1999, Fab Press. By Harvey Fenton, Julian Grainger, and Gian Luca Castoldi.

Buy it now from Amazon.com

Say the name Ruggero Deodato to the average cult film fan and they are going to be thinking about the wholesome family fun film Cannibal Holocaust, the director's notorious and well-known atrocity exhibit about flesh-hungry cannibals and the tortures (and delectable sauces) they visit upon a team of brutish European film makers. While it's certainly his most famous film for a variety of reasons, being familiar with only the one film does not give you the full picture of just how screwed up a director the lovable Deodato truly was.

Cannibal films are disturbing enough on their own, but plop them down in the middle of a filmography that also includes sword and sorcery barbarian films, violent Italian cop flicks, bizarre and brutal erotic thrillers, and even made for television action dramas, and you really gotta start to wonder.

The Savage Cinema of Ruggero Deodato is a well-researched examination of the whole strange filmography of one of the most controversial directors to ever make waves in a scene very used to controversy. Through essays, incredibly in-depth reviews, anecdotes, and interviews, we get a peak not just at the films, but also at the thought behind them, the intentions, and reactions to the results (like Deodato getting arrested because officials were convinced Cannibal Holocaust was an actual snuff film). From his quirky sword and sorcery film The Barbarians to his wild crime films like Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man, and of course including all his horror and exploitation classics, this book highlights the fact that Deodato, like many of his Italian exploitation contemporaries, was a far more versatile and driven film maker than people might think.

The writing is informative without being just another dry list of facts. It's obvious that the authors respect Deodato's work while, at the same time, they remain removed enough to call a spade a spade when Deodato cranks out a real stinker. I'm happy to see well-written books by people who are talented writers and researchers as well as huge fans of the films. Nothing irks me more than people who have no interest one whatsoever in a genre yet still write a book about it because they see an opportunity to make a quick buck. Likewise, it's good to see these marginal films getting some real critical attention and consideration above the level of fanzine writing. Of course, this being something of a fanzine site (we have critical skills, just as we have proofreading skills -- we just chose not to use either, mostly because we're lazy), it should be obvious that we love that sort of writing. It's just good when someone takes it to the next level as well.

While you can't say the book is "beautifully" illustrated (except for the shots of Annie Bell), it does contain scores of wonderfully gory full-color photos, stills, and rare poster art. Obviously some -- well, most -- of the photos are of a rather graphic nature. You even get a still of the infamous "piranha bait leg scene" that was set up and possibly even shot for Cannibal Holocaust but never actually used, though rumors persist about a Brazilian print or something that has the scene in it. Along with the "alternate ending to Dawn of the Dead which was planned out but never used, the piranha baiting scene is the exploitation equivalent of "there was an alternate ending to King Kong Versus Godzilla where Godzilla is the clear winner."

Savage Cinema of Ruggero Deodato is essential reading for any Deodato fan, as well as for any fan of cult and exploitation cinema in general. I'm excited to see so many well-written and put-together books on films like these. In recent years, we've seen this, Zombies, the gorgeous Beyond Terror about Lucio Fulci, and most recently Art of Darkness about the films of Dario Argento. The fact that many of these films are finding a new lease on life thanks to DVD has no doubt helped generate newfound interest in actually thinking about and celebrating them. And like most of the other books, Savage Cinema manages to be not just informative, but also a good, entertaining read.

Labels: Film Studies