Deep River Savages (Il Paese del Sesso Selveggio) (1972)

(aka: Man from Deep River; The Last Survivor; Mondo Cannibale; Sacrifice!)

Directed by Umberto Lenzi

Produced by Ovidio Assonitis & Giorgio C. Rossi

Starring Ivan Rassimov, Me Me Lai, Parsitsak Singhara, Sulallewan Suxantat, Ong Ard, Prapas Chindang

Behold! This is the Umberto Lenzi film that instigated the whole Italian cannibal frenzy. Who would have believed that one scene in the final act of a "Mondo" styled docu-drama/adventure would have inspired a half dozen or so of the grisliest "jungle adventures" in cinema history? In retrospect, I'd have to honestly say "not me". Lenzi's seminal anthropophagi outing is equal parts "Mondo Cane", "A Man Called Horse", and Ron Ely's "Tarzan" television series. But anybody worth their salt probably already knew this brazenly obvious fact already…

So, anyway, back in the days when Thailand was territory uncharted by Westerners and Phuket wasn't the number one holiday destination for many, our intrepid exotic photographer John Bradley (Rassimov) was getting in the groove with the mystical east. Travel partner Susan blows him off when he takes more of a shine to the local culture and Muay Thai boxing than her, and a skirmish in a bar leaves him on the run, a wanted man. An inland train runs him perilously close to the Thai/Burmese border, unexplored terrain for a Londoner like himself. At the village of Wang Pho he partakes a lion-dance ceremony and pairs with tourist guide Tuan, heading up river to further his photographic excursion. But things quickly turn ugly when Tuan floats by dead one morning and he, in turn, is captured by a native tribe. Thanks in whole to his wetsuit he is mistaken for some sort of freakish "man-fish", becoming a sideshow attraction to the tribe.

But to every cloud there's a silver lining, and Bradley rapidly becomes the focus of the love-lorn eyes of tribal beauty Mariah (Lai). This, of course, wins no favour with her betrothed (an ugly warrior with a nasty facial scar) or the tribal witch doctor. At first attempting to escape his heathen surrounds, Bradley soon learns to play the native game, and with the help of an English speaking elder integrates into the village. A clash with said warrior cements his stature amidst the "savages", throwing him into wedded bliss with Mariah. Hence the once "civilised" man gets back to nature, bonding with his genetic roots. See, Lenzi had a message to impart; before one judges the "animal", one must face the mirror of one's own self. Is civilised man so far removed from his native cousins? :)

Being the first of its kind, and existing on the back of the cycle of outrageous Italian spawned "wonders of the world" documentaries initiated by Jacopetti's "Mondo Cane", "Deep River Savages" is more concerned with "shocking" tribal customs and their ilk than the out & out horrors of its successors. Animal activists would have a field day with Lenzi's film, as all manner of "amazing Eastern customs" are explored for the delight & horror of its audience. There's a mongoose versus cobra fight, cock-fighting, beetle-eating, live crocodile evisceration and a monkey brains smorgasbord. Coming from an era that marveled at such bizarre sights, I am a little stronger of stomach towards such stock footage than most these days. I don't condone it, but I can regard it within the era that generated it, and the "shockumentaries" it begat. But all up, it is little more than a "man getting back to nature" story spiced up with some grisly (to Western sensibilities) documentary footage, gratuitous nudity, and a wild stab of cannibal gore in its final act. And yes, Lai spends most of the film unclothed!

The UK's DVD Classics have really come a cropper with this disc. Although Region 2 PAL and completely uncensored, there is one terrible drawback. Lenzi shot "Savages" in the Techniscope format, an anamorphic process that produces considerable image grain when blown-up to video's 4:3 fullscreen ratio. And no prizes for guessing what format DVD Classics have utilized for their disc presentation. I can quite happily surmise that the disc has been authored from a video master (video dropouts & glitches are prevalent), as the image is both fullscreen, VERY badly cropped & about as grainy as they get (inherent with Techniscope to video transfers). There's not a whole lot of definition going on for a large portion of this disc, I can tell you! Sound is Dolby 1.0 and serviceable, leaving Daniele Patucchi's lush score coming through relatively distortion free for the most part. The image does have its moments, but is generally very grainy.

There are no Extras to speak of, not even a theatrical trailer. The only real upshot of this release is that, as previously mentioned, it is an uncensored print. Thus, if you want it, it's available, otherwise I'd patiently wait for some one like Anchor Bay or Italian Shock to secure rights and issue a cleaned up, widescreen edition. With any luck, they may turn up the film's lurid "Mondo" styled original cinema trailer, which would be a cack in this Politically Correct day and age! With even more luck, maybe EC Entertainment might license this film, and Ruggero Deodato's "Last Cannibal World", and release them letterboxed in their full Techniscope glory with the same 16:9 enhanced respect of their excellent "Eaten Alive!" remaster. I can but hope, but in the meantime I have naught but to recommend that prospective Cannibal fans skip this rather average (albeit uncut) disc.

Review by M.C.Thomason