Cool Ass Cinema Book Reviews: Cannibal Edition!

CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST & THE SAVAGE CINEMA OF RUGGERO DEODATO

By Gian Luca Castoldi, Harvey Fenton, Julian Grainger, Xavier Mendik, Julian Petley

128 pages; hardcover; color and B/W; Editions: 1999 (2011 -- revised, updated)

Even if the bulk of Deodato's oeuvre is of little interest to casual, mainstream viewers, CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST is essential viewing for anyone interested in the horror genre. It's also a ferociously powerful movie that resonates the stain of man's dark side just as much now as it did some three decades ago. For Deodato completists, this lovingly thorough and grim tome is the Last Cannibal Word on the subject of the filmmakers most notorious works.

The film career of Italian director Ruggero Deodato has been a long and successful one. It's also a career dotted with but a single film that will forever be both a bane and a blessing to the man that made it. That film makes up the first part of this books title, and also a hefty amount of this books pages.

There's a contingent of the mainstream horror circle that will likely not know who Deodato is, and that's where this expanded volume on the man and his controversial works comes in handy. There's more information and a stunning array of photographs than you'd imagine could be fit within the books compact 128 pages.

All of Deodato's films -- including his assistant director gigs -- are covered here. Some are given more attention than others, but the main point of focus is the production that caused him the most grief; that film being CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (1980).

The book begins with an interview with Deodato (from 1999) and also ends with a more recent one from 2011. The opening conversation is a career-spanning talk that covers some 20 pages while the closing interview is a more personable discussion centering around CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST and a few select titles. Both are fascinating reads.

The section and discussion of CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST by itself encompasses 16 pages not counting the coverage it receives in the interviews. There's also a single page article on the cuts incurred by the BBFC at the time, and its current state through the eyes of the British Board of Film Classification today.

This book comes with the highest recommendation for any fan of Italian horror, Ruggero Deodato, or CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST for that matter. Even if the bulk of Deodato's oeuvre is of little interest to casual, mainstream viewers, CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST is essential viewing for anyone interested in the horror genre. It's also a ferociously powerful movie that resonates the stain of man's dark side just as much now as it did some three decades ago. For Deodato completists, this lovingly thorough and grim tome is the Last Cannibal Word on the subject of the filmmakers most notorious works.

Please be advised of the warning at the bottom of the books back cover (see above right). The images do not flinch, and there's a bounty of graphic, and nude photos throughout. It's most definitely for adults only.

This book can be purchased through amazon HERE.