This November, 88 Films in the UK will broadcast Cannibal Holocaust in 4K Ultra HD, a version of the movie that has been widely criticised and banned. The first release of Cannibal Holocaust came out in 1980, making it a pioneering example of the found-footage horror genre. The film follows a search party that goes into the Amazon in search of a lost documentary film crew and ends up finding much more than they bargained for. The United States, Australia, Norway, and Iceland all banned the picture by 1984; nonetheless, it has since achieved cult status and is now seen by some as more than simply a mindless gorefest but also a critique of journalism. Director Ruggero Deodato was initially imprisoned for obscenity after the Italian premiere of Cannibal Holocaust, and then subsequently charged with murder after reports spread that numerous cast members had been murdered on set.
Once it was shown that Cannibal Holocaust was not a snuff film, the murder charges against the actors involved were withdrawn. However, due to its representation of true animal abuse and its brutal sequences of sexual assault, the film remains prohibited in some countries, including Australia and Italy. As the film has been significantly edited many times since its first release, it is still unclear which version the planned 4K Ultra HD release will feature. A 95-minute cut produced by 88 Films has, however, been approved by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).
There are an extra three minutes of music in that version compared to the 2011 release of Ruggero Deodato’s New Edit. Given the BBFC’s recommendations, no 4K Ultra HD release will be completely uncensored. In order to complete this task, I was forced to cut to a graphic depiction of animal brutality. This edit was created in compliance with the guidelines and policies of the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) and the Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act, 1937, as implemented by the Video Recordings Act, 1984. On November 22nd, Cannibal Holocaust will hit UK shelves in 4K Ultra HD.
Synopsis
“Cannibal Holocaust, directed by Ruggero Deodato, is a timeless slice of visceral horror so nasty and vile that the filmmaker was accused of murdering his own actors. In a desperate attempt to locate a documentary team that went missing some months prior, anthropologist Harold Munroe is doomed to spend eternity in the verdant inferno that is the South American jungle. Instead of finding survivors, he comes across a world of cannibalistic excess beyond his wildest imagination. However, when he returns home and screens the footage left behind by the mutilated filmmakers, chaos ensues as the screen fills with some of the most disturbing images ever committed to celluloid.”