First off, I'd like to say that I DID NOT watch the uncut version, but rather the Australian version, that's cut by 77 seconds*, and comes with the "Grindhouse Experience" DVD pack. Even though the version I saw was cut, this is still a very violent/bizarre film, that's not for the faint of heart. However, it is also incredibly interesting, makes very interesting and true points about animal/human and predator/prey relationships, such as how man wishes to be loved by animals, yet hunts them, and how even though people protest the slaughter of certain animals, many more cows/chickens/pigs are killed for their food. Lastly, it talks about in one scene about how the new laws of the world punish those who follow the older, more primitive ones. Onto the violent/bizarre bits. There are countless animals killed in this movie, including a snake vs. monkey scene that's quite similar to the one in "Mountian of the Cannibal God". We also see cheetahs killing ostriches, bears eating fish alive(In another very fascinating scene, commenting on nature documentaries), elephants getting speared, and many other things. Of course, who could forget about the human/human violence, as well as the infamous "Lion mauls a man in front of his family" scene. Well, let me just tell you, the lion attack footage is some of the most harrowing footage I've ever seen, yet at the same time, is fascinating. It ends with the narrator asking the question "Why did Pit Durmitz leave his car?" and then gives possible explanations. Among human/human violence, there's not much. There the aftermath of cannibalism, showing the corpses and the weapons used to cut open the bodies. Also, several indios get shot(In a staged scene). You've probably heard about an infamous castration/scalping scene. Well, that bit is cut out of the print I saw, unfortunately. The rituals are also quite bizarre. First, men dig holes into the ground, and proceed to make love to mother Earth. There's also the talked about "hippie breast-feeding a goat" bit. While that may sound sick on paper, its really not that bad, and there's a much worse scene like it in Mondo Cane. Lastly, there's the bit where African tribes encase their penis' into small cylinders, and pour the semen into the river. This scene may make male viewers(such as myself) very uncomfortable, as there are graphic close-ups of the tribes penises, jiggling up and down in slow-motion.
Anyways, I recommend this film not just to mondo/exploit fans, but also to fans of nature documentaries.
*In case you're wondering, here's what's cut from my version(which is also the most common): 1. The bit where a fox is torn to pieces by dogs is cut out. You just see the hunter throw it to them. 2. The lion mauling scene is trimmed, but not entirely removed. It gets rid of some of the more graphic bitings, and removes a few close-ups of the body. The uncut sequence is on Youtube, for anyone interested. 3. As mentioned before, the castration/scalping is cut out. You just see the events leading up to it.
Anyways, I recommend this film not just to mondo/exploit fans, but also to fans of nature documentaries.
*In case you're wondering, here's what's cut from my version(which is also the most common): 1. The bit where a fox is torn to pieces by dogs is cut out. You just see the hunter throw it to them. 2. The lion mauling scene is trimmed, but not entirely removed. It gets rid of some of the more graphic bitings, and removes a few close-ups of the body. The uncut sequence is on Youtube, for anyone interested. 3. As mentioned before, the castration/scalping is cut out. You just see the events leading up to it.