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{{about|the film|other uses|Cannibal Holocaust (disambiguation)}}


{{Infobox film
| name           = Cannibal Holocaust
| image          = Cannibal Holocaust movie.jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Italian theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Ruggero Deodato]]
| producer       = {{Plainlist|
* Franco Di Nunzio
* Franco Palaggi
}}
| writer         = [[Gianfranco Clerici]]
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Robert Kerman]]
* [[Carl Gabriel Yorke]]
* [[Francesca Ciardi]]
* [[Luca Barbareschi]]
* [[Perry Pirkanen]]
}}
| music          = [[Riz Ortolani]]
| cinematography = Sergio D'Offizi
| editing        = Vincenzo Tomassi
| studio         = F.D. Cinematografica
| distributor    = [[United Artists|United Artists Europa]]
| released       = {{Film date|df=y|1980|02|07}}
| runtime        = 96 minutes
| country        = Italy
| language       = {{ubl|Italian|English|Spanish}}
| budget         = [[United States dollar|US$]]100,000<ref name="In the Jungle"/>
}}

'''''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 the [[Red Brigades]]' terrorism. Deodato believed the news reports to be staged, an idea that became an integral aspect of the film's story.<ref name="Interview 2"/> Additional story elements were also influenced by the [[Mondo film|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 (arts)|realism]], innovated the [[Found footage (film technique)|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 mostly inexperienced American and Italian actors interacting with actual [[Indigenous peoples in Colombia|indigenous peoples]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Cinema Inferno: Celluloid Explosions from the Cultural Margins|editor-last1=Weiner|editor-first1=Robert G. |editor-last2=Cline|editor-first2=John |publisher=Scarecrow Press, Inc. |year=2010|ISBN=978-0-8108-7656-9}}</ref>

''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. Deodato, screenwriter Gianfranco Clerici, and producers Francesco Palaggi, Alda Pia, and Franco Di Nunzio were convicted of [[obscenity]]. The film was released from seizure in 1982.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Curti |first=Roberto |title=Proibito! A History of Italian Film Censorship, 1913–2021. |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc. |year=2023 |isbn=978-1-4766-8856-5 |location=Jefferson, NC |pages=223 |language=English}}</ref> It was banned in the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa and several other countries due to its graphic content, including [[sexual assault]] and genuine [[Cruelty to animals|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 journalistic ethics, the exploitation of [[South America]]n 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.<ref name="David Carter">{{cite web | url=http://www.savagecinema.com/cannibalholocaust.html | title=Savage Cinema | author=Carter, David | publisher=Savage Cinema | access-date=6 September 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170402122835/http://www.savagecinema.com/cannibalholocaust.html | archive-date=2 April 2017 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/features/articles/cannibal-holocaust-16541 |title=Cannibal Holocaust DVD Review |author-last1=Bitel|author-first1=Anton |publisher=Little White Lies |access-date=20 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110233913/http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/features/articles/cannibal-holocaust-16541 |archive-date=10 November 2014 }}</ref><ref name="Goodall"/>

==Plot==
In 1979, an American film crew — director Alan Yates, script supervisor Faye Daniels, cameramen Jack Anders and Mark Tomaso, and native guide Felipe — disappears in the [[Amazon rainforest]] while filming ''The Green Inferno'', a documentary about [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous]] [[Cannibalism in the Americas|cannibal tribes]].

Harold Monroe, an [[anthropologist]] at [[New York University]], agrees to lead a rescue mission for the missing filmmakers. Before his arrival, military personnel stationed in the rainforest conduct a raid on the local [[Carabayo|Yacumo]] tribe and take a young man hostage to negotiate with the natives. Monroe flies in via [[floatplane]] and meets his guides Chaco and Miguel.

While trekking through the jungle, they find Felipe's skeleton and Chaco force-feeds the hostage [[cocaine]] to keep him pliable. They secretly watch a native man murder a woman as punishment for adultery; Chaco forbids Monroe to intervene. The team follows the man to a group of Yacumo and promises to release their hostage in exchange for being taken to the Yacumo village. Once there, the group is 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 [[Endocannibalism|endocannibal]] tribes, the [[Yanomami|Ya̧nomamö]] and the [[Yanomaman languages|Shamatari]]. They follow a group of Shamatari warriors to a riverbank, where Monroe's team saves a smaller group of Ya̧nomamö from death. The Ya̧nomamö invite the team back to their village in gratitude, but are still suspicious of the foreigners. Monroe bathes naked in a river to gain their trust, where a group of Ya̧nomamö women joins him. The women lead Monroe from the river to a shrine, where he discovers the skeletal remains of the filmmakers and their film reels. He later plays music from a tape recorder for the Ya̧nomamö in the village, hoping they will trade it for the film reels; the intrigued natives agree.

Monroe returns to New York, where Pan American Broadcasting System executives invite him to host a documentary broadcast based on the recovered film. Monroe insists on viewing the raw footage before agreeing. 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 make his films more exciting.

Monroe begins to view the recovered footage, which follows the group's journey through the rainforest. After walking for days, Felipe is bitten by a [[venomous snake]]. They amputate his leg with a machete to save him, 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 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 viewing the remaining footage, Monroe is disgusted by the station's decision to air the documentary and shows the executives the remaining unedited footage that only he has seen to convince them otherwise. The final two reels begin with the filmmakers gang-raping a Ya̧nomamö girl against Faye's protests, silently watched from afar by a Ya̧nomamö man. 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]].{{efn|It is suggested that the group themselves killed her and staged it as a murder by the natives for dramatic effect. This is left ambiguous in the footage.}}

Shortly afterward, they are vengefully attacked by the Ya̧nomamö tribe. A spear hits Jack, and Alan shoots him to prevent his escape. The natives castrate Jack with a large [[machete]] before mutilating his corpse. An exhausted Alan admits that they have gotten lost trying to escape and are now surrounded by the natives, whom he attempts to scare off with a flare gun. Faye is captured by the Ya̧nomamö. Alan insists they rescue her, but Mark continues filming as she is stripped, gang-raped, beaten to death, and beheaded. The Ya̧nomamö then locate and kill the last two team members as the camera falls to the ground. Disturbed, the executives order all the footage to be burned. Monroe leaves the station, pondering "who the real cannibals are".

==Cast==
{{div col}}
* [[Robert Kerman]] as Professor Harold Monroe
* [[Carl Gabriel Yorke]] as Alan Yates
* [[Luca Barbareschi|Luca Giorgio Barbareschi]] as Mark Tomaso
* [[Francesca Ciardi]] as Faye Daniels
* [[Perry Pirkanen|Perry Pirkkanen]] as Jack Anders (credited as Perry Pirkanen)
* Salvatore Basile as Chaco
* Ricardo Fuentes
* [[Paolo Paoloni]] as Executive
* Lionello Pio Di Savoia as Executive
* Luigina Rocchi
* Kate Weiman as Executive {{small|(uncredited)}}
* Enrico Papa as TV Interviewer {{small|(uncredited)}}
* [[David Sage]] as Mr. Yates {{small|(uncredited)}}
* [[Ruggero Deodato]] as Man on University Campus {{small|(uncredited)}}
{{div col end}}

==Production==
===Development===
[[File:Ruggero Deodato 2008.jpg|right|upright|thumb|Director [[Ruggero Deodato]]]]
Production on ''Cannibal Holocaust'' began in 1979, when director [[Ruggero Deodato]] was contacted by West German film distributors to make a film similar to his previous work, ''[[Ultimo mondo cannibale|Last Cannibal World]]''. He accepted the project and immediately went in search of a producer, choosing his friend Francesco Palaggi. The two first flew to Colombia to scout filming locations. [[Leticia, Colombia]] was chosen as the principal filming location after Deodato met a Colombian documentary filmmaker at the airport in [[Bogotá]], who suggested the town as a location ideal for filming. Other locations had been considered, specifically those where [[Gillo Pontecorvo]]'s ''[[Burn!]]'' had been shot, but Deodato rejected these locations due to lack of suitable [[rainforest]].<ref name="In the Jungle"/>

Deodato conceived of the film's premise while talking to his son about news coverage of the terrorism of the [[Red Brigades]]. Deodato thought that the media focused on portraying violence with little regard for [[journalistic integrity]] and believed that journalists staged certain news angles in order to obtain more sensational footage. The Italian media was symbolized by the behavior in the film team in ''Cannibal Holocaust'', the depiction of whom was also influenced by the works of [[Gualtiero Jacopetti]], a documentary filmmaker of whom Deodato was a fan.<ref name="Ortolani">{{cite video | people=[[Riz Ortolani|Ortolani, Riz]] (interviewee) |date=2003 |title=In the Jungle: The Making of Cannibal Holocaust |medium=Documentary |location=Italy |publisher=Alan Young Pictures}}</ref><ref name="Interview 2"/> Jacopetti and his partner, Franco Prosperi, are credited with popularizing [[Mondo films]], a genre of documentary, with their first release, ''[[Mondo cane]]''. Mondo films focused on sensational and graphic content from around the world, including local customs, violence, sexuality, and death. Deodato included similar content in ''Cannibal Holocaust'', such as graphic violence and animal death, and the documentary that is produced in ''Cannibal Holocaust'' resembles a Mondo film.<ref name="Goodall"/><ref name="killing for culture"/> The scene of Monroe bathing naked in a river and the scene of a [[forced abortion]] rite have also been noted as being similar to scenes in Antonio Climati's Mondo film ''[[Savana violenta]]''.<ref name="Goodall"/>

The Italian screenwriter [[Gianfranco Clerici]] wrote the script under the working title ''I figli della luna'' (''The Sons of the Moon'').<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ercolani |first=Eugenio |date=2020-05-01 |title=The Meat of 'Cannibal Holocaust' and the Zombie Film That Never Was: The Definitive Ruggero Deodato Interview |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/interviews/3615111/meat-cannibal-holocaust-zombie-film-never-definitive-ruggero-deodato-interview/ |access-date=2024-08-05 |website=Bloody Disgusting! |language=en-US}}</ref> He had collaborated with Deodato in his previous films ''Ultimo mondo cannibale'' and ''[[The House on the Edge of the Park]]'', the latter of which was filmed before ''Cannibal Holocaust'' but released afterward. The screenplay included multiple scenes that did not make the film's final cut, including a scene in which a group of Ya̧nomamö cuts off the leg of a Shamatari warrior and feeds him to [[piranha]]s in a river. This scene was to take place directly after Monroe's team rescues a smaller group of Ya̧nomamö from the Shamatari.<ref name="script"/> Attempts were made to film this scene, but the [[underwater camera]] did not operate properly, and the piranha were difficult to control. As a result, Deodato abandoned his efforts, and still photographs taken during the scene's setup are its only known depiction.<ref name="Interview 2"/> The originally scripted version of ''The Last Road to Hell'', which was written to depict soldiers advancing upon an enemy position, also went unused, as Deodato instead decided to use stock footage of political executions for the segment in order to draw further parallels to the films of Jacopetti.<ref name="Interview 2"/> The character names Mark Williams and Shanda Tommaso in Clerici's screenplay were also changed to Mark Tomaso and Faye Daniels, respectively, in the film.<ref name="script">Clerici, Gianfranco. ''Cannibal Holocaust''. Screenplay.</ref><ref name="roadtohell">"The Last Road to Hell: Alternate Version" (supplementary material on DVD release of ''Cannibal Holocaust''). DVD. [[Grindhouse Releasing]], 2005.</ref>

===Casting===
 
Deodato decided to film ''Cannibal Holocaust'' in English in order to appeal to a wider audience and to lend the film credibility. There is one scene in Spanish, about seven minutes in, for which the subtitles vary in different versions of the film. However, the film had to establish a European nationality so that it could be more easily distributed among European countries.<ref name="Euro">{{Citation|last=Gyory|first=Michel| title=Making and Distributing Films in Europe: The Problem of Nationality|publisher= European Audiovisual Observatory|year=2000}}</ref> Under Italian law, for the film to be recognized as Italian, at least two actors who spoke Italian as a native language had to star in the film.<ref name="In the Jungle"/><ref name="Euro"/> [[Luca Barbareschi|Luca Giorgio Barbareschi]] and [[Francesca Ciardi]], two inexperienced students from the [[Actors Studio]] in [[New York City]], were cast as Mark Tomaso and Faye Daniels, respectively, in part because they were native Italian speakers who also spoke English. Deodato also hired an American from the Actors Studio, [[Perry Pirkanen|Perry Pirkkanen]], to play Jack Anders.<ref name="In the Jungle"/>

A friend of Pirkkanen was initially cast to play Alan Yates, but he dropped out of the film shortly before the production team left for the Amazon.<ref name="Interview"/> He instead appears in the film as an ex-colleague of Yates.<ref name="Interview 2"/> [[Casting director]] Bill Williams subsequently contacted [[Carl Gabriel Yorke]] to play the role. Yorke, a [[stage actor]] who had studied under [[Uta Hagen]], was chosen in part because he was the right size for the costumes and boots, which had already been purchased. Because ''Cannibal Holocaust'' was a [[SAG-AFTRA|non-union]] production, Yorke originally wanted to be credited under the stage name Christopher Savage, although he ultimately decided it to be unnecessary due to the film's obscurity and remote filming location.<ref name="Interview">{{cite interview |last=Yorke |first=Carl Gabriel |interviewer=[[Sage Stallone]] |title=Alan Yates Uncovered |location=Palo Alto, California |date=12 May 2005 |work=Cannibal Holocaust DVD Extras}}</ref>

[[Robert Kerman]] had years of experience working in [[adult film]]s under the pseudonym R. Bolla, including the well-known ''[[Debbie Does Dallas]]'', before breaking into the Italian film industry. Kerman was recommended to Deodato for his previous film, ''[[The Concorde Affair]]'', in which Kerman played an air traffic controller, and his performance impressed Deodato enough to have Kerman cast as Harold Monroe in ''Cannibal Holocaust''. Kerman went on to star in the Italian [[cannibal film]]s ''[[Eaten Alive!]]'' and ''[[Cannibal Ferox]]'', both directed by [[Umberto Lenzi]]. Kerman's then-girlfriend Kate Weiman was cast as one of the station executives, as she was available to film in both New York City and Rome.<ref name="Exposed"/>

===Direction===
Film historian David Kerekes contends that the film's sense of reality is based on the direction and the treatment of the film team's recovered footage, noting that the "shaky hand-held camerawork commands a certain realism, and 'The Green Inferno,' the ill-fated team's film-within-a-film here, is no exception", and that "this very instability gives the 'Green Inferno' film its authentic quality."<ref name="killing for culture"/> David Carter of the cult horror [[webzine]] ''Savage Cinema'' says that Deodato's methods added a [[first-person narration]] quality to the film team's footage, writing: "The viewer feels as if they are there with the crew, experiencing the horrors with them."<ref name="David Carter"/> Deodato was proud of other aspects of the [[cinematography]], namely the numerous moving shots using a standard, shoulder-mounted [[movie camera|camera]], forgoing the use of a [[steadicam]].<ref name="Interview 2"/>

Kerekes noted the animal slaughter and inclusion of footage from ''The Last Road to Hell'' as adding to the sense of reality of the film.<ref name="killing for culture">{{cite book |last=Kerekes |first=David |author2=Slater, David |title=Killing for Culture: Death Film from Mondo to Snuff |date=January 1996 |publisher=Creation Books |location=UK |isbn=1-871592-20-8}}</ref> [[Lloyd Kaufman]] of [[Troma Entertainment]] compares these scenes to [[Vsevolod Pudovkin]]'s theory of [[Montage sequence|montage]], saying: "In ''Cannibal Holocaust'', we see the actors kill and rip apart a giant sea turtle and other animals. [...] The brain has been conditioned to accept that which it's now seeing as real. This mixture of real and staged violence, combined with the handheld camerawork and the rough, unedited quality of the second half of the movie, is certainly enough to convince someone that what they are watching is real."<ref name="Kaufman">{{cite book |last=Kaufman |first=Lloyd | editor-last=Slater | editor-first=Jay |title=Eaten Alive!: Italian Cannibal and Zombie Movies | chapter=''Cannibal Holocaust'': Review by Lloyd Kaufman |year=2002 |publisher=Plexus Publishing |location=London |pages=104–106}}</ref> Deodato says he included the execution footage in ''The Last Road to Hell'' to draw further similarities to ''Cannibal Holocaust'' and the [[Mondo film]]making of [[Gualtiero Jacopetti]].<ref name="Interview 2"/>

===Filming===
[[File:Campo12Foto 2.JPG|thumb|''Cannibal Holocaust'' was filmed mainly in the Amazon rainforest in Colombia.]]
[[Principal photography]] began on 4 June 1979. The scenes featuring the film team were shot first with handheld [[16mm]] cameras in a ''[[cinéma vérité]]'' style that mimicked an observational documentary, a technique Deodato had learned from his mentor [[Roberto Rossellini]]. This same style was also used by Climati in his Mondo film ''[[Ultime grida dalla savana]]'', which may have been influential on Deodato's direction.<ref name = "Goodall"/> After shooting with the film team was completed, Kerman flew down to film his scenes in the rainforest and then to [[New York City|New York]] to film exterior shots in the city. Leticia was only accessible by aircraft, and from there, the cast and crew had to travel by boat to reach the set.<ref name="Gelend">{{cite video |people=Gelend, Antonio (interviewee) |date=2003 |title=In the Jungle: The Making of Cannibal Holocaust |medium=Documentary |location=Italy |publisher=Alan Young Pictures}}</ref><ref name="Interview"/> The interior shots of New York were filmed later in a studio in Rome.<ref name="Interview 2"/><ref name="Comment"/>

Production on the film was delayed numerous times while in the Amazon. After the actor originally cast as Alan Yates dropped out of the role, filming was halted for two weeks until new casting calls were completed and Yorke arrived in Leticia.<ref name="Interview"/> During principal filming with Kerman, the father of the actor who played Miguel was murdered, and production was again halted as the actor flew back to [[Bogotá]] to attend his father's funeral.<ref name="Interview 2"/> The locale also presented problems for the production, in particular the heat and sudden rain storms, which sporadically delayed filming.<ref name="Gelend"/><ref name="D'Offizi">{{cite video | people = D'Offizi, Sergio (interviewee) |date = 2003 | title = In the Jungle: The Making of Cannibal Holocaust | medium = Documentary | location = Italy | publisher = Alan Young Pictures}}</ref>

Interpersonal relationships were strained on the set. Kerman and Deodato frequently clashed, as the two got into long, drawn-out arguments every day of shooting, usually because of remarks made by Deodato to which Kerman took offense.<ref name="Interview 2"/><ref name="Comment">{{cite interview |last=Kerman |first=Robert |subject-link=Robert Kerman |interviewer=[[Sage Stallone]], [[Bob Murawski]] |title=Cannibal Holocaust DVD Commentary |location=Tarrytown, New York |date=12 November 2000 |work=Cannibal Holocaust DVD Extras}}</ref> Although Deodato noted that the two were always friendly again a few minutes later,<ref name="Interview 2"/> Kerman expressed his personal dislike of Deodato in several interviews. He described Deodato as remorseless and uncaring on set<ref name="Comment"/> and stated that he did not believe that Deodato had a soul.<ref name="Exposed"/> Kerman also noted hostile treatment of other cast and crew members by Deodato, stating: "He was a sadist. He was particularly sadistic to people that couldn't answer back, people that were Colombian, [and] people that were Italian but could be sent home."<ref>The Gore-Met (December 2005). "A Forbidden Feast of Flesh". Rue Morgue Magazine #52, 30–32.</ref> Yorke and co-star Perry Pirkkanen also did not get along, which Yorke attributed to disappointment that Pirkkanen felt after his friend dropped out of the production. Yorke also alienated Ciardi after he declined to have sex with her in preparation for filming their sex scene.<ref name="Interview"/>

Multiple cast and crew members were uncomfortable with the film's graphic content, in particular the genuine killing of animals. Yorke described the shoot as having "a level of cruelty unknown to me" and was initially unsure if he was taking part in a [[snuff film]]. When his character was scripted to kill a pig on camera, Yorke refused, leaving the duty to Luca Barbareschi. Yorke had traveled with the pig to the set and felt he had formed a relationship with the animal. When it was shot, the emotional impact of hearing the pig squeal subsequently caused Yorke to botch a long monologue, and retakes were not an option because the production did not have access to additional pigs.<ref name="Interview"/> Kerman similarly objected to the killing of the [[coati]] and stormed off the set while its death scene was filmed; he had repeatedly pressed Deodato to let the animal go in the minutes leading up to filming.<ref name="Exposed"/> Pirkkanen cried after filming the butchering of a turtle,<ref name="Interview 2"/> and crew members vomited off camera when a [[squirrel monkey]] was killed for the film.<ref name="Interview"/>

The film's sexual content also proved a point of contention among the cast members. Ciardi did not want to bare her breasts during the sex scene between her and Yorke, and she became agitated with him during the filming of the scene. When she refused to comply with the direction, Deodato led her off the set and screamed at her in Italian until she agreed to perform the scene as instructed. Yorke also became severely upset while filming a scene in which his character takes a part in the rape of a native girl. The film's content had given Yorke anxiety throughout his time in Colombia, and this tension peaked during the rape scene. His experiences on set ultimately weighed so heavily on him that Yorke ended his relationship with his girlfriend in New York shortly after his return from the Amazon.<ref name="Interview"/>

Yorke experienced unfair payment practices when his first payment for the film came in the form of [[Colombian peso]]s and was less than what had been agreed upon. He refused to continue shooting until he was paid the correct amount in [[United States dollar]]s. The native extras also went unpaid for their work despite their involvement in numerous dangerous scenes, including a scene in which they were forced to stay inside a burning hut for a prolonged period of time.<ref name="Interview"/>

==Soundtrack==
{{listen|pos=Right|filename=Main Theme.ogg|title="Cannibal Holocaust (Main Theme)"|description=Thirty second audio sample of the theme from ''Cannibal Holocaust''|format=[[Ogg]]}}
The film's soundtrack was composed entirely by Italian composer [[Riz Ortolani]], whom Deodato specifically requested because of Ortolani's work in ''Mondo Cane''. Deodato was particularly fond of the film's main theme, "Ti guarderò nel cuore", which was given lyrics and became a worldwide [[pop music|pop]] hit under the title "[[More (Mondo Cane theme)|More]]". The music of ''Cannibal Holocaust'' is a variety of styles, from a gentle melody in the "Main Theme", to a sad and flowing score in "Crucified Woman", and faster and more upbeat tracks in "Cameraman's Recreation", "Relaxing in the Savannah", and "Drinking Coco", to the sinister-sounding "Massacre of the Troupe". The instrumentation is equally mixed, ranging from full orchestras to electronics and synthesizers.<ref name="moviegrooves">{{cite web | url=https://www.moviegrooves.com/shop/cannibalholocaustsoundtrack.htm | title=Cannibal Holocaust soundtrack | publisher=Movie Grooves | access-date=13 February 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050724022039/https://www.moviegrooves.com/shop/cannibalholocaustsoundtrack.htm | url-status=dead |archive-date=24 July 2005}}</ref>

The film's main theme was used in 2022 for the American teen series ''[[Euphoria (American TV series)|Euphoria]]'', where it was played during the closing credits for the season 2 episode "The Theater and Its Double".<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Lewis |last=Knight |date=28 February 2022 |title=''Euphoria'' Season 2 Soundtrack: Full List of Songs in Zendaya Series |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/euphoria-hbo-soundtrack-songs-list/ |magazine=[[Radio Times]] |access-date=13 May 2023}}</ref>

===Track listing===
{| width=70%
|
{{Track listing
|
| headline  = Side one
| all_writing     = [[Riz Ortolani]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.soundtrack.net/album/cannibal-holocaust-ows-dw-valentines/ |title=Cannibal Holocaust – Limited Valentine's Edition of 2,000 Copies|publisher=Soundtrack.net |access-date=6 February 2017}}</ref>
| title1  = Cannibal Holocaust (Main Theme)
| length1  = 2:55
| title2  = Adulteress' Punishment
| length2  = 3:21
| title3  = Cameramen's Recreation
| length3  = 3:11
| title4  = Massacre of the Troupe
| length4  = 3:52
| title5  = Love with Fun
| length5  = 2:53
}}
{{Track listing
| headline  = Side two
| title1  = Crucified Women
| length1  = 2:20
| title2  = Relaxing in the Savanna
| length2  = 3:08
| title3  = Savage Rite
| length3  = 3:40
| title4  = Drinking Coco
| length4  = 3:24
| title5  = Cannibal Holocaust (End Titles)
| length5  = 3:53
}}
|}

==Release==
''Cannibal Holocaust'' [[premiere]]d on 7 February 1980 in the Italian city of [[Milan]]. Although the courts later confiscated the film based on a citizen's complaint, the initial audience reaction was positive.<ref name="In the Jungle"/><ref name="Interview 2">{{cite interview |last=Deodato |first=Ruggero |subject-link=Ruggero Deodato |interviewer=[[Sage Stallone]], [[Bob Murawski]] |title=Cult-Con 2000 |location=Tarrytown, New York |date=12 November 2000 |work=Cannibal Holocaust DVD Commentary}}</ref> After seeing the film, director [[Sergio Leone]] wrote a letter to Deodato, which stated (translated): "Dear Ruggero, what a movie! The second part is a masterpiece of cinematographic realism, but everything seems so real that I think you will get in trouble with all the world."<ref>{{cite book |last=Slater |first=Jay | editor-last=Slater | editor-first=Jay |title=Eaten Alive!: Italian Cannibal and Zombie Movies | chapter=''Cannibal Holocaust'': Review by Jay Slater |year=2002 |publisher=Plexus Publishing |location=London |page=108}}</ref> In the ten days before it was seized, the film had grossed approximately $2 million.<ref name="In the Jungle"/> In Japan, it grossed $21 million, becoming the second highest-grossing film of that time after ''[[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial]]''.<ref name="In the Jungle"/> Deodato has claimed the film has grossed as much as $200 million worldwide in the wake of its various re-releases.<ref name="In the Jungle"/>

===Critical response===
Critics remain split on their stances of ''Cannibal Holocaust''. Supporters of the film cite it as a serious and well-made [[social commentary]] on the modern world. Sean Axmaker praised the structure and setup of the film, saying: "It's a weird movie with an awkward narrative, which Deodato makes all the more effective with his grimy sheen of documentary realism, while Riz Ortolani's unsettlingly lovely, elegiac score provides a weird undercurrent."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.staticmultimedia.com/content/film/features/feature_1134529705 |title=Digital Delirium | author=Axmaker, Sean |publisher=Super Unleaded Design, Inc. |access-date=15 February 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080418041555/http://www.staticmultimedia.com/content/film/features/feature_1134529705 |archive-date=18 April 2008}}</ref> Jason Buchanan of [[AllMovie]] said: "While it's hard to defend the director for some of the truly repugnant images with which he has chosen to convey his message, there is indeed an underlying point to the film, if one is able to look beyond the sometimes unwatchable images that assault the viewer."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://allmovie.com/movie/cannibal-holocaust-v132995/review | title=Cannibal Holocaust > Review | author-last1=Buchanan|author-first1=Jason |publisher=[[AllMovie]] | access-date=16 February 2007}}</ref>

Detractors, however, criticize the over-the-top gore and the genuine animal slayings and also point to the [[hypocrisy]] that the film presents. Nick Schager criticized the brutality of the film, saying: "As clearly elucidated by its shocking gruesomeness—as well as its unabashedly [[racism|racist]] portrait of [[Indigenous peoples|indigenous]] folks it purports to sympathize with [the real indigenous peoples in Brazil whose names were used in the film—the [[Ya̧nomamö]] and [[Shamatari]]—are not fierce enemies as portrayed in the film, nor is either tribe truly cannibalistic, although the Ya̧nomamö do partake in a form of post-mortem ritual cannibalism]<ref>{{cite book |last=Chagnon |first=Napoleon A. |author-link=Napoleon Chagnon |editor=George and Louise Spindler |title=Yanomamö |orig-year=1968 |edition=5th |date=15 November 1996 |publisher=Wadsworth Publishing |location=Fort Worth, Texas |isbn=0-15-505327-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/yanomam00chag }}</ref>—the actual savages involved with ''Cannibal Holocaust'' are the ones behind the camera."<ref name="Schager"/>

Robert Firsching of AllMovie made similar criticisms of the film's content, saying: "While the film is undoubtedly gruesome enough to satisfy fans, its mixture of nauseating mondo animal slaughter, repulsive sexual violence, and pie-faced attempts at socially conscious moralizing make it rather distasteful morally as well."<ref name="AllMovie">{{cite web |url=https://allmovie.com/movie/v132995 |title=Cannibal Holocaust > Overview |author=Firsching, Robert |publisher=AllMovie |access-date=16 February 2007}}</ref> ''[[Slant Magazine]]''{{'}}s Eric Henderson said it is "artful enough to demand serious critical consideration, yet foul enough to christen you a pervert for even bothering."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://slantmagazine.com/film/film_review.asp?ID=1848 |title=Film Review:Cannibal Holocaust |author-last1=Henderson|author-first1=Eric |publisher=Slant Magazine |access-date=15 February 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930181453/https://slantmagazine.com/film/film_review.asp?ID=1848 |archive-date=30 September 2007 }}</ref>

In recent years, ''Cannibal Holocaust'' has received accolades in various publications as well as a [[cult following]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.filmsite.org/controversialfilms13.html |title=The Most Controversial Films of All-Time |publisher=Filmsite.org |access-date=6 January 2012}}</ref> [[Review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]] gives the film an approval rating of 67% based on 18 reviews, with a [[weighted arithmetic mean|weighted average]] of 5.5/10.<ref>{{rotten-tomatoes|cannibal_holocaust}}</ref> British film [[magazine]] ''[[Total Film]]'' ranked ''Cannibal Holocaust'' as the tenth greatest horror film of all time,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.totalfilm.com/news/shock-horror-1 |title=Shock Horror! |publisher=Future Publishing Limited |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081103112718/http://www.totalfilm.com/news/shock-horror-1 |archive-date=3 November 2008 |url-status=dead |access-date=21 November 2021}}</ref> and the film was included in a similar list of the top 25 horror films compiled by ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/10/25-best-horror-films/?pid=1623 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101101112527/https://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/10/25-best-horror-films/?pid=1623 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2010-11-01 |title=25 Best Horror Films of All Time |magazine=Wired |access-date=10 November 2010 |first=Jon |last=Snyder |date=28 October 2010}}</ref> The film also came in eighth on ''[[IGN]]''{{'}}s list of the ten greatest "[[exploitation film|grindhouse]]" films.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://movies.ign.com/articles/778/778253p1.html | title=IGN Top 10 Grind House Films |work=IGN Entertainment | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070410043758/http://movies.ign.com/articles/778/778253p1.html | archive-date=10 April 2007 | url-status=dead |access-date=21 November 2021}}</ref>

===Interpretations===
''Cannibal Holocaust'' is seen by some critics as [[social commentary]] on various aspects of modern civilization by comparing Western society to that of the cannibals. David Carter says: "''Cannibal Holocaust'' is not merely focused on the societal taboo of [[Human cannibalism|flesh eating]]. The greater theme of the film is the difference between the civilized and the uncivilized. Though the graphic violence can be hard for most to stomach, the most disturbing aspect of the film is what Deodato is saying about modern society. The film asks the questions 'What is it to be 'civilized'?' and 'Is it a good thing?{{' "}}<ref name="David Carter"/> Mark Goodall, author of ''Sweet & Savage: The World Through the Shockumentary Film Lens'', also contends the film's message is [to show] "the rape of the natural world by the unnatural; the exploitation of 'primitive' cultures for Western entertainment."<ref name="Goodall"/>

Deodato's intentions regarding the Italian media coverage of the Red Brigades have also fallen under critical examination and has been expanded to include all [[sensationalism]]. Carter explores this, claiming that "[the lack of journalistic integrity] is shown through the interaction between Professor Monroe and the news agency that had backed the documentary crew. They continually push Monroe to finish editing the footage because blood and guts equal [[Audience measurement|ratings]]."<ref name="David Carter"/> Lloyd Kaufman claims that this form of exploitative journalism can still be seen in the media today and in programming such as [[reality television]].<ref name="Kaufman"/> Goodall and film historians David Slater and David Kerekes have also suggested that Deodato was attempting to comment on the documentary works of Antonio Climati with his film.<ref name="Goodall">{{cite book |last=Goodall |first=Mark |title=Sweet and Savage: The World Through the Shockumentary Film Lens |year=2006 |publisher=Headpress |location=[[London]], UK |isbn=1-900486-49-0}}</ref><ref name="killing for culture"/>

Despite these interpretations, Deodato has said in interviews that he had no intentions in ''Cannibal Holocaust'' but to make a film about cannibals.<ref name="Kaufman"/> Actor [[Luca Barbareschi]] asserts this as well and believes that Deodato only uses his films to "put on a show".<ref name="Luca">{{cite video | people = Barbareschi, Luca (interviewee) |date = 2003 | title = In the Jungle: The Making of Cannibal Holocaust | medium = Documentary | location = Italy | publisher = Alan Young Pictures}}</ref> Robert Kerman contradicts these assertions, stating that Deodato did tell him of political concerns involving the media in the making of this film.<ref name="Exposed">{{cite interview |last=Kerman |first=Robert |subject-link=Robert Kerman |interviewer=[[Sage Stallone]], [[Bob Murawski]] |title=Robert Kerman Exposed |location=Tarrytown, New York |date=15 November 2000 |work=Cannibal Holocaust DVD Extras}}</ref>

These interpretations have also been criticized as hypocritical and poor justification for the film's content, as ''Cannibal Holocaust'' itself is highly sensationalized. Firsching claims that "The fact that the film's sole spokesperson for the anti-exploitation perspective is played by porn star [[Robert Kerman]] should give an indication of where its sympathies lie",<ref name="AllMovie"/> while Schager says Deodato is "pathetically justifying the unrepentant carnage by posthumously damning his eaten filmmaker protagonists with a 'who are the real monsters – the cannibals or us?' anti-imperialism morale."<ref name="Schager">{{cite web |author=Schager, Nick |title=The Nick Schager Film Project: Cannibal Holocaust |url=http://www.nickschager.com/nsfp/2005/08/cannibal_holoca.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051024073206/http://www.nickschager.com/nsfp/2005/08/cannibal_holoca.html |archive-date=24 October 2005 |access-date=15 February 2007 |publisher=Nick Schager Film Project}}</ref>

''Cannibal Holocaust'' is relevant to the historical relationship between the United States and Latin America. In ''Dissecting Cannibal Holocaust'', Nathan Wardinski observes that "the fictionalized native people of this film personify Western and specifically US attitudes toward the region and its people."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wardinski |first=Nathan |title=Dissecting Cannibal Holocaust |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=978-1-66691-402-3 |location=Lanham, MD |publication-date=2024 |pages=74}}</ref> The film is also relevant to the contentious history of western anthropologists and the [[Yanomami]] people (referred to as Yanomamö in the film). The Yanomami were brought to worldwide attention by anthropologist [[Napoleon Chagnon]] whose work described the Yanomami as "the fierce people" who lived in a constant state of warfare. According to Chagnon, rape and domestic violence were commonplace in Yanomami culture when he conducted field research.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chagnon |first=Napoleon |title=Yanomamo: The Last Days of Eden |publisher=Harcourt Brace & Company |year=1992 |isbn=0-15-699682-0 |location=New York |pages=239, 209, 216}}</ref> These findings were disputed by other anthropologists and Chagnon's reputation was devastated by the book ''[[Darkness in El Dorado|Darkness in El Dorado: How Scientists and Journalists Devastated the Amazon]]'' by [[Patrick Tierney (author)|Patrick Tierney]], a layperson who was found to have fabricated evidence, bringing the accuracy of ''Darkness in El Dorado'' into question. The book was the basis for the documentary ''[[Secrets of the Tribe]]''. There is evidence that Clerici used Chagnon's work as the basis for the script to ''Cannibal Holocaust''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wardinski |first=Nathan |title=Dissecting Cannibal Holocaust |publisher=Lexington Books |year=2024 |isbn=978-1-66691-402-3 |location=Lanham, MD |pages=57–58}}</ref>

==Controversies==
Since its original release, ''Cannibal Holocaust'' has been the target of censorship by moral and animal advocates. Other than graphic gore, the film contains several scenes of sexual violence and genuine [[Animal cruelty|cruelty to animals]], issues which find ''Cannibal Holocaust'' in the midst of controversy to this day. Due to this notoriety, ''Cannibal Holocaust'' has been marketed as having been banned in over 50 countries.<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=Cannibal Holocaust 25th Anniversary Edition |others=[[Ruggero Deodato|Deodato, Ruggero]] |type=back cover |publisher=VIPCO (Video Instant Picture Company) |location=UK |id=VIP666SE |year=2004}}</ref> In 2006, ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' magazine named ''Cannibal Holocaust'' as the 20th most controversial film of all time.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=The 25 Most Controversial Movies Ever |url=https://ew.com/gallery/25-most-controversial-movies-ever |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |issue=882 |location=[[New York City]] |publisher=Entertainment Weekly Inc. |date=16 June 2006 |access-date=1 February 2014 }}</ref>

===Snuff film allegations===
[[Image:CannibalHolocaustimpale.jpg|right|thumb|Urban legends claim the film's [[impalement]] scene was one of several examined by courts to determine whether the depicted violence was staged or genuine.]]
Ten days after its premiere in Milan, ''Cannibal Holocaust'' was confiscated under the orders of a local magistrate,<ref>Sumner, Don: ''Horror Movie Freak'', p. 189 (Krause Publications, 2010). {{ISBN|978-1-4402-0824-9}}.</ref> and Ruggero Deodato was charged with obscenity. As all copies were to be turned over to the authorities, the film was released in other countries like the United Kingdom via subterfuge.<ref name="In the Jungle"/> In January 1981, during the film's theatrical run in France, the magazine ''[[Photo (French magazine)|Photo]]'' suggested that certain deaths depicted in the film were real, which would have made ''Cannibal Holocaust'' a [[snuff film]].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=King|first1=Geoff|title=The Spectacle of The Real: From Hollywood to 'Reality' TV and Beyond|publisher=Intellect Ltd. |year=2005|ISBN=1-84150-120-4}}</ref> Despite rumors of the contrary, neither Deodato nor the film's producers were ever formally charged with murder.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wardinski |first=Nathan |title=Dissecting Cannibal Holocaust |publisher=Lexington Books |year=2024 |isbn=978-1-66691-402-3 |location=Lanham, MD |publication-date=2024 |pages=184 |language=English}}</ref> Deodato said in interviews that magistrates had actually suspected him of murder and that he avoided being charged by asking cast members to appear in court, with at least Barbareschi appearing.<ref>{{cite AV media | people=Ruggero Deodato (interviewee) |date=2003 | title=In the Jungle: The Making of Cannibal Holocaust | medium=Documentary | location=Italy | publisher=Alan Young Pictures}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Web|title=Entretien avec Ruggero Deodato|publisher=nanarland.com |url=https://www.nanarland.com/interviews/entretiens/fr/ruggero-deodato.html|date=2004 |language=French}}</ref>

Rumors of the ''Cannibal Holocaust'' murder trial often claim that the actors had signed contracts with the production which ensured that they would not appear in any type of media, motion pictures, or commercials for one year following the film's release. Deodato himself has claimed this was the case.<ref name="In the Jungle"/><ref name="Interview 2"/> However, actor Carl Yorke has denied that he ever signed any sort of contract of this kind nor was he asked to appear in court. Furthermore, actors Robert Kerman, Perry Pirkkanen, and Francesca Ciardi worked in films released during and shortly after ''Cannibal Holocaust''<nowiki/>'s release.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wardinski |first=Nathan |title=Dissecting Cannibal Holocaust |publisher=Lexington Books |year=2024 |isbn=978-1-66691-402-3 |location=Lanham, MD |publication-date=2024 |pages=11 |language=English}}</ref>

===Censorship===
Although the snuff film allegations were successfully refuted, the Italian courts decided to ban ''Cannibal Holocaust'' due to the genuine animal slayings, citing animal cruelty laws. Deodato, Franco Palaggi, Franco Di Nunzio, Gianfranco Clerici, producer Alda Pia and [[United Artists|United Artists Europa]] representative Sandro Perotti each received a four-month suspended sentence after they were all convicted of obscenity and violence. Deodato fought in the courts for three additional years to get his film unbanned. In 1984, the courts ruled in favor of Deodato, and ''Cannibal Holocaust'' was granted a rating certificate of VM18 for a cut print. It would later be re-released uncut.<ref name="In the Jungle">{{cite video | people = Deodato, Ruggero (interviewee) |date = 2003 | title = In the Jungle: The Making of Cannibal Holocaust | medium = Documentary | location = Italy | publisher = Alan Young Pictures}}</ref><ref name="Interview 2"/>

''Cannibal Holocaust'' also faced censorship issues in other countries around the world. In 1981, video releases were not required to pass before the [[British Board of Film Classification|British Board of Film Censors]] (BBFC), which had de facto<!--Not de jure: classification was and is a local government responsibility, but they usually defer to the BBFC--> power to ban films in the United Kingdom. ''Cannibal Holocaust'' was released [[Direct-to-video|straight-to-video]] there, thus avoiding the possible banning of the film. This did not save the film, however, because in 1983, the [[Director of Public Prosecutions]] compiled a list of 72 video releases that were not brought before the BBFC for certification and declared them prosecutable for obscenity. This list of "[[Video nasty|video nasties]]" included ''Cannibal Holocaust'', which was successfully prosecuted and effectively banned by its inclusion on the list. The film was not approved for release in the UK until 2001, albeit with nearly six minutes of mandated cuts. In 2011, the BBFC waived all but one of these previous edits and passed ''Cannibal Holocaust'' with fifteen seconds of cuts. It was determined that the only scene that breached the BBFC's guidelines was the killing of a [[coati]]mundi, and the BBFC acknowledged that previous cuts were reactionary to the film's reputation.<ref name="bbfc ch">{{cite web |date=5 October 2011 |title=Cannibal Holocaust |url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/education/case-studies/cannibal-holocaust |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031074210/https://www.bbfc.co.uk/education/case-studies/cannibal-holocaust |archive-date=31 October 2020 |access-date=23 December 2013 |publisher=[[British Board of Film Classification]]}}</ref>

''Cannibal Holocaust'' was banned at various times in [[Australia]],<ref name="Refused">{{cite web | url=http://www.refused-classification.com/Films_C.htm#cannibalholocaust | title=Films C | publisher=Refused-Classification.com | access-date=15 January 2007}}</ref> [[Norway]], [[Finland]], [[Iceland]],<ref name="tonight ggs">{{cite news|url=http://tonight.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=347&fArticleId=5128279|title=Gratuitous Gore and Sex|last=Davis|first=Laura|date=16 August 2009|work=Tonight|publisher=Tonight & Independent Online|access-date=2010-03-19|location=New Zealand|archive-date=4 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804074202/https://www.iol.co.za/tonight|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[New Zealand]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.censorship.govt.nz/oflcdd/DocProps.asp?PubNum=601050 |title=Cannibal Holocaust, OFLC decision |access-date=2008-01-27 |publisher=Office of Film and Literature Classification, New Zealand |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080507065416/http://www.censorship.govt.nz/oflcdd/DocProps.asp?PubNum=601050 |archive-date=2008-05-07 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Singapore]],<ref>{{cite news|title=Banned: The Most Controversial Films|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/banned-the-most-controversial-films-1768299.html?action=gallery&ino=14|website=The Independent|access-date=2014-10-02|location=London|first=Laura|last=Davis|date=5 October 2010}}</ref> [[South Africa]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pearson |first=Bryan |date=2001-05-16 |title='Cannibal' banned in South Africa |url=https://variety.com/2001/film/news/cannibal-banned-in-south-africa-1117799518/ |access-date=2024-08-05 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> and several other countries. The film was briefly released in the US by Trans American Films in 1985, but this release was commercially doomed because ''Cannibal Holocaust'' was rated X by the [[Motion Picture Association]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cannibal Holocaust |url=https://www.filmratings.com/Search?filmTitle=cannibal+holocaust&x=0&y=0 |access-date=2024-08-05 |website=Film Ratings}}</ref> ''Cannibal Holocaust'' was released on [[LaserDisc]] and distributed worldwide by Cult Epics. It would eventually get a two-disc DVD release in 2005 by [[Grindhouse Releasing]]. In 2005, the [[Australian Classification Board|Office of Film and Literature Classification]] in Australia lifted the ban, passing ''Cannibal Holocaust'' with an R18+ rating for the uncut print, including the consumer advice, "High level sexual violence, high level violence, animal cruelty". In 2006, the film was rejected for classification and banned in its entirety by the [[Office of Film and Literature Classification (New Zealand)|OFLC]] in New Zealand. Cuts to retain an R18 classification were offered by the Office, but they were eventually refused.<ref name="Refused"/><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.fvlb.org.nz/nz/pages/publication-details.html?title=39285 | title=Cannibal Holocaust | publisher=Film and Video Labelling Body of NZ | access-date=12 January 2014 | archive-date=4 March 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304030522/https://www.fvlb.org.nz/nz/pages/publication-details.html?title=39285 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Animal cruelty===
Many of the censorship issues with ''Cannibal Holocaust'' concern the on-screen killings of animals. Deodato himself has condemned his past actions,<ref name="Interview 2"/> saying: "I was stupid to introduce animals."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/4101 |title=Pointless Cannibal Holocaust Sequel in the Works |publisher=Fangoria |access-date=13 January 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070221071540/https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/4101 |archive-date=21 February 2007 }}</ref> Although six animal deaths appear onscreen, seven animals were killed for the production, as the scene depicting the monkey's death was [[Take|shot twice]], resulting in the death of two monkeys. Both of the animals were eaten by indigenous cast members, who consider monkey brains a delicacy.<ref name="Interview"/> The animals that were killed onscreen were:
* a [[South American coati]] (mistaken for a [[muskrat]] in the film), killed with a knife
* an [[Arrau turtle]], [[Decapitation|decapitated]] and its limbs, shell, and entrails removed
* a [[Brachypelma vagans|tarantula]], killed with a [[machete]]
* a [[boa constrictor]], also killed with a machete
* a [[common squirrel monkey|squirrel monkey]], decapitated with a machete
* a [[pig]], shot in the head with a [[shotgun]] at [[point blank range]]

Film historian Andrew DeVos has argued that the animal deaths have been harshly condemned because of the film's classification as exploitation, whereas animal mutilations in films perceived by critics to be classics or [[art film]]s are often ignored. DeVos cites several examples of this double standard, including ''[[The Rules of the Game]]'', ''[[El Topo]]'', ''[[Wake in Fright]]'', and ''[[Apocalypse Now]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last=DeVos |first=Andrew |editor-last=Weiner |editor-first=Robert G. |editor-last2=Cline |editor-first2=John |title=Cinema Inferno: Celluloid Explosions from the Cultural Margins |chapter=The More You Rape Their Senses, the Happier They Are: A History of ''Cannibal Holocaust'' |year=2010 |publisher=The Scarecrow Press, Inc. |page=93}}</ref> The BBFC made a similar conclusion regarding the censorship of scenes in which the deaths were quick and painless, noting: "Removing these sequences would be inconsistent with the BBFC's decisions to permit quick clean kills in several other films, such as ''Apocalypse Now''."<ref name="bbfc ch"/>

==Legacy==
{{See also|Found footage (film technique)}}
''Cannibal Holocaust'' was innovative in its plot structure, specifically with the concept of the "found footage" being brought back to civilization and later viewed to determine the fate of the crew that shot it.<ref name="Kaufman"/> This was later popularized as a [[Found footage (film technique)|distinct style]] in [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood cinema]] by ''[[The Last Broadcast (film)|The Last Broadcast]]'' and ''[[The Blair Witch Project]]'', both of which use similar storytelling devices. Each film uses the idea of a lost film team making a documentary in the wilderness, and their footage returned. Advertisements for ''The Blair Witch Project'' also promoted the idea that the footage is genuine.<ref>{{cite interview |last=Sánchez |first=Eduardo |subject-link=Eduardo Sánchez (director) |last2=Myrick |first2=Dan |subject-link2=Daniel Myrick |interviewer=Joshua Klein |title=The Blair Witch Project |url=http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-blair-witch-project,13607/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227165803/http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-blair-witch-project,13607/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2009-02-27 |date=22 July 1999 |work=[[The Onion]] |access-date=16 January 2007}}</ref> Deodato has acknowledged the similarities between his film and ''The Blair Witch Project'', and though he holds no malice against the producers, he is frustrated at the publicity that ''The Blair Witch Project'' received for being an original production.<ref name="In the Jungle"/> The producers of ''The Last Broadcast'' have denied that ''Cannibal Holocaust'' was a major influence.<ref>{{cite interview |last=Weiler | first=Lance |subject-link=Lance Weiler |interviewer=Guido Henkel |title=The Facts About The Last Broadcast |date=9 December 1999}}</ref> Nonetheless, the film was cited by director [[Paco Plaza]] as a source of inspiration for the found footage films ''[[REC (film)|REC]]'' and ''[[REC 2]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last= Heller-Nicholas|first=Alexandra |title=Found Footage Horror Films: Fear and the Appearance of Reality |publisher=McFarland |year= 2014 |pages=187}}</ref>

''Cannibal Holocaust'' has been regarded as the apex of the [[cannibal genre]],<ref name="killing for culture"/><ref>{{cite book |last=Slater |first=Jay | editor-last=Slater | editor-first=Jay |title=Eaten Alive!: Italian Cannibal and Zombie Movies | chapter="The Cannibal/The Zombie" |year=2002 |publisher=Plexus Publishing |location=London |pages=14–15}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Harper|first=Jim |title=Italian Horror |year=2002 |publisher=Midnight Marquee Press, Inc. |location=Baltimore |pages=63–65}}</ref> and it bears similarities to subsequent cannibal films made during the same time period. ''[[Cannibal Ferox]]'' also stars Kerman and Pirkkanen, and star [[Giovanni Lombardo Radice]] says it was made based on the success of ''Cannibal Holocaust''.<ref>{{cite interview |last=Radice |first=Giovanni Lombardo |subject-link=Giovanni Lombardo Radice |interviewer=Sage Stallone, Bob Murawski|title=Cannibal ferox DVD Commentary|work=Cannibal ferox DVD special features}}</ref> ''Cannibal Ferox'' has also been noted as containing similar themes to ''Cannibal Holocaust'', such as comparison of Western violence to perceived uncivilized cultures and [[anti-imperialism]]. In a mixed review, film journalist Jay Slater claims: "Certainly a tough customer, ''Cannibal Ferox'' still fails where Deodato succeeds. [...] Lenzi attempts to tackle cultural defilement and racial issues, but ''Cannibal Ferox'' is nothing more than a shoddy exercise in sadism and animal cruelty."<ref>{{cite book |last=Slater |first=Jay | editor-last=Slater | editor-first=Jay |title=Eaten Alive!: Italian Cannibal and Zombie Movies | chapter="''Cannibal Ferox'': Review by Jay Slater" |year=2002 |publisher=Plexus Publishing |location=London |page=159}}</ref> Reviewer Andrew Parkinson also notes: "At the end, there is a basic attempt to validate ''Cannibal Ferox'', posing that old chestnut of whether civilised man is actually more savage than the uncivilised tribespeople."<ref>{{cite book |last=Parkinson |first=Andrew | editor-last=Slater | editor-first=Jay |title=Eaten Alive!: Italian Cannibal and Zombie Movies | chapter="''Cannibal Ferox'': Review by Andrew Parkinson" |year=2002 |publisher=Plexus Publishing |location=London |page=163}}</ref>

[[File:Deodato - Roth.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Ruggero Deodato with [[Eli Roth]] on the set of ''[[Hostel: Part II]]'' (2007)]]
Unofficial sequels to ''Cannibal Holocaust'' were produced in the years following its release. The titles of these films were changed following their original theatrical releases in order to associate the film with ''Cannibal Holocaust'' in different markets. In 1985, Mario Gariazzo directed ''Schiave bianche: violenza in Amazzonia'', which was also released as ''[[White Slave (film)|Cannibal Holocaust 2: The Catherine Miles Story]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Harper|first=Jim |title=Italian Horror |year=2002 |publisher=Midnight Marquee Press, Inc. |location=Baltimore |pages=34–35}}</ref> In addition to the new title, Slater notes similarities between the [[film score|score]] in ''The Catherine Miles Story'' and Riz Ortolani's score in ''Cannibal Holocaust''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Slater |first=Jay | editor-last=Slater | editor-first=Jay |title=Eaten Alive!: Italian Cannibal and Zombie Movies | chapter="''Amazonia: The Catherine Miles Story'': Review by Jay Slater" |year=2002 |publisher=Plexus Publishing |location=London |page=190}}</ref> Previously known for his work in Mondo films, Antonio Climati directed ''[[Natura contro]]'' in 1988, which was released as ''Cannibal Holocaust II'' in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bbfc.co.uk/releases/cannibal-holocaust-2-0|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831090940/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/cannibal-holocaust-2-0|url-status=dead|archive-date=31 August 2017|title=Cannibal Holocaust 2 |publisher=[[British Board of Film Classification]] |access-date=30 August 2017}}</ref>

In 2005, Deodato announced that he planned to make a companion piece to ''Cannibal Holocaust'' entitled ''Cannibals''.<ref name="DREAD">{{cite web |first=Johnny |last=Butane |url=https://www.dreadcentral.com/story/ruggero-cannibals-natas |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081123011706/https://www.dreadcentral.com/story/ruggero-cannibals-natas |url-status=dead |archive-date=2008-11-23 |title=Ruggero on Cannibals, Natas |date=25 August 2008 |publisher=Dread Central Media, LCC |access-date=29 September 2008}}</ref> Deodato was originally hesitant about directing his new film, as he thought that he would make it too violent for American audiences. However, while he was in Prague filming his cameo appearance in ''[[Hostel: Part II]]'' for [[Eli Roth]], Deodato viewed ''[[Hostel (2005 film)|Hostel]]'' and decided that he would direct after all, citing it as a similarly violent film that was given a mainstream release in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|first=Brad |last=Miska |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/7578 |title=Ruggero Deodato Talks 'Cannibal Holocaust 2' |publisher=Bloody-Disgusting LLC |access-date=14 January 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070226232652/https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/7578/ |archive-date=26 February 2007 }}</ref> Although the screenplay, written by Christine Conradt, was completed, a financial conflict<ref name="DREAD"/><ref>{{cite web |first=Brad |last=Miska |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/12685 |title=Deodato Holds New 'Holocaust' Hostage? |date=23 June 2008 |publisher=Bloody-Disgusting LLC | access-date=29 September 2008}}</ref> between Deodato and the film's producer led to the project's cancellation.<ref>{{cite web |first=Brad |last=Miska |url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/15150 |title='Cannibal Holocaust' Companion Piece D-E-A-D |date=3 February 2009 |publisher=Bloody-Disgusting LLC |access-date=2 September 2009}}</ref> In 2013, Roth directed ''[[The Green Inferno (film)|The Green Inferno]]'', which takes its title from the fictional documentary produced in ''Cannibal Holocaust''. Roth's film was intended as an homage to ''Cannibal Holocaust'' and other cannibal films from the same era.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ign.com/articles/2013/03/01/eli-roth-on-the-horrors-of-the-green-inferno|title=Eli Roth on the Horrors of The Green Inferno|author=Chris Tilly|date=1 March 2013|work=IGN|access-date=17 November 2015}}</ref>

The film's influence has extended to other media as well. In 2001, [[Death metal]] band [[Necrophagia]] released a song entitled "Cannibal Holocaust" from the [[Cannibal Holocaust (EP)|eponymous record]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://housecorehorrorfilmfestival.com/hhff-welcomes-controversial-italian-gore-mesiter-ruggero-deodato/ | title=HHFF Welcomes Controversial Italian Gore-Meister Ruggero Deodato | publisher=Housecore Horror Film Festival | access-date=7 January 2015 | archive-date=2 May 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160502122743/http://housecorehorrorfilmfestival.com/hhff-welcomes-controversial-italian-gore-mesiter-ruggero-deodato/ | url-status=dead }}</ref>

It was revealed in April 2020, that the movie would be getting a video game sequel called ''Ruggero Deodato, Cannibal''. The game is being developed by Fantastico Studios and was expected to be available from November 2020 for [[Nintendo Switch]], [[PlayStation 4]], [[Xbox One]], [[Personal computer|PC]] and [[Mobile device|mobile]].<ref>{{Cite web|author-first1=Oloman|author-last1= Jordan|url=https://nordic.ign.com/news/35564/infamous-movie-cannibal-holocaust-is-getting-a-video-game-sequel|title=Infamous Movie Cannibal Holocaust Is Getting a Video Game Sequel|website=IGN|date=April 9, 2020|access-date= August 8, 2020}}</ref> However, in December 2020, the game was retitled ''Borneo: A Jungle Nightmare'' and delayed to Spring 2021, and later in 2024 under a new title, “Cannibal Tales”. The new title would still feature the “Borneo: Jungle Nightmare” story, but now under an episodic style of gameplay.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/video-games/3643300/horror-graphic-adventure-game-cannibal-retitled-borneo-jungle-nightmare-receives-new-trailer/|title='Cannibal Holocaust' Video Game 'Cannibal' Retitled 'Borneo: A Jungle Nightmare'; Watch New Trailer|work=[[Bloody Disgusting]]|first=Mike|last=Wilson|date=December 2, 2020|access-date=December 6, 2020}}</ref>

==Alternate versions (home media)==
Due to its graphic content, there are several different versions in circulation, edited to varying degrees. In the United Kingdom, it was originally released on [[VHS]] by Go Video in 1982 with approximately six minutes of cuts. These cuts were self-imposed by the distributor, possibly due to technical limitations of the tape.<ref>{{cite book |last=Egan |first=Kate |title=Trash or Treasure?: Censorship and the Changing Meanings of the Video Nasties |year=2002 |publisher=Manchester University Press |location=Manchester |page=59}}</ref> In 2001, the film was passed for release on [[DVD]] by the [[British Board of Film Classification]] with five minutes and 44 seconds of cuts to remove scenes of animal cruelty and sexual violence; all but 15 seconds of these cuts were waived for a re-release in 2011.<ref name="bbfc ch"/> The latter also includes a new edit sponsored by Deodato, which reduces the violence toward animals.<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=Cannibal Holocaust: Ruggero Deodato's New Edit |others=[[Ruggero Deodato|Deodato, Ruggero]] |type=back cover |publisher=Shameless Screen Entertainment |location=UK |id=B0051ZH8CC |year=2011}}</ref> [[Grindhouse Releasing]]'s home video releases contain an "Animal Cruelty Free" version that omits the six animal deaths. Other versions also contain alternative footage shot specifically for [[Middle East]]ern markets that do not depict nudity.<ref name="Interview"/>

There are multiple versions of the ''Last Road to Hell'' segment, which causes variances even among uncensored releases. An extended version includes approximately 10 seconds of footage not seen in an alternative, shorter version. This additional footage includes a wide-angle shot of firing-squad executions, a close-up of a dead victim and extended footage of bodies being carried into the back of a truck. The longer version also includes different titles that correctly name the film crew as they appear in the final film, while the shorter version gives the names that originally appear in the script.<ref name="roadtohell"/>

UK based distributor 88 Films released the film on 4K UHD Blu-ray in November 2022.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=31181|work=Blu-Ray.com|title=88 Films Announce November Releases|date=August 19, 2022|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819232922/https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=31181|archivedate=August 19, 2022|accessdate=March 4, 2025}}</ref>
==Note list==
{{notelist}}

==See also==
*[[List of cult films]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official website}}
* {{IMDb title|0078935|Cannibal Holocaust}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|cannibal_holocaust|Cannibal Holocaust}}

{{Ruggero Deodato}}


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[[Category:1980 controversies]]
[[Category:1980 films]]
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[[Category:1980 independent films]]
[[Category:1980 adventure films]]
[[Category:1980s exploitation films]]
[[Category:1980 Italian films]]
[[Category:1980s Italian-language films]]
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{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Cannibal Holocaust|access_date=2026-02-28}}