Cannibals In Court | Hammers High

One fine day, a director came up with a movie he claimed to be the last documentary of dead documentarians. The crew was allegedly killed by the tribal. The movie was Cannibal Holocaust, a milestone movie by Ruggero Deodato. The movie was premiered in Milan and was banned by the orders of court within a small span. Deodato was arrested. It was an age when media was not such a big tool. Filmmakers stressed more on hype and rumors and sometimes crossed the limits. Deodato did the same mistake. To assert the assumption of dead documentarians, he signed up an agreement with the lead actors that they would not appear in media for a year. The idea simply backfired. Court believed that for shooting purposes the actors were brutally killed and the famed impalement scene was performed on a real girl.

The producers and Deodato were charged with murder. He claimed that the ‘dead’ crew was alive. Court asked about their whereabouts and here, Deodato was trapped. Finally, he voided the agreement and brought the actors to an Italian TV show. Then to satisfy the court about their doubt about the impalement scene, it was re-enacted. Every effect was explained. Satisfied in doubt, court dropped the murder charges. However, the filmmakers including Deodato and few others received a four month suspended sentence. It took three more years of courtroom drama for Deodato to get his movie excapulted from ban. It was finally rewarded a VM18 certificate in 1984 after a few cuts. Apart from native land, it received stern censorship in countries all across the globe. UK, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Finland and conservative sectors banned it outright. Though the ban was lifted in most of the countries after certain rating and recommendations.

For ages to come, the movie will remain an iconic effort in Gory-Horror genre.

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

Under Lens: Banned Movies- 01

Across the globe, numerous movies have been banned for one or other reason. In this series we will know why certain movies were banned and where:

1: Cannibal Holocaust: This classic movie was banned in many countries like Australia, Burma, Japan, South Africa etc for extreme violence and animal cruelty. The movie was considered as a gory movie and the ban was never lifted at some places. However, few countries allowed after desired censorship and proper rating. Cannibal Holocaust also raised eyebrows and many litigations followed.


2: Da Vinci Code: Many countries like Iran, Iraq, Morocco, Sri Lanka and Vatican City banned the movie for alleged blasphemy. Based on a novel by Dan Brown, the movie was an attempt to find the Holy Grail. However, the ban hardly influenced the business. The movie went on to become a global blockbuster.

3: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and sequel: For extreme violence not suitable for public viewing, the series was banned in some countries including Australia, Singapore and Ukraine. However, ban was removed after restricting viewership to a particular class of public. The series acquired cult status in the Gory movies genre. The bloodshed in movie led to protest in parts of US and blamed the movie for growing violence in society.


4: Kissa Kursi Ka: In 70’s the movie was banned in India after accusations of portrayal of Indira Gandhi. The ban was lifted when Janta Party came to power overthrowing Congress democratically. As a political satire, the movie gained cult status. But on box office, the movie failed to make any mark. It was declared a flop.

Iran have banned many movies that contain sexual or anti Islamic views. Censorship prevails in cinema in Iran. Cannibal Holocaust, Scarface, Hostel series, Borat, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Brokeback Mountain, Harold and Kumar series etc. have been banned for violence or sexual content. Exorcist, The Passion of the Christ, Bruce Almighty, Da Vinci Code, Alexander, 300 has been banned for being anti-Islamic in nature. Schindler’s List was banned for glorifying Jewish cause.

For The Reel; Written By: Sujoy Ghosh