Ruggero Deodato, Rest In Pieces

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Ruggero Deodato, director of the 'profoundly challenging' Cannibal Holocaust has died. 

From the Guardian obituary:

Ruggero Deodato, director of the notorious 1980 horror film Cannibal Holocaust, has died aged 83. Italian media reported that he died on Thursday. 

 Deodato had a lengthy film-making career and operated in a variety of genres but remains best known for his gruesome horror film, which was banned in multiple countries and even resulted in him being put on trial for murdering his actors. 

 Cannibal Holocaust was also a pioneer of the “found footage” pseudo-documentary genre: it purported to be the footage recovered from an American film crew’s expedition into the Amazon jungle. 

The film became infamous for its real violence against animals, including onscreen killings of monkeys and a coati, as well as the depictions of extreme violence and torture. Less than a fortnight after its release in Italy, the film was seized by local magistrates and Deodato was charged with obscenity and murder after an article alleged some of the film’s deaths were real.

 

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