SHAM031/SHAM201 - Cannibal Holocaust: The Archive Discussion

[mr 420]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

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.

Did he not actually pay them to lie low for a year or so after the film to add to the realism? I think they eventually came out of the woodwork when Deodato found himself in court?

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by mr 420

Did he not actually pay them to lie low for a year or so after the film to add to the realism? I think they eventually came out of the woodwork when Deodato found himself in court?

I can certainly believe that as it would really freak people out if they had seen a film in which people were murdered only to come out of the cinema and realise that no one had seen or heard anything about the actors for months!

[mr 420]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

I can certainly believe that as it would really freak people out if they had seen a film in which people were murdered only to come out of the cinema and realise that no one had seen or heard anything about the actors for months!

I'm pretty sure that it was in their contracts to not appear in any other film/tv work for a set time after the movie (CH) came out. Of course this plan went belly-up when it looked like Deodato was going to be doing some time.

[nekromantik]

Yeah I heard that too, think it was true.

[mr 420]

If i'm not mistaken I read about it in the Darkside many, many moons ago.

[Daemonia]

Yes, Deodato got the entire cast and crew to lie low to add an aura of mystery (and generate bigger box office receipts, no doubt ).

I've always found it strange that some viewers of Cannibal Holocaust rage on about the animals and yet never even bat an eye at the Road To Hell sequence which features real human executions! Some weird standards emerging there, I think.

And it's also interesting to note that having completed the film, Deodato invited the mighty Sergio Leone round for a private screening. Leone told him it was a masterpiece - but that it would get him in a lot of trouble! He wasn't far wrong.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

The Road to Hell footage is probably the most disturbing aspect of the whole film and is similar to the footage the monkey is forced to watch at the beginning of 28 Days Later. I imagine it's Deodato's statement about the sheer amount of violence on the news which people don't complain about because it is real and not made up as in a feature film. Given the reactions to Cannibal Holocaust compared to news media, it's hard to disagree with that statement.

[Peter Neal]

Originally Posted by Daemonia

I've always found it strange that some viewers of Cannibal Holocaust rage on about the animals and yet never even bat an eye at the Road To Hell sequence which features real human executions! Some weird standards emerging there, I think.

I think that can be easily explained by the truth behind the "Road To Hell" footage being far less known amongst the general horror viewing public than the notorious animal cruelty, which has been adressed for years in genre mags before the likes of the internet and various DVD special features around the globe provided further info.
For instance, I didn't know about the real deaths in the supposedly "fake" "Road" docu until 2009 - Freaked the hell out of me, but didn't change my view of "CH" as one of THE essential horror movies with "real teeth"!

[Daemonia]

Indeed, Peter, I think you're right on all counts.

The Road To Hell sequence is a clever tactic by Deodato. We are shown real footage of human death and misery, only for the projectionist to turn round and say it's fake. It's not - but how many casual viewers actually believed it was fake? It's clever in that Deodato is constantly mixing things up so that the viewer starts to lose focus of what's real and what's not, which adds a frightening power to the film.

I've not seen any of the UK releases to date - does it lose the Road to Hell sequence?

[nekromantik]

Originally Posted by Daemonia

Indeed, Peter, I think you're right on all counts.

The Road To Hell sequence is a clever tactic by Deodato. We are shown real footage of human death and misery, only for the projectionist to turn round and say it's fake. It's not - but how many casual viewers actually believed it was fake? It's clever in that Deodato is constantly mixing things up so that the viewer starts to lose focus of what's real and what's not, which adds a frightening power to the film.

I've not seen any of the UK releases to date - does it lose the Road to Hell sequence?

As far as im aware all releases are missing 10 secs from the road to hell apart from the Scandanavian and EC Ultrabit versions.
The US release aint cut per se as those 10 secs were missing from the negatives. The EC release used a different master.

edit:
The Grindhouse and Aussy release has 10 sec missing from the actual film but the full sequence is inc as a extra.