Well I said that the animal scenes added to the controversey of CH and so it is part of its history and it is what made the film what it is. There is no doubt that those scenes were part of Deodato's vision for CH.

I am a vegi however and the turtule scene actully made me gag so I am glad I dont have to watch that again. I have seen it and know its there and thats all I need to know.

I’m a proud carnivore and it made me gag too, mate.

Sadly, I've noticed this a lot here lately.

Yup me too!

That scene disgusts me, I do wonder if Deadato regrets it trully because he now knows it was wrong or only regrets it cause there was a lot of controversy and people shunning him for it.

I remember the first time I saw Cannibal Holocaust when I was physically repelled and astonished by the animal violence but, when I watched it again a week or so ago, I didn't bother me half as much probably because I was expecting it and knew when it would finish. That's not to say that the scenes lose their impact, it's probably a case of me having seen more films with extreme content since then and becoming slightly desensitised to things like that.

I agree completely with Daemonia's post and haven't watched my Cannibal Holocaust disc without the animal cruelty but I'm intrigued to see what Ruggero Deodato does with his director's cut/new edit of the film and what he has to say in interviews (or maybe a commentary) about why he decided on the new edit and if he thinks it affects the film's power.

I dont think i will ever get desensitized to real animal death :lol:
Those scenes in CH and the rape in Irreversible is the only scenes in movies I have seen that still disturb me to this day.

At the time, wasn't there more controversy about the human violence with Deodato ending up in the courts having to defend himself against allegations that he had made a 'snuff film' in which people were really killed with him and his crew filming?

I'm quite prepared to believe that he really regrets the animal cruelty scenes, considering them over the top and something that could have been faked with dead/fake animals. This is unlike Umberto Lenzi, who still says that he has no problem with the turtle killed in Cannibal Ferox as it provided food for the crew and some of the villagers.

Maybe desensitised was the wrong word -- it is only that, after repeated viewings, certain scenes that shocked and horrified you lose their impact a bit. When I first saw Sympathy For Mr Vengeance, the bit where you see the severed Achilles tendons and the skin flapping in the water lived with me for weeks or months afterwards but, when I watched it a second time, I mentally prepared myself for the worst and, when it happened, I thought "Oh, that wasn't so bad"!

maybe he does who knows.
yeah I do remember hearing about that. After that initial release stuff, it was mostly about the animal deaths that gained the film its notoriety along with the rape scenes imo.

hmm
its different for everyone really. For me personally I still cant watch those scenes in CH but can easily watch anything else. Maybe not real Mondo but I think its a bit physiological really as in my mind I know it was real so it disturbs me more. Just like I refuse to watch real deaths in Mondo films.