HNT
Grizzled HMaM Vet
Horror in General & Everything Else Moderator[/i]
Kiss my tuchis
Posts: 6,296
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Post by HNT on Aug 9, 2006 14:42:10 GMT -5
I think the filmis terrific, bbut almost terrific in spite of itself. I don't think that Deodato is a great film maker at all. In fact, everything else by him that I've seen absolutely sucks. I think that his very inneptitude, however, translates in this film into a rawness to the footage that is very realistic and makes it all hard to dismiss. Also, whereas a more sophisticated screenwriter would have been better able to articulate his message, the very muddled nature of the message of this film leaves one completely put off by the goings on. It is certainly correct to say, for example, that the behavior of the filmakers is far worse than that of the cannibals. That does not, however, explain away the rape and abortion scenes in wich the cannibals exhibit horrifying behavior. In any case, I think it is Deodato's lack of directorial ability that make this such a powerful film. I never would have bet on this t turn out well, but it sure did
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Post by Nobody on Aug 9, 2006 16:44:58 GMT -5
Indeed. Deodato is no great filmmaker by any means, but this film did turn out well. We know the documentary crew were just as savage, but things get blurred when you realize what the cannibals also did. A fantastic movie, but I have not seen anything near as good as this in any of Deodato's other films.
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Post by GL on Aug 10, 2006 11:01:41 GMT -5
To me, the cannibals weren't savage at all, and only resorted to what they know to horde off the far more vicious and cruel camera crew. Yes, the nature of what they were doing was cruel, but if you look at what was shown on screen, the most vicious thing shown is the turtle dissection, which is done by the camera crew. Nothing the cannibals did were as explicit in their detail as that scene. They do things that sound worse, but aren't portrayed with as much detail to violence as that one. I would go so far as to say that the cannibals weren't even vicious at all, and had only resorted to "violent" means only to defend themselves.
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Post by Nobody on Aug 10, 2006 11:19:36 GMT -5
I agree with you GL except for the part when you say the Cannibals were not vicious at all. Every society has a vicious side. Please explain away the 'Stone Dildo' scene as a cruel punishment for adultry or the scene where the woman had a fetus ripped from her womb. Those both showed the cannibals had a vicious side. The camera crew was more savage in their attempts to murder innocent people for a "good" documentary, but the cannibals were also vicious to themselves in their own society.
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Post by GL on Aug 10, 2006 13:15:30 GMT -5
Well, ok. I was merely thinking of how events were portrayed in the film. To them, the dildo beating was merely something that existed in their society and was not considered excessive at all. To us, it is. That's the beauty in the film: taking a rather cruel and inhumane thing (beating a women to death with a stone dildo after raping her with it for adultery) and making it seem as natural as possible. That's what I mean: the cruel and inhumane things done by the cannibals aren't that viciously portrayed in the film compared to what the camera crew does.
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Post by Nobody on Aug 10, 2006 15:09:56 GMT -5
Indeed. The film blurs the lines quite well.
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HNT
Grizzled HMaM Vet
Horror in General & Everything Else Moderator[/i]
Kiss my tuchis
Posts: 6,296
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Post by HNT on Aug 10, 2006 15:29:54 GMT -5
Uh, the Stone dildo scene did not appear as natural. It was highly fucked up. I agree thta the film portrayed the camera crew was worse, but it sure as fuck didn't make the cannibals seem alright
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Post by Nobody on Aug 10, 2006 16:21:17 GMT -5
Yea I know what you mean. It only seems fucked up to us though becuase we do not live in their society. If we did we would most likely view it as normal.
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Post by CT on Aug 10, 2006 17:10:57 GMT -5
I thought the cannibals from King Long (2005) were much more fearsome. (If they even were cannibals... but i like to think they are!)
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Post by Nobody on Aug 10, 2006 17:41:59 GMT -5
Dude what the hell is King Long. lol. I have never heard of that.
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Canetoad
The Prodigal Toad
HMaM member of the Month, July 2006
Cry Havoc! And let slip the cats of war.
Posts: 2,868
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Post by Canetoad on Aug 10, 2006 17:47:23 GMT -5
In this context, a bit like King Dong, except hairier. I think.
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Post by GL on Aug 10, 2006 18:01:51 GMT -5
I thought the cannibals from King Long (2005) were much more fearsome. (If they even were cannibals... but i like to think they are!) I thought so too. Truly unnerving creations with just the right amount of hostility and primitiveness and are some of the best "natives" I've ever seen.
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HNT
Grizzled HMaM Vet
Horror in General & Everything Else Moderator[/i]
Kiss my tuchis
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Post by HNT on Aug 10, 2006 18:12:18 GMT -5
The argument that the natives were merely practicing rituals that were normal in "their society" makes no sense in the context of CH. Don't forget that there are no indiginous cannibals living in the Amazon today. The film, like the entire Cannibal subgenre, is really based upon fairly racist Italian stereotypes. Since the film is not an exploration of a real society, on must hold Deodato himself accountable for the actions depicted. In that context, stone dildo rapes and forced abortions are indeed quite abnormal and repulsive
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Post by Nobody on Aug 10, 2006 19:09:07 GMT -5
Just because Deodato didn't want to explore the actual society doesn't make the cannibals rituals within their society abnormal. Surely its just an exploitation film and viewing these acts does come across quite abnormal, but in that society it is not. A person bases their views on what is abnormal and not by the society in which they live. And cannibals existing in the Amazon or not today doesn't really have anything to do with this. They do exist in New Guinea though. lol..sorry I had to throw some info in that wasn't relative to the topic at all too.
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HNT
Grizzled HMaM Vet
Horror in General & Everything Else Moderator[/i]
Kiss my tuchis
Posts: 6,296
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Post by HNT on Aug 10, 2006 19:58:07 GMT -5
WEll since the society didn't exist, any activity attributed to the cannibals was actually thought up by Deodato, right? He , therefore, conceived from his own mind (and not some anthropological reality) the idea of stone dildo rapes and violently aborted fetuses being ripped from women's wombs. Don't get me wrong, the film is not bad, bu Deodato is entorely responsible for the artistic choices made in this film. Unless you ar suggesting that these activities are a standard part o Italian society (the only real society with any connection to the film) you must concede that these behaviors were abnormal to everyone involved in the making of this film. that is precisely why tey were included, and how they managed to generate the desired shock value. I don't have any problem with these elements being in the film personally, but they are without question the artistic decision of the director, and he must be held ccountable either positively or negatively for the decisions that he makes
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