Bonus List: Disturbing / Extreme Cinema

"You are excrement. You can change yourself into gold."

THE HOLY MOUNTAIN (1973)

Director: Alejandro Jodorowsky
País: México / Estados Unidos de América
Género: Aventura / Comedia / Drama / Fantasía / Horror / Misterio / Ciencia Ficción
Duración: 114 minutos



SPANISH REVIEW:

En 1973, la definición y concepción tradicional del cine fue superada en todos los aspectos. Alejandro Jodorowsky ha redefinido el término de pretenciosidad y lo ha reemplazado con un concepto de superioridad fílmica. Perfeccionando el estilo fílmico surrealista típico de Jodorowsky desde los comentarios sociales y religiosos llamados Fando y Lis (1968) y El Topo (1970), The Holy Mountain mantiene viva la típica costumbre de Jodorowsky de jugar con el cine de una forma simbólica y espiritual, dejando la misma interpretación de los hechos a cargo del espectador a un nivel personal y transformando el arte audiovisual del cine en una experiencia inolvidable tanto para los sentidos como para el alma. El alto grado de ambición y perfección mezcladas con una interminable pretenciosidad tuvieron como propósito incluir básicamente casi todo aspecto benigno y maligno, espiritual y religioso, científico y tecnológico que gobierna a la sociedad actual, añadiendo toques fantásticos de ciencia ficción para la mayor representación mística y simbólica posible de hechos cuya trascendencia en la existencia del ser humano resultan, en última instancia, irrechazable, una vez más, enalteciendo la cristiandad.

El peso de la trama dentro de The Holy Mountain alcanza niveles extraordinariamente épicos. Separada en diferentes capítulos, The Holy Mountain representa gráficamente y con un guión relativamente corto la historia de un ladrón que falsamente desea representar a Jesucristo en las regiones más degradadas y pecaminosas de la sociedad moderna. Mientras vaga por bizarros escenarios plagados de simbolismos profanos y blasfemos sumamente cargados de un surrealismo total, el ladrón se encuentra con un guía místico, denominado el alquimista. Después de tener un duelo fracasado con el alquimista, él le introduce a otros siete seres humanos quienes representan a siete planetas del Sistema Solar. Éstos abundaron, en un pasado, en riqueza y poder, y están destinados a convertirse en los seres más poderosos del Universo. Junto con estos siete seres, el alquimista y su asistente, una mujer afroamericana cuyo cuerpo está cubierto de símbolos religiosos, emprenden un viaje a la Montaña Sagrada, un lugar donde se les promete descubrir el secreto de la inmortalidad y convertirse en dioses.

Alejandro Jodorowsky, uno de los genios pretenciosos más brillantes de la historia de la cinematografía, siempre tuvo en mente en qué consistía el proceso de crear cine. Aplicando una vez más su estilo fílmico de principio a fin, adueñándose no solamente de la dirección, sino también de la elaboración del poético guión, de la producción, de la composición de la banda sonora y del montaje, siendo también escultor, pintor y el director de arte, sin mencionar que él mismo interpreta al alquimista, el largometraje acaba convirtiéndose en un viaje espiritual y catártico sin igual. La película cuenta con la más vasta, impresionante e hipnótica imaginería y cinematografía que jamás se haya visto en una película, como si ésta violara al cerebro en contra de su voluntad pero acabara sintiendo culpa y placer. El manejo de cámara, gracias a la cinematografía de Rafael Corkidi, quien también brindó su maravilloso trabajo en El Topo (1970), brinda paisajes hermosos de la naturaleza, la arquitectura y calles típicas de la Ciudad de México, y escenarios surrealistas con movimientos de cámara vertiginosos, como si se nos tratara de enamorar con el ciclo de la vida, representado una vez más por la perfección del círculo. El vestuario varía, lo cual implica un gran esfuerzo por parte de Jodorowsky. Desde vestuario novedoso y moderno para representar a la completamente lasciva, pecaminosa y egoísta clase alta hasta un gran repertorio antiguo mayormente oriental, The Holy Mountain ofrece una muestra de colores tan vivos y vastos como una paleta de pinturas.

De nuevo, a The Holy Mountain no se le puede escribir una crítica ni reseña constructiva, pues se podría decir que la película es al cine como Baraka (1992) es al género documental: Representan un mundo con distintas realidades. Desde el principio, la carta de El Tonto, la cual forma parte del tarot convencional y muestra a un personaje en el borde de un risco, es encontrado en el suelo, pues ya ha caído del risco. Es claro que el personaje necesita un renacimiento para adquirir un nuevo significado a su existencia. Inmediatamente, un enano sin brazos ni piernas lo levanta, quien representa a la derrota, la carta del cinco de espadas. Las almas más ciegas e inocentes, las cuales son representadas por un grupo de niños desnudos (con el posible propósito de enaltecer su estado de inocencia) proceden a simular la tortura y crucifixión de Jesucristo. Después de vagar por escenarios de la Ciudad de México y una inusual representación de la Conquista de México con un circo de ranas y camaleones cubiertos de escombro y sangre, el ladrón se da cuenta de su propia personalidad al percatarse de que ha vivido bajo una ilusión, y que su cuerpo se haya sujeto a una imagen que no le pertenece, pese a su gran religiosidad.

Una vez que el ladrón simula el proceso de la Eucaristía mientras "devora" el cuerpo de Cristo y envía su imagen al cielo, la película introduce a un nuevo capítulo, cuando el alquimista es presentado por primera vez. El rol del alquimista simboliza el balance del bien y del mal, y tratando de evitar ser una película estrictamente religiosa, recurre a filosofías budistas, de yoga, y enseñanzas y costumbres de Gurdjieff, del Kabbalah y del I Ching, contrastándolas con los crímenes y personificaciones del pecado en sus formas más escandalosas. Fon, representante del planeta Venus, se dedica a la comodidad y confort del cuerpo humano. Isla, representante del planeta Marte, fabrica y vende armas. Klen, representante del planeta Júpiter, posee una fábrica de arte. Sel, representante del planeta Saturno, fabrica juguetes de guerra mientras ofrece entretenimiento a infantes. Berg, representante del planeta Urano, es consejero financiero del presidente. Axon, representante del planeta Neptuno, es un jefe de policía coleccionador de testículos. Lut, representante del planeta Plutón, se dedica al negocio de la arquitectura. Cada uno concentra los pecados y faltas a la moral más degradantes y desafortunadamente comunes de la actualidad, desde alusiones a la Inquisición hasta una infrenable y totalitaria anarquía posmoderna.

Venus revive, insultantemente, los estereotipos que han degradado la imagen física del ser humano a través de la creación de imágenes falsas, especialmente en la mujer, que nos permiten aparentar ser humanos que no somos en realidad, llegando a la conclusión de que son nuestras acciones y creencias en vida las que nos otorgan personalidad. Marte es un ataque directo en contra de la altanería del ser humano en posición de poder y en contra de la religión, dejando en claro que la religión que posea un ser humano en particular no lo enaltece ni le otorga una mayor autoridad ni relevancia significativa a comparación de sus semejantes. Es su mera sensación de poder y pertenencia a una clase social o culto religioso el que le nubla la conciencia, teniendo como el efecto más devastador la guerra y la creación de armas. Júpiter reafirma las falsas creencias adoptadas en la sociedad de Venus y los empuja a un extremo ridículo de perversión sexual y discriminación a las maravillas y la capacidad del cuerpo de la mujer, incluyendo el causar el milagro de crear vida, convirtiéndola en un objeto. Saturno constituye un recordatorio a la forma en que la irresponsable emisión de contenidos inapropiados a masas juveniles e infantiles corrompe la inocencia inicial del hombre, destruyendo completamente el mundo inofensivo de fantasía en el que viven e introduciéndolos de una manera inadecuada a la cruel realidad en la que se vive en la actualidad, creando monstruos en el proceso. Urano personifica al ridículamente excesivo poder que los gobiernos totalitarios poseen sobre una nación, ejecutando la voluntad que más parezca acorde a sus respectivos miembros, mezclando esto con un extremo absurdo de detestación a las ceremonias sociales y control del crecimiento de masas a través de genocidios. Neptuno es la imagen viva y fiel de un gobierno más extremista y utópico con un toque anárquico sadomasoquista y la forma en que éste suele tomar las posesiones más valoradas de una sociedad en particular, simbolizadas por los mil testículos y la pérdida de las vidas de la gente, haciendo mayor énfasis a la brutalidad a través de la exageración de emociones con un acercamiento ligero al renacimiento y que la superficialidad es lo que menos cuenta. Plutón vende la idea de refugio físico al ser humano, cuando, en realidad, el verdadero refugio es la forma valerosa de enfrentar la vida misma ante las tribulaciones que ésta trae consigo. El alquimista clasifica a todos estos personajes como ladrones, no necesariamente en el sentido estricto de la palabra, sino ladrones de pertenencias y posesiones valoradas del ser humano que, por ironía del destino o por crueldad de la vida para crear un balance, las obtuvieron. Ningún humano, por más imperfecto que sea, está exento de alcanzar la perfección.

Compartiendo las ideas de eliminación de objetos y posesiones materiales que solemos considerar como dioses, tales como las riquezas y el poder sobre otros, así como la destrucción de ilusiones e imágenes personales falsas que no nos pertenecen ni nos representan como seres existentes únicos, el hombre forma parte de una naturaleza cuya perfección no se le puede deber a la casualidad ni a la Teoría de la Gran Explosión (la cual ni siquiera es oficial), sino a un Creador, que es Dios, la verdad absoluta y el dador de vida. Asimismo, se invita incluso al público a vivir la verdadera vida sin basarnos en ilusiones predominantes, las cuales son, en última instancia, humanas, sin pretender ser nuestros propios dioses ni que la vida está bajo nuestro estricto control. De ahí radica la superioridad y sabiduría de The Holy Mountain. La Montaña Sagrada es una ilusión cuyos mitos místicos los adquirió por su altitud y sus características físicas, por lo cual se asegura que alrededor del mundo se ha hablado de montañas sagradas en diferentes costumbres. "The Pantheon Bar" es un lugar donde los humanos han renunciado en su búsqueda de la Montaña Sagrada y han sido absorbidos por su propia egolatría y sus talentos inútiles, considerándose superiores al significado de la vida misma. Al final, el único medio mediante el cual se puede vencer a la naturaleza es uniéndose a ella, formando un solo ser vivo.

The Holy Mountain ofrece temas de la vida tan variados como lo es su banda sonora, la cual incluye géneros de todo tipo, desde música clásica hasta rock and roll, entre otros. Así como la ilusión del término "película" es rota durante los últimos minutos, así logró The Holy Mountain superar al cine mismo. No necesariamente quiere decir que haya superado al Séptimo Arte, convirtiéndose en la mejor película jamás dirigida por la humanidad, pero sí se encuentra dentro de las experiencias más asombrosas que se pueden experimentar, con un sentimiento predominante de asombro. De la misma forma en que los personajes tienen que enfrentar sus miedos y ambiciones más profundos mediante visiones epifánicas extraordinariamente bizarras y simbólicas, así es la vida misma, no dejando a nadie exento de dicho reto. The Holy Mountain es la película que más ha cambiado mi perspectiva de ver la vida y disfrutarla al máximo, y la que más ha fortalecido mi fe en Dios Todopoderoso. "La verdadera vida nos espera."

100/100

ENGLISH REVIEW:

In 1973, the definition and traditional conception of cinema was surpassed in every single aspect. Alejandro Jodorowsky has redefined the term of pretentiousness and has replaced it with a concept of filmic superiority. Perfecting the filmic surreal style typical of Jodorowsky since the social and religious commentaries named Fando y Lis (1968) and El Topo (1970), The Holy Mountain maintains the typical habit of Jodorowsky of playing with cinema in a symbolic and spiritual form, leaving the interpretation of the facts in the hands of the spectator at a personal level and transforming the audiovisual art of cinema in an unforgettable experience both for the senses and the soul. The high level of ambition and perfection mixed with an endless pretentiousness had as a purpose to include basically almost every single benign and evil, spiritual and religious, scientific and technological aspect that governs the modern society, adding fantasy elements of science fiction for achieving the maximum mystical and symbolic representation possible of events which transcendence in the existence of the human being ultimately result irrejectable, exalting Christendom once more.

The weight of the plot within The Holy Mountain reaches extraordinarily epic levels. Divided into different chapters, The Holy Mountain graphically represents, with a relatively small screenplay, the story of a thief that falsely wishes to represent Jesus Christ in the most degraded and sinful regions of the current society. While he wanders through scenarios riddled with profane and blasphemous symbolisms considerably loaded with a total surrealism, the thief finds a mystical guide called the Alchemist. After having an unsuccessful duel with the Alchemist, he introduces him to other seven human beings that represent seven planets of the Solar System. These beings abounded, in a certain past, in richness and power, and are destined to become the most powerful beings of the Universe. Along with these seven beings, the Alchemist and his assistant, an Afro-American woman whose body is covered with religious symbols, embark on a journey to the Holy Mountain, a place where they are promised to discover the secret of immortality and become gods.

Alejandro Jodorowsky, one of the most brilliant and pretentious geniuses in the history of cinema, had always in mind the overall process of cinema creation. Applying his filmic style from beginning to end once again, becoming the owner not only of the direction, but also of the elaboration of the poetic screenplay, the production, the composition of the soundtrack and the mounting, being also a sculptor, painter and the art director, without mentioning his interpretation of the Alchemist, the feature film ends up becoming an unparalleled spiritual and cathartic trip. The movie has the vastest and most impressive and hypnotic imagery and cinematography I have ever seen in a film, like if these raped the brain against its will but ended up feeling guilt and pleasure. The camera work, thanks to the cinematography of Rafael Corkidi, who also offered his extraordinary work in El Topo (1970), brings beautiful nature landscapes, the typical architecture and street composition of Mexico City, and surrealistic scenarios with vertiginous camera movements, like if we were being convinced to fall in love with the cycle of life, represented, once more, by the perfection of the circle. The costume design constantly varies, which implies a great effort from part of Jodorowsky. From a modern and novel wardrobe that represents the completely lascivious, sinful and selfish upper class to a great antique and majorly Eastern repertoire, The Holy Mountain offers a sample of colors that seem as alive and vast as a painter's palette.

Once again, The Holy Mountain doesn't allow a constructive critic or review to be written, since it could be said that the film is to cinema like Baraka (1992) is to the documentary genre: They represent a world with different realities. From the beginning, the The Fool card that forms part of the conventional tarot and shows a character at the edge of a cliff is found on the ground, since he has already fallen from the aforementioned cliff. It is clear that the character needs a rebirth in order to acquire a new meaning to its existence. Immediately, an armless and legless dwarf picks him up, who represents defeat, the five of swords. The blindest and most innocent souls, which are represented by a group of naked kids (with the possible purpose of exalting their state of innocence), proceed to simulate the torture and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. After wandering through scenarios characteristic of Mexico City and an unusual representation of the Conquest of Mexico with a circus of frogs and chameleons covered with blood and rubble, the thief realizes his own personality after he notices he has lived under an illusion and that his body has been subject to an image that doesn't belong to him, despite his heavy religiousness.

Once that the thief simulates the process of the Eucharist while "devouring" the body of Christ and sending his image to Heaven, the movie introduces a new chapter when the Alchemist makes his appearance for the first time. The role of the Alchemist symbolizes the balance between good and evil, and while avoiding being a strictly religious film, it resorts to Buddhist philosophies, yoga, and teachings and customs of Gurdjieff, the Kabbalah and the I Ching, contrasting them with the crimes and the personifications of sin in its most scandalous forms. Fon, He whose planet is Venus, is dedicated to the comfort and commodity of the human body. Isla, She whose planet is Mars, manufactures and sells weapons. Klen, He whose planet is Jupiter, owns an art factory. Sel, She whose planet is Saturn, manufactures war toys while offering entertainment to children. Berg, He whose planet is Uranus, is a financial adviser to the President. Axon, He whose planet is Neptune, is a chief of police and a collector of testicles. Lut, He whose planet is Pluto, is dedicated to the business of architecture. Each and every one of them congregates the most degrading sins and insults to morality which, unfortunately, are common nowadays, from allusions to the Inquisition to the unstoppable and totalitarian postmodern anarchy.

Venus revives, insultingly, the stereotypes that have degraded the physical image of the human being through the creation of false images, especially of women, that allow us to seem to be humans that we are really not, arriving to the conclusion that it is our own actions and beliefs in life the ones that grant us a personality. Mars is a direct attack against religion and the haughtiness of the humankind when being granted power, making clear that any human being in particular isn't exalted nor given a bigger amount of authority or significant relevance in comparison with the rest of the world regardless of the religion he or she possesses. It is the same feeling of power and membership of a social class the one that blinds our conscience, having as its most devastating effect the war and the creation of guns. Jupiter reaffirms the false beliefs adopted by the society of Venus and pushes them to an extreme ridicule of sexual perversion and discrimination towards the wonders and capacities of the woman's body, including the creation of the miracle of life, converting her into an object. Saturn constitutes a reminder of the way in which the irresponsible emission of inappropriate contents to juvenile and children masses corrupts the initial innocence of man, completely destroying the inoffensive world of fantasy in which they live and introducing them, in an inadequate manner, to the cruel reality in which we live nowadays, creating monsters in the process. Uranus personifies the excessively ridiculous amount of power that totalitarian governments possess over a nation, executing the will that most appeals to the taste of its members, mixed with an extreme absurd of detestation towards social ceremonies and of mass growth control through genocides. Neptune is the live and faithful image of a most extremist and utopian government with a sadomasochistic touch of anarchy and the way this tends to take away the most valued possessions of a particular society, an aspect symbolized by the one thousand testicles and the loss of the people's lives, making a higher emphasis in the brutality through the exaggeration of emotions with a slight approach to rebirth and to the fact that superficiality is the least relevant thing. Pluto sells the idea of a physical refuge for the human being when, in reality, the real refuge is the valorous form of facing life itself with the tribulations and hardships it involves. The Alchemist classifies these characters as thieves, not necessarily in the strict sense of the word, but they are thieves of belongings and possessions valued by the human being which, due to the irony of fate or the cruelty of life that creates a balance, they achieved to obtain. No human, regardless of its overall flaws, is exempt from reaching utter perfection.

Sharing the ideas of the elimination of objects and material possessions that we tend to consider as personal gods, such as richness and the power over others, and the destruction of illusions and personal fake images that do not belong to us and do not represent us as uniquely existent beings, man forms part of a nature whose perfection cannot be owed to chance or the Big Bang Theory (which is not even official), but to a Creator, who is God, the absolute truth and the giver of life. Likewise, the public is invited to live the real life without basing it in predominant illusions, which are, ultimately, humans, without pretending to be our own gods and that life is under our strict control. From there, the superiority and wisdom of The Holy Mountain irradiates. The Holy Mountain is an illusion whose mystical myths were acquired thanks to its altitude and physical characteristics; consequently, it is clarified that people have spoken about holy mountains in different parts of the world based on regional customs. "The Pantheon Bar" is a place where humans have renounced to their quest of the Holy Mountain and have been absorbed by their own egotism and useless talents, considering themselves superior to the meaning of life itself. Finally, the only means through which nature can be beaten is to converge with it, becoming one single living being.

The Holy Mountain offers themes about life so varied as it is its soundtrack, which includes all types of genres, from classical music to rock and roll, among others. Just like the term "movie" is broken during the last minutes, The Holy Mountain achieved to surpass cinema itself. This does not necessarily mean that it achieved to surpass the Seventh Art, becoming the best film ever directed by mankind, but it is found within the most astonishing experiences that can be experimented with a predominant feeling of awe. In the same way the characters have to face their deepest fears and ambitions through extraordinarily symbolic and bizarre epiphanic visions, life itself is like that, leaving nobody exempt from such challenge. The Holy Mountain is the movie that has modified my perspective towards life the most at the expense of enjoying it at its fullest, and the one that has strengthened my faith in God Almighty the most. "Real life awaits us."

100/100

"Welly, welly, welly, welly, welly, welly, well. To what do I owe the extreme pleasure of this surprising visit?"

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971)

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Country: United Kingom / United States of America
Genre: Crime / Thriller / Sci-Fi
Length: 136 minutes



Stanley Kubrick is one of my giant cinema directors and A Clockwork Orange is, without a doubt, one of his most disturbing, scandalous, brilliant and controversial masterworks that he ever created. Thanks to this work of art, Stanley Kubrick finally consolidated himself as an inventive, original, creative and visionary director. Whereas 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) permitted him to expand his artistic vision to extremes lightly limited by the cinematography, creating one of the best and most profound and complex cinema stories, A Clockwork Orange focused more in both the filmmaking and direction styles that had already been born in him some years before. The magic of this film originated from the fact that the director achieved the impossible in order to create one of the most beautiful and profound movies known by mankind despite that the main thematic elements are based on crime, sex, violence and Beethoven, being successful at it.

The movie takes place in a Britain set in a not-so-distant future in which a group of young and mentally disturbed savages leaded by Alex goes out to the streets every night for beating and raping all types of innocent victims. One night, the group of criminals gets tired of the authority that Alex was constantly imposing over them and ends up betraying him, causing the police to arrest him and put him in jail. In order to shorten his sentence, Alex decides to voluntarily participate in a rehabilitation and conduct modification program organized by the government that is supposed to change the horrible behavioral tendencies of Alex. However, once that Alex completes the program, a new world and a new life, which he had left behind not to long ago, will come back and haunt him, causing catastrophic results. A Clockwork Orange had the bad luck of being released the same year as the inferior Hollywood film The French Connection (1971) directed by William Friedkin. The movie received four Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. Stupidly enough, he lost all of the aforementioned Oscars precisely against The French Connection (1971), a film in which Gene Hackman won an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role because of a performance that, in my opinion, was considerably inferior to the one by Malcolm Mc Dowell, who didn't even receive a nomination. However, we must take into consideration the controversy this film caused due to two principal factors: the early decade in which it was released, becoming a film considerably ahead of its time, and the chillingly accurate prediction of the violent behavior of modern society based in its most primitive instincts.

We will start with the direction. Trying to avoid repeating most of the aspects about Kubrick that have already been mentioned in the first paragraph, he established a new vision for creating suspense cinema. If we closely analyze the plot and the atmosphere, the movie does not belong to a clearly defined genre. The subject matter possesses a heavy influence of sex and violence, elements that are depicted in the most beautiful and provocative form, something that almost no director can achieve nowadays. It is impressive how the acts of man most rejected and repulsed by common society are transformed in poetry found within a film directed almost 40 years ago. That is why we could associate this film with the crime genre, but it actually goes beyond the genre of crime in a similar way that 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) surpassed the sci-fi genre, finding innovative expression forms. Since the story is developed in future Britain, we could relate it with the sci-fi genre as well. However, despite the great amount of style added to the film by the fact that it takes place in the future, specially considering the set decoration and the creative interior design of some houses, the story could have been told in a present-day atmosphere (this is, 1971). Even so, the genius of the narrative structure and the predominant perturbing elements of this violent story predicted, in a considerably correct form, the increasing of the different types of violence in present society. This is the definition of vision, and Kubrick had it since he grabbed a camera for the first time in his life. He simply just kept improving it, cinematographically and artistically speaking.

This particular screenplay is one of my personal favorites in cinema history. The creation of new terms in the language of the protagonists is a highly creative, poetic and stylized concept, and the most surprising aspect is that it is not totally incomprehensible. Kubrick's adaptation of the famous novel written by the author Anthony Burgess is extraordinary. I comprehend the vast difference between the novel and the film, especially considering the contrasted endings they both have, which suggests that the film had a completely different approach. I dare to say that this is one of the cases where cinema surpasses literature, just like in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), The Exorcist (1973) and the trilogy of The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003), for mentioning few famous examples. The pace of the movie is exceedingly accelerated, but pays attention to all of the details shown in every shot. The camera work is incomparable, probably the best I have ever seen since the decade of the 70's. The angles are perfectly balanced without any single touch of uncomfortable inclination and the camera has perfect filming locations for capturing the world that A Clockwork Orange attempts to portray. The editing is equally majestic, being, probably, the best editing I have ever witnessed in a film. I think my favorite scene talking about editing would be Alex being locked up in his room and listening to Beethoven; pay attention to the editing in that particular sequence. Every single technical aspect of the film will never be equaled, especially when the direction was in charge of a master of cinema. Words can't describe the superiority of the cinematography of this feature-film.

The performances are very peculiar, creating differentiated characters between each other. Alex is one of the most awesomely horrific and terrifying villains I have ever seen on screen. Malcolm McDowell gives away one of the best samples in the history of cinema about what "acting" is supposed to mean. Acting is neither about exaggerated dramas nor senseless screaming, but about becoming the character. McDowell doesn't play Alex; he is Alex. I even thought that the real personality of the actor was being portrayed in the film for a second, which is a terrific achievement. McDowell occupies a spot among the best performances I have ever seen. The supporting cast did a remarkable job as well, from the former partners of Alex (Pete, Georgie and Dim) to his parents, who had undeniably comical behaviors and, to some extent, unrealistic and impossible as well. The overall atmosphere of the film possesses surrealist elements, which adds a considerable quantity of gloominess and fantasy to the plot. The mood that was created in A Clockwork Orange is certainly impressive, never staying away from the fact that the film takes place in England, something that the audience must believe while watching it.

A fascinating and memorable aspect is the music employed. From the exquisite and majestic melodies of one of my favorite music composers, Ludwig Van Beethoven, to the original musical score, a wonderfully orchestrated and dazzling experience is provided. One thing that Kubrick always knew how to do is to correctly choose and add incredible music, adding a very identifiable style, just like Woody Allen did. The music that introduces the opening sequence and that later is constantly repeated throughout is as marvelous just as it is dismal. It could be said that the spectator goes through the same nostalgic feeling when hearing the music of the opening scene of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), or even the classic macabre tune of The Exorcist (1973). Overall, it is a wonderful musical score, perhaps one of the bests of all time.

A Clockwork Orange generates various polemic ideas and questionings. To what extent one as a person requires causing (and even receiving) physical, sexual and psychological violence? How much dependence does modern society possesses towards its controlling government? Is violence a naturally imposed balance among humanity? How serious can the lack of self-control over our impulses get? How much can a superior power brainwash us and literally take control over our minds? More than a brilliant psychological analysis, A Clockwork Orange is also a social criticism towards governmental authorities. That is why it is considered a film ahead of its time, not comprehended by then. It is also the most disturbing and beautiful piece of cinematic art I have ever laid my eyes on, having both contrasting qualities at the same time. Some scenes are so perturbing that I was fascinated by them. Was it guilty pleasure, or the primitive, dark side we all have sleeping within us most of the time? Perhaps it was a peculiar mix of both. It is a natural thought to reconsider the movie as "entertaining" due to the polemic elements treated throughout. A beautiful essay about the most brutal sickness of man who doesn't seem to be capable of finding an exit to his eternal psychological abysm, A Clockwork Orange is a true masterwork that shall be remembered for its great influence in cinema and for the controversy it inevitably caused in worldwide audiences from different generations, without having mercy on the age you may have.

100/100

"Hoy cumples siete años. Ya eres un hombre. Entierra tu primer juguete y el retrato de tu madre."

EL TOPO (1970)

Director: Alejandro Jodorowsky
País: México
Género: Aventura / Fantasía / Western
Duración: 125 minutos



SPANISH REVIEW:

El Topo ha sido clasificado como el definitivo spaghetti western de culto. Recurriendo a una alta dosis de surrealismo, simbolismo parcialmente subliminal e imaginería religiosa, Alejandro Jodorowsky ha creado una de las obras maestras cinematográficas más perturbadoras en la historia del cine, considerando el hecho de que es uno de los pocos proyectos que resultan ser efectivamente ambiciosos. Perfeccionando su estilo técnico desde Fando y Lis (1968) con un doblaje mejorado, una cinematografía cuya armonía y asombro rebasa límites, y una dirección que, pese a su gran ambición y peso psicológico, consiguió establecer un estilo propio muy diferente a los esquemas fílmicos de Federico Fellini (La Dolce Vita [1960], 8½ [1963]), Luis Buñuel (L'Âge d'Or [1930], El Ángel Exterminador [1962]) y Sergio Leone (Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo. [1966], C'era una Volta il West [1968]), con los que Jodorowsky es normalmente comparado, El Topo es la más gloriosa representación del cine mismo resplandeciendo en su máxima expresión, un nivel jamás soñado.

Ciertamente, el aspecto menos relevante de El Topo es su trama. Gracias a su inigualable estilo de dirección, El Topo no posee un solo clímax ni solo una secuencia en donde el anonadado espectador pueda alcanzar un nivel personal de catarsis ni revelación espiritual, cinematográficamente hablando. El Topo, interpretado por Alejandro Jodorowsky, es un invencible y sumamente hábil pistolero quien, con la compañía de su hijo, vagan por la vastedad del desierto hasta encontrar un pueblo cuyos habitantes y animales fueron recientemente masacrados de manera brutal. Mientras los sobrevivientes están siendo torturados y asesinados por los villanos cerca de ahí, El Topo llega a la escena para hacer justicia. Dejando a su hijo abandonado con los franciscanos, él es guiado por una mujer llamada Mara quien le expresa que su siguiente misión es asesinar a los cuatro maestros pistoleros del desierto. Una vez que una misteriosa mujer se les une en el viaje, ambas traicionan a El Topo dejándolo balaceado en el desierto sólo para ser encontrado por un conjunto de gente pobre quienes lo veneran como a un dios, esperando que algún día despierte y los pueda ayudar a escapar de la caverna en la que se encuentran, la cual está localizada debajo de un pueblo bizarramente cristiano. La película ganó un Ariel de Plata por Mejor Cinematografía en 1972, el cual fue otorgado por la Academia Mexicana de Ciencias y Artes Cinematográficas que se enfoca específicamente al cine mexicano. Asimismo, es considerada también como una de las mejores películas mexicanas de todos los tiempos por una versión de la revista SOMOS publicada en 1994, ocupando el puesto número 42.

Culminando con una de las secuencias más violentas y simbólicas jamás logradas hasta entonces, El Topo sigue siendo un triunfo cinematográfico que rebasó las definiciones de todos los géneros con que puede ser descrita, especialmente los géneros de aventura y fantasía. En mi opinión personal, la definición de cine no sería totalmente conquistada y superada sino hasta 3 años después con su largometraje The Holy Mountain (1973) el cual, a comparación de El Topo, poseía menos (si no es que ninguna) influencias e inspiraciones cinematográficas. Pese a estas controversiales características, los aspectos técnicos finalmente lograron alcanzar un alto grado de calidad. La cinematografía es resultado del trabajo de un individuo con una concepción del cine superior a la normal, cubriendo vastos paisajes, contando con la correcta mezcla de ángulos balanceados y bizarros y el más brillante manejo de cámara, gracias al talento de Rafael Corkidi. Era necesario que El Topo, a diferencia de Fando y Lis (1968), contuviera el estilo y visión de Jodorowsky en su totalidad de principio a fin con el objetivo de consolidar su estilo de dirección, por lo cual el guión fue totalmente escrito por él. La escenografía, la banda sonora, y el vestuario fueron aspectos que también estuvieron bajo su cargo.

La lentitud de la película es justificable. En su altamente notorio intento por tratar de ser una experiencia extraordinaria y una odisea espiritual epifánica, la película funciona como un viaje abierto a una interpretación personal. El vago dicho "Inventa tu propia versión de los hechos y ésa será la correcta" puede definir parcialmente el objetivo de la película, así como el amplio criterio de Jodorowsky. La atención dada a cada detalle, sea éste visible o simbólico, es hipnóticamente adecuada. Un hecho cierto es que los proyectos cinematográficos de Alejandro Jodorowsky no pueden ser resumidos ni explicados en una reseña, así que ¿qué demonios estoy haciendo ahora mismo? Estoy haciendo dos cosas: Una es rectificar dicha declaración. La segunda es expresar mi propia experiencia al haber visto El Topo, dejando muy en claro que mi versión personal no es la oficialmente aceptada, probablemente ni siquiera la versión de Jodorowsky, con todo respeto.

Evitando ser una película religiosa blasfemante, uno de los propósitos de Jodorowsky es simbolizar, a través del cristianismo, de elementos budistas, del sexo, de la violencia y de la forma en que la Iglesia Católica ha dañado por siglos la cristiandad y la verdadera religión, el surrealismo como una herramienta para complementar a los personajes de una manera catártica. Desde Kafka hasta Buñuel, Jodorowsky utilizó elementos que conforman la cultura cinematográfica popular para engrandecer las diversas temáticas manejadas por El Topo. Independientemente del hecho de que la película haya requerido la buena actuación estelar de Jodorowsky, el pistolero creyente de Dios posiblemente simboliza la segunda venida de Cristo, el Hijo de Dios hecho Hombre en todas sus características humanas, por lo cual experimenta al final una horripilante revelación de su propio existencialismo. A diferencia de las opiniones que afirman que El Topo insulta y se mofa de los eventos retratados en La Santa Biblia, interpreto que el largometraje enaltece tanto las Sagradas Escrituras como la imagen de Jesucristo y la verdadera religión, la cual es el cristianismo, mediante la cual se puede alcanzar la Vida Eterna gracias a la fe.

Representando de manera simple y simbólica los constantes fracasos del pistolero y los elementos originadores de la violencia, desde un par de armas y el mismo cuerpo humano hasta una red de mariposas, la dirección conlleva al ciclo de la vida balanceado. No me refiero específicamente al balance gráfico visual presente concerniendo religión, comedia clásica, fornicación, violencia, estereotipos, simbolismos, belleza, surrealismo y sectas ocultas como los Illuminati, sino a cómo todos estos elementos conllevan a un equilibrio y a una perfección, representado comúnmente con el Yin Yang, culminando en la constante representación de círculos, una figura geométrica que, dentro de la película, convive con la muerte y la espiritualidad. Se podría afirmar que el director interpreta a su manera partes de La Santa Biblia tales como el Génesis, los Salmos y El Apocalipsis en una forma similar que interpretó las memorias de la obra de Fernando Arrabal en Fando y Lis (1968).

Pese a que parcialmente puedo concordar con la opinión popular que afirma que El Topo es una de las películas más pretenciosas jamás creadas, la verdad es que, desde Fando y Lis (1968) hasta Santa Sangre (1989), Jodorowsky no se hundió en un ego gráficamente pretencioso gracias a la oportunidad que ofreció a masas mundiales a interpretar sus proyectos de una manera personal. Simplemente soy un ejemplo más: Jodorowsky ha cambiado mi forma de ver la vida. Honestamente, ¿qué se puede esperar de una película cuyos fans famosos incluyen a celebridades y directores diversos como John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Bob Dylan, Marilyn Manson, Peter Gabriel, Peter Fonda (Easy Rider [1969], 3:10 to Yuma [2005]), Dennis Hopper (Cool Hand Luke [1968], Blue Velvet [1986]) Samuel Fuller (Pickup on South Street [1953], The Big Red One [1980]) y David Lynch (Eraserhead [1977], Mulholland Dr. [2001])? Representando eventos como la reencarnación, el viaje de Moisés y el pueblo de Egipto a la Tierra Prometida, la revelación de Sansón, el poder de los elementos esenciales (tierra, agua, fuego y aire), la crucifixión de Jesucristo, la transformación de agua amarga a dulce de Moisés y los Evangelios del Nuevo Testamento, el maltrato de los fieles creyentes por la Iglesia Católica, así como el nacimiento de la religión y la muerte, El Topo es un atrevido llamado a contemplar a la vida de forma diferente sin hacer un innecesario comentario en contra del incorrectamente llamado opio de las masas. En un mundo donde la clase alta es mostrada como una parte de la sociedad que está destinada a ir directamente al infierno y la clase baja es enaltecida (pues de ella es el Reino de los Cielos), la obra maestra de Jodorowsky se ha convertido en una de las mejores películas mexicanas de todos los tiempos, ligeramente alcanzando el nivel de los mayores expositores del surrealismo.

100/100

ENGLISH REVIEW:

El Topo has been classified as the definitive cult spaghetti western. Resorting to a high dose of surrealism, partially subliminal symbolism and religious imagery, Alejandro Jodorowsky has created one of the most disturbing cinematic works of art in the history of cinema, considering the fact that it is one of the few projects that ended up being effectively ambitious. Perfecting his technical style since Fando y Lis (1968) with a better dubbing, a cinematography which harmony and awe surpass any limit, and a direction that, despite its great ambition and psychological weight, achieved to establish a unique style that could be considerably different from the filmic preconceptions of Federico Fellini (La Dolce Vita [1960], 8½ [1963]), Luis Buñuel (L'Âge d'Or [1930], El Ángel Exterminador [1962]) and Sergio Leone (Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo. [1966], C'era una Volta il West [1968]), with which Jodorowsky is normally compared, El Topo is the most glorious representation of cinema itself shining at its maximum capacity to a level that had never been dreamt before.

Certainly, the least relevant aspect of El Topo is its plot. Thanks to its incomparable direction style, El Topo does not posses just one single climax or one single sequence where the dumbfounded spectator can reach a personal level of catharsis or spiritual revelation, cinematically speaking. El Topo, interpreted by Alejandro Jodorowsky, is an invincible and highly skillful gunman who, along with the company of his son, wanders through the vastness of the desert, finding a town whose inhabitants and animals were recently massacred in a brutal manner. While the survivors are being tortured and murdered by the villains nearby, El Topo arrives to the scene to do justice. Abandoning his son leaving him with the Franciscans, he is guided by a woman named Mara tells him that his next mission is to assassin the four master gunmen of the desert. Once that a mysterious woman joins them in their journey, both women betray El Topo, leaving him shot and wounded in the desert only to be found by a group of poor people who warship him as a god, waiting that someday he will awaken and help them escape from the cavern in which they are found in, which is located under a bizarrely Christian town. The film won a Silver Ariel for Best Cinematography in 1972, which was given by the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences that specifically focus to Mexican movie industry. Also, it is considered as one of the best Mexican films of all time by the 100th edition of a Mexican magazine called "SOMOS" published in the year of 1994, reaching the 42nd spot.

Culminating with one of the most violent and symbolic sequences ever achieved by then, El Topo is still a cinematographic triumph that surpassed the very definitions of all of the genres that can be used to describe the film, specially the adventure and fantasy genres. In my personal opinion, the definition of cinema would finally be conquered and surpassed 3 years later with his feature film The Holy Mountain (1973) which, unlike El Topo, possessed less (if any) influences and cinematic inspirations. Despite these controversial characteristics, the technical aspects finally managed to reach a high quality level. The cinematography is the result of the work of an individual with a superior-to-normal-standards conception of cinema, covering vast landscapes and counting with the correct mix of balanced and bizarre angles and with the most brilliant camera work, thanks to the talent of Rafael Corkidi. It was necessary that El Topo, unlike Fando y Lis (1968), contained the style and vision of Jodorowsky in its totality throughout with the purpose of consolidating his direction style, so the screenplay was completely elaborated by him. The scenery, the soundtrack and the costume design were aspects that also were under his charge.

The slowness of the film is justifiable. In its extremely notorious attempt of becoming an extraordinary experience and a spiritually epiphanic odyssey, the movie works as a trip open to personal interpretation. The vague saying "Come up with your own version of the facts and that will be the correct one" can partially define the purpose of this film in a similar way it can define the vast criterion of Jodorowsky. The attention given to all the details, whether they are visible or symbolic, is hypnotically adequate. One true fact is that the cinematic projects of Alejandro Jodorowsky cannot be resumed or explained in a review, so what the hell am I doing right now? I am doing two things: One thing is to rectify such statement. The second thing is to express my own experience after having seen El Topo, leaving very clear that my own personal version is not the officially accepted one, probably just like even Jodorowsky's version, with all due respect.

Avoiding being a blasphemous religious film, one of the purposes of Jodorowsky is to symbolize through Christianity, Buddhists elements, sex, violence and the way the Catholic Church has damaged Christendom and the true religion for centuries, the surrealism as a tool for complementing the characters in a cathartic manner. From Kafka to Buñuel, Jodorowsky utilized elements that form part of the popular cinematic culture for exalting the diverse subject matters contained in El Topo. Independently of the fact that the film may have required a good leading performance from Jodorowsky, the gunmen believer in God possibly symbolizes the second coming of Christ, the Son of God made Man in all of his human characteristics, so he experiments a horrible revelation of his own existentialism at the end. Unlike the opinions that affirm that El Topo insults and mocks the events portrayed in The Holy Bible, I interpret that the character praises the Holy Scriptures, the image of Jesus Christ and the true religion, which is Christianity, through which Eternal Life can be obtained through faith.

Representing in a very simple and symbolic manner the constant failures of the gunman and the elements originators of violence, from a couple of guns and the human body itself to a butterfly net, the direction automatically leads to the balanced cycle of life. I am not specifically referring to the graphical visual balance present concerning religion, classic comedy, fornication, violence, stereotypes, symbolisms, beauty, surrealism and occult sects like the Illuminati, but to how all of these elements lead to an equilibrium and a perfection, commonly represented with the Yin Yang, culminating in the constant representation of circles, a geometric figure that, within the film, coexists with death and spirituality. It could be affirmed that the director interprets, in his own way, different parts of The Holy Bible such as Genesis, the Psalms and the Book of Revelation in a similar way he interpreted his memories of the play by Fernando Arrabal in Fando y Lis (1968).

Despite that I can partially coincide with the popular opinion that affirms that El Topo is one of the most pretentious movies ever created, the truth is that, from Fando y Lis (1968) to Santa Sangre (1989), Jodorowsky did not drown in a graphically pretentious ego thanks to the opportunity he offered to worldwide masses to interpret his projects in a personal scale. I am simply one more example: Jodorowsky has changed my view on life itself. Honestly, what can be expected from a film whose famous fans include diverse celebrities and directors such as John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Bob Dylan, Marilyn Manson, Peter Gabriel, Peter Fonda (Easy Rider [1969], 3:10 to Yuma [2005]), Dennis Hopper (Cool Hand Luke [1968], Blue Velvet [1986]) Samuel Fuller (Pickup on South Street [1953], The Big Red One [1980]) and David Lynch (Eraserhead [1977], Mulholland Dr. [2001])? Representing events such as the Reincarnation, the voyage of Moses and the people of Egypt to the Mountain of God Sinai, the revelation of Samson, the power of the essential elements (earth, water, air and fire), the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the changing of bitter water to sweet water made by Moses and the Gospels of the New Testament, the mistreating of the believers by the Catholic Church, and the birth of both religion and death, El Topo is a daring call to contemplate life in a different way without making an unnecessary commentary against the incorrectly called opium of the masses. In a world where the upper class is shown as a part of society that is destined to live permanently in hell and the lower class is exalted (since they are predestined to live in Heaven), the masterpiece of Jodorowsky has become one of the best Mexican films of our times, slightly reaching the level of the biggest auteurs of surrealism.

100/100

"We Fascists are the only true anarchists, naturally, once we're masters of the state. In fact, the one true anarchy is that of power."

SALÒ O LE 120 GIORNATE DI SODOMA (1975)

Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Country: Italy / France
Genre: Drama / Horror / War
Length: 116 minutes



In the process of finding the correct first sentence to begin with a proper review of Pier Paolo Pasolini's last film Salò o le 120 Giornate di Sodoma, I failed miserably. In fact, I have already written it... it's somewhat hilarious. Words cannot and will not suffice for properly describing the artful subjectivity and political power of this extraordinary piece of art. Open-minded masses, supporter of all artistic expressions and, specifically, Pasolini fans cannot avoid the great personal amazement, pride and joy towards a director that never hesitated to express his anarchic, totalitarian and Marxist ideas through his religious and political manifestos, his daring and controversial magnum opuses, his visionary and influential masterworks. Salò o le 120 Giornate di Sodoma is definitely one of the most audacious films ever conceived by the hands, the mind and the guts of an auteur. On a personal note, I have always classified and identified the decade of the 70's as the most influential era, cinematically speaking, for expressing ideas in expressionistic ways. Directors like Dusan Makavejev (W.R. - Misterije Organizma [1971], Sweet Movie [1974]) and Nagisa Ôshima (Ai no Corrida [1976], Ai no Borei [1978]) sought for the most shocking and graphically scandalous ways to depict socially accepted ideas that the totalitarian control and the limited liberty of expression did not allow to be portrayed nor propagated. Salò o le 120 Giornate di Sodoma is arguably Pasolini's best film, the brave motion picture that caused him to be persecuted and presumably assassinated under mysterious circumstances.

The film is set in the Fascist, Nazi-controlled northern part of Italy during the Second World War where four libertines round up sixteen perfect specimens of youth and take them to a palace near Marzabotto to subject them to 120 beautiful days of all forms of physical, mental and sexual torture. It is loosely based on the stories of Dante and Marquis De Sade. After the four months have passed, the brutal execution of the youths is organized so that the fascist libertines can witness the spectacle from a voyeuristic point of view. It is officially one of the most controversial films of all time.

Pasolini's approach to the Fascism in Italy results in a "nauseating, depraved, pornographic, disturbing, senseless and mentally sick" film. It actually has been catalogued and classified under those retarded, immature and narrow-minded adjectives. It is a very natural psychological consequence that an audience that was not still prepared for such a graphic testament, not to mention a film depicting the horrors of war in the most explicit way, reacted with those arguments as their strongest defense. Soul injuries had not healed yet, and people still belonged to a particular political party. Most of its controversy rose from the fact that it was mostly considered as a political act rather than an important filmmaking sample of historical accuracy and political correctness. Was that an intentional and, therefore, correct film characteristic thanks to the ideals of Pasolini? Yes and no. The same thing happens with the films of directors like Makavejev and Ôshima. It is set on historical times depicting real events. However, the melodrama resulting from the magic of cinema may sometimes result in the dramatization and sometimes intentional tergiversation of events that, although they may reflect a particular period of the history of humanity, do not have a complete accuracy. It is a commonly used technique to enlighten and strengthen the ideas that a film wants to transmit. Salò o le 120 Giornate di Sodoma is not meant to be taken seriously, historically speaking, especially when Pasolini declared himself as an artist. He did not name himself as an historian or a religious filmmaker. He was an atheist, yet the inspirational effect of Il Vangelo Secondo Matteo (1964) disseminated through the masses counted with a poignant success.

Salò o le 120 Giornate di Sodoma contains one of the most explicit portrayals of sex, violence, psychological torture, mercilessly insulting racism and a wide range of paraphilias that include sexual masochism, sexual sadism, transvestic fetishism, urophilia and cropophilia within mainstream films. These physical and sexual perversions will eventually cause several reactions from a varied audience, but as film elements they ultimately function as a motor for the film's political and anarchic audacity. The film is basically divided into three parts: the Circle of Manias, the Circle of Shit and the Circle of Blood. The Circle of Manias consists in the submission of the youths to several forms of psychological abuse. The film is meant to mirror democratic societies and totalitarian governments that mentally construct a narrow-minded concept regarding the nation's control they suppose they own. They disguise their mediocrity and dictatorship-like habits with a seemingly organized governmental system. Licentiousness predetermines the catastrophic behavior of organized Fascism in the film, disguising their lack of sanity with formally planned events, such as the portrayals of social events with occasional, forcedly applied gender dysphoria and with the massive dinners accompanied by piano with Signora Maggi and other two middle-aged demented women telling arousing stories of their past. The concept of discipline is distorted; comedy is a decaying word; humor is no longer a clear dictionary word. The Circle of Shit gathers the victims in a feast of excrement consumption and rape. Once more, the possible symbolic context implied is how governments and democracies literally try to cover up their lies and the corruption caused talking shit and raping the trust and the democratic process through their rules and principles. This may sound like an offensive statement, but its honest substance behind it does not deviate from an utter truth. Finally, the Circle of Blood consists in the physical torture and execution of the already degraded souls, in case any consciousness and self-esteem remain. This is shown from a voyeuristic perspective, strengthening a horrifying and claustrophobic feeling to it, like if we were not capable of understanding the unbearable pain the victims are going through, consequently becoming a more disturbing and haunting sequence.

As any masterpiece clearly states, enjoyment, beauty and art are the most humanly subjective terms one should encounter throughout the process of deep analysis. This is one of the most beautiful films ever made. It is brilliantly filmed and visually beautiful, overshadowing with its grandiose cinematic gorgeousness the perverted brutality shown from the beginning of the film to its comical ending. The cinematography scratches the visual realm of perfection, like a mutant philosophy. The editing has a mysterious tone to it. You never know what will the next take will look like, yet it has no mercy at fading away with each shot; it immediately shows it, letting our eyes and mind (perhaps even the stomach) to react however it is supposed to react. The music has a mystical brilliance. It has the capacity of hypnotizing the viewer to an extent of confusing the emotions and distorting them. The images talk by themselves, and the beauty of the human body is so glorified that one feels in Paradise with Satan raping angels.

Salò o le 120 Giornate di Sodoma is one of the best films ever made. The original ambition it achieved to obtain has established a landmark, a landmark that has lasted for generations. Glorifying human dignity and letting it be raped, sexually abused, raped and depraved to an unbelievably glorious extent because of totalitarian governments that still form part of the actuality culture, the main purpose(s) of the film are immediately justified and even strengthened because of the persecution and assassination of Pasolini and because of the censorship the film inevitably has been subject to. More than a political act, it is a marvelous magnum opus way ahead of its time that even modern cinemas would surely refuse to release. A criticism very few authoritative and democratic countries will fully accept, Salò o le 120 Giornate di Sodoma belongs to arguably the most daring category of cinema ever created.

100/100

Review coming someday...

98/100

Review coming someday...

100/100

Review coming someday...

98/100

Review coming someday...

98/100

Review coming someday...

98/100

"El árbol se refugia en la hoja, la casa en la puerta y la ciudad en la casa, y yo contemplaba ese espectáculo, y volvía a ver al árbol convertido en hoja, a la casa en puerta y a la ciudad en una casa."

Fando y Lis (1968)

Director: Alejandro Jodorowsky
País: México
Género: Aventura / Fantasía
Duración: 97 minutos



Causing a riot in its first screening at the Acapulco's Film Festival back in 1968 because of its surrealistic and blasphemous nature, Fando y Lis is the film that allowed Chilean director Alejandro Jodorowsky to become a cult director and to basically play with cinema. Instead of making a direct and faithful adaptation of a play of the Spanish writer and filmmaker Fernando Arrabal, Jodorowsky decided to resort to his own memories and add a high dosis of bizarre imagery, surreal sequences and impossible, unexplainable events.

The first feature length film of this visionary director focuses on Fando and his partially paralyzed lover Lis who decide to look for the mythical city of Tar, a place that supposedly grants eternal happiness and makes all wishes come true. Along the way, both of them meet with impossible events and fantastically terrifying characters, slowly descending to sexual submission, to the pleasure of violence and to madness.

Jodorowsky's direct cinema inspirations are left very clear and, yet, he is a very original director and filmmaker on his own that cannot exactly be referenced as a mix of past giant cinematic auteurs. Despite this fact, I'll mention his possible influences throughout his reviews since it is a necessary analyzable aspect of his direction. Using a dream-like cinematography just like Federico Fellini first did in 8½ (1963) including the narrative structure and resorting to surreal social criticisms in a similar way Luis Buñuel first did in El Ángel Exterminador (1962), time has been shattered in the film, leaving all of the sequences to open interpretation, not being important whether they are real or imagined. Despite that this film represents Jodorowsky's first approach to cinema, I completely disagree with the popular opinion concerning his supposed cinematic inexperience. If it can be called as cinematic amateurism, basically everybody are, literally, crap directors. Jodorowsky didn't requiere experience since he established his personal form of surreal and fantastic filmmaking homage and succeeded.

Working also as a deep psychological analysis of the characters, strange imagery and a considerably graphic sexual approach contrast with the characters' respective traumatized pasts. The city of Tar symbolizes the impossible reaching of joy materialized in an object that can be perceived by the senses, representing the majorly agnostic human nature that has literally invaded these modern times, stepping him away from God, resulting in damnation... the rejection of a universal truth. Insanity and the submission to sin, carnal pleasures and atheism prevail at the end, causing an earthly hell caused by our inner weakness, a noticeable hypocrisy and the fear we sense towards accepting the existence of God.

Despite its technical flaws, its moderate budget and the overuse of cheap, yet effective sound effects, its mysticism is increased because of the wonderfully improvised and planned dialogue which came from an original one-page screenplay, an impressive camera work, its varied and haunting music throughout and its hypnotic pace that cannot be described as slow. The magic from Jodorowsky's films comes from the fact that you literally have to come up with your own interpretation in order to give to them a more significant appreciation. The subject matter he usually employs may generate chaos, debate, differences of opinion and primitive manifestations of the most common reactions of mankind towards subjectiveness, death and religion. Comically criticizing the upper class which has already fallen into its eternal abyss of ego and exaggerated self-esteem, Fando y Lis evokes the absurd, wakes up the mind, puts the brain to work and can call itself as one of the best Mexican films ever made.

97/100

"The sword is the soul. Study the soul to know the sword. Evil mind, evil sword."

Dai-bosatsu Tôge (1966)

Director: Kihachi Okamoto
Country: Japan
Genre: Action / Drama
Length: 119 minutes



Funnily enough, I was wondering where should I have begun when I first wrote this review, staying frozen with my fingers paralized floating above my keyboard while staring at the wonderful Criterion Collection's cover of the film. This is not an ordinary film, and that is a fact. It is a brutal, uncompromising, psychologically disturbing and beautifully crafted film that purely portrays the samurai and the darkest and cruellest side of the human being. Few times have directors dared to portray such dark thematic elements in such an accurate and poetic form. Let's forget about the huge influence this movie had over several future films around the world and basically over Japanese samurai filmmaking for a while and start talking about what makes it an outstanding classic. This film has never been topped due to the type it belongs.

Let's talk about its plot a little bit. The film is set on the second half of the 19th Century and focuses on the story of a relentless, sociopathic samurai named Ryunosuke Tsukue that, when scheduled for a match at his fencing school, meets Ohama, the wife of his opponent Bunnojo Utsuki, who begs him not to kill Bunnojo. He agrees and asks for her chastity in exchange. However, he ends up killing Bunnojo, so his brother Hyoma swears revenge and decides to enter master Shimada's fencing school. Frankly, that's all I will give away of the story.

There are, of course, several disturbing and unique aspects of the film. The fact that the main character is a sociopathic samurai is a notoriously contrasting change in Japanese films, which normally portrayed a hero guided by moral, loyalty and discipline, like the ones portrayed in Kurosawa and Kobayashi films, whether they were valiant warriors or crafty ronins. Tatsuya Nakadai is definitely a name I will remember for the rest of my days. Although I had already seen him in several Kurosawa films before, his capacity of personifying such a cold-hearted, mentally disturbed samurai without a real man living inside him and with a rotten soul that feels no shame nor guilt, but pride and insanity, was a performance for the ages. It should be right there with the Top 10 villains of all time. His character even goes beyond a villain, but violates every single moral standard imposed in samurai philosophy.

Overall, the performances were pretty good, and was awesome to see Toshirô Mifune once again, no matter if he played a supporting role, but Tatsuya Nakadai steals the whole show. The image of his face has permanently been glued to my mind. Kihachi Okamoto's direction surpassed any expectation I had before seeing this unusually macabre and violent film, in case I had any. The cinematography and camera placing were beautiful to look at, and the editing was just awesome. The amount of violence was certainly shocking for worldwide audiences (even Japanese) for being a 1966 film. Its style clearly influenced several other films, such as the Kozure Ôkami series and Shurayukihime (1973), but this is some of the best stuff this kind of genre has to offer. There are three major action sequences, one having Toshirô Mifune in action and a closing sequence with Nakadai's character you will never forget.

My only complaint with this film, despite the past different versions of the story it had, are the several subplots that unfold throughout and that, naturally, do not conclude, due to the fact that this was supposed to be an entire trilogy based on the historical Kaizan Nakazato's novel, which is composed by 41 volumes (1533 chapters) and is reportedly the longest novel ever made. That's why I think it would have been interesting to actually see the trilogy completed. Despite that minor flaw, I prefer to consider this film as an independent entity from the novel and see it as a standalone masterpiece with an abrupt, but openly unconcluded ending.

The film may shock some viewers and astonish others. I was literally left amazed and caught off guard. I shall never forget the uniqueness and cinematic influence of this Japanese treasure, for all of the reasons mentioned above. Kihachi Okamoto's best.

94/100

An absolutely original, talented and brilliant masterpiece, of what is Cronenberg's best so far. His direction and plot development, just like his talent and vision go one huge step further within the genre. he may go a little bit mainstream, but he gives away all of his genius in this one. Two thumbs up for this wonderfully well-made horror/thriller/fantasy surrealist piece.

94/100

Disturbing, horrifying, graphic, explicit, merciless, explosive, stylish, hilarious, great. Takashi Miike blows you away with his best and most entertaining film. I'm allowed to have guilty pleasures right? Oh, and if you keep rewinding endless times to the torture scenes, don't worry: You're not sick, it's because of Miike's brilliance.

93/100

This film is often said to be extremelly disturbing to watch. I think it depends on each one's perspectives, sensibility and stomach.

I NEVER FELT ANYTHING AT ALL. THIS WAS NOT SHOCKING NEITHER DISTURBING. The movie is filmed in documentary style, giving it a lot more of "realistic" atmosphere, making it seem real. For me, this was one of the most originally-portrayed and directed character studies about a serial killer. The acting is fantastic, specially from the main character, and the overall result is just amazing (with some very funny parts here and there), worthy of being an addition to the Criterion Collection series.

See it under your own risk and ignore the hype; just let Man Bites Dog talk for itself for 97 minutes, and you'll be very impressed.

92/100

Some thoughts...

Visitor Q is a very special film. Some people find it incredibly disturbing, and some other people find it hilarious. I find it hilarious. I almost laughed! It's unbelievable how depraved the human mind can be, and this little film puts it right to the screen. The opening scene gives a clear idea of how the movie will be the following 75 minutes. Like surrealistic Miike films (such as Gozu), this film gets "crazier" as the minutes pass by. The acting is acceptable and so is the script. But what I trully loved about this film is that the camera does never hesitate and it deals with very disturbing thematic material in a brutal, awesone and hilarous way.

90/100

Tarantino goes stylish and explosive, always faithful to his favorite Japanese cult movies. The least original film you will find, but it was so damn entertaining, wasn't it?

90/100

THE GORIEST COMMERCIAL FILM EVER MADE, and one of the funniest. IT ACTUALLY MADE ME LAUGH! Jackson's original style is present all the way through and its uniqueness and hilariousness make this over-the-top ultra-splatter-fest worth watching over and over and over and over and over and over and over again :D...

89/100

More twisted and gory fun, better than ever.

88/100

"But I'm telling you the truth! You think you're telling the truth, but in fact... you're telling only your version of the truth. It happens to me all the time."

Profondo Rosso (1975)

Director: Dario Argento
Country: Italy
Genre: Horror / Music / Mystery / Thriller
Length: 126 minutes



Before Halloween (1978), before Friday the 13th (1980) and even before Lucio Fulci entered into action and became "the godfather of gore" (which he certainly isn't), there was Profondo Rosso. I'm really proud to present what I undoubtedly call a masterpiece of horror. Dario Argento has created one of the most legendary, memorable, scary, brutal and even artistic horror films ever. This film is definitely the best film of Italian horror cinema and the most represetative of its syle as well, which would be copied afterwards endless times. Dario Argento is certainly one of the greatest horror directors that ever existed and one of the most respected as well.

Profondo Rosso deals with the supernatural story of a musician who witnesses the death of a psychic who could read people's minds and had already predicted the past and future killings of an assassin. He later teams up with a female reporter in order to find who the killer is, who certainly has a deep and dark secret buried.

I never imagined that horror films could be like this. I can clearly see now where it all began. Being a horror fan, this film has it all. It has shocking gore, well-built suspense, scary and fantastic imagery and a top-notch direction. I'll begin with the visual style. Argento's direction definitely surpassed my expectations, since I was left totally amazed. The camera work is extremelly beautiful and adds a lot of artistic value and susbstance to the story. The cinematography does not only capture wide shots in perfect angles, but also has some extraordinary close-ups to objects and people which show their most graphic details wonderfully. Just like Yimou Zhang is a master in the use of color in his films, Dario Argento uses red beautifully throughout. It sort of makes you fall in love with the color of blood, adding a lot of intensity to the plot and strong emotions as well.

Profondo Rosso is one of the first horror films that belongs to the "slasher" sub-genre which uses childish elements to cause fear in its audience. This was a very daring concept which totally worked in an effective way. The use of a child's tender tune is a classic daring concept which is ultimately fantastic. Many horror films used this very same concept billions of times afterwards. Not only it uses a child's tune, but also relates it as a very important element in the killer's traumatic past. That is why Profondo Rosso is also a brilliant and macabre character stury.

Although the slasher film Black Christmas (1974) came a year before and shares similar aspects with this film, like the killer's murders being graphically shown on screen and the killer being revealed until the end, Profondo Rosso goes beyond that, and just like several previous giallos did (including some from Mario Bava and Lucio Fulci), it builds a lot of suspense in the audience while making it to try keep guessing who the killer is with the help fo the narrative structure. The music is not for everybody's taste, and although it is not as masterful and moving as a melody composed by Beethoven or as scary as the classic tune of Psycho (1960), it is fantastic. It is certainly weird, but Italy tended to use this kind of thrilling and suspenseful weird music in its films and I just love it. Profondo Rosso doesn't fail in that aspect either, since even the music has some unusually unique style. The killer's outfit (such as the dark, leather gloves and jacket) is also a classic and somehow macabre element.

Unlike several Italian directors of the 70's and 80's like Lucio Fulci, Ruggero Deodato, Umberto Lenzi and Mario Bava, Argento uses graphic and shocking violence and gore but not in a mindless and sadistic amount. The pace may be slow at times but almost every single dialogue and scene add important facts to the plot, and although the main focus of the film is not violence, it has a decent number of killings and all of them are quite shocking. The edition is brilliant. Have you ever seen a film which is dependent by its edition? Well I have, and this is one of those rare classic movies. Gore fans won't be dissapointed either.

This is a classic aimed for all kind of audiences, and once you het the chance to see this horror masterpiece you'll understand where Hollywood got most of its ideas from and why Hollywood has made an incredible amount of awful horror films during the past 25 years, which, ironically, a lot of them are remakes. Argento consolidated his reputation and style of filmmaking with Profondo Rosso, which is his best film. Do not miss it.

89/100

The scariest film ever made, and one of the goriest. Raimi is able to show through his best film that someone has talent when he's able to prove it, even with a low budget. One of the best horror flicks ever made as well.

87/100

- Hitler! DirtyJew!
- They call me... Neanderthal."

SWEET MOVIE (1974)

Director: Dusan Makavejev
Country: Canada / France / West Germany
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Length: 98 minutes



Delicious, scandalous, expressionistic and controversial Yugoslav provocateur Dusan Makavejev is clearly one of the most misunderstood poets of complete self-destruction. Sweet Movie is a film with such audacity, such gorgeous poetry, such supposedly "disturbing" and "nauseating" sequences, that any lover and supporter of all artistic expressions and the instantly implied subjectivity of both of the terms "art" and "beauty" willl find ultimately impossible not to fall in love with. This complete cult masterpiece is arguably the sexiest and most gorgeous and orgasmic attack towards capitalist authoritarianism and Communism, not to mention the most daring magnum opus ever thought by a brilliant human brain.

Sweet Movie alternatively tells two stories. On one hand, we have the shocking story of a beauty queen, Miss Canada, who slowly descends into a catastrophic life of existentialist madness and depravity after winning a virginity contest (that's right) denominated Miss Monde 1984, denying to have sex with a golden penis (that's right), having sexual intercourse with a possibly Mexican singer named El Macho and getting stuck with her vagina (that's right) and moving to a bizarre anarchich community who celebrate food feasts with orgies of vomit (that's right) and excrement. On the other hand, we have the story of Anna Planeta, possibly the sexiest, non-porn character name in existence, brilliantly interpreted by Anna Prucnal, a beautiful actress who was exiled from her native Poland for seven years after her role in the film and was denied a Visa so she could see her dying mother. She plays the role of a philosophical and pedophile, demented killer who is constantly travelling through the canals of Amsterdam in search of lovers who want to have sex with her and subsequently killing them in a pool of sugar. Her boat is named "Survival" and it has a giant face of Marx with a tear on his eye, and it is in that boat where she makes candy. If this wasn't enough, real documentary footage is shown, portraying the camps that were near the city of Smolensk, where the Soviet Army held more than 14,000 Polish prisoners of war under inhuman conditions. In 1943, after Germany had seized the region, rumors of a mass grave containing the Polish corpses were investigated by an international medical team, revealing that actually more than 14,000 Polish prisoners were killed. Moreover, it was not until 1992 when it was confessed that Joseph Stalin was the one who had authorized the killings.

Sweet Movie is the result of the work of a visionary auteur that actually dared to establish his filmmaking style through a groundbreaking and controversial perspective, slapping the face of totalitarian anarchy. Symbolism may be a very adequate interpretation of the sickening events that take place through a relativelty short running time that, consequently, is felt like an eternity. It is one of the most representative samples of scandalous filmmaking that fully represent the nature of cult and envelope-pushing cinema of the 70s. Most of its political influence comes from the fact that Yugoslavia was a Communist country at the time, an event that may justify the complete explicitness and demented nature of Sweet Movie. The importance of the screenplay and the performances are lost, although not completely, since they are still complementing elements. The true anathematical brilliance of Sweet Movie can be found in its complex symbolism, in its shriek-type-of direction and in its underlying layers of absurdity, constantly suffering a transformation from complete shock value with substance behind to a state of pure absurdity and, yes, hilarious comedy... a comedy that is originated from the criticism that is made towards how degraded the human condition has turned out to be.

Of course, degrading and repulsive acts was the most logical and adequate measure for faithfully representing the negative influence that degrading and repulsive authoritarian Communism and Fascism has imposed over the weak will of a highly dependent society. The destruction of Marx's ideals is emminent, thus the tear on his face is justified, sailing aimlessly in search of grotesque feverishness and sexual perversion. Sexual liberation is not precisely the topic here, and that is hilariously explained through the happenning of an unsuccessful sexual intercourse with a random, supposedly handsome singer in the Eiffel Tower. Elegance and class collide with external degradation. If such cinematic project is released, any financial ambition will meet its doom, so it is obvious at some extent that such hypocritical ambition was not in Makavejev's mind. He wanted to shout and be heard. It is a political and liberalist shout, a shout that was obviously destined to be rejected and catalogued as "depraved". Directors like Nagisa Ôshima, Pier Paolo Pasolini, John Waters, Norifumi Suzuki and Peter Greenaway had to go through the same injustice.

Perhaps it should not be seen as an artistically political act. Perhaps it should be perceived as a merely funny spoof towards the process of political overpowerment, or perhaps it should be seen as a kick in the balls to an audience that relies and trusts in its particular government... not to call it "anarchy" or "dictatorship". Films of this calibre have the power to trascend. People are still talking about Sweet Movie. People still talk about Salò o le 120 Giornate di Sodoma (1975). However, coward (not the sensitive and weak of stomach, since they are excused, but coward) audiences keep avoiding them, but if a film is surrealistic, then it is pretentious nonsense. If a film is slow-paced, it is dull. Moving from a shrewd depiction of the "mysteries of the organism" to a "sweet movie", these are the films that clearly strengthen the statement that implies that modern censorship is preposterous. A woman having sexual relationships with children and an orgy of food and vomit is immediately rejected, but nauseating measures such as organizing and authorizing(!) events such as Katyn Forest massacre... F#ck, people! Open your eyes! Choose a side and promote this type of art. This is not a pretentious and fun piece of crap like Pink Flamingos (1972). This has substance and an inevitable, unique brilliance.

99/100

Inner demons and cathartic epiphanies, Jodorowsky's film is produced by Claudio Argento and the director himself resorts to the typical giallo elements seen for two past decades in the Italian horror films, surpassing almost all of them. With the outstanding characteristic direction style of Jodorowsky and resulting in his most accessible film, the uplifting sensation provided towards the third (final) chapter of the film beautifully contrasts the psyche's past nightmare and the defeat of false illusions, ultimately caused by fake gods. Love trascends and justice prevails, either totally or partially. Such beautiful violence, a vivid representation of life itself, just like my personal favorite Mexican and Latin American pieces of music contained in this movie...

86/100

Disturbing, gory, dark, desperate. The violence, torture and brutality of this film will make your bones tremble. Takashi Miike: you're the emperor of horror!

82/100

"A girl like you can stab a man's heart without a knife, huh?"

Ai no corrida (1976)

Director: Nagisa Ôshima
Country: Japan / France
Genre: Drama / Romance
Length: 108 minutes



Ahhh, yes... the beauty of sexual intimacy, the great variety of sensations felt during the most beautiful act of love, the very emotions of the human being reaching an extreme point of pleasure. Ai no Corrida is the most cinematically graphic representation of a fully-developed study on human eroticism, but what is often confused with either a strictly pornographic film or with a fully perverted movie is actually an essay of political ideas depicted with extreme liberalism. Audacious and poetical Japanese director Nagisa Ôshima directs his definitive masterpiece, a controversial work of art of impecably explicit proportions that awakens the very human reactions of denial when sexual content is mercilessly displayed on the screen, a reaction that, ironically, people do not posses towards mindless, bloody and nonsense action films. Why is sex banned in a larger scale than violence? How far can cinema really go? To make such questionings, three more important questions have to be asked beforehand:

1) How big is the envelope that this film has to push?
2) Did the film actually pushed such envelope?
3) Was there a significant purpose behind this?

Based on a true story set in the pre-war Japan of 1936, a man and one of his female servants, who was once a prostitute and sought for work in a brothel as a maid, begin an affair. Their torrid relationship grows so strong and begins to be exaggeratedly based on obsessive sexual encounters that their emotional connection is completely erased and their respective lives are utterly threatened. Director Nagisa Ôshima won the Sutherland Trophy at the British Film Institute Awards. Tatsuya Fuji won a Hochi Film Award for Best Actor also in 1976.

The film does not only take liberalist ideals to the most extreme level and parallels them with the influence of an imminent political war; it also shares some parallelisms with the real-life human condition. The sole premise of the film is absolutely fatal and terrifying, covering the tragic consequences of an uncontrollable obsession and contrasting them with extraordinary decisions, such as being part of a World War. In order to play a nostalgic role, the pace and the art direction beautifully decorate what seems to resemble a medieval Japan, where an ancient way of living has not been completely forgotten and erased. The performances are superbly desperate, and although the budget is noticeably ridiculous, it is one of the most controversial and scandalous films in Japanese history and of all time.

Nagisa Ôshima directly questions the censorship moralistic measurements. It is interesting how Japan's filmmaking has been famous during the past decades because of the quantity of violence they usually have, not to mention their explicitness. Ironically, if a penis is briefly shown on screen, the film is banned in case such scene is not erased. The MPAA shares the exact same characteristics, where notable displays of violence such as Saving Private Ryan (1998), Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003) and The Passion of the Christ (2004) receive an R rating, but films of harmless, sexually explicit nature like The Dreamers (2003) are immediately slapped with an NC-17 rating. Because of Japan's strict censorship policies, the film had to be shipped to France for development. Several countries confiscated the film as suspected pornography and several years had to pass in order to be released theatrically without any cuts.

It may be flawed, but a wonderful visual style and a not-so-common artistic craftsmanship make up for them. To make such a powerfully sexual manifesto is an audacious task, and to do the homework of shocking audiences is not an easy accomplishment. The cinema of the 70s were subject to heavy censorship, but important pieces in the history of cinema were released and these were the ones that made audiences and censorship controls to actually question the subjectivity of art. It was the highest point of expressionistic surrealism that covered very important ideologies. Ai no Corrida has divided audiences, originating the eternal and rather senseless debate of porn versus art. However, the purpose of the film and the societal issues that it implicitly involves reached milestone levels. With an unnerving approach towards impulsive eroticism and a haunting cinematography, Ai no Corrida has positioned itself among the most horrifying and memorable tales of pre-war Japan, and it is much better than its sequel Ai no Borei (1978), which missed the original nature of this film and became more of a ghost story rather than the original intention of taboo extermination that Ai no Corrida represented. It answered the three aforementioned questions positively. Do you approve?

91/100

Highly gory, mindless and twisted fun for the wicked. Hilarious and intense, but special in its own sense, despite it "borrowing" the Psycho theme.

77/100

Following the lack of sanity French films have had during this decade, Laugier finally realizes the huge mistakes he did with Saint Ange and perfects his style with this psychologically brutal flick. Its premise is basically divided into two chapters, the second one having an oddly applied ambition... that worked! Martyrs is an interesting experiment and ultimately a challenging experience for cinematic masses.

75/100

Enter the Dragon (1973) and Lock Up (1989) meet Braindead (1992)! What do you get? One of the goriest, hilarious, violent, unrealistic and outrageous films ever made, obviously. Lik Wong brings pure gory entertainment that any martial arts fan and horror fan should see. I loved this one.

74/100

This film is so violent, so funny, so unrealistic, so gory, so typical for horror plots, so fuck!n stupid and makes no sense at all, that it rules! This is the most fair and appropriate homage to the Grindhouse films, also because of the intentional film damaging. It seems that Rodriguez can do anything he wants with films and still make me love him. I totally love the melting of Tarantino's rotten d!ck and balls parts. I fell in love with Cherry Darling... The film is such a mess that I ended up loving it. F#CK YEAH! This is the first time Rodriguez makes a better film than Tarantino, fact that for me is quite shocking, but surprising. The soundtrack also rules.

71/100

The original is so cool, scary and gory. Great vampire splatter! Tarantino's presence adds to much power and coolness to the film. Two thumbs up.

70/100

Hollywood already needed another great and effectively smart thriller. Great, great horror with an unbelievable twist.

67/100

THIS FILM IS THE DEFINITION OF AWESOME! I was totally blown away by its action, violence, unique fight scenes and the always present "cool factor". Ryuhei Kitamura (Azumi [2003]) brings his truly first remarkably fun film that defined his great style of filmmaking. This made my week so happy :D

63/100

On a personal note, it's interesting how many 4 1/2-star and 5-star ratings this gorefest has received. It doesn't differ much from the Hollywood formula, but the effective tension it builds and the respectable, classic references to Italian giallos are worth noticing. As shocking and mentally disturbing as it was originally intended, the unrated version will make your guts bleed. A modern, decent French horror and the second best out of the whole bunch that has come out this decade.

61/100

Cannibal Holocaust, although it is bad in certain aspects, such as acting and writing, is better than I thought it would be. It really treats a very delicate topic, which would be the darkest side of humans in all aspects, from morality to perversion.





The film is undeniably shocking, counts with real human and animal executions (The "Last Road to Hell" sequence is totally shocking if you get to see it totally uncut), and few extreme sequences of violence and torture (some of them unusual).





I didn't like it for that, but for its technical achievement concerning its shock value mixed masterfully with a strong social commentary. Worth watching horror experience, and a must-see for fans.

60/100

Again the acting sucks, but this one counts with a pretty good and (somewhat) original story. That's why this is Fulci's best film ever, and one of the most violent and gory horror films I know. Old school zombies and non-CGI gore. That's the best stuff there is :-) Two thumbs up. Thanks for this film Fulci ^_^

59/100

Not for all tastes. Extremely pretentious and fails in almost every single aspect except maybe for the somewhat smart and paranoic interpretation of human independence towards his most primitive instincts. Among the director's worst films.

59/100

I understand its influence and the respect it is paid by some Japanese cult movie fans, but I consider it totally pervert and disgusting. Films like the ones directed by Imamura and even Miike have a very present brilliance, but in case this is the best the genre has to offer, I'm disappointed.



Believe me when say I can see the momentary beauty and great cinematography and choreography of this film, but hell... was it meant to be like this?

56/100

A gory mess, everything is lost now. A mayhem, just as it should have been, although a little bit worse. It didn't convince me at all that the world was coming to an end.

56/100

Fulci goes cool, violent, gory, scary and wild again. He really knows how to make SCARY HORROR films and this is just another fine example. It is not his best film (The Beyond [1981] and Zombi 2 (1979) are better zombie/horror films) but this will surely entertain and please hardcore Fulci and horror fans. A must for those people that occasionally are hungry for that stylish and classic Italian horror, with some mindless gore added. Loved the drill scene.

56/100

Alexandre Aja, thanks to his finest film up to date, shows that decent shocking and thrilling splatters can still be made. The twist, although typical, is cool and not totally expected. The gore goes to the extreme, but the characters (as typical in horror shockers of Aja) are well developed.



So cool and disturbing, but so cool.

56/100

Peter Jackson's first splatterfeast.

Bad Taste (1987) is a nasty, hilarious and disgusting sci-fi, action-packed film. The acting is so horrible it is funny, the plot is incredibly stupid and gore effects laughable, but what I admire from this film is the capacity that Peter Jackson had to have great fun and entertainment while creating idiotic gorefests filled with black comedy and laughable, bad dialogues.

If you have a weak stomach or a light sense of humor, do not watch this. If not, enjoy this enjoyable quality trash!

56/100

The film is mad and has a very well excuse for the plot as a horror film. If you combine some elements of Hostel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Haute Tension with a political touch (perhaps also some The Devil's Rejects), you get this crazy piece of gory, entertaining junk. You gotta love that saw scene...

56/100

Finally an awesome horror film, and a good remake. Very intense and gory, but at least it has character development and shocking moments.

55/100

This is still a very fun gory ride worth being watched by every horror fan for its cleverness and its twist. Forcedly tried to top the original, but that's an obviously impossible task.

54/100

Gallons of gore and guts pleased my eyes in this somewhat mediocre but stylish FDTD sequel faithful to Tarantino's and Rodruiguez's style. Yeah... It was my favorite of the trilogy once; very underrated.

53/100

In the same tradition of Cannibal Holoaust (1981), Cannibal Ferox is as brutal and gory as films of this type and genre were back in the 80's (and still nowadays). Both films are practically the exact same thing (considering that Cannibal Holocaust came out first), but this one has worst acting, free real animal killings (trying to gain more shock value) and a predictable plot. Some violent and gory scenes and repeated throughout. This was a good effort, but fails since it was just worse. Period. It was just more of the same without the same amount of substance that previous films had.



50/100

Mixed feelings went through my mind when I first finished watching this influential anime... influential in the sense of promoting extreme hentai perversion and tentacled-demons rape scenes. The animation is pretty much mindblowing and the intentionally dark subject matter offers a decent plot. Accompain these elements with an awful soundtrack that seems taken out from bad SNES videogames and amusingly forced excuses for showing several tentacled sex scenes throughout. The result is a film to be worshipped only by gore, anime and/or hentai fans. I appreciate the film's technicallity and the story has an appropriate dose of originality, but overall, Legend of the Overfiend is a bad film that pushed the limits of the animation genre back in the 80's, especially after witnessing 147 minutes of pure gory and sexual glory through the 3 uncut OVA's, credits included, hehe...

50/100

Definitely the worst in the trilogy. The series finally has lost all of its magic at this point. The twist is very predictable and not so surprising, and the plot was very expected. The only aspect that makes up for all of this dissapointing characteristics are the great and crazy torture sequences and Jigsaw traps. Still entertaining though.

50/100

This film is so damn aggressive and hilarious. Tons of gore can be found throughout the film, as well as some crude and sexual humor. It is craps like these that make my day happy and let me rest from watching so many classic and foreign cinema. This rocks!

48/100

I can tell that this was one of the most brutal American exploitation movies back in the 70's. Even nowadays censored versions are available everywhere. It is indeed somewhat disturbing and graphic, but nothing over the top for today's standards, except maybe for the intact and uncut intestine-pulling scene. Craven showed some of his early talent and style here, but it is not a good film after all.

46/100

Such a sissy Disney film, and a huge disappointment. I expected lots of smart intense horror and torture throughout, and I get a look-alike Euro porn film with torture moments so weak that I felt watching Bambi for a while. Eli Roth, you better make people faint with the sequel.

45/100

Stupid, not funny, script sucks etc, etc,... but it's gory as hell. I wouldn't mind seeing another Adam Green film if he made one. He has some kind of talent. Worth watching only once... (NC-17 version)

44/100

Faces of death is lame and nasty, real and fake, controversial and dated, deep and shallow. Faces of Death is a mixed bag of qualities and defects, and ends up being a tremendoulsy bad and varied documentary that treats death in several ways.

50% of the footage is real, whereas the other 50% has been proven staged and fake. This film goes from Mexico (Las Momias de Guanajuato) to Africa, from the Amazon to Southeast Asia, from hospitals, prisons and morgues to slaughterhouses.

John Alan Schwartz (aka Conan Le Cilaire as a director, aka Alan Black as a writer [WTF?!]) directs a half fake, controversial and undeniably graphic and disturbing shockumentary that easily enters into the mondo genre.

Honestly, this documentary isn't worth your time unless you think that this documentary has a deeper meaning that it seems or if you only want something shocking or different. This is not among the worst films/documentaries I've ever seen, but it certainly is not good.

44/100

This is the spot where the Saw films lost even their entertainment value. Saw III was still watchable despite its mindless emphasis on fun gore, but this one has considerably deteriorated the initial awe Saw (2004) gave to American audiences. Ashaming. Just watch the first 7 beautiful minutes and then switch off.

44/100

I wrote in Hostel comment:

"Eli Roth, you better make people faint with the sequel."

Well, he didn't. I was even more disappointed than the last time. Eli Roth sucks and is a scared little bitch compared to Takashi Miike, who turned out to be his idol. This almost made me laugh! I mean, WTF? I almost laughed out loud when that guy's penis and testicles were cut off and fed to the dogs (which is a cool reference to Tinto Brass's Caligola, of 1979). LMAO at that! F#&k this film also!

41/100

OK, I've had enough. The fuck!n' guy is dead! How can people be so moronic and keep falling into Jigsaw's traps like dumb forest bears? Hackl, you had no business here. Go somewhere else. Lame as hell.

41/100

Violent, disturbing, graphic and erotic. Very cruel and merciless. Didn't like it. Strong stomach and a somewhat sick mind required.

39/100

This film may not be as disturbing as the first part, but it definitely is the fuc#!ng goriest! A guy kidnaps a young girl and dismembers her piece by piece in deliciously explicit and bloody detail, each part been preceded by an artistic introductive speech. Violence tries to be artistic here somehow, highlighting the beauty of the human body. Even so, it is so twisted!

That's why I give this film a much higher score than the first film. It tries to please hardcore horror fans also, but I liked some aspects of it as well, considering that the entire Guinea Pig series have a very low budget. Only for hard stomachs and an opened mind.

35/100

Hideshi Hino strikes back with a gruesome, twisted and NASTY Guinea Pig sequel, featuring a painter that finds a mermaid in a sewer and takes her to his home for making a painting (what the F#CK is a mermaid doing in a sewer!).

Anyway, the mermaid starts to rot in the most gory and disturbing way possible...

BEGINNING OF POSSIBLE SPOILERS

...from cutting herself spilling blood of seven different colors, to expelling worms from body and throwing them up, just to be sadistically dismembered by the painter once the painting is finished.

ENDING OF POSSIBLE SPOILERS

Recommended only to hardcore horror fans.

29/100

I don't even know WHY this belongs to the Guinea Pig series. It is not that gory, neither disturbing, neither violent for being called a Guinea Pig sequel. However, it is an extremelly stupid, childish and funny comedy splatter. The ending is hilarious, really! If you're either still a big fan of the Guinea Pig series or of comedy splatters, you should check this one out.

27/100

Worst movie I've seen until this day. This a completely unecessary and perverted "film", an insult to my religion and moral values and the film that has hurted my soul and heart and affected my life the most, and I didn't deserve that. REALLY.

20/100

Guinea Pig---- yeah... Guinea Pig.

- Acting? No acting. Just screaming and laughing. No dialogue whatsoever.

- Plot? Oh, that's the good part. Some guys capture an innocent girl and torture her in several ways as a test for the maximum pain endurance in a human. Wow! Really good, huh?
- Direction? Writing? Cinematography? Are you serious?
- Message? What the hell are you talking about?!

This film is just for sick minds and hardcore horror fans (like me). I have decided to begin checking put this type of films (mainly released by Unearthed Films) and this is the WORST MOVIE I HAVE EVER SEEN. I never thought something could top The Passion of the Christ, but it did!

It really tries to be shocking, and it is. It seems like a real snuff film, and that was the intention. It is also one of the most violent films (shorts) out there, and the ending (eye-needle) scene takes the cake! Looked so cool, gruesome and realistic. Even so, there's no point in creating this little piece of sick crap but to satisfy sick minds (like mine :P).

If you have a weak stomach, avoid this like an Egyptian plague. If you're really into hardcore horror, this is a must-see.

5/100