Ruggero Deodato Dies: Director Of Notorious ‘Cannibal Holocaust’ Was 83
deadline.comRuggero Deodato, the Italian filmmaker whose hyper-realistic found-footage horror pic Cannibal Holocaust got him arrested and was banned in more than 50 countries, died today, Italian media reported.
He was 83. No details of his death were given. Deodato wrote and/or directed dozens of films and TV shows spanning myriad genres during a 60-year career, but none was more notorious, controversial or scrutinized than 1980’s Cannibal Holocaust.
The film’s intense and authentic-looking gore led many to believe that local actors actually were murdered on screen. The film was seized by Italian authorities, who later arrested Deodato and put him on trial for murder and animal cruelty.
The murder charges were dropped after the supposedly deceased — and ingested — actors turned up in court, but he was convicted of animal cruelty.
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