Cannibal Holocaust Special Edition
Zina Perko
AMS Records is proud to present a special edition of the 'Cannibal Holocaust' soundtrack, exclusively released on the occasion of Record Store Day 2023. It is, of course, one of the many 'cannibalistic' movies, but perhaps it's also the only one of its a genre that even today generates mixed feelings and strong controversy. The excellent soundtrack, composed by Riz Ortolani, makes extensive use of string instruments, masterfully arranged and directed to match the strong contrast between the more relaxed scenes - the incipit of the film is memorable, with the main theme accompanying the spectator in a flight over the Amazon forest - and those full of rhythm and tension; in the first case, the strings go along with guitar arpeggios, while in the second they vibrate alone or together with glacial electronic beats. There are also funk-rock episodes such as in 'Cameramen's Recreation,' 'Relaxing In The Savana' and 'Drinking Coco,' while 'Cannibal Holocaust (Terror)' is pure noise mixed with haunting percussion.
This Legacy Edition of 'Cannibal Holocaust' includes the film score remastered and released in its entirety for the first time ever on double LP; graphically speaking, it includes a gatefold cover with glossy title letters printed on a special soft touch paper, OBI and an 8-page booklet complete with reproductions of posters, lobby cards and photographs from the set, plus presentation essays written by Fabio Capuzzo (one of today's best soundtrack experts), Stefan Dimle (Landberk, Anekdoten, Paatos, Morte Macabre) and Mikael kerfeldt (Opeth).
These flicks have not been available on VHS in decades, and this partnership aims to bring back these legendary Italian horror classics for an analog assault that will take you back to the glory days of video store violence.
The CANNIBAL FEROX tape will include the ultra-nasty, completely uncut feature film along with bonus video of the Cannibal Ferox Hollywood Premiere, an interview with director Umberto Lenzi, and trailers. It will also feature exclusive new artwork painted and designed by horror director Marcus Koch (100 Tears, ROT) and a poster only available with this edition of the movie.
The CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST tape will include the uncut feature film in its nauseating entirety plus the Cannibal Holocaust music video and trailers. The striking new special edition artwork, featuring design by Chamuco ATX and illustration by Vader Paz, will come in three different collectible color variants. Each tape also comes with a matching poster exclusive to this release.
In the coming weeks, GRINDHOUSE RELEASING and CULT MOVIE MANIA will also be releasing a LUCIO FULCI VHS DOUBLE FEATURE containing his masterpiece THE BEYOND and the ultra-bloody CAT IN THE BRAIN. That will be followed by the first ever VHS edition of AN AMERICAN HIPPIE IN ISRAEL, the long-lost, completely insane Israeli-made hippie cult classic that will freak you out.
Italian cannibal movies were that repugnant- and also that pervasive. The bizarre exploitation genre sprang from the surprisingly popular Mondo films (Mondo Cane, Mondo Pazzo, Mondo Bizarro, Mondo Freudo), which were like National Geographic specials on crack. But gradually the fad for real atrocity footage from around the globe faded and was slowly replaced with movies about unwary travelers in the Amazon coming face-to-face with natives who look at Western people as brunch.
Cannibal Holocaust is a 1980 Italian cannibal film directed by Ruggero Deodato and written by Gianfranco Clerici. It stars Robert Kerman as Harold Monroe, an anthropologist who leads a rescue team into the Amazon rainforest to locate a crew of filmmakers that have gone missing while filming a documentary on local cannibal tribes.
Produced as part of the contemporary cannibal trend of Italian exploitation cinema, Cannibal Holocaust was inspired by Italian media coverage of Red Brigades terrorism. Deodato believed the news reports to be staged, an idea which became an integral aspect of the film's story.[2] Additional story elements were also influenced by the Mondo documentaries of Gualtiero Jacopetti, particularly the presentation of the documentary crew's lost footage, which constitutes approximately half of the film. The treatment of this footage, which is noted for its visual realism, innovated the found footage style of filmmaking that was later popularized in American cinema by The Blair Witch Project. Cannibal Holocaust was filmed primarily on location in the Amazon rainforest of Colombia with a cast of indigenous tribes interacting with mostly inexperienced American and Italian actors recruited in New York City.[3]
Cannibal Holocaust achieved notoriety as its graphic violence aroused a great deal of controversy. After its premiere in Italy, it was ordered to be seized by a local magistrate, and Deodato was arrested on obscenity charges. He was later charged with multiple counts of murder due to rumors that claimed several actors were killed on camera. Although Deodato was cleared of these charges, the film was banned in Italy, Australia, and several other countries due to its graphic content, including sexual assault and genuine violence toward animals. Although some nations have since revoked the ban, it is still upheld in several countries. Critical reception of the film is mixed, although it has received a cult following. The film's plot and violence have been noted as commentary on journalism ethics, exploitation of South American countries, and the difference between Western and non-Western cultures, yet these interpretations have also been met with criticism, with any perceived subtext deemed hypocritical or insincere due to the film's presentation.[4][5][6]
In 1979, an American film crew disappeared in the Amazon rainforest while filming a documentary about indigenous cannibal tribes. The team comprises director Alan Yates, scriptwriter Faye Daniels, and two cameramen, Jack Anders and Mark Tomaso.
Harold Monroe, an anthropologist at New York University, agrees to lead a rescue mission in hopes of finding the missing filmmakers. In anticipation of his arrival, military personnel stationed in the rainforest conduct a raid on the local Yacumo tribe and take a young man hostage to negotiate with the natives. Monroe flies in via floatplane and is introduced to his guides, Chaco and his assistant, Miguel. After several days of trekking through the jungle, the rescue team encounters the Yacumo. They arrange the release of their hostage in exchange for being taken to the Yacumo village. Once there, the group is initially greeted with hostility and learns that the filmmakers caused great unrest among the people.
The next day, Monroe and his guides head deeper into the rainforest to locate two warring endocannibal tribes, the Ya̧nomam and the Shamatari. They encounter a group of Shamatari warriors and follow them to a riverbank, where Monroe's team saves a smaller group of Ya̧nomam from death. The Ya̧nomam invite the team back to their village in gratitude, but they are still suspicious of the foreigners. Monroe bathes naked in a river to gain their trust, where a group of Ya̧nomam women joins him. The women lead Monroe from the river to a shrine, where he discovers the skeletal remains of the filmmakers with their film reels nearby. Shocked by what he sees, he confronts the Ya̧nomam in the village, where he plays music from a tape recorder. The intrigued natives agree to trade it for the reels of film.
Back in New York, executives of the Pan American Broadcasting System invited Monroe to host a broadcast of the documentary to be made from the recovered film. Still, Monroe insists on viewing the raw footage before making a decision. One of the executives introduces him to Alan's work by showing an excerpt from his previous documentary, The Last Road to Hell, after which she informs Monroe that Alan staged dramatic scenes to get more exciting footage.
Monroe then begins to view the recovered footage, which follows the group's trek through the rainforest. After walking for days, their guide, Felipe, is bitten by a venomous snake. The group amputates Felipe's leg with a machete to save his life, but he dies and is left behind. Upon locating the Yacumo in a clearing, Jack shoots one in the leg so they can easily follow him to the village. Once they arrive, the crew proceeds to intimidate the tribe and kill a young child's pet pig before herding the natives into a hut, which they burn down to stage a massacre for their film. Monroe expresses apprehension about the staged footage and the treatment of the natives, but his concerns are ignored.
After he finishes viewing the remaining footage, Monroe expresses his disgust toward the station's decision to air the documentary. He shows the executives the remaining unedited footage that only he has seen to convince them otherwise. The final 2 reels begin with the filmmakers locating a Ya̧nomam girl, whom the men take turns raping against Faye's protests, stating they are wasting film footage. A Ya̧nomam man can be seen in the background stalking them as the incident occurs. They later encounter the same girl impaled on a wooden pole by a riverbank, where they claim that the natives killed her for loss of virginity, although it is implied that the group themselves killed her and staged it as a murder by the natives for dramatic effect.
Shortly afterward, they are attacked by the Ya̧nomam tribe as revenge for the girl's rape and death. Jack is hit by a spear, and Alan shoots him to prevent his escape. The scene then moves to the crew filming the natives undressing Jack in their captivity and castrating him with a large machete before completely mutilating Jack's lifeless body. Thereafter, an exhausted Alan says they have gotten completely lost trying to escape and are now surrounded by the natives who pursued them. Alan attempts to scare them off with a flare gun as a last resort. During the commotion, Faye is captured by the Ya̧nomam. Alan insists that they attempt to rescue her, but Mark continues to film as she is stripped naked, gang-raped, beaten to death, and beheaded. The Ya̧nomam then locate and kill the last two team members as the camera drops to the ground. Disturbed by what they have seen, the executives order all of the footage to be burned. Monroe leaves the station, pondering "who the real cannibals are".
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