MovieChat Forums > Cannibal Holocaust (1985) Discussion > Are everyone in 70's movies such A**hole...

Are everyone in 70's movies such A**holes?

posted 8 years ago by AidaClarkfield
10 replies | jump to latest

Besides the animal deaths (which I scanned through), nothing in this movie disturbed me so much as how lame it was to imply that anyone would be this stupid and obnoxious. Just everything about the filmmakers was in your face ridiculous.

I don't know what is supposed to be staged by the onscreen film crew, and what is not, but come on...
Shooting a villager in the leg so they can follow him. Raping the poor villager girl. Burning down the huts, then intercutting that with scenes of intellectual narration, as though they could be that erudite one minute, and that vicious the next. Are we really meant to believe that people are this idiotic and cruel? If you respond by saying "well, it's just an Italian exploitation film,"...that's fine, but why is it a classic or considered a masterpiece? Because of the gore?
There's nothing in this film that explains why it is SO important to Cinema.

People are only this stupid in 70's/early 80's movies too. I just watched Last House on the Left, and the characters in that movie are just more of the same nihilistic, poorly written, hippy drivel talking Manson wannabes. I find it hard to believe this was ever considered art by anyone. Why is it art? Because it pushes boundaries? Boundaries have been pushed in far more creative and intelligent ways than this.

If you want to enjoy these films for their cheese and their ridiculous shock value, that's great. Admit it! Accept it!
People constantly cite this film for it's political satire, but come on...is this really the beacon for political satire? That's a label tacked on in post to justify the carnage. My 10 year old sister could come up with better stuff than this (with less castrations). Grindhouse films are fun for what they are, but let's not hold them up as anything more important than cheesy relics of a bygone era.

[–] AidaClarkfield 8 years ago

Am I right?

[–] speccyboy 8 years ago

You've got a point. The only character who doesn't seem to be full of his own rectum is the professor (our protagonist) - characters full of their own rectums (or is it recta?) are a staple of low-budget filmmaking, particularly from the 1960s and 1970s. I think it's meant to make them more three-dimensional and human, but in most cases it comes off as poorly developed and leaves the characters looking like dicks.

[–] taran-rod 8 years ago

"Am I right?"

No, you are wrong.

[–] hurricanehorton 8 years ago

Are we meant to believe that people can be idiotic and cruel? Yes.

What is it about the idea that cruelty exists that you find so implausible?

[–] Bobby Briggs Briganza 8 years ago

They’re Italian.

Your film gods: Lee Van Cleef and Laura Gemser
http://tinyurl.com/pa4ud44

[–] krypton_son 8 years ago

Why do you think this is just because it's in the 70's? I can see people nowadays being even worse.

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dies ist meine unterschrift

[–] ElectricWarlock 7 years ago

Why do you think this is just because it's in the 70's? I can see people nowadays being even worse.

Yes, there are and always have been good and bad people in every time period. There always will be as long as there is a human race. Time has nothing to do with it.

[–] Beau_Buffet (322) 5 years ago

but why is it a classic or considered a masterpiece?

"Classic", probably, on account of the controversy, the trial, the censorship, originality, and shock value.

"Masterpiece", not in a hundred years.

[–] BooBooCat (652) 4 years ago

"Masterpiece", not in a hundred years

I respect your opinion, but this is subjective. I consider it a masterpiece. Of course you could argue that some movies are widely considered as masterpieces by the masses (critics and people in general), and that there is some objectivity in it. However, what someone considers a "masterpiece " will not necessarily be considered as such by someone else.

[–] Mrmojo4700 (20392) 4 years ago

It could be considered a masterpiece of the horror genre. It’s certainly a masterpiece of the found footage and cannibal sub genres.