Cannibal Holocaust review needed

[Mikey]

Was just looking over some classic horror movies on the net and came across Cannibal Holocaust.

It's backstory seems more interesting then the movie itself.

I can't believe I never heard of this movie until today.

Has anyone here seen it ?

Is it a good movie ?

[MysteryWho]

wow... um don't see it. it's rough. it's not for fans of conventional horror movies. it's really not for anyone, but nevertheless, there it is. i saw deodato say in a public forum "you kill, i shoot". that pretty much says it all.

[wolfie]

If you have an intrest in the Cannibal genre of films that came out in the late 70's and early 80's then Cannibal Holocaust is probably the best one of all of them. Along with Cannibal Ferox these two films are probably the best known of all the ones that were made but as a film Holocaust is the better of the two.

Make sure that you get an uncut copy though as a lot of countries cut this film to bits in order to make the world a safer place or some such censorship bollocks.

If you need a review and write ups from people who have seen it the best place to go is The Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

[cjefferys]

I'm a fan of the film, and it's been a notorious film with quite a reputation for years now. Definitely by far the best of the cannibal genre of films that came out of Italy in the 70's. Be aware that it's very rough going though. The gore effects are well done (there's one scene that director Ruggero Dedato got in trouble for, as Italian authorities thought a girl was really killed in the film. Dedato had to show how the effect was accomplished, and produce the very much alive actress that appeared in the scene in order to get out of trouble). Also, the film features real, not faked, animal killings, so if you are sensitive about that kind of thing, be careful. The film has caught a lot of flack for that (and Deodato got into trouble for this too). I'm not defending it, but I admit that the animal killings lend a sense of realism to the film that makes the viewer think "Wow, if this stuff is real, what else in the film is real?".

The Grindhouse Releasing DVD is the definitive version, uncut with lots of extras. And it does include an option to watch the film with the animal killings removed.

[kingdom warrior]

We talked about the movie like a year ago here's the thread

I Drink Your Blood and Cannibal Holocaust - Mego Talk

Cannibal Holocaust was considered at one time a snuff movie

Here's a documentary about Snuff movies Cannibal Holocaust is talked about

DoesSnuffExist-Xvid-WS.avi

[Gorn Captain]

Personally, I find it pretty revolting.
I saw part of it, and and if memory serves me (which I really wanted it wouldn't), there's a scene where they tear apart a real live giant turtle in front of the camera.
I don't believe in killing animals to "spice up" a movie.

And the stuff done to people isn't exactly that appealing either.
It has the mood of a snuff movie.

I don't mind if other people like it, but I wish I'd never seen it...

[mazinz]

I'm a fan of the film, and it's been a notorious film with quite a reputation for years now. Definitely by far the best of the cannibal genre of films that came out of Italy in the 70's. Be aware that it's very rough going though. The gore effects are well done (there's one scene that director Ruggero Dedato got in trouble for, as Italian authorities thought a girl was really killed in the film. Dedato had to show how the effect was accomplished, and produce the very much alive actress that appeared in the scene in order to get out of trouble). Also, the film features real, not faked, animal killings, so if you are sensitive about that kind of thing, be careful. The film has caught a lot of flack for that (and Deodato got into trouble for this too). I'm not defending it, but I admit that the animal killings lend a sense of realism to the film that makes the viewer think "Wow, if this stuff is real, what else in the film is real?".

The Grindhouse Releasing DVD is the definitive version, uncut with lots of extras. And it does include an option to watch the film with the animal killings removed.

Hate to break this to you, but the grindhouse version is missing 10-20 seconds of the snuff footage film they show (this is the scene where they show the dir's previous film and how he paid soldiers to kill innocent bystanders). Also the grindhouse dvd has nasty interlaced artifacts (why they did not do a proper progressive transfer is beyond me)

the much better transfer and 100% complete version is this
the EC entertainment 2 disc ultrabit edition (make sure it is the ultrabit one)
The disc is PAL format

Grindhouse's version has the best extras
Ec's has the best transfer and true 100% uncut version

[cjefferys]

Hate to break this to you, but the grindhouse version is missing 10-20 seconds of the snuff footage film they show (this is the scene where they show the dir's previous film and how he paid soldiers to kill innocent bystanders). Also the grindhouse dvd has nasty interlaced artifacts (why they did not do a proper progressive transfer is beyond me)

the much better transfer and 100% complete version is this
the EC entertainment 2 disc ultrabit edition (make sure it is the ultrabit one)
The disc is PAL format

Grindhouse's version has the best extras
Ec's has the best transfer and true 100% uncut version

Interesting, I didn't know that the Grindhouse one was missing that footage. Why would they do that, this is a company that really takes it's time with releases (this films DVD release was held up for a long time, it took forever for Grindhouse to release it!) so I'm really surprised they would drop the ball like that. I have an old VHS tape taken from a supposedly uncut Dutch release of the film (I got it back in my pre-DVD tape trading days), I should compare the two. I have heard about the transfer issues (supposedly the disc wasn't flagged as progressive) but honestly I don't see any problems when watching it on my TV (a 60" HDTV that is by it's nature a progressive scan display). I usually have a good eye for noticing any kind of video artifacting, but I really didn't see a problem with this transfer, I dunno, maybe my TV does a good job of handling the signal and fixing problems like that?

I've heard good things about the EC disc, but I'm sensitive to PAL speed up in the audio, so that's kind of a negative for me.

[lepage]

If you have a soft heart for animals then don't watch this film. They are down right cruel to the animals.

I have this film in my collection but I have a hard time watching it.

[Goblin19]

The animal stuff is unnecessary, to say the least. The movie isn't very good, but it is pretty realistic, with a couple of good scenes.

[Mikey]

I just watched a little bit of it on youtube.

They had some clips including some of the animal stuff.

Not my cup of tea.

Thanks for the replies, guys - but i'll pass.

[mazinz]

Interesting, I didn't know that the Grindhouse one was missing that footage. Why would they do that, this is a company that really takes it's time with releases (this films DVD release was held up for a long time, it took forever for Grindhouse to release it!) so I'm really surprised they would drop the ball like that. I have an old VHS tape taken from a supposedly uncut Dutch release of the film (I got it back in my pre-DVD tape trading days), I should compare the two. I have heard about the transfer issues (supposedly the disc wasn't flagged as progressive) but honestly I don't see any problems when watching it on my TV (a 60" HDTV that is by it's nature a progressive scan display). I usually have a good eye for noticing any kind of video artifacting, but I really didn't see a problem with this transfer, I dunno, maybe my TV does a good job of handling the signal and fixing problems like that?

I've heard good things about the EC disc, but I'm sensitive to PAL speed up in the audio, so that's kind of a negative for me.

I had no idea that grindhouse had a slightly cut version until a few months ago. There are quite a few websites with pic comparisions and info about what was missing, rewind @ dvdcompare.net - the home of dvd & blu-ray comparisons has quite a bit of info as well.

I saw when grindhouse debued that new print. They showed it in Philly (movie theater) at an Exhumed films show. Literally almost like 8 years later the dvd came out from them with that old transfer


most of the time you do not really hear the speed up issue with PAL playback

[wolfie]

Thanks for the replies, guys - but i'll pass.

After all that you pass?

This is a really intense film experience, i would urge you to think again.

[Brazoo]

I saw it about a year ago, I was really excited to see it based on the title alone, but I ended up thinking it was pretty dull. Dramatically it works about as well as a high-school play and camp-wise it's not much fun. The animal killing scenes were buzz-killers.

Personally, I think the hype surrounding the realistic effects is really odd - since the whole film looked pretty cheesy to me, even given the fact that it's dated. There are a couple of decently inventive murders, but I can't say they were good enough for me to remember in detail.

[cjefferys]

most of the time you do not really hear the speed up issue with PAL playback

Unfortunately I'm very sensitive about the speedup. On every PAL disc I've ever listened to, everyone's voices sound a bit too high pitched. Drives me nuts.