The controversial exploitation film Cannibal Holocaust from 1980 was the brainchild of Gianfranco Clerici and Giorgio Stegani , under the direction of Ruggero Deodato .

The movie examines the lengths that one will go to for promised fame and fortune, and the inevitable consequences of a battle between good and evil, though exactly who is good and who is evil is sufficiently blurred.

Much of the controversy around the movie surrounds a famous scene in which a large turtle is butchered on camera. Many condemn this as animal cruelty for the purpose of mere sensationalism, and it has even been called "animal torture." This is a dubious claim, however, since even a cursory examination of the film reveals that the turtle was killed within the first few seconds of its capture. However, in Italy an obscure law which prohibited cruelty to guinea pigs resulted in the film being banned outright there until 1983.

A realistic-appearing death depicted in the movie caused a court to summon Deodato and demand proof that the actor had not in fact been killed.

The movie is banned in many countries due to its gory content.

Tagline: Those who filmed it were devoured alive by cannibals!

Cast

• Robert Kerman as Professor Harold Monroe
• Francesca Ciardi as Faye Daniels
• Perry Pirkanen as Jack Anders
• Luca Barbareschi as Mark Tomaso
• Salvatore Basile as Felipe
• Ricardo Fuentes as Chaco
• Gabriel Yorke as Alan Yates
• Paolo Paoloni as Executive

Plot

The movie is split into two main parts - Professor Harold Monroe's trip into the jungle in search of the explorers, and then the reviewing of films that he recovered (shown mostly from the cameras angle).

When a group of young adventurers fails to return on time from the "Green Inferno", a particularly gruesome area of the Amazon Rainforest, a world renowned anthropologist is sent in search of them. To his utter disgust, he finds that the cannibals living within the jungle have taken it upon themselves to eat the adventurers.

He returns to New York with their camera footage, and upon reviewing it he finds that the foursome committed their fair share of violent and malevolent deeds whilst in the forest.

Film Connections

• The footage in the film which comprises the Last Road to Hell segment which the filmmakers are said to have made before embarking on The Green Inferno is actually genuine footage of exceutions performed in a Third World country in the 1960s, and has featured in several mondo documentaries.
• Cannibal Holocaust is believed to have been one of the main inspirations for The Blair Witch Project, because of the similarity in their stories - a group of filmmakers set out to document the strange goings-on in a wood and are never seen again, save for the footage from the camera which they refused to turn off.

External links

• Official site (Warning: Contains nudity & violence)