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Jungle Holocaust
Media Blasters // Unrated // February 5, 2002
List Price: $24.95 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
For most of us, movies serve as a form of escapist entertainment. They are a tool which can take us away from the stress and tedium of everyday life and, for a brief period, change our mood. But, there are those who get vicarious thrills from movies and enjoy the shock-value that some films can provide. For these individuals, we have the notorious "Jungle Holocaust", available for the first time on DVD in the U.S. in its uncut form.
The Movie
"Jungle Holocaust" comes from Italian director Ruggero Deodato whose later film "Cannibal Holocaust" created a stir around the globe due to its grisly images. "Jungle Holocaust" (which is also known as "Last Cannibal World", "The Last Survivor, and "Cannibal") served as a warm-up of sorts to that infamous film.
"Jungle Holocaust" is set in New Guinea, where Robert Harper (Massimo Foschi) and his colleague Rolf (Ivan Rassimov) are going to meet a group in the jungle. Once they arrive, they find that the group has been slaughtered by a tribe of local cannibals. After their guide is killed, Robert and Rolf are forced to wander the jungle in search of the landing strip where they arrived. However, a violent river separates them and Robert finds himself alone in a hostile land.
Robert is soon captured by the cannibals and taken to their cave lair. Once there, he is witness to a series of bizarre and savage rituals. Can this man survive in this pre-historic setting?
"Jungle Holocaust" is indeed a bizarre film. For the most part, the plot could have been taken from an adventure film from the 1950s. However, we have more than just a man lost in the jungle here. This movie shows more gratuitous acts than anyone in the 50s could have dreamt about. In comparison to other films of this genres, "Jungle Holocaust" is fairly tame in reference to violence towards humans, as other three characters are killed on-screen, and those killings aren't (relatively) all that gory. No, the shocks from this film come from others sources, such as the overall savage nature of the tribesmen (real natives were used in the filming), and the unnecessary portrayal of animal violence which litters the film. Also, if submitted to the MPAA today, this film would probably be thrown out the door, because not only is it violent and brutal, but most every character is naked for the latter half of the film.
The problem with "Jungle Holocaust" is that beyond its shock value, it really doesn't offer anything else to the viewer. There is really no story, as the plot simply reflects the fact that Robert is captured by the cannibals and he must try to escape. There is no character development -- we never learn anything about Robert or Rolf. Are we supposed to cheer for these characters to survive simply because they're white men trapped in the unfamiliar jungle? That seems pretty hackneyed and lazy to me. The gore effects in the movie are cheap and unconvincing, and seem out-of-place when compared to the atrocious animal violence included in the film.
"Jungle Holocaust" makes great use of its locations and does a fine job of portraying the pinnalce of human suffering, but is it entertainment?
Video
This DVD from Shriek Show offers a newly remastered transfer of "Jungle Holocaust". The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and is enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. Fist of all, it must be noted that this movie has that slightly dark look that all European films from this era have. Taking that into consideration, the image here is clear and pretty sharp. The picture does show numerous defects from the source print, but these are mainly very small scratces and white spots. There is some shimmering and artifacting at times, which leads to noticable video distortion. For the most part, the colors are good, most notably the lush green jungle and the red, red blood. Overall, given the film's age and budget, this is a nice transfer.
Audio
The "Jungle Holocaust" DVD sports a Dolby Digital mono audio track. The track is in English, and it is clearly a dubbed track. This track offers clear dialogue, but there is a slight hissing to the audio. Also, the dubbing seems to be slightly out of sync at times. The track does a fine job of reproducing the music and jungle sound effects, but it is also lifeless, lacking the ambience of a surround sound track.
Extras
This DVD offers several extras, beginning with an audio commentary by director Ruggero Deodato. This commentary is in Italian, with English subtitles. (That way, you can read it while you watch the film.) In many ways, Deodato's chat is far more interesting that the actual film, as he describes the making of "Jungle Holocaust", in which his crew went into the jungles of Malaysia and basically improvised the entire film. A movie depicting the making of "Jungle Holocaust" would be far more entertaining that "Jungle Holocaust" itself. Also, Deodato adamantly claims that the producer inserted the animal violence footage against Deodato's wishes. How convenient that the producer is now dead and can't defend himself against this claim.
Next, we have a section called "Memoirs From the Jungle". This contains four subsections. First, there is a still gallery which contains dozens of lobby cards for the film, demonstrating the title changes that the movie underwent. Next, we have a 20-minute interview with star Massimo Foschi, in which he recounts the making of the film. This is followed by another still gallery which offers 8 pictures from the set of the film which cames from Foschi's private collection. The last bit is a 7-minute interview with actor Ivan Rassimov, who really doesn't remember much about the movie and claims to have never seen it.
The extras are rounded out by the US trailer for the film, in which is entitled "Last Cannibal World". The trailer is letterboxed at 2.35:1. And finally, we have a filmography for Deodato and bios for the film's main actors.
The Italian cannibal film subgenre is one of the strangest ever and many of the films are unwatchable. While "Jungle Holocaust" borders on joining this group, the movie's sheer tenacity should appeal to the thrill-seekers out there. The DVD offers a nice transfer, and Deodato's commentary will be very educational to fan's of the film.
The Movie
"Jungle Holocaust" comes from Italian director Ruggero Deodato whose later film "Cannibal Holocaust" created a stir around the globe due to its grisly images. "Jungle Holocaust" (which is also known as "Last Cannibal World", "The Last Survivor, and "Cannibal") served as a warm-up of sorts to that infamous film.
"Jungle Holocaust" is set in New Guinea, where Robert Harper (Massimo Foschi) and his colleague Rolf (Ivan Rassimov) are going to meet a group in the jungle. Once they arrive, they find that the group has been slaughtered by a tribe of local cannibals. After their guide is killed, Robert and Rolf are forced to wander the jungle in search of the landing strip where they arrived. However, a violent river separates them and Robert finds himself alone in a hostile land.
Robert is soon captured by the cannibals and taken to their cave lair. Once there, he is witness to a series of bizarre and savage rituals. Can this man survive in this pre-historic setting?
"Jungle Holocaust" is indeed a bizarre film. For the most part, the plot could have been taken from an adventure film from the 1950s. However, we have more than just a man lost in the jungle here. This movie shows more gratuitous acts than anyone in the 50s could have dreamt about. In comparison to other films of this genres, "Jungle Holocaust" is fairly tame in reference to violence towards humans, as other three characters are killed on-screen, and those killings aren't (relatively) all that gory. No, the shocks from this film come from others sources, such as the overall savage nature of the tribesmen (real natives were used in the filming), and the unnecessary portrayal of animal violence which litters the film. Also, if submitted to the MPAA today, this film would probably be thrown out the door, because not only is it violent and brutal, but most every character is naked for the latter half of the film.
The problem with "Jungle Holocaust" is that beyond its shock value, it really doesn't offer anything else to the viewer. There is really no story, as the plot simply reflects the fact that Robert is captured by the cannibals and he must try to escape. There is no character development -- we never learn anything about Robert or Rolf. Are we supposed to cheer for these characters to survive simply because they're white men trapped in the unfamiliar jungle? That seems pretty hackneyed and lazy to me. The gore effects in the movie are cheap and unconvincing, and seem out-of-place when compared to the atrocious animal violence included in the film.
"Jungle Holocaust" makes great use of its locations and does a fine job of portraying the pinnalce of human suffering, but is it entertainment?
Video
This DVD from Shriek Show offers a newly remastered transfer of "Jungle Holocaust". The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and is enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. Fist of all, it must be noted that this movie has that slightly dark look that all European films from this era have. Taking that into consideration, the image here is clear and pretty sharp. The picture does show numerous defects from the source print, but these are mainly very small scratces and white spots. There is some shimmering and artifacting at times, which leads to noticable video distortion. For the most part, the colors are good, most notably the lush green jungle and the red, red blood. Overall, given the film's age and budget, this is a nice transfer.
Audio
The "Jungle Holocaust" DVD sports a Dolby Digital mono audio track. The track is in English, and it is clearly a dubbed track. This track offers clear dialogue, but there is a slight hissing to the audio. Also, the dubbing seems to be slightly out of sync at times. The track does a fine job of reproducing the music and jungle sound effects, but it is also lifeless, lacking the ambience of a surround sound track.
Extras
This DVD offers several extras, beginning with an audio commentary by director Ruggero Deodato. This commentary is in Italian, with English subtitles. (That way, you can read it while you watch the film.) In many ways, Deodato's chat is far more interesting that the actual film, as he describes the making of "Jungle Holocaust", in which his crew went into the jungles of Malaysia and basically improvised the entire film. A movie depicting the making of "Jungle Holocaust" would be far more entertaining that "Jungle Holocaust" itself. Also, Deodato adamantly claims that the producer inserted the animal violence footage against Deodato's wishes. How convenient that the producer is now dead and can't defend himself against this claim.
Next, we have a section called "Memoirs From the Jungle". This contains four subsections. First, there is a still gallery which contains dozens of lobby cards for the film, demonstrating the title changes that the movie underwent. Next, we have a 20-minute interview with star Massimo Foschi, in which he recounts the making of the film. This is followed by another still gallery which offers 8 pictures from the set of the film which cames from Foschi's private collection. The last bit is a 7-minute interview with actor Ivan Rassimov, who really doesn't remember much about the movie and claims to have never seen it.
The extras are rounded out by the US trailer for the film, in which is entitled "Last Cannibal World". The trailer is letterboxed at 2.35:1. And finally, we have a filmography for Deodato and bios for the film's main actors.
The Italian cannibal film subgenre is one of the strangest ever and many of the films are unwatchable. While "Jungle Holocaust" borders on joining this group, the movie's sheer tenacity should appeal to the thrill-seekers out there. The DVD offers a nice transfer, and Deodato's commentary will be very educational to fan's of the film.
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