Cannibal Holocaust

UPC: 652799000527

Studio: Grindhouse Releasing

MPAA Rating: NR   Contains:[Violence, Rape & Sexual Abuse, Not For Children, Gore]

Summary: While Umberto Lenzi began the Italian-made cycle of brutal Amazonian cannibal horrors with Il Paese del Sesso Selvaggio and effectively ended it with the nauseating Cannibal Ferox, it was Ruggero Deodato who directed the subgenre's most enduring film. This popular bloodbath features a fetus ripped from a woman's body, people impaled on spikes, a genuine tortoise-flaying, and numerous other indignities, both real and simulated. The plot concerns the efforts of a group of American explorers to discover the fate of a missing documentary film crew. They receive a scratchy film-reel containing the bloody truth from a tribe of tree-dwelling natives, and the reel's contents make up the bulk of the film. Advertisements claimed that "the crew who filmed it were actually devoured alive by cannibals," yet most of them were spotted alive in future unsavory gore films. While the film is undoubtedly gruesome enough to satisfy fans, its mixture of nauseating mondo animal slaughter, repulsive sexual violence, and pie-faced attempts at socially conscious moralizing make it rather distasteful morally as well. The fact that the film's sole spokesperson for the anti-exploitation perspective is played by porno star Richard Bolla should give an indication of where its sympathies lie. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

Category: Horror

Features: New hi-definition 16x9 digital restoration of the original uncensored Director's cut

Spectacular new stereo re-mix and original mono mix

Provocative audio commentary by Director Ruggero Deodato & star Robert Kerman

Selected on-camera commentary

The Making of Cannibal Holocaust
one hour Italian documentary featuring rare behind the scenes footage

Exclusive on-camera interviews with Deodato, Kerman and co-star Gabriel Yorke

Original theatrical trailers

Extensive gallery of stills and poster art

The original shooting script

Necrophagia "Cannibal Holocaust" music video - directed by Jim Van Bebber

Liner notes by legendary horror journalist Chas Balun

Cannibal Holocaust

Format: DVD

Release Date: 08/26/2008

Audio: DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo

Runtime: 96 Minutes

Sides: 2

Number of Discs: 2

Language(s) English

Region: Universal Compatability

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Cannibal Holocaust - Reel 1
1. Opening Credits/ Cannibal Holocaust [:57]
2. "Man is Omnipotent" [2:03]
3. Amazonia [:09]
4. Return to the Camp [3:19]
5. Arrival of Monroe [:11]
6. Chacko [2:51]
7. On the Trail [:52]
8. Leeches! [:43]
9. Discovering Felipe [1:57]
10. "Tonight We Eeat Meat!" [1:33]
11. The Adulteress [1:36]
12. Miguel's Peace Offering [2:04]
13. The Yacumo Village [:56]
14. Dinner with the Yacumos [:25]
15. Back on the Trail [:18]
16. The Shamatari vs The Yacumos [:41]
17. Token of Gratitude [:44]
18. Experiment in Psychology [2:53]
19. The Ghastly Remains [:02]
20. Monroe Makes a Move [1:46]
21. Dinner with the Yanomamo [1:15]
22. Back in New York [2:44]
23. The Last Road to Hell [:32]
24. Terrible Primadonnas [:08]
25. Colleagues and Family [1:13]
26. Reel One [3:00]
27. Sea Turtle [1:15]
28. Reel Two [1:46]
29. The Death of Felipe [:35]
30. Fame [:51]
31. Reel Three/ Saved by the Anaconda [1:37]
32. First Yacumo Encounter [1:18]
33. The Yacumo Village [1:52]
34. The Massacre of the Yacumos [1:59]
35. In the Mood [2:27]
36. "People Want Sensationalism!" [3:04]
37. Reel Four [1:59]
38. Nature Recycles Everything [3:49]
39. Social Surgery [:07]
40. Alan's Dream [:47]
41. Money From Misery [:03]
42. The Final Reels [:09]
43. Little Monkey [:39]
44. The Impalement [:03]
45. "They're All Around Us!" [1:27]
46. Jack [:05]
47. Trapped [:56]
48. Faye [:54]
49. Alan [:34]
50. The Real Cannibals/ End Credits [:45]

Jason Buchanan

Everything you've heard about Ruggero Deodato's nauseating Grindhouse classic is true; and while it's hard to defend the director for some of the truly repugnant visuals with which he has chosen to convey his message, there is indeed an underlying point to the film, if one is able to look beyond the sometimes unwatchable images that assault the viewer. At one point in the film, a character makes a comment about Western media junkies living to have their senses raped, and in an age where television viewers bear witness on a weekly basis to such acts as game show contestants eating horses' eyeballs to win cash, this sentiment couldn't ring more true. It seems that some of these images shouldn't be as effective as they are over 20 years after the film's initial release, though the animal cruelty, combined with the other unspeakable atrocities that the protagonists commit, ultimately results in a film that does indeed rape the senses of the viewer in a nearly (some might argue entirely) unwatchable manner. While livestock farming and mass consumption has successfully taken the dirty work out of life as a carnivore for most people, many never see the faces of the animals they so readily consume without a second thought. The idea of death and mutilation is so far removed that it's easy to eat meat for one's entire life and never have to witness firsthand the slaughter of the animals one consumes. The actual onscreen killing of animals in this film is almost unforgivable upon initial reaction, though they were (with a few exceptions) consumed in true hunter-gatherer tradition. However, the treatment of the natives by the so-called "documentarians" who set out to expose their "primitive" lifestyles is unforgivable (even though conveyed by use of special effects); it is truly the most horrifying aspect of this film when one stops to consider the results of colonialism and the manner in which many modern societies have arrived at their current states. By the end of the film, the violent (literally and aesthetically) images leave viewers with an unshakable sickness that they won't soon forget. Composer Riz Ortolani's score effectively moves from a familiar, somewhat pensive melody into harsh tones that make viewers actually feel the violence they bear witness to onscreen. This is not a film that is watched, it is a film that is endured, and audiences that have any doubts about their ability to do so are best advised to follow their instincts. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Paolo Paoloni  Actor 
Gianfranco Clerici  Screenwriter 
Ruggero Deodato  Director 
Riz Ortolani  Composer (Music Score) 
Robert Kerman  Actor 
Francesca Ciardi  Actor 
Perry Pirkanen  Actor 
Luca Barbareschi  Actor 
Salvatore Basile  Actor 

Country: Italy