Cannibal Ferox coming from Shameless

[Man From Hammer]

Originally Posted by eddyw78

Just what Vipco used to do but I only bought those as it was much much harder to find these films back in the 90’s and early naughties and seeing them at all was better than nothing. Then I discovered the internet and imports

I don't agree that seeing them cut to bits is better than nothing because it gives a false impression of films which are for the most part already complete crap anyway. Taking out the exact moments which often are the reasons the films are notorious in the first place seems to make matters even worse.
When Vipco were releasing on VHS the options were laserdisc imports or going after the earlier UK VHS releases - not cheap of course.
By the time Vipco were releasing on dvd it was easy to import uncut discs from other countries so I never found the need to buy a cut version on any format.
One time Vipco did come through was with the Amicus movie Vault of Horror. As with their other titles it was poor quality and 4:3 but in a turnaround the Vipco disc was uncut while the US discs were not

[eddyw78]

Originally Posted by Man From Hammer

I don't agree that seeing them cut to bits is better than nothing because it gives a false impression of films which are for the most part already complete crap anyway. Taking out the exact moments which often are the reasons the films are notorious in the first place seems to make matters even worse.
When Vipco were releasing on VHS the options were laserdisc imports or going after the earlier UK VHS releases - not cheap of course.
By the time Vipco were releasing on dvd it was easy to import uncut discs from other countries so I never found the need to buy a cut version on any format.
One time Vipco did come through was with the Amicus movie Vault of Horror. As with their other titles it was poor quality and 4:3 but in a turnaround the Vipco disc was uncut while the US discs were not

For me back in the 90’s Vipco was better than nothing as I didn’t have Laserdisc and most of these films had been pretty much unavailable since the early 80’s. I’m not saying I enjoyed seeing them cut but it did give me a taster and as soon as got my first DVD player in 2000 and modded it to region free I would have never considered buying a Vipco release if not just because they were most likely cut but because the transfers were mostly abysmal VHS rips. They did give us Shogun Assassin and Shock Waves (which of course I double dipped with later on) which were the first time I had seen either of these.

[Man From Hammer]

Originally Posted by eddyw78

For me back in the 90’s Vipco was better than nothing as I didn’t have Laserdisc and most of these films had been pretty much unavailable since the early 80’s. I’m not saying I enjoyed seeing them cut but it did give me a taster and as soon as got my first DVD player in 2000 and modded it to region free I would have never considered buying a Vipco release if not just because they were most likely cut but because the transfers were mostly abysmal VHS rips. They did give us Shogun Assassin and Shock Waves (which of course I double dipped with later on) which were the first time I had seen either of these.

Yes it was a very dark time for the UK collector from 1985 until the late 90's. When Pioneer introduced Laserdisc players that could play US discs and Panasonic introduced VHS players that played NTSC tapes around 1990 it was a breath of fresh air although it required deep pockets.
The arrival of dvd was a revolution and not long after the nemesis of UK fans James Ferman got kicked out of the BBFC although it took several years for the UK to start to come into line with elsewhere in the world. Of course by the time they did, it no longer mattered

[eddyw78]

Originally Posted by Man From Hammer

Yes it was a very dark time for the UK collector from 1985 until the late 90's. When Pioneer introduced Laserdisc players that could play US discs and Panasonic introduced VHS players that played NTSC tapes around 1990 it was a breath of fresh air although it required deep pockets.
The arrival of dvd was a revolution and not long after the nemesis of UK fans James Ferman got kicked out of the BBFC although it took several years for the UK to start to come into line with elsewhere in the world. Of course by the time they did, it no longer mattered

A college friend of mine introduced me to films of this ilk in the early to mid 90’s and most of his collection consisted of Vipco or various bootlegs he had picked up over the years some of which he payed extortionate prices for. Of course they looked like crap but again it goes back to not being able to see these forbidden fruit movies and at that time we didn’t really know any better.

[Man From Hammer]

Originally Posted by eddyw78

A college friend of mine introduced me to films of this ilk in the early to mid 90’s and most of his collection consisted of Vipco or various bootlegs he had picked up over the years some of which he payed extortionate prices for. Of course they looked like crap but again it goes back to not being able to see these forbidden fruit movies and at that time we didn’t really know any better.

Having lived through the abysmal Video Nasties years it became painfully obvious which labels were cashing in on the unsuspecting fan.
I lost count of the number of times Vipco reissued Zombie Flesheaters usually with a few new seconds the BBFC allowed this time (longest UK version ever) but never uncut.
It turns out the excuse the BBFC trotted out in the 90's about being forced to make sure that any release was not the same as one convicted in court was rubbish so the cuts they added were unnecessary.

While to a certain extent you could understand cuts to nasties, it was the routine cuts to standard action movies of the Stallone/ Schwarzenegger type that really got my goat. 4 minutes from Eraser IIRC. Several minutes from Cliffhanger etc. Laserdisc was a real god send at that time but the level of cuts to regular movies was incredible.
The Bond movie Licence to Kill cut by 1 minute. Goldeneye was littered with cuts to headbutts and violence.

[eddyw78]

Originally Posted by Man From Hammer

Having lived through the abysmal Video Nasties years it became painfully obvious which labels were cashing in on the unsuspecting fan.
I lost count of the number of times Vipco reissued Zombie Flesheaters usually with a few new seconds the BBFC allowed this time (longest UK version ever) but never uncut.
It turns out the excuse the BBFC trotted out in the 90's about being forced to make sure that any release was not the same as one convicted in court was rubbish so the cuts they added were unnecessary.

While to a certain extent you could understand cuts to nasties, it was the routine cuts to standard action movies of the Stallone/ Schwarzenegger type that really got my goat. 4 minutes from Eraser IIRC. Several minutes from Cliffhanger etc. Laserdisc was a real god send at that time but the level of cuts to regular movies was incredible.
The Bond movie Licence to Kill cut by 1 minute. Goldeneye was littered with cuts to headbutts and violence.

At the time most would have been unaware of these cuts to mainstream movies (myself included). It was only with the arrival of DVD that I finally saw what was missing. I can remember compiling an Amazon list with as many cut UK DVDs as I could with information on what was cut and if it could be bought from m another territory.

[Man From Hammer]

Originally Posted by eddyw78

At the time most would have been unaware of these cuts to mainstream movies (myself included). It was only with the arrival of DVD that I finally saw what was missing. I can remember compiling an Amazon list with as many cut UK DVDs as I could with information on what was cut and if it could be bought from m another territory.

From the 80's to the late 90's most collectors relied on fanzines and other magazines for details of cuts and where you could get uncut versions so as it was the pre internet age news was months behind. Trawling video stores around the country was often fun finding the ones that dared to have unclassified releases still on the shelf although it was usually down to laziness and lack of knowledge rather than outright defiance.
Obtaining alternate versions was usually reserved for horror movies. Like you, most were unaware that mainstream stuff was being cut heavily too and it wasn't until easy access to laserdisc that it became more obvious and buying the uncut LD became affordable.

Despite cuts to some of the cannibal movies we are in a paradise situation compared to what it was like in the 80's and 90's.
The notion of the Cannibal Holocaust turtle scene being passed uncut was ludicrous as was the idea that the uncut Dawn of the Dead would be aired by BBC2

Those excellent Video Nasties dvd sets are essential purchases. One of the volumes has a great look back at the fanzines of the day. Pure nostalgia heaven as is the volume 1 sequence of old video company idents.

[eddyw78]

All of this talk of Cannibal Ferox inspired me to watch my Grindhouse BD last night I had forgot it contained a slightly longer version seamlessly branched. One of the scenes in question is pretty horrible though

[Man From Hammer]

Originally Posted by eddyw78

All of this talk of Cannibal Ferox inspired me to watch my Grindhouse BD last night I had forgot it contained a slightly longer version seamlessly branched. One of the scenes in question is pretty horrible though

Are you referring to the "pig" scene?
Not looked at the disc in ages. I thought that while the uncut version of the pig scene was there as an extra it wasn't possible to watch it within the film.

And what a waste of a pig? The poor animal is killed in the most appalling way and clearly the producers themselves thought the end result too horrible to include so they cut it right down and the pig was basically tortured for nothing.

In the interviews John Morghen said he refused to kill the pig so someone else did it but when he did the closeups he "accidentally" stabbed the hands of the person responsible.

[eddyw78]

Originally Posted by Man From Hammer

Are you referring to the "pig" scene?
Not looked at the disc in ages. I thought that while the uncut version of the pig scene was there as an extra it wasn't possible to watch it within the film.

And what a waste of a pig? The poor animal is killed in the most appalling way and clearly the producers themselves thought the end result too horrible to include so they cut it right down and the pig was basically tortured for nothing.

In the interviews John Morghen said he refused to kill the pig so someone else did it but when he did the closeups he "accidentally" stabbed the hands of the person responsible.

Yes is was the pig scene, I didn’t want to give it away as some may not have seen it. There is an option on the main menu to include this seamlessly branched into the main film.

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by Man From Hammer

Are you referring to the "pig" scene?
Not looked at the disc in ages. I thought that while the uncut version of the pig scene was there as an extra it wasn't possible to watch it within the film.

And what a waste of a pig? The poor animal is killed in the most appalling way and clearly the producers themselves thought the end result too horrible to include so they cut it right down and the pig was basically tortured for nothing.

In the interviews John Morghen said he refused to kill the pig so someone else did it but when he did the closeups he "accidentally" stabbed the hands of the person responsible.

in the commentary track on the Grindhouse special edition he's even more negative toward 'all' the animal cruelty scenes

[eddyw78]

Originally Posted by Dubstar

in the commentary track on the Grindhouse special edition he's even more negative toward 'all' the animal cruelty scenes

He always has been on the matter. Every interview and commentary I’ve heard of his has always been the same.

[Man From Hammer]

Originally Posted by Dubstar

in the commentary track on the Grindhouse special edition he's even more negative toward 'all' the animal cruelty scenes

In all his interviews and commentaries over the years he has always been very negative toward the animal killings in all his movies.
I tend to only listen to commentaries at certain points so I'm not sure which one it is where he is on a commentary at the same time as the director and they cross swords on the matter although the directors don't usually try and justify it and just say that it was a requirement at the time of production.
But whats done is done and re-editing Cannibal Holocaust to ease the directors conscience seems pointless.

I think for sheer nastiness the pig scene in Ferox takes some beating. Its bad enough in the movie. The uncut version is a watch once and never forget moment. And I expect the Shameless version of the pig scene to be extremely brief if its included at all

[Dubstar]

^^ and I'm not saying he shouldn't - but it's water under the bridge, what's done is done, is the animal cruelty justifiable, no ... at this point John has made his opinion on the matter quite clear (apparently on various occasions, I've only heard his comments on the commentary track)

[eddyw78]

Originally Posted by Man From Hammer

In all his interviews and commentaries over the years he has always been very negative toward the animal killings in all his movies.
I tend to only listen to commentaries at certain points so I'm not sure which one it is where he is on a commentary at the same time as the director and they cross swords on the matter although the directors don't usually try and justify it and just say that it was a requirement at the time of production.
But whats done is done and re-editing Cannibal Holocaust to ease the directors conscience seems pointless.

I think for sheer nastiness the pig scene in Ferox takes some beating. Its bad enough in the movie. The uncut version is a watch once and never forget moment. And I expect the Shameless version of the pig scene to be extremely brieif if its included at all

I very much doubt it’ll be included at all as it was more of an extra (but obviously one you could include in the main feature) of the Grindhouse release. I think it is the commentary on that where John clashes with Lenzi over animal cruelty. Was this the same commentary that was on the old Grindhouse DVD? I seem to think it may have been?

[dallywhitty]

The disc has been officially announced, fellas. It's slated for release on June 25th.

Extras are as follows:

- A Taste of the Jungle: an interview with director Umberto Lenzi
- Hell in the Jungle: an interview with Giovanni Lombardo Radice
- Restoration Process for Cannibal Ferox
- Cannibal and Carpet Fitters - a short film from 2015
- Lenzi Photo Gallery

[Lea74]

Decent cover art this time.
I'll buy it due to the fact the Grindhouse edition is region locked for some reason (unlike their Cannibal Holocaust).


Not a fan of the animal cruelty, so this release looks good to me

[EvilNed]

The thought of losing some animal cruelty doesn't really bother me, to be honest.

[Man From Hammer]

Originally Posted by EvilNed

The thought of losing some animal cruelty doesn't really bother me, to be honest.

Part of the reason the cannibal films are notorious is because of the animal cruelty. With uncut versions so easily available it seems odd to buy these movies in censored format. They're not great art nor do they pretend to be but with key moments missing what's the point.
Rather like buying West Side Story with the songs removed

Surely the "hook through the breasts" sequence will be cut too? Or have the BBFC really come that far?

[EvilNed]

Originally Posted by Man From Hammer

Part of the reason the cannibal films are notorious is because of the animal cruelty. With uncut versions so easily available it seems odd to buy these movies in censored format. They're not great art nor do they pretend to be but with key moments missing what's the point.
Rather like buying West Side Story with the songs removed

Surely the "hook through the breasts" sequence will be cut too? Or have the BBFC really come that far?

I disagree, I wouldn't mind them in a censored format - depending on the nature of the animal cruelty. The animal cruelty is not why I personally induge in them.

To be perfectly frank, I'm not sure I mind either version - but that's the point. I don't mind missing it.