Antropophagus/Anthropophagus 2000

Save me some of that fetus.

STORY/HISTORY

After finishing the incredible Buio Omega, Joe D'amato marks his first collaboration with long time friend and actor, George Eastman. In 1980, Antropophagus is unleashed, and then banned from many countries, at least in its uncut from. The film concerns a man who must eat his child, and finally his wife, to survive being stranded on a raft. What follows is pure D'Amato: a simple story supported by over the top gore sequences that remind you why you love this stuff in the first place. Throat biting, intestine eating, and a fetus eating scene that ranks among my favorites are all here for your enjoyment. If we take that away, we are left with the cut version, and a version that just plain sucks. What's the point if the violence is all missing? My first exposure to this film at age 11 was the cut version, and I remember thinking" that was it?" After years of waiting I finally saw it again-fully untampered with, and you know what, it is just plain awesome. Now it comes to DVD uncut, and I sat down once again to check it out.

Released in the US as "The Grim Reaper"(who knows why?) the film was cut by around nine minutes subsequently ruining the entire film. All the gore was removed, and at that point what are we left with? Um, crap. This is a film that needs to be seen uncut to grasp the impact it made when released in 1980. And just for the curious, the film also went by the names: Antropofago, Antropophagus Beast, Man Beast, Savage Island, and even Gomia, Terror en el Mar Egeo. Enough about that though, on to the remake.

In 2000, following his trend of remakes (Zombie 90), Schnaas remakes D'amatos classic with a more modern approach and a slightly altered view on things. The result, Anthropohagous 2000. Well, all I can say is "it aint the original one." Everything has a humor about it, which I believe detroys the whole concept. All the death scenes are so far blown, that you can't help but laugh. Not only do they look fake, they are so past conception, that you sit there and wonder how this man could have done this to the original. It follows the pattern of the Violent Shit films- silly and full of gore. The story is altered as well, contributing to the inferiority when compared to the original work. Too many liberties and too many changes add up to a film that could have resurrected D'Amato's classic. Perhaps they did- I went running back to my original version as soon as I finished the new edition. I am reacting harshly to this film only out of my deep love for the first. But in the end, it was fun in a strange way and all the changes made were intentional. It is worth noting that this film works occasionally, but for those that admire the first film for its brutality and grittiness, this is blasphemy. Released in the U.S. as Cannibal 2000, and in Germany as Maneater 2000, nothing was ever cut. It's definitely worth checking out, but by no means can stand up to the original. Well, either way, laser Paradise has brought us this one as well, so lets check them both out.

VIDEO

Both films are presented in their correct aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and each has its share of faults. The first film, while looking dirty and exhibiting nicks and scratches, fares fairly well. Its better than tape, but lacks the sharpness and clarity associated with DVD. There is little contrast in the darker scenes and everything looks washed out. I know D'Amato purposely worked with a limited palette, but this disc doesn't do it the proper justice it so rightly deserves. It isn't horrible, and it is a soft transfer, but it's superior to every print I have watched, including Midnight Video's new restoration.

With 2000, we have a different story. While the picture is much better this time around (it certainly should be as it's a new film), it looks overly digital. Everything is jagged and unrefined. The production value was low and it shines through like the sun glaring into your eyes in the early morning. Other than that complaint, colors are generally good and black levels seem correct and constant. Since it's a newer film, there are no blemishes marring the print, but the final complaint lies in another area completely. This disc truly makes the effects look cheap. I know it's a Schnaas film, and that's the way he does it, but that hurts the film and makes it less enjoyable than the original. I know I'm nitpicking here, but it just adds to the reasons I didn't warm up to the remake as I did to the first one.

Overall, the picture is fine and will serve you well if you seek to hunt these two down, but if you require everything to display pristine characteristics, these are not for you.

SOUND

The audio tracks on both discs are a DD German dialogue 2.0, and it really sucks. It's clear and distinguishable, but there is no English. You actually don't need English to comprehend what is going on, but we want it anyway, don't we? I have seen Antropohagus a million times, so I knew the dialogue by heart( I love this film), and with 2000, it follows the same story, so put it all together, and we have a viewing experience which can be a chore for most. It's also worth noting, that at certain random times, Antropophagus has burned in subtitles in some weird unfamiliar language. It could be of an Arabic origin, but I'm not sure. I know this will put most off from the purchase, but if you need them now, you probably don't care that much as I didn't.

EXTRAS

There are no extras on Antropophagus, which is disappointing, but with controversy surrounding this film, it doesn't surprise me. On the 2000 disc, we get 3-4 minutes of deleted scenes. Most of them look like effects outtakes, but are fun to watch at least once. With the scarcity of these two movies, it must have been hard tracking down supplemental materials, so Laser Paradise cannot be faulted for barebones discs as at least they are fully uncut.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I adore the original film, and I kinda like the remake, sort of. These films will see better uncut releases in the future, but until then, this is the only digital way to go about things. There are also rumors that these were bootlegs and recently were pulled from the shelves. These also contribute to the gossip as to why laser Paradise were raided by the German Police and possibly shut down. You'll have a hell of time tracking these down, but at $25, these are fully uncut and look better than tape, so you do the math. I have heard there is domestic interest in bringing out these films and I say bring it on, but until then, it sure beats "The Grim Reaper".

DISC RATINGS :

"Antropophagus"

FILM- A-

VIDEO-B-

AUDIO-D (NO ENGLISH)

EXTRAS-F

"Anthropohagous 2000"

FILM-B-

VIDEO-B+

AUDIO- D (NO ENGLISH)

EXTRAS-B

Review by Dolph Chiarino