Cannibal Holocaust

Name: Cannibal Holocaust
Genre: Horror
Released: 1980-02-07
Duration: 1 h 35 min
Rating: 5.9
Cast: Robert Kerman, Francesca Ciardi, Perry Pirkanen, Luca Barbareschi, Salvatore Basile

Can a movie go too far?

Cannibal Holocaust (1980)

Timing: 1:35 (95 min)

—
no scores

6.2/10
1905

5.8/10
67000

Rate the movie:

All about film

Video 6

Photo 73

Actors and characters

Watch film Cannibal Holocaust — Invitation To Dinner

2:55

Photo 73

Release date

1980-02-07

Country

Colombia, Italy

Production

F.D. Cinematografica, Bolivariana Films, Transcontinental Films, United Artists Europa

Genre

Horror

Budget

$100 000

Revenue

$2 000 000

Website

http://cannibalholocaust.net/

Director

Ruggero Deodato

Actors

Robert Kerman, Francesca Ciardi, Perry Pirkanen, Luca Barbareschi, Salvatore Basile, Ricardo Fuentes, Carl Gabriel Yorke, Paolo Paoloni, Lionello Pio Di Savoia, Lucia Costantini
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Franco Di Nunzio, Franco Palaggi

Operator

Sergio D'Offizi

Composer

Riz Ortolani

Artist

Massimo Antonello Geleng

Audition

Bill Williams

Editing

Vincenzo Tomassi
All team (31)

Short description

A New York University professor returns from a rescue mission to the Amazon rainforest with the footage shot by a lost team of documentarians who were making a film about the area's local cannibal tribes.

What's left behind the scenes

In a 2005 interview, actor Carl Gabriel Yorke said that Francesca Ciardi, while rehearsing a sexual scene with him, suggested 'actually doing it.' Yorke refused, saying he had a girlfriend in New York. But in 2009, Ciardi claimed that the sex on camera was real, and that she and Yorke were lovers during filming.
The production team was unable to find a local woman to play the role of the tribe member who is raped and killed. Costume designer Lucia Costantini played the role.
After watching the film, director Sergio Leone wrote a letter to Ruggero Deodato, stating: 'Dear Ruggero, what a film! The second part is a masterpiece of cinematic realism, but everything seems so real that I think you will have problems with the whole world.'
Composer Riz Ortolani used a small portion of his soundtrack from the film 'The Torments of the Innocent' (1972) for the movie.
When Carl Gabriel Yorke arrived in the Amazon for filming, he was not given a script and had no idea what the movie was about. In the first scene he filmed, his character's leg was cut off. In a later interview, Yorke said that at the time, he didn't know if the film was a Hollywood production or a snuff film.
After watching the film, director Sergio Leone wrote a letter to Ruggero Deodato, stating: 'Dear Ruggero, what a movie! The second part is a masterpiece of cinematic realism, but everything seems so real that I think you will have problems with the whole world.'
The canonical illustrated poster of the film depicts a girl from one of the cannibal tribes impaled on a wooden stake. In court, director Ruggero Deodato explained that, in reality, the girl was placed on a bicycle seat attached to the top of a wooden pole and asked to hold a small sharpened piece of wood in her mouth. After that, she was covered in artificial blood. He noted that the girl herself was unusually calm and remained motionless throughout the entire filming of the scene.
Composer Riz Ortolani used a small portion of his soundtrack from "The Torment of Innocents" (1972) for this film.
Robert Kerman was a porn actor who hoped to establish himself in mainstream cinema after this film. However, no new offers followed, and he returned to porn.
In Japan, the film took second place at the box office in 1983, after 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.'
Director Ruggero Deodato stated that he deeply regrets everything he did during filming, especially the killing of animals, and that it would have been better if he had never made such a film.
In a 2005 interview, actor Carl Gabriel Yorke said that while rehearsing a sex scene with Francesca Ciardi, she suggested they 'actually do it.' Yorke refused, saying he had a girlfriend in New York. However, in 2009, Ciardi claimed that the sex on screen was real and that she and Yorke were lovers during filming.
The film's original title was "The Green Inferno." But at the last moment, it was changed to something more "shocking."
The film has 6 unofficial sequels.
Actor Perry Pirkanen could not hold back his tears after filming the scene where the turtle was killed.
Immediately after the piglet was killed, actor Carl Gabriel Yorke botched a long monologue that director Ruggero Deodato had planned to include in the film. Yorke had rehearsed the speech successfully several times, but faltered during filming upon hearing the piglet's death scream. It was impossible to reshoot the scene because there were no more piglets on set.
Director Ruggero Deodato stated that 'Cannibal Holocaust' was based on a documentary he had seen previously, which also told the story of a documentary crew that perished while exploring African tribes. This documentary, which showcased some of the incidents that the director later recreated in his film, was allegedly destroyed after its screening. An Italian cable network claimed to have a copy of the tape and intended to show it uncensored. This never happened, but it was confirmed that a copy of the original exists.
The canonical painted poster for the film depicts a girl from one of the cannibal tribes pierced with a wooden stake. In court, director Ruggero Deodato explained that, in reality, the girl was seated on a bicycle seat attached to the top of a wooden pole and asked to hold a small pointed piece of wood in her mouth. After that, she was doused with fake blood. He noted that the girl herself was remarkably calm and remained motionless throughout the filming of the scene.
For the scene where the professor bathes naked in the river, women were hired from a local brothel.
Immediately after the piglet was killed, actor Carl Gabriel Yorke botched a long monologue that director Ruggero Deodato had planned to include in the film. Yorke rehearsed the speech well several times, but stumbled during filming when he heard the piglet's death squeal. It was impossible to reshoot it, as there were no more piglets on set.
All animal deaths in the film were real. The list of killed animals includes a coati, a yellow-spotted river turtle, a boa constrictor, a tarantula, a piglet, and two squirrel monkeys. The scene of the monkey's death was filmed twice, resulting in the death of two animals. Ruggero Deodato originally wanted to use monkey props for this scene, but the natives insisted on real ones, as the brains of these monkeys are considered a delicacy by them. All the dead animals were given to the tribes.
Actor Perry Pirkanen was unable to hold back tears after filming the scene of the turtle's death.
In Japan, the film ranked second at the box office in 1983, following 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'.
When Carl Gabriel Yorke arrived in the Amazon for filming, he was not given a script and had no idea what the film would be about. In his first filmed scene, his character's leg was cut off. In a later interview, Yorke said that at the time he didn't know if the film was a Hollywood production or a snuff film.
Ten days after its premiere in Milan (February 7, 1980), the film was seized by an Italian court, and director Ruggero Deodato was arrested and charged with obscenity. He was later accused of murdering several actors and faced the prospect of imprisonment. Meanwhile, the actors playing the lead roles in the film had signed contracts requiring them to disappear for one year after filming to create the illusion of their actual deaths. Deodato was forced to seek help from actor Luca Barbareschi and ask him to contact the three other actors who played the missing film crew. When all the actors appeared in court alive and well, the murder charges were dropped.
The Yanomami and Shamatari are real South American indigenous tribes. But they are not depicted accurately in the film.
Robert Kerman was a porn actor and hoped to establish himself in mainstream cinema after this film. However, no new offers came, and he returned to porn.
The production team was unable to find a local woman for the role of the raped and murdered tribe member. Costume designer Lucia Costantini played the part.
Director Ruggero Deodato stated that 'Cannibal Holocaust' was based on a documentary film he had seen previously, also telling the story of a documentary crew that perished while researching African tribes. This documentary film, showing some incidents that the director later recreated in his film, was allegedly destroyed after being shown. An Italian cable network claimed to have a copy of the film and was going to show it uncensored. This never happened, but it was confirmed that a copy of the original exists.
All animal deaths in the film were real. The list of animals killed includes a coati (coatimundi), a yellow-spotted river turtle, a boa constrictor, a tarantula, a piglet, and two squirrel monkeys. The scene of the monkey's death was filmed twice, resulting in the deaths of two animals. Ruggero Deodato originally wanted to create monkey dummies for this scene, but the locals insisted on using real ones, as their brains are considered a delicacy. All the dead animals were given to the tribes.