cannibal holocaust (1980)
When Anthropologist Harold Monroe hears about a documentary film crew that entered the Amazon never to return, he decides to band together a rescue team in search of the lost crew. As Monroe and his team enter deeper into the jungle they encounter two cannibal tribes and learn that the only thing that remains of the lost film crew are their bones and raw film canisters. Upon his return to America, Monroe is approached to make a documentary comprised of the found footage. Executives screen the missing filmmaker's last film in order to showcase the content of his work. The film is titled The Last Road to Hell and featured scenes of butchering of real animals, a crew member losing a limb to a machete, and burning the natives alive. Disgusted by what he has seen, Monroe screens the found footage recovered from his rescue mission, which contains some of the most brutal and disturbing images ever recorded.
Upon its release, Cannibal Holocaust was regarded as one of the most controversial films ever made, leading the director Ruggero Deodato to be arrested 10 days after its premiere on February 7th in Milan. Deodato was charged with murder accused of actually killing his actors on screen. It was revealed that the director had the actors sign a contract that would ensure that they do not appear in any media related ventures in order to remain off the radar for one year and create greater doubt in the fiction of the film. The director also had to explain how a climactic special effect was achieved in order to avoid a life sentence. Once the movie magic was revealed, the charges were dropped but the film would continue to be banned in over 50 countries for animal cruelty and obscenity. As of 2012, the film remains banned in ten countries.
What contributes to the realism of the film is its use of found footage material. By including real cannibalistic tribes, along with killing real animals on screen, the viewer begins to read the actions on screen as being realistic. Fellow Italian director Sergio Leone was enthusiastic about the realism and anticipated the controversy when he wrote to Deodato: "What a movie! The second part is a masterpiece of cinematographic realism, but everything seems so real that I think you will get in trouble with all the world." The film blurred the boundaries between documentary and fiction filmmaking, creating one of the most realistic fiction films and paving the way for future found footage films.
Director: Ruggero Deodato
Writer: Gianfranco Clerici
Cast: Robert Kerman, Frencesca Ciardi, Perry Pirkanen
Running Time: 95 minutes
Year: 1980
Studio: F.D. Cinematografica
Required Reading: Jackson, Neil. "Cannibal Holocaust, Realist Horror and Reflexivity." Post Script 21.3 (Summer 2002): 32-45.
Visit the Official Site
Upon its release, Cannibal Holocaust was regarded as one of the most controversial films ever made, leading the director Ruggero Deodato to be arrested 10 days after its premiere on February 7th in Milan. Deodato was charged with murder accused of actually killing his actors on screen. It was revealed that the director had the actors sign a contract that would ensure that they do not appear in any media related ventures in order to remain off the radar for one year and create greater doubt in the fiction of the film. The director also had to explain how a climactic special effect was achieved in order to avoid a life sentence. Once the movie magic was revealed, the charges were dropped but the film would continue to be banned in over 50 countries for animal cruelty and obscenity. As of 2012, the film remains banned in ten countries.
What contributes to the realism of the film is its use of found footage material. By including real cannibalistic tribes, along with killing real animals on screen, the viewer begins to read the actions on screen as being realistic. Fellow Italian director Sergio Leone was enthusiastic about the realism and anticipated the controversy when he wrote to Deodato: "What a movie! The second part is a masterpiece of cinematographic realism, but everything seems so real that I think you will get in trouble with all the world." The film blurred the boundaries between documentary and fiction filmmaking, creating one of the most realistic fiction films and paving the way for future found footage films.
Director: Ruggero Deodato
Writer: Gianfranco Clerici
Cast: Robert Kerman, Frencesca Ciardi, Perry Pirkanen
Running Time: 95 minutes
Year: 1980
Studio: F.D. Cinematografica
Required Reading: Jackson, Neil. "Cannibal Holocaust, Realist Horror and Reflexivity." Post Script 21.3 (Summer 2002): 32-45.
Visit the Official Site