Customer Reviews

The Original Faces of Death: 30th Anniversary Edition

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

A film like FOD deserves to have a special release for it's 30th anniversary. I think this release will spark a lot of new comers to the film. Because of this, I think it is important to view this film completely within the context of when it was made. This hardly seems shocking in 2009 and we also now know much of it was faked. However, the way in which it was faked is pure genious. The way they were able to match film stocks, exposure and shooting style for each individual scene is really quite remarkable. Sure, you can tell now that some of the famous scenes are not real, but it is still hard to tell which shots are original and which are recreated within each individual scene.

The overall transfer is very good looking. It was also released on Blu-Ray but I really can't imagine that it looks so much better than this version. The special features are very nice. Special segments from the FX team and the editor are very interesting to watch. The audio commentary is also very good.

Anyway, nice treatment to such a classic and noteworthy film.

When it was first released on vhs (1980ish?), it was a shocker. And utterly believable. Until this dvd came out (in my case, blu-ray), it was revealed that all the scenes were staged. And watching it was a chore. I only watched all of it just to get my "viewing dollars" worth. Can't wait to resell it try to recoup at least a couple of bucks back. Even on blu ray, video quality is at best a muddy blurry vhs. If you're looking for the real thing, stick to youtoob type sites, and the video clips that friends email to you. There is NOTHING for you here.

I grew up watching faces of death and was very excited to see they had made a 30th anniversary edition, blu-ray at that. Once I started watching it I was disappointed. If you are interested in buying this atleast save alittle but of money and get the dvd version instead of blu-ray.

NOTE:

ALL IMPORTANT AND PREDOMINANT CAST AND CREW IN FACES OF DEATH, INCLUDING THE PEOPLE INVOLVED, HAVE ALL USED PSEUDONYMS, EVEN THEIR PSEUDONYMS ALL HAVE PSEUDONYMS. EVERYONE ELSE IS NOW DEAD FOLK.


Faces Of Death (1978) 30th Anniversary Collectors Edition on DVD/BLU-RAY:

Anyone who has not heard of this Halloween staple needs to. When I was a kid, this is the forbidden movie I would swap between friends.. Maybe it was forbidden because no one had seen anything like this before or maybe it was because it really was forbidden to watch actual deaths executed in front of a live camera. Either way, a movie that once had my friends and I sneaking to watch it has now become an international Halloween cult classic.

Who could forget the surgeons as they performed open heart surgery only to have the patient's heart rate flat line in front of your disbelieving eyes?

Or the unrelenting footage of a slaughterhouse whose Kosher technique would saw a cow's throat with a huge blade as the blood gushed forth?

Or the infamous and genuinely fake, "monkey brain sequence", showing you people killing a monkey at a restaurant in order to dine on its brains?

Or how about the unbelievable live execution of a killer who gets fried in the electric chair?


For over 25 years Faces of Death has remained the first true godfather of the now common Shockumentery genre. When I was a kid in the early 80's the last thing you wanted was to get caught watching or found to be in possession of this kind of movie, which at the time and for many, many years to come, would be blamed as responsible for teen suicides and grizzly cult murders for anyone brazen enough to commit to a fan following. Oh. but there was a fan following, a huge one in fact, and one that I was not openly admitting I was a part of for more than two decades.

Proclaiming to be banned in over 40 Countries and purporting to be real, Faces Of Death was one of the most talked about and easily most misunderstood motion picture in history. Now for the first time ever Gorgon Video releases Faces Of Death 30th Anniversary Collector's Edition and lets us all in on one simple and amazing fact:

That we as viewers had been had, by believing what we were seeing was actually real; it wasn't. 98 percent of all included footage either was re-created with special effects or was news footage that had been altered to paint a more grizzly visual for, as it turns out, a Japanese movie audience. That's right, Faces Of Death, was never intended for American audiences at all.


Faces Of Death was created by a Conan Le Claire, a filmmaker who mainly did nature and animal documentaries, and where more than 80 percent of F.O.D's footage came from.

This is all revealed for the first time on the special features, where the people involved in the creation of F.O.D, spill their guts (so to speak) and show you how we all were fooled and made to believe what we were seeing was absolutely real. Watching F.O.D now after 25 years; it is easy to spot most of the phony scenes but even scenes you could still swear are real.... well those are fake too. Quite amazing for a movie that's more than 30 yrs old. I can count on one hand all the scenes that were actually genuine and they all had to do with common, every day survival.

Conan even points out that some of the footage, perfectly acceptable when included in his nature films, was absolutely taboo when shown under a different light and context, and wasn't at all acceptable here in America. America, where death to this day is taboo, a taboo almost entirely unique to this country. Why that is, is something I have been trying to figure out to this day. Especially in a place where watching killers and violence on TV or hearing about it in music, cartoons and video games is the standard for almost all entertainment groups/genres.


True Reality Death Enthusiasts had dubbed this "Faces of Fake" and despised even including its name in the same breath as other films. Not me, not anymore, and not now after learning all the secrets and mysteries of Faces Of Death. I have become a fan all over again and can enjoy this now more than ever... Admitting we were wrong and laughing at ourselves and with the Faces Of Death filmmakers because they succeeded in fulfilling our worst nightmares and accomplished this feat entirely on a movie magic level that even I must admit was a pure genius Hollywood spectacular.


This DVD is loaded with special features. Including rare insight on one of America's biggest hoaxes of the century since Big-Foot, Faces Of Deaths own Special Effects Artists and a long and eagerly awaited 'tell all' commentary from the movies director Conan Le Claire.

I say "long awaited" because on prior releases Faces Of Death Box Set or an individual DVD release called Faces Of Death: Fact Or Fiction, only a few details are divulged; with a very disappointing and a laughable approach as Conan is disguised from in back lit room and his voice is electronically...Talk about ultra cheesy!

There were also a couple of quick references to my all time favorite Shockumentary series ever: {Traces Of Death}. No real bashing done here but again no mutual love shown between the two 'Godfathers of Gore' this was completely acceptable to me and no love lost between myself concerning it.


Faces Of Death 30th Anniversary Collectors Edition has been fully restored and is available on DVD and BLU-RAY with very little difference in clarity between them... Very crisp and clear unlike MOST copies of this Faces Of Death 30th Anniversary Collectors Edition is the first Shockumentary on BLU-RAY, my hopes are that TOD will follow suit.

For now, however, let us gaze into the many Faces Of Fake Death.

First of all, I am a female. Not only guys look for stuff like this. I, too, watched this, as a young, naive girl. Huddled up with girls at a slumber party...thinking of the WORST thing we could watch. It is a classic, cult or otherwise. A reminder of a time when freedoms were celebrated, not policed. When individuality stood for something. At time, when we were not berated or ostracized for quirky (or outlandish) interests. Quit judging!!! To each his (or her) own!! Find something more productive to do than criticize those who have different interests than your own. Gain some tolerance, why dontcha!?!? And get a little happiness while you're at it!!!!

If you're like me, you've been hearing about the mysterious Faces of Death - a film supposedly banned in 43 countries, a film so depraved and disgusting that one could barely stand to finish it. The following comments are my reactions to the film as a fan of exploitation cinema, and cultural extremes in general.

Faces of Death has quite a reputation, but it seems that very few people have actually seen it. Needless to say, there's no way the film will live up to its own hype. The narration is predictable, all the scenes involving human death are faked, and the final twenty minutes are basically newsreel footage, which we've all seen elsewhere. The film runs around 105 minutes, which is way too long for something of this nature. If the film was cut to 68-80 minutes, as most exploitation films are, all we would lose is some bland narration and a lot of World War 2 footage.

However, the film is now a cultural artifact and it's most definitely worth seeing, provided you're a fan of horror movies, exploitation films, or bizarre fringe relics. Even though it isn't really a strong film itself, its influence makes it worth viewing. I image that your viewing experience will greatly effect your reaction to the film. If you're in high school and you're sneaking this movie into a slumber party, I'm sure it's amazing. It's not that I expect a film like this to be high quality - that would be silly. I just want to help prospective viewers manage their expectations.

The only real death you see is in the beginning where we see all sorts of animals slaughtered. It's not as bad as it sounds though. The animals weren't killed for the film, but rather as part of the routine slaughtering that happens everyday. I realize that this doesn't make much difference to some people, but at least the killing was nothing out of the ordinary.

On the positive side, I'm sure the film has never looked better. The original footage that makes up the majority of the film is about as clean and clear as one can expect with a cheap film like this. The audio is not great, but I'm sure the original recordings weren't great either. I have to wonder if the video quality colored my experience. I can imagine watching it on a third-generation dubbed VHS tape with severely degraded pictures giving the film a gritty realism - a realism that hides its obviously staged footage.

There are some interesting bonus features, which probably justify purchasing the 30th Anniversary Edition. The commentary track is moderately interesting, as is the featurette with the FX team - the team that managed to fool hundreds of thousands of teens over the last 30 years. There are some outtakes and deleted scenes that are similarly decent. Again though, I have to wonder if all this exposure will ruin the mystique. Once we can go buy the DVD at Best Buy, it's no longer an obscure item of obscene curiosity. Are the horrors less scary with the lights on, so to speak?

This movie is just as awful as the original but now it looks even more fake and dorky due to Bluray. I don't recommend this movie to anyone that hasn't seen it or that has no idea what its all about. However, to those that grew up with the stir that this "underground" video caused around the world knows exactly why it is impossible to resist adding this movie to your "classics" collection. A cult film at its best!!!!! As I pointed out Bluray does not improve in any way what is essentially a VCR camera production, it lays bare all the horrible filming and editing of this totally crappy production. This movie SUCKS but, THAT IS THE WHOLE IDEA :)

Im not going to say much but that the picture image has majorly improved. Plus there are some o.k. extras to it too. The film is a must have for gorehounds. Enough said

Faces Of Death Blu Ray Review

Distributor : Gorgon Video, US.

Well what can I possibly say about this film that hasn't already been stated somewhere else?
Probably not very much, so I think I will just stick to the facts regarding the blu ray release.

This is the US blu ray release put out by Gorgon Video. First off, the disc is not region locked so great news for those who have to worry about these sort of things as it will play on any blu ray player worldwide.

The film is presented in a 1080p 1.85:1 Anamorphic transfer which looks unbelievably good for this type of documentary film. Some print damage remains throughout, however I got the impression that this is supposed to be present in certain scenes and is also present in the original elements of stock footage used in the film.

The blu ray master is taken from a Japanese theatre print so is a little different to the regular version people have grown up with. The print being from a Japanese source, contains a fogging effect to some shots of genitalia present throughout the film. This should come as no surprise, as the Japanese seem always to have a problem with this type of thing. In addition, a seen involving a prison inmate being executed in a gas chamber is not present in the film. Apparently the explanation for this, is that the particular scene was not present in the original theatrical versions and was later added into the home video prints. The scene in question is however presented on the disc as a deleted scene.

The audio on the disc has 5.1 and 2.0 English options. The sound does seem a little tinny in parts but again I'm sure it is how the film was originally made.

As far as extras are concerned, there are a couple of featurettes; one involving creating the FX, another titled Choice Cuts which interviews the films editor. There is also an out-take real, theatrical trailer and the before mentioned deleted scene. The best extra without question, has to be the excellent commentary track by the films director Conan LeCilaire. During this extensive commentary he talks about which scenes are real and which are re-enacted. He also talks about how they made the effects on the re-enacted scenes and also points out various actors he knows playing the parts in the film. He even plays about 5 or 6 different parts himself. Along with all of this information, other topics discussed include; obtaining various stock footage, the sequels to Faces of Death and the other films that later copied the Faces of Death series. This commentary really is one of the best I have heard for a film and the amount of information on offer is incredible.

Although it will always remain a controversial film, it somehow seems a must have for horror collections and I honestly took a lot from watching the film with the commentary track playing and it has reignited my interest in the film itself.

With the excellent extras on offer and the fact that the film itself has never looked as good, I highly doubt a better version could ever be released, so this blu ray should be the last word on the film.

Love or hate the film, this blu ray is an excellent release.

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Gorgon's newest Hi-Def release of Faces of Death looks great, sounds terrific and still manages to thoroughly disturb but the true beauty of this release is the audio commentary by writer/director John Alan Schwartz (as Conan Le Cilaire), a featurette featuring interviews with FX creators Douglas J. White and Allan A. Apone and a featurette on the editing. Folks, this is the absolute best reason to purchase this disc, period. If you're a true fan of this series, this is one release you should positively add to your collection. The information given by Schwartz on this series is priceless and it sheds an incredible amount of light on the creation of the series as well as the urban legends and legal issues that plagued the productions.

If you haven't seen FOD and you're wondering whether it's a good film or not, well, that's subjective. I'm passionate about Mondo films so my opinion of this film may be far more generous than some might feel it deserves but in the end you'll just have to see it for yourself and make up your own mind; you'll love it, hate it or not give a diddle either way. The clips of slaughterhouses, dog fights, seal hunts, autopsies, mass murder, animal attacks and natural disasters are still just as troubling as they were in the early-eighties so prepare yourselves and your fellow viewers before just jumping in blindly; it's not for the faint of heart.

You either both love and own this or you don't, if you do love this film and you don't own this, grab two copies, one on DVD and the other on Blu-Ray. I was so happy to see this release and the awesome extras that I recall giggling when I got it in the mail. Yeah, giggling. Faces of Death is a childhood memory that I'll never forget and Gorgon, along with Red Shirt Pictures, have done a commendable job on this release, showing it the love and attention it deserves.