scenes in horror history, the scene is question is the piranha scene where a member of a cannibal tribe get's his leg cut off, and than he gets fed to the piranhas. There is alot of debate saying the scene exists (on vhs versions) and there are people who say it does not exsist. There is a photo on the internet showing a picture of the scene. People who say the scene does not exsist say that the scene was hard to shoot, as they could not control the piranha, and they had a malfunctioning underwater camera.
Before the movie was released there was alot of talk going around that the piranha scene was going to be restored upon the intial release date nothing was there. More talk started that the scene is hidden on the disc as an easter egg, again it was never discovered. However there is something intresting on the disc in one of the easter eggs, it shows Deodato anwsering questions on the movie, someone asks him about the piranha scene, Deodato get's extremely upset and storms out ending the segment. I personally spoke with Sage Stallone (I am not name droping either) who runs Grindhouse Releasing on the issue, and he really did not go into to much detail but he told me that the scene was a headache for everyone invovled.
Scene or no scene this is hands down the ultimate version of Cannibal Holocaust, also included with the disc is a nice poster from the film it is also a 2 disc set with both discs including tons of extras and various easter eggs hidden through out both discs. Although be prepared to be shocked when you open the case up as you will see a picture of a vary graphic scene from the movie. Cannibal Holocaust is my favorite movie of all time and every time I see it it makes me proud to wear my Cannibal Holocaust t-shirt. Hopefully you enjoy this movie as much as I have as well as others!!
Movie Review: Shameless, Outrageous Tasteless and barbaric...and brilliant?
Summary: 5 Stars
This Grindhouse releasing 2 disc Deluxe Edition is the one to own.
Ruggero Deodato's "Cannibal Holocaust" is easily one of the top 5 greatest and most important horror films ever made. What Deodato and company pulled off here is something that can't be replicated in this jaded, falsely cushioned & politically correct world of lies that we live in today. This film to me personally is the ultimate example of cinematic, artistic trickery. Over the years it has grown into one of the most sought after cult classic horror films and that in it self only adds to it's brilliance. While viewing "Cannibal Holocaust" you are assaulted with the feeling of impending doom, to the heights of which no other horror film since has been able to reach. The solid rock director invites the viewer to go on a rollercoaster ride through a hell on earth where down is up ,wrong is right and the line that is drawn between fiction and reality is simply wiped clean. This one is not for the faint of heart and if you're an avid animal rights activist or a vegetarian then don't even bother. Yes! There are real animals being killed right up in your face and there is nothing you can do about it except look away or watch. This is a truly offensive and disturbing film, but despite the reaction of it's critics it's these same controversial components that make the movie what it truly is and that is an exercise in exploring the core of human nature, it's fears and it's greed (Deodato's greed maybe?). I will admit when it comes to the animals being killed it's a hard subject and both sides of the argument have legitimate points. I myself won't try to deny my mixed feelings about the whole thing but I also know that these mixed feelings are exactly what Deodato was intending to tug on when he made the movie. All I know is without the real killings in the film the fake ones would not have been half as believable. Even some of the actors began to wonder of there own demise after witnessing the animals being butchered and how far Deodato was willing to go for the sake of cinema art & or a buck. I'm speaking for myself as a meat eater though... I can not be a hypocrite and say whole heartedly that I believe it was morally wrong to sacrifice these animals for the sake of the film 'cause I don't believe it was totally wrong. If you think differently then don't watch the film! To me the killings were just as important to the whole of the film as the perfectly unpredictable score and cinematography. I believe Ruggero Deodato is a controversial filmmaker that made a film within a film about a group of controversial documentary filmmakers that walked well over the edge of sanity for the sake of greed disguised as art and in the process may or may not have stepped to far over the edge himself, but as a mindless horror film fan I feel the obligation to admire and respect the man and the film and at the same time be totally disgusted by it.
Movie Review: THE KING OF ALL CANNIBAL MOVIES
Summary: 5 Stars
A film by Ruggero Deodato (Jungle Holocaust). Ripout! Barbecue! Devour! How long can you take it? A New York anthropologist, named Professor Harold More (Robert Kerman), travels to the wild, inhospitable jungles of South American with two local guides to find out what happened to a documentary film crew which disappeared nearly a year earlier while traveling into the same jungle, called the 'Green Inferno' to film a documentary about reputed cannibal tribes. After a long search and encountering a few primitive tribes, Professor More finds the remains of the crew and several reels of their undeveloped film. Upon returning to the USA, Professor More views the film in detail featuring the travels of the director Alan Yates (Gabriel York), his assistant Faye Daniels (Francesa Ciardi), and cameramen Jack Anders (Perry Pirkanen) and Mark Tomaso (Luca Giorgio Barbareschi) venturing into the jungles where the inexperienced, street-wise film group, after finding the indigenous tribes to docile for their film, decide to push them for kicks, with drastic consequences.
Band in OVER 60 countries, This is the one that goes ALL THE WAY! With 96 minutes of Explicit Sex, Gang Rape, Violence, Nudity, Gore, Death, Animal Abuse, Cannibalism, Cannibals, Actual Animals being Killed, Amputation Scene, Eating Monkey Brains, Killing Monkey, Killing a Muskrat, and Killing a Turtle. Is a MUST have for any ones collection who likes Cannibal movies, but please note do not and I repeat do not by this movie and watch it with your girl fried or if you do not like animals being killed in cold blood. When I first received this film I watched it 3 times in a row. And watched it every day after that for about 7 days. I have seen the movie about nineteen (19) times and it never gets old.
The second disc has lots of extras including Easter eggs, trailers, interviews, and photo galleries. Trailers for this movies include the following movies Eaten Alive (Mangiati Vivi) (1981) Directed by Umberto Lenzi, Cannibal Ferox (A.K.A. Make Them Die Slowly) (1983) Directed by Umberto Lenzi, Jungle Holocaust (1978) Directed by Ruggero Deodato, The House on the Edge of the Park (1985)Directed by Ruggero Deodato, I Drink Your Blood, I Eat you Skin (1970) directed by David E. Durston, The Beyond (1983) Directed by Lucio Fulci, A Cat in the Brain (1990) Directed by Lucio Fulci, Gone with the pope, Poor White Trash II (1976) Directed by S.F. Brownrigg, The Tough Ones Directed by Aleksi Makela, and a trailer for Cannibal Holocaust.
I think one of the most amazing things in the movies is how realistic it all is. I really love the music, the animals, and the jungle. The Movie comes Fully Uncut, Uncensored, and in Remastered Anamorphic Widescreen!