Customer Reviews

The Original Faces of Death

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

Nothing more than a creative, but mostly deceptive exploitation of mankind's morbid curiosity of death and mutilation. Although the special effects were decent, most of the scenes were re-created. (For those of you who still believe it's real, read the ending credits.) Most decent Americans should find this movie repulsive in the least and is better suited for today's de-sensitized blood-&-guts galore adolecents than for mainstream horror fans. This movie does however take the credit for spawning the seemingly endless supply of actual death depicting videos and "shocumentry" TV shows. See FOD if only to say you saw it, but try "Traces Of Death" if you crave REAL footage of death, destuction, mutilation and mayhem.

With the exception of the scenes with animals, most of the deaths scenes in this movie are fake. For example, the scenes of prisoner executions are fake because public executions are not permitted in the United States. They don't allow families of the victims to withness the executions, let alone somebody making a documentary. And if they were going to allow documentary film makers to film an execution they would want some organization with reputation and reputability like Time/Life or Discovery...not "Gorgon Video." And what about that assasination scene? I didn't mind the laughable set, but what got me was the fact that we witnessed "authentic" French politicians who spoke lousy text book french with american accents.

Still, for a horror movie, Faces of Death is actually quite imaginative and even thought provoking some times. And in spite of the low budget, Faces of Death had some well done directing and a descent script. Go see this movie, if only to say that you saw it.

This review refers to the DVD edition of this film. I have seen all for of the Faces of Death films and as the title of this review says, the original is the best. By best I don't mean that all of the scenes are genuine. The man being eaten by the alligator scene is a hillarious staging, and the shoot out between the swat team and a man who has just killed his family, is staged. I guess that's the fun part about this film, trying to work out what real and staged using your own intuition and common sense. IE a gas chamber is a sealed chamber so obviously the guy being gassed is not really being gassed as you can hear him coughing.
That said there is some real footage of animal deaths/ mutilations and the pit bull fighting scene is garaunteed to offend most viewers. I personally don't have a problem with this, as this sort of thing would be going on whether or not the film makers/producers chose to film it or not. So in this regard, your choosing to watch this film will be based on whether you have a realistic world view and if you can deal or not.
The picture of this film is as grainy as the old VHS copy I saw in the early 90's. The sound mix is fairly disappointing too, you can literally hear the static come through on the commentary the narrator gives in the scene where the girl jumps to her death.
As far as the extras go, the Fact or Fiction documentary is a nice extra to have, as it provides comments on the more contraversial scenes from all 4 of the films -IE how we staged this was by........ - if you get the drift. It's kind of a campy documentary in the Fangoria vein of things, and Dr. Lewis Flelis hams it up while being interveiwed by some inexpereinced interviewer. There are also trailers for Faces of Death, Beyond the Bizare, and the Strange and Gruesome.
In summary, I give it 3 out of 5 mainly because although mostly fake, it's still entertaining to watch the so-called Dr. Francis B Gross crap on about what he thinks is happening based on his "Medical Expertise". I think of it as a bad horro films from the late 70's.

I first saw this movie on video cassette in june 1985 as a teenager. I admit I thought it was real. Not only real but it did scare the hell out of me. I thought the electric chair scene was real. This movie as bad and fake as most of the scenes are, did make me look at death in a whole new way. As a teenager I was shocked and horrified by this movie. My friends and I would watch it and talk about it. Faces of death made me realize I should be greatful for everyday I have on this earth. This movie despite all the controversy of it being staged and being fake is really a facinating look into death. As gross as the morgue scene was to watch, it was interesting and I believe authentic. The chriogenic suspension scene was really facinating. The music by gene kauer is very effective, and goes with movie very well. Actor Michael Carr who portrays Dr. Francis B. Gross plays a believable doctor with an obsession with death. Faces of death was a mid 1980s fad, that people still talk about today. Faces of death written and directed by John Schwartz is a pioneer of the reality shows of today including (jackass). Faces of death is not for the weak hearted but really a facinating look into our ultimate end.

This is a nasty film from the late seventies, showing the various deaths of humans and animals from around the world. The problem is most of them are faked, and so the end result is bad. The DVD picture is alright, and the sound in Dolby Digital stereo is ok. The extras feature an extra program, Faces of Death Fact or Fiction? which interviews the director Conan Le Cilaire, who reveals how the scenes were simulated. There's also some trailers for other videos in a similar vein. A mediocre film, but you get two longish films (155 minutes) on one disc. One for fans of cheap exploitation films.

Now, listen carefully. Unlike it's sequels, this original 'Faces of Death' is almost entirely made up of fake, hoaxed footage. Granted, the animal footage is mostly real, and there are a few actual suicides, but everything else, from the electric chair execution, to the pathetic decapitation, is fake. After all, just ask yourself simple questions when watching. For example, "How come they get so many camera angles when there's apparently only one person filming?". You'll soon realize it's only a clever fake.

However, this film is excellent. It is an unintentional comedy classic. Dr. Gross is hilarious, and anyone who's got a sense of humor will love the soundtrack - (Old MacDonald to headless chickens? Brilliant!). So, my advice? Buy it! Watch it! Love it! But please don't think it's real. If you do, then you're falling for the trick the film-makers (all of them actually Japanese) designed for the video-fodder market.

Sit back and enjoy!

To the people who think these movies are sick--they supposed to be. i watch to be disturbed, creeped out, have the crap scared outta me. thats what they are supposed to do! if you have a problem with them, DONT WATCH THEM! these movies are trying to disturb people, and they do a damn good job at it!

This is the kind of movie that you have a hidden interest in. This movie has over 25 scenes of suicide, animal death, executions, and more. This movie is known to have very little actual death scenes, however does have a few. DO NOT watch this movie if you are expected to see something like a typical horror movie, or even a Mondo Cane movie. This movie is not for the squemish.

The features on this DVD contain the documentary: "Faces of Death: Fact or Fiction", which proves if the Faces of Death series is real or not. It also has the theatrical trailer, and trailers for other Gorgon Video releases.

I think that this video is a valuable cultural resource and hasn't been given the credit it deserves. It's kind of sad that I watched it more or less unflinchingly. But I thought it was great. Cheesy, but a classic. "Often imitated, never equaled." Well, I don't know about that, but I do think it is a delightfully indulgent piece of work. I don't feel like I wasted my money on it. My favorite part was the EPA protest where the guy lights himself on fire and then there's the montage of carnage and some dorky guy strumming a guitar singing "jesus doesn't live here anymore ..." It was hilarious, subtle genious.

Personally I didn't think it was that gross. Most of the stuff I saw in the movie were things you see in movies with special effects and make up artists. It just happens that some of this footage is real. I think it was a documentary for people who are curious about death. It wasn't gross or shocking. The animal footage was a bit much, but that's called the food chain. And if you eat meat then this is what animals go thru for you to have meals. I heard that only some of the human death footage was real and some was fake. I really thought it was interesting and I didn't feel like I was a bad person for watching it. If u are a curious person about morgues, animal death, and human death then this might be a good movie for u to watch. Death is a part of life. And when someone dies, somebody has to clean up the mess, and in this movie u get to see what mess they are cleaning up, that's all. I think it's worth watching one time atleast for answers u may have about death. Hope this helps!!!!