Faces of death

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Movie
German title Faces of death
Original title Faces of Death
Faces of Death Logo.jpg
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1978
length 105 minutes
Age rating FSK no marking as it is indexed
Rod
Director Conan LeCilaire
script Alan Black
production William B. James
Herbie Lee
Rosilyn T. Scott
music Gene Kauer
occupation
chronology

Successor  →
Faces of Death II

Faces of Death is a 1978 American Mondo film by Conan LeCilaire that deals with the subject of death and dying .

The film mixes documentary material from real death and animal slaughter scenes with staged sequences. The exact proportion of authentic material is not known, however, as the scenes in the film also give the impression that they are documentary recordings.

content

The framework consists of a presentation by the fictional pathologist Dr. Francis B. Gröss, who presents the viewer with video material on the subject of death that he has collected over the past twenty years to document the various "faces of death". In addition to animal slaughter , war photographs , executions and murders are dealt with. The film ends with a birth scene and idyllic nature shots. The scenes shown are performed by Dr. Big explained. However, since fact and fiction are mixed up throughout the film, it is not clear how many of these explanations are based on fact and how much is fictitious. All scenes are accompanied by suitable pieces of both classical and popular music .

Reception and criticism

The film has been banned at least temporarily in some countries such as New Zealand, Australia, Norway and Finland because of its realistic depiction of violence. For this reason, the film is often advertised with the slogan "prohibited in 46 countries". The German theatrical and video version was shortened. However, these cuts were only made for reasons of streamlining. The critical sequences are all uncensored. In the meantime, a completely uncut German version has been released on DVD by the company Retrofilm, which, however, has been indexed by the Federal Testing Office for media harmful to minors .

In 2008, Faces of Death was completely restored by the Gorgon Video label for an American HD release with 5.1 surround sound on Blu-ray and DVD .

In the area of ​​criticism, opinions on faces of death are polarizing . From the lexicon of international film :

“Colorful juxtaposition of disgusting images that voyeuristically exploited the subject of death in all its variations. The alleged documentary recordings are almost entirely forged or arranged for the camera. A lying-stupid comment increases the feeling of disgust that this piece of work evokes. "

Trivia

  • Faces of Death is considered to be one of the most controversial films ever and because of its cult status .
  • Information from director Conan LeCilaire According which amounted film budgeting only 450,000 US dollars , while the film made global sales of about 35 million dollars at the box office.
  • In the credits, the filmmakers give a hint about the truth of the film: "Some scenes of this film were re-enacted in order to document and clarify their actual origin."
  • According to Allan A. Apone, who was responsible for make-up and special effects , around 40 percent of the scenes are set.
  • In retrospect, numerous imitations and parodies emerged , for example Faces of Gore .

Soundtrack

The soundtrack includes four pieces composed by Gene Kauer for the film:

No. title Interpreter
1. Faces of Death Theme Gene Kauer
3. Burning Soul Gene Kauer
2. Jesus Doesn't Live Here Anymore Robert C. Wayne
4th Life Bruce Scott

Sequels

In the following years sequels appeared:

  • 1981: Faces of Death II
  • 1985: Faces of Death III
  • 1990: Faces of Death IV

Parts V and VI, which appeared in the following years, are compilations of pieces from the first four parts.

  • 1992 Faces of Death VII (this part largely includes celebrities who died unnaturally, e.g. a photo of the dead Marilyn Monroe or James Dean's Porsche 550 Spyder after the fatal accident)

The American documentary America the Violent produced in 1996 was released in Germany under the title Faces of Death 2000 , although it is not officially part of the series.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Online film database : German VHS release from Magic Video
  2. Online film database: German DVD release of Retrofilm
  3. ^ Online film database: US Blu-ray release from Gorgon Video
  4. The Troubling Lure of 'Death' Films ( Memento of the original from March 31, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.facesofdeath.com archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 1.3 MB) . Washington Post . 30 July 2008.
  5. People of All Ages Go For Gore  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 371 kB). Syracuse Post Standard. July 14, 1987.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.facesofdeath.com  
  6. Internet Movie Database : Budget and Box Office Results
  7. "Exiguous scenes within this motion picture have been reconstructed to document and further clarify their factual origin."
  8. Two Insiders Uncover the Not-so-real Faces of Death. (No longer available online.) AMC , archived from the original on June 6, 2008 ; Retrieved May 22, 2008 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / blogs.amctv.com
  9. ^ Internet Movie Database: Soundtrack
  10. Internet Movie Database: Faces of Death 2000