If we often talk about the so-called “Cinema Bis ItalianA big mistake is made: it is defined by the term “trash”, which has little to do with the production (which peaked between the early 1960s and late 1980s). It covered several popular genres: from westerns to horror, from detective novels to crime novels, science fiction and sexy comedies. Of course, in most cases the films belonging to this production context were artisanal films, shot with few resources and often shot in continuity with one another to keep costs down. However, that doesn’t mean that the artists who worked there weren’t true men of cinema.
Roger Deodatuswho died last December at the age of 83 a great man of cinema. Raised on the sets of Roberto Rossellini, whose assistant director he was, Deodato entered the world of Italian cinema in its prime. And it was on the set that he learned how to direct, a role to which he would devote the rest of his career, both in cinema and later, when there were hardly any encores in the cinema, on television. Most famous for making one of the most violent, crude and censored films of all time, Cannibal Holocaust (1980), Deodato has always fought on the front lines, always putting his heart and soul into the greatest passion of his life, which he never tired of talking about. One of the many unsung figures in the history of our 20th century cinema who was honored with the screening by the Venice Film Festival a few months after his death a recently restored copyFrom Last cannibal world, a film made three years before his forever most famous cannibal film (and not only). The film will be the protagonist of one tonight special midnight show presented by the cult director Nicolas Winding Refn, a great lover of the great Italian genre cinema of the past.
“I’ve always had a hard time understanding what a genre director is,” began journalist Manlio Gomarasca, opening the master class he and Refn held to commemorate Deodato. “I’ve never believed in definitions like ‘genre director’ or ‘author’.” To me, there are two kinds of directors: those who make their mark on cinema history and those who don’t. Like it or not, there is no denying that Ruggero left a mark, not only in Italian cinema but also in the world.”
“The historical period in which Deodato made his most important films has always fascinated me” continued the Danish director, “especially because of the abundance of offers. All kinds of films were released, going to the cinema in those years must have been a truly incredible experience. I grew up watching films like Ruggero’s and many other great directors of those years on VHS, which fascinated me with their violence. My parents didn’t like these kinds of films and watching them made me feel like I was rebelling against the system I belonged to A kind of path of growth and self-knowledge that made me the director I am today. For others, the violence in these films was horrific, but I found it beautiful and fascinating.”
Gomarasca then reflected on Ultimo Mondo Cannibale’s role in Deodato’s filmography: “It is a very dark film with a very eventful story. There are countless anecdotes about how dangerous it was to produce in the middle of the jungle. Suffice it to say that he was a very young man at the time Lamberto Bavaan assistant on set was bitten by a poisonous snake and was saved from certain death at the last minute. Ruggero made history with “Cannibal Holocaust,” but he’s always said he prefers that title to his more well-known title.”
For Refn, what makes the difference in films like Last Cannibal World is the complete freedom given to directors like Deodato. “These films are rare pieces, they are artifacts of an era that no longer exists. “Nobody would produce a film like this today under these risky conditions,” the director concluded. “Ruggero Deodato and his generation had an artistic freedom that we directors can only dream of today. And thanks to this freedom, they were able to use methods of expression that are still modern today. Just think about it Found footage of the cannibal holocaust, which we now see every day in many online videos. Ruggero probably would have filmed it today to post on TikTok!”
Photo: Getty (Stefania D’Alessandro/WireImage; Rosdiana Ciaravolo/Getty Images)
Photo: INTERFILM – MITEL, CAPITOL INTERNATIONAL VIDEO/ERRE CIN.
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