Ruggero Deodato

Ruggero Deodato
Deodato at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival
Born(1939-05-07)7 May 1939
Potenza, Basilicata, Kingdom of Italy
Died29 December 2022(2022-12-29) (aged 83)
Rome, Italy
Other namesMonsieur Cannibal
Occupations
  • Film director
  • screenwriter
  • actor
Years active1959–2022
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Spouse
Silvia Dionisio
​
​
(m. 1971⁠–⁠1979)​
PartnerMicaela Rocco
Children2

Ruggero Deodato (Italian: [rudˈdʒɛːro deoˈdato]; 7 May 1939 – 29 December 2022) was an Italian film and television director, screenwriter, and occasional actor.

His career spanned a wide-range of genres including peplum, comedy, drama, poliziottesco, and science fiction, yet he is perhaps best known for directing violent and gory horror films with strong elements of realism. His most notable film is Cannibal Holocaust, considered one of the most controversial and brutal in the history of cinema, which was seized, banned or heavily censored in many countries,[1] and which contained special effects so realistic that they led to Deodato being arrested on suspicion of murder. Cannibal Holocaust is also cited as a precursor of found footage films such as The Blair Witch Project and The Last Broadcast.[1] The film strengthened Deodato's fame as an "extreme" director and earned him the nickname "Monsieur Cannibal" in France.[2]

Deodato was an influence on film directors like Oliver Stone, Quentin Tarantino, Eli Roth and Nicolas Winding Refn.[3][4][5]

Early life and career

Deodato was born in Potenza, Basilicata, and moved to Rome with his family as a child. He went to Denmark and started as a musician playing piano and conducting a small orchestra at 7 years old. Once back to Italy, he quit music after his private teacher sent him away for playing by ear.[6]

Deodato grew up on a farm and at eighteen grew up in the neighborhood where Rome's major film studios are located. Through a friendship with the son of Rossellini, it was there that he learned how to direct under Roberto Rossellini and Sergio Corbucci; he helped to make Corbucci's The Slave and Django as an assistant director. In the 1960s Deodato directed some comedy, musical and thriller films, before leaving cinema to do television commercials. In 1976 he returned to movies with the police film Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man.[7]

In 1977 he directed the jungle adventure film Last Cannibal World, also known as Jungle Holocaust, starring British actress Me Me Lai.[8]

Career

Italian: Io ho fatto solo due/tre horror, il resto sono film realistici.

I have only done two/three horror, the rest are realistic films.

— Ruggero Deodato, [9]

Cannibal Holocaust

Late in 1979 he returned to the cannibal subgenre with the controversial Cannibal Holocaust.[10] The film was shot in the Amazon rainforest for a budget of about $100,000, and starred Robert Kerman, Francesca Ciardi, and Carl Gabriel Yorke. The film is a mockumentary about a group of filmmakers who go into the Amazon Rainforest and subsequently stage scenes of extreme brutality for a Mondo-style documentary. During production, many cast and crew members protested the use of real animal killing in the film, including Kerman, who walked off the set.

Deodato created massive controversy in Italy and all over the world following the release of Cannibal Holocaust, which was wrongly claimed by some to be a snuff film due to the overly realistic gore effects. Deodato was arrested on suspicion of murder, and was subsequently forced to reveal the secrets behind the film's special effects and to parade the lead actors before an Italian court in order to prove that they were still alive.[11] Deodato also received condemnation, still ongoing, for the use of real animal torture in his films. Despite the numerous criticisms, Cannibal Holocaust is considered a classic of the horror genre and innovative in its found footage plot structure.[12]

Subsequent career

Deodato with Eli Roth in Rome during the press tour for Hostel

Deodato's 1980 film The House on the Edge of the Park was the most censored of the 'video nasties' in the United Kingdom for its graphic violence. His Cut and Run is a jungle adventure thriller, containing nudity, extreme violence and the appearance of Michael Berryman as a crazed, machete-wielding jungle man.

In the 1980s, he made some other slasher/horror films, including Body Count, Phantom of Death and Dial Help. In the 1990s he turned to TV movies and dramas with some success. In 2007, he made a cameo appearance in Hostel: Part II in the role of a cannibal.

Deodato made about two dozen films and TV series, his films covering many different genres, including many action films, a western, a barbarian film and even a family film called Mom I Can Do It. He was also helping to develop a cannibal-themed video game called Borneo: A Jungle Nightmare.[13]

Unrealized projects

Throughout his career, Deodato was attached to a number of projects which either did not come to fruition or, for various reasons, were assigned to other directors. He was initially attached to The New York Ripper (Lucio Fulci), The Last Shark (Enzo G. Castellari), Casablanca Express (Sergio Martino) and Amazonia: The Catherine Miles Story (Mario Gariazzo).

Unmade projects included a snake thriller, Rattles, and a sequel to Cannibal Holocaust entitled Cannibal Fury, which was to enter production in 1983.

Personal life

Deodato was married to actress Silvia Dionisio from 1971 to 1979. He had a son from the marriage. His partner was Micaela Rocco.[7]

In 2019, the filmmaker was honored with a documentary about his life and career called Deodato Holocaust.[14] Directed by Brazilian filmmaker Felipe M. Guerra, it was released in May of that year at the Fantaspoa Film Festival, in Brazil, with the presence of Ruggero. The documentary consists of a series of interviews that Guerra made with the Italian director, edited with images from Deodato's movies and personal photos. In 2021, Deodato Holocaust was released on Blu-Ray in Sweden[15] and Germany – in limited media book format, containing also a 120-page booklet about Deodato's life and career.[16] The documentary was later released in France[17] and the United States,[18] this time as a bonus feature in collector's editions of other films directed by Ruggero.

Death

Deodato died in Rome on 29 December 2022, at the age of 83, from complications of pneumonia, kidney failure, and liver failure.[7][19]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Functioned as Notes
Director Writer
1964 Hercules, Prisoner of Evil Yes No Uncredited, replaced Antonio Margheriti
1968 Gungala, the Black Panther Girl Yes No
Donne... botte e bersaglieri Yes No
Vacanze sulla Costa Smeralda Yes No
Phenomenal and the Treasure of Tutankhamen Yes Yes
1969 Zenabel Yes Yes
I quattro del pater noster Yes No
1975 Waves of Lust Yes No
1976 Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man Yes No
1977 Ultimo mondo cannibale Yes No
1978 Last Feelings Yes No
1979 Concorde Affaire '79 Yes No
1980 Cannibal Holocaust Yes No
The House on the Edge of the Park Yes No
1983 The Atlantis Interceptors Yes No
1985 Cut and Run Yes No
1986 The Lone Runner Yes No
1987 Body Count Yes No
The Barbarians Yes No
1988 Phantom of Death Yes No
Dial Help Yes Yes
1992 Mamma ci penso io Yes Yes
1993 The Washing Machine Yes No
2013 The Profane Exhibit Yes No Segment: "Bridge"
2016 Ballad in Blood Yes Yes
2019 Deathcember Yes Yes Segment: "Casetta Sperduta in Campagna"[20]

Acting roles

Source(s):

Year Title Role Notes
1955 Destination Piovarolo Pasquale Uncredited
1976 Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man Man Walking out of Bank
1980 Concorde Affaire '79 Man on University Campus
1983 The Atlantis Interceptors Colonel
1986 Cut and Run Man at Jonestown Uncredited
1988 Phantom of Death Man at Station
Dial Help Man in Phone Booth
1992 Mamma ci penso io Street Photographer
1993 The Washing Machine Nosy Neighbor
2007 Hostel: Part II Italian Cannibal
2008 Dead Bones Butcher Short film
2010 The Museum of Wonders
Nero infinito
2013 Chimères Butcher
H.P. Lovecraft: Two Left Arms Ernesto
2014 Phantasmagoria
2016 Ballad in Blood Professor Roth
2017 Macho Man 2
Lilith's Hell Himself

Television

Year Title Functioned as Notes
Director Writer
1969 Il triangolo rosso Yes No 6 episodes
1971-73 All'ultimo minuto Yes Yes 13 episode
1974 Carosello Yes No 1 episode
1989 Il ricatto Yes No 2 episodes
Ocean Yes Yes 6 episodes
1993 I ragazzi del muretto Yes No 8 episodes
1997 Noi siamo angeli Yes Yes 6 episodes
1998 Sotto il cielo dell'Africa Yes No 10 episodes
2004 Padre Speranza Yes No TV movie
2005 Incantesimo Yes No 1 episode

Video games

Year Title Notes
2022 Borneo: A Jungle Nightmare Script Director[21]

References

  1. ^ a b Shipka, Danny (2011). Perverse Titillation: The Exploitation Cinema of Italy, Spain and France, 1960-1980. McFarland. p. 119.
  2. ^ "Dall'altra parte del cult – Intervista a Ruggero Deodato" (in Italian). cinewalkofshame.com. Archived from the original on 22 February 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  3. ^ "Cannibal Holocaust: 'Keep filming! Kill more people!'". theguardian.com. 15 September 2011. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  4. ^ "Cannibal Holocaust Theatrical Re-Release Announced". dailydead.com. 10 August 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  5. ^ "A Conversation with Nicolas Winding Refn". screenanarchy.com. 25 May 2010. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  6. ^ Maria Acciaro (17 May 2012). "Monsieur Cannibal" (in Italian). vice.com. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  7. ^ a b c Genzlinger, Neil (9 January 2023). "Ruggero Deodato, Whose 'Cannibal Holocaust' Enraged, Dies at 83". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  8. ^ Maslin, Janet (6 April 1978). "Movie Review - Ultimo mondo cannibale (1977)". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  9. ^ Corò, Maurizio (21 September 2020). "Ruggero Deodato: la classifica dei 5 migliori film" [Ruggero Deodato: Ranking of the 5 Best Films]. Nerdando (in Italian). Retrieved 21 March 2026.
  10. ^ Robert Firsching (2014). "Cannibal Holocaust (1979)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 29 December 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  11. ^ "The controversial horror movie "Cannibal Holocaust" was so realistic that the director was brought to court to prove he didn't actually kill the actors". The Vintage News. 28 March 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  12. ^ "Firsts: Cannibal Holocaust, the first found footage horror film is still terrifying". Syfy. Archived from the original on 18 June 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  13. ^ Friscia, John (2 December 2020). "Borneo: A Jungle Nightmare, the new name for Cannibal, gets new trailer". NintendoEnthusiast.com. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  14. ^ Squires, John (30 April 2019). "Documentary 'Deodato Holocaust' Tells the Story of Italian Filmmaker Ruggero Deodato". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  15. ^ "Deodato Holocaust Blu-ray (Sweden)". Blu-ray.com. 22 February 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  16. ^ "Deodato Holocaust Blu-ray (Germany)". Blu-ray.com. 15 March 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  17. ^ "Zenabel Blu-ray (France)". Blu-ray.com. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  18. ^ Bjork, Stephen (3 February 2022). "House on the Edge of the Park Blu-ray Review". The Digital Bits. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  19. ^ "Ruggero Deodato è morto, addio al re del Cannibal Movie". cinemaserietv.it. 29 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  20. ^ Squires, John (10 January 2019). "Upcoming Christmas Horror Anthology 'Deathcember' Will Feature Lucky McKee and Ruggero Deodato!".
  21. ^ "Borneo: A Jungle Nightmare on Steam". store.steampowered.com. Retrieved 2 April 2026.

Bibliography

  • Harvey Fenton, Julian Grainger, Gian Luca Castoldi, Cannibal Holocaust: And the Savage Cinema of Ruggero Deodato, FAB Press, 1999.
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