Brian Terrill Movie Night

Brian Terrill Movie Night The brothers of Phi Mu Alpha present Brian Terrill Movie Nights: Come on out and expand your film-go Put down your remote control,
Throw out that TV Guide.

Put away your jacket,
There's no need to go outside. Don't you know that he controls the horizontal,
He controls the vertical, too. He's gonna make a couch potato out of you
That's what he's going to do. All you do is make yourself a TV dinner,
Press your face right up against the screen,
He's gonna show you things you ain't never seen
If you know what I mean.

Disney+ has me revisiting some classics. Which Disney animated features did you watch the most as a kid?For me it’s prob...
11/21/2019

Disney+ has me revisiting some classics. Which Disney animated features did you watch the most as a kid?
For me it’s probably Robin Hood, The Little Mermaid, and The Rescuers.

LYRICS: Come along Will there be sunshine shinin' Will we find a silver linin'? Come along, sing a song When today becomes tomorrow Will we find joy or sorro...

Deep Cuts Halloween Playlist 2019 -  #31: “The Sound of Halloween” (The Wiggles, 2013)https://youtu.be/GEM0J4SIU5oIt’s h...
10/31/2019

Deep Cuts Halloween Playlist 2019 - #31: “The Sound of Halloween” (The Wiggles, 2013)

https://youtu.be/GEM0J4SIU5o

It’s here! Rainy and dreary, but here. Welcome to Halloween 2019.
To cap off the month, we have an absolute banger from Australian children’s band The Wiggles.
The Wiggles got big stateside right around the time my little brother was 4 years old, and he’s been a devoted fan ever since. Though he would probably clarify that he’s a fan of the original lineup of Greg, Jeff, Murray and Anthony... or as he’d say, the “O.G.” Wiggles.
Today’s entry is a more recent selection, off the group’s 2013 Halloween video, “Pumpkin Face,” and features newcomers Emma and Lachlan, though aging rockers Anthony and Murray still stuck around. I hope my brother will forgive this heresy in the name of a pretty fantastic track.
“Sound of Halloween” serves as a fitting finale to “Pumpkin Face,” closing out the show with a retrospective incorporating footage from every other music video. I genuinely love the lyrics and the passionate delivery, especially from Murray and Lachlan.
I recently became friends with my first real deal Australian, and she told me that, while Halloween has never been huge in Australia, it has been growing in popularity recently. It warms my heart to see my brother’s childhood heroes at the forefront of the movement.
Here’s wishing you “the laughing, happy cry of Trick or Treat” tonight, in spite of the wet weather.
And there we go. I don’t know if this technically counts as “writing,” but I’m glad I found the drive to start getting out regular posts again, and hopefully you enjoyed the first attempt at a series since the olden days of 2015. I hope I helped to round out your spooky party playlist.
To friends old and new, thanks for reading, and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Subscribe to our channel for more Wiggly videos: http://ab.co/WigglesYouTube Visit The Wiggles’ website: http://TheWiggles.com.au Like The Wiggles on Faceboo...

Deep Cuts Halloween Playlist 2019 -  #30: “More (Theme from ‘Mondo Cane’)” (Bob McGrath, 1965)https://youtu.be/iqWQw8ylh...
10/30/2019

Deep Cuts Halloween Playlist 2019 - #30: “More (Theme from ‘Mondo Cane’)” (Bob McGrath, 1965)
https://youtu.be/iqWQw8ylhrY
Tomorrow’s Halloween! I may be getting a little loosey-goosey with the selection criteria today, but expect a 100% pure “Halloween song” next time.
Today’s entry is “More,” the tender love ballad which serves as the theme to the 1962 film”Mondo Cane,” and it’s performed here by Sesame Street’s own Bob McGrath. Much like Riz Ortolani’s theme for “Cannibal Holocaust,” this lovely song provides an ironic juxtaposition with the casual brutality of the film’s content. In fact, this tune was composed by Ortolani as well.
“Mondo Cane,” Italian for “World of Dogs,” is a documentary composed of short clips from around the world, mostly depicting behaviors an American or broadly “Western” audience would find shocking. If the kaleidoscopic travelogue has a thesis, it is that humans across the globe hold widely varying views on just about any topic you can name. Taboos in one place are widely accepted and even celebrated in others. And so we are presented mostly with a lot of nudity and footage of people eating dogs, snakes, and other animals foreign to the western palate.
Mondo Cane was hugely successful, and inspired a wave of other exploitative documentaries based around shocking content, dubbed “Mondo films.”
And somehow in the midst of it all, Ortolani’s theme, instrumental in the film, was given English love song lyrics and became a smash hit of its own, covered by such eminent performers as Frank Sinatra himself. While the audio quality’s a bit clearer in Sinatra’s version, I couldn’t resist a wholesome Sesame Street star crooning the theme from a graphic exploitation film.
This is the kind of variety you can only find here at Brian Terrill Movie Night. And even after this series wraps tomorrow, I will endeavor in the months ahead to continue bringing you More.

Bob (now of Sesame Street, then the featured tenor soloist on Sing Along with Mitch) singing "More" by Newell, Oliviero and Ortolani, Arr. by Jimmy Carroll, ...

Deep Cuts Halloween Playlist 2019 -  #29: "Pottsfield" (Over the Garden Wall, 2014)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3T6S...
10/30/2019

Deep Cuts Halloween Playlist 2019 - #29: "Pottsfield" (Over the Garden Wall, 2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3T6S-HNts8
"Pumpkins can't move on their own, can they?"
"Over the Garden Wall" is an autumn-themed miniseries first aired on Cartoon Network in early November 2014. The series is comprised of ten roughly ten-minute-long episodes, and so makes for a quick watch. And I do recommend you watch it, as I have done around this time most years since it came out. If nothing else, doing so will save you some spoilers below.
Like Squirrel Nut Zippers, "Over the Garden Wall" takes stylistic cues from an earlier era. Elements borrowed from 1930s Fleischer cartoons are certainly evident, but the show also draws influence from even older media, including early picture postcards and wood engravings by illustrators such as Gustave Dore.
The series follows brothers Wirt and Greg, who find themselves inexplicably wandering through a mysterious forest called the Unknown. They encounter a wide variety of Wonderland-esque inhabitants as they attempt to find their way home.
Today's featured song comes when the brothers arrive in Pottsfield, a vaguely creepy village populated by walking pumpkin-people. The pumpkins are holding a festival of some kind, and seem less than thrilled to be interrupted by the boys' arrival. Like the series as a whole, the soundtrack owes much to various vintage musical styles, and "Pottsfield" is one of the very best examples. The song which accompanies the pumpkins' revels blends the vaguely medieval drone of a hurdy-gurdy with harmonious solfege singing typical of "sacred harp," a style of hymn performance which originated in early New England.
Unlike a hurdy-gurdy, I probably shouldn't drone on and on here. I could talk at length about my appreciation for "Over the Garden Wall," and perhaps the show deserves its own dedicated longer post someday. But I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the most significant reason the series has stuck with me: the dynamic between Wirt and Greg reminds me of my relationship with my own brother, more so than any other sibling pair I've seen depicted in film or television. Greg is considerably younger and has a big head and easy-going disposition, while Wirt is dark and brooding. This is the point where we're treading into some spoilers, but I gotta say, I see a LOT of myself in Wirt. High schooler Wirt (voiced by Elijah Wood) plays clarinet in the marching band and writes poetry, both things I've been known to do. And (ok real SPOILERS now) towards the end of the series it's revealed that Wirt's "dark secret" is that he has a crush on a girl, whom he attempted to woo using said poetry and clarinet before chickening out at the last moment. While running away, the brothers fall down an embankment and are knocked unconscious, which is what caused them to "enter" the Unknown in the first place. The brothers eventually awaken from their comas, but it is left ambiguous whether the Unknown is a real place, as the inhabitants are shown at the end of the series having benefited from Wirt and Greg's actions.
"Over the Garden Wall" is an impressive tribute to American art of a bygone age, while simultaneously addressing timeless themes of brotherhood and teen angst. It merits at least one watch-through, particularly at this time of year.
If you haven't seen it before, I bet you'll thank me.

Oh, flesh removed Our chalk footfall tempers this holy ground When timeless spirits meet 'round the heart of Pottsfield town Oh, hi thee pour your golden mea...

Deep Cuts Halloween Playlist 2019 -  #28: "The Face from Outer Space" / "The Cave" (Jeff Barry, 1960 / Gary "Spider" Web...
10/30/2019

Deep Cuts Halloween Playlist 2019 - #28: "The Face from Outer Space" / "The Cave" (Jeff Barry, 1960 / Gary "Spider" Webb, 1961)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rwd8ydxowwI
I know I've missed a few deadlines this month, so to make up for it I'm hitting you with yet another twofer. Today I wanted to highlight a pair of songs I discovered after diving into the vast amount of "vintage Halloween" music available on YouTube. That's right: In addition to sharing double the spooky goodness in this post, I'm also divulging one of my richest sources of material. A simple search will lead you to dozens of hour-long compilation videos composed of nothing but horror and science-fiction themed novelty songs from various eras dating back to the dawn of the 20th century. Explore to your heart's content; You have my blessing.
The two tunes featured here have stuck with me due to their unusual sound design.
Jeff Barry's "The Face from Outer Space" tells the tale of a young man who encounters the titular Face, which in a quavering voice demands that the man relinquish his body. While the voice of the "Face" sounds kind of like a mix between Pee-Wee Herman and Jim Nabors, I can't picture anything but the giant heads which shout "SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT!" to issue interstellar challenges on "Rick & Morty."
"The Cave," by the magnificently named Gary "Spider" Webb, presents a sound story. "One dark and rainy night, my girl and I got lost in a cave," says narrator Jimmy, and with that we're off on a free-form, bongo-filled subterranean romp. Julie and Jimmy occasionally call to one another throughout the "song," but the meat and potatoes of this piece is the kooky tiki-lounge sounds of drums and tropical guitar. And I guess Webb knew he had hit on a good thing, because he continues the "story" for another two and a half minutes on the B-side of the record.
I now turn you loose, to drown your ears in Cold War exotica.
See you next time.

Το χαμένο αριστούργημα του Jeff Barry

Deep Cuts Halloween Playlist 2019 -  #27: "The Ghost of Stephen Foster" / "Minnie the Moocher" (Squirrel Nut Zippers, 20...
10/30/2019

Deep Cuts Halloween Playlist 2019 - #27: "The Ghost of Stephen Foster" / "Minnie the Moocher" (Squirrel Nut Zippers, 2000 / Cab Calloway, 1932)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJzWGkgFcTU
It's serious crunch time now, and also time to hark back to previous entries.
Earlier this month, I mentioned in the post on Squirrel Nut Zippers' "Hell" that the group likes to borrow tropes from the music and media of the 30s. Well, today we have on the docket perhaps the most reference-dense music video the band ever concocted. "The Ghost of Stephen Foster" follows a young couple whose car breaks down outside a spooky hotel. Reluctantly seeking refuge inside, they soon find themselves menaced by a shape-shifting concierge and other supernatural threats. The imagery borrows heavily from the Fleischer Bros. cartoons of the 30s. Long time followers of this page may recognize the style (and perhaps a specific reference or two) from 1930's "Swing You Sinners!", which I featured in my very first Halloween blog series back in 2012. But the short seems to owe the greatest stylistic debt to the Betty Boop series, and specifically to a 1932 installment, "Minnie the Moocher."
The opening shot of "Stephen Foster" apes that of "Minnie the Moocher," in which bandleader Cab Calloway performs a fluid, limb-twisting dance in front of his orchestra. "Minnie" follows Betty Boop as she runs away from home to be with her canine boyfriend, the early Fleischer mascot Bimbo (who also starred in "Swing You Sinners"). The interspecies lovers enter a cave, where a ghostly walrus appears and leads them on a nightmarish tour through the underworld. The walrus, voiced by Cab Calloway, also demonstrates some of Calloway's bone-bending dance moves, achieved through rotoscoping the performer himself.
Frankly, I don't know why the "cute cartoon character inadvertently wanders into the bowels of Hell" subgenre ever went out of style. But I'm glad Squirrel Nut Zippers (and, more recently, the makers of the video game "Cuphead") are doing their part to bring it back.

Squirrel Nut Zippers - "Ghost of Stephen Foster" music video. From the album "Perennial Favorites" (Mammoth Records). Winner of "Best Animated Music Video" a...

Deep Cuts Halloween Playlist 2019 -  #26: "He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask)" (Alice Cooper, 1986)https://www.youtube....
10/28/2019

Deep Cuts Halloween Playlist 2019 - #26: "He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask)" (Alice Cooper, 1986)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hKV_n9C3ZI
The big day's drawing near now, and I'll do what I can to get back on track and end the series in a timely fashion.
Once again, this selection was brought to my attention by my brother via his radio show "Something Different." It's "He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask)," written by Alice Cooper as the theme for "Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives".
To put this as simply as possible, 1984's "Friday the 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter" ends with child actor Corey Feldman successfully killing Jason Voorhees. This was meant, as the title implies, to serve as an end to the series. And yet, we got a sequel the very next year. Part V, "A New Beginning," follows Tommy at a halfway home for disturbed youth, where a counselor goes mad and impersonates Jason for the duration of the film. That chapter ends with an implication that Tommy himself will take up the mantle of Jason, but this idea was scrapped due to Part 5's poor reception.
So here we are, part 6. The film begins with Corey Feldman still mentally unbalanced (I guess therapy tends to work better if your therapist DOESN'T become an axe murderer). Convinced his hallucinations will end once Jason is entirely destroyed, the boy heads to the cemetery to exhume Jason's grave and cremate his body. But for no reason beyond sheer plot contrivance, Corey Feldman begins stabbing Jason's co**se with a metal pole torn from the cemetery fence. Lightning strikes the fencepost, resurrecting Jason.
Surprisingly, this is the first time in the series that Jason is depicted as explicitly supernatural. The next five films in the series would feature him as the undead superhuman who is perhaps better remembered today than his earlier incarnation.
"Man Behind the Mask" ties in specifically to the events of "Part 6," with references to Jason "crawling out of his hole," but it also serves more broadly as an anthem for Jason and the entire Friday the 13th franchise. The song incorporates the iconic "chee chee chee ma ma ma" sound effect used as a leitmotif throughout the series, and the lyrics have a campy and somewhat comic tone ("You're deep in love, but you're deeper in the woods). The filmmakers seem ready to acknowledge that, when you've made two more movies in as many years AFTER an installment called "The Final Chapter," you can't take yourselves too seriously.
I feel like many of my entries in these blog series are chosen based on the story behind them, rather than any particular quality of the music itself. But of all the selections this month, I think "Man Behind the Mask" most deserves to be recognized as a legitimately good, thoroughly under-appreciated and under-utilized part of the "Halloween music" corpus. My brother featured it in his second Halloween episode, but only because a technical glitch wouldn't let him put it in the very first. Here at the tail end of the month, I wanted to give you something you genuinely can and should slip in to your Halloween party playlist. Trust that I've got it on mine.

Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group He's Back (The Man Behind The Mask) · Alice Cooper Constrictor ℗ 1986 UMG Recordings, Inc. Released on: 1986-01-...

Deep Cuts Halloween Playlist 2019 -  #25: "Erlkönig" (Franz Schubert, 1815)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS91p-vmSf0We...
10/27/2019

Deep Cuts Halloween Playlist 2019 - #25: "Erlkönig" (Franz Schubert, 1815)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS91p-vmSf0
We're throwing it waaay back today.
"Erlkönig" is an operatic poem written by German literary giant Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in 1782. It has been put to music numerous times, most notably by Franz Schubert, whose composition is featured here.
The poem tells the story of a father and young son, riding home on horseback at night. As they ride, the son is menaced by the Erlkönig, an otherworldly being most often translated into English as the "elf king" or "faerie king."The son sees and hears the Erlkönig imploring the boy to join him in the faerie realm, but the father cannot. This raises the possibility that the son is sick and hallucinating.
Whatever the case, the Erlkönig's demands grow more insistent, and the boy becomes increasingly frantic. Finally, the Erlkönig declares (in a very creepy line):
"Ich liebe dich, mich reizt deine schöne Gestalt;
Und bist du nicht willig, so brauch' ich Gewalt."
Or, in English:
"I love you, your beautiful form excites me;
And if you're not willing, then I will use force."
So yeah.
Panicking, the father completes the journey at breakneck speed... but too late. The final line of the poem reveals that "in his arms, the child was dead."
Oof.
I first became aware of "Erlkönig" when we had to memorize it in my tenth grade German class. It's as creepy now as it was then, and as creepy then as it was in 1782. But I have to give serious props for the masterful way Goethe builds tension, escalating the sense of panic throughout the story. This is the original "riding home on a horse and getting spooked" story, published almost forty years before Ichabod's mad dash in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." In fact, Washington Irving wouldn't publish Sleepy Hollow until 1820, meaning people had already been jamming out to Schubert's musical adaptation for five years.
Schubert's music suits the poem perfectly, with rapidfire runs pounded out on a solo piano. I particularly enjoy this recording, even if the shadow puppet animation is a little strange. The singer and pianist both give powerhouse performances, and you will feel wiped out by the end. Hey, I couldn't let you finish the month without some panicked German opera to provide a bit of catharsis.
Oh, and you'd better believe this will get used on Gauntly someday.
P.S.: Franz Schubert wrote this when he was 17.
There. Now you have catharsis AND feelings of inadequacy.

The Schubert Project: http://schubert.oxfordlieder.co.uk Music by Franz Schubert. Poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (see below for translation). Daniel Norm...

Deep Cuts Halloween Playlist 2019 -  #24: Theme from "Halloween" (Goldentusk, c. 2008)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN...
10/25/2019

Deep Cuts Halloween Playlist 2019 - #24: Theme from "Halloween" (Goldentusk, c. 2008)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNWibDuxArA
Another day, another YouTuber who has enriched my life with his clever covers. And actually, this one's been sitting on the back burner for quite a while.
Goldentusk is best known for a series of videos in which he adds lyrics to iconic instrumental movie themes. The bulk of these videos were released from 2007-2011, which is honestly a fairly respectable tenure for a memer. Plus, I just checked and he uploaded a Game of Thrones theme video a few months back to commemorate the series finale. So he's keeping his legacy alive.
While it might seem an easy task to throw up a cheap greenscreen and croon some made up lyrics to a pre-existing tune, Goldentusk's videos rise above the mediocrity of their medium. His lyrics are surprisingly witty, and without fail perfectly capture the themes and intricacies of the spoofed franchise. Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, and Jaws were all early entries I found myself enamored with, and to this day, it's hard to hear those themes without at least a few of Goldentusk's witticisms sneaking into my mind.
But the one that's stuck with me most is his take on the theme from John Carpenter's 1978 slasher classic, "Halloween."
I'm no expert on the Halloween franchise,* but I can still appreciate the rapid pace of Goldentusk's patter and, most impressively, his dedication to the rhyme scheme. Yes, it's an AAAAAAA........A rhyme scheme, with every single line of the three minute song ending in a long-e "y" sound. 76 times he pulls this off.
Activity.
Monotony.
Proclivity.
Amazingly.
Security.
Reality.
Facility.
And on and on and on.
Top it all off with a ridiculous one man five-part harmony, and you have a cover which arguably transcends the original. It's a Halloween tribute to endure the ages. Which makes me very glad that when Goldentusk himself took down the video (presumably due to some copyright claim over the relentless march of years), a trusty follower was on hand to re-upload.
P.S.: I had this one penciled in on the schedule to follow "Hello Zepp" since the beginning of this month. But entirely by coincidence, the latest episode of Buzzed On Movies, the podcast I mentioned yesterday, kicked off a new series in which the hosts Teddy and Matt will be reviewing the "Halloween" film series.
Hooray for unintentional synergy!
Oh, and P.P.S.: Goldentusk totally did a video for "Hello Zepp."

This is the Halloween Theme Song from Goldentusk!!!

Deep Cuts Halloween Playlist 2019 -  #23: "Hello Zepp" (SquidPhysics, 2013)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTyhovPOVRUOn...
10/23/2019

Deep Cuts Halloween Playlist 2019 - #23: "Hello Zepp" (SquidPhysics, 2013)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTyhovPOVRU
On the subject of transformative multitrack covers released on YouTube in 2013... here is one.
Like Erutan, SquidPhysics is another supremely skillful instrumentalist / video editor who cranks out stunning rendition after stunning rendition of well known musical themes from popular culture.
On the docket today is "Hello Zepp," the theme from the long-running "Saw" franchise. Written by series composer Charlie Klouser for the first movie in 2004, the memorable tune has reappeared in every subsequent installment, typically accompanying a climactic reveal of one of the labyrinthine narrative's many signature twists.
Now, this may surprise some readers, but "Saw" stands as the only well-established horror franchise of which I have seen every film in the series. Chalk this up primarily to them all being up on Netflix at once (well, at first only #6, and then every one EXCEPT 6). But what inspired me to seek these movies out was a string of DVD featurettes uploaded to YouTube which detailed the production design work done behind the scenes to create the series' iconic "traps." These devices of lethal cunning are brought to brutal life almost entirely through the use of practical special effects. I had considered practical effects largely a dying artform, and my respect for the artistic integrity of the Saw team instantly skyrocketed.
For anyone not in the know, the Saw films follow the crimes of the Jigsaw killer, a highly theatrical (arguably not quite) murderer, who entraps his victims in mechanical devices and presents them with a chance to escape death if they are willing to maim themselves in a prescribed way.
I'm sure many people not yet exposed to the series beyond word of mouth will dismiss these movies out of hand as irredeemable "torture p**n." But while tearing flesh is a crucial (and increasingly visible) part of the Saw franchise, there's also some pretty compelling storytelling at work here. Particularly in the first film, narrative elements of the mystery genre supersede those of horror. Every movie toys with viewer expectation and understanding, setting up red herring after red herring as we try to comprehend what's really going on. Time and place are expertly manipulated to mislead the audience. Characters' identities and relationships are often obscure. But in the end, someone is always there to dramatically put the puzzle pieces together, usually as "Hello Zepp" plays menacingly.
For a more detailed and loving tribute to / commentary on the Saw series, I highly recommend my friend Teddy's podcast, "Buzzed on Movies," available on all fine Podcast platforms. Episodes 15-22 feature deep dives into all 8 of the Saw films. And I mean DEEP: Each episode runs 90 minutes - 2 hours, making each review essentially as long if not longer than its featured film. But the plot summary and analysis provided by Teddy and his co-host Matt are so funny, I'd recommend these episodes even to people who have never watched a Saw movie. Of course, if that's the case you'll have to suffer through some serious spoilers. Make your choice.
Live or die.
Game Over.

Currently working on a new album: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/releasebezaken/release-bezaken-the-grand-heist?ref=user_menu Follow my band on social ...

Deep Cuts Halloween Playlist -  #22: "Come Little Children" (Erutan, 2013)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eL6I2xS6zkThe...
10/22/2019

Deep Cuts Halloween Playlist - #22: "Come Little Children" (Erutan, 2013)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eL6I2xS6zk
The original rendition of "Come Little Children" comes at the climax of 1993's "Hocus Pocus," when resurrected witch Sarah Sanderson (Sarah Jessica Parker) sings it to lure the children of Salem, so that she and her sisters may drain them of life. The tune, as sung by Parker and composed by James Horner, is certainly sufficiently spooky.
But YouTuber Erutan takes things to the next level with her multi-track arrangement, performing all instruments and vocal registers herself. This woman is wickedly talented, and totally blew my mind when I discovered her work in the leadup to Halloween 2015. Her channel seems to have atomized since then, with certain videos only appearing via other users' re-uploads, but I strongly encourage you to look around a bit. Everything she puts together has an eerie, magical quality, as well as a sense of professional polish which isn't always forthcoming from YouTube creators. I won't recommend specific Halloween videos, just in case I decide to return to the well in future years. But do check out Erutan's performance of "The Dancing and the Dreaming" from "How to Train Your Dragon."

Provided to YouTube by Soundrop Come Little Children · Erutan Come Little Children ℗ 2016 re:discover songs Released on: 2013-01-30 Composer Lyricist: James ...

Deep Cuts Halloween Playlist 2019 -  #21: "Cannibal Holocaust" (Riz Ortolani, 1980)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQkc2...
10/22/2019

Deep Cuts Halloween Playlist 2019 - #21: "Cannibal Holocaust" (Riz Ortolani, 1980)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQkc2Qql91o
Was there ever a better title than Cannibal Holocaust?
Unlike yesterday's entry, which creates a horrific soundscape to accompany the terrors on screen, today's selection relies on ironic juxtaposition. Don't let the thumbnail dissuade you from giving this one a listen: Riz Ortolani's theme is one of the most calming, beautiful instrumental themes I've ever heard. I seriously want to sneak it into the playlist at a wedding or something.
But like salt on a chocolate chip cookie, the beauty of the theme serves to emphasize through contrast the horror and brutality of the film's visuals.
For those who have perhaps avoided my shock clips throughout the years, 1980's "Cannibal Holocaust" stands as arguably the first "found footage" horror film. It tells the story of a group of American filmmakers who disappear in the Amazon while filming a documentary. A second documentarian goes to recover them, but instead finds their bones. After bartering for their surviving film with a cannibal tribe, the second filmmaker reviews their footage and discovers that the crew had viciously and lewdly exploited the natives prior to being attacked and consumed in an act of revenge.
The movie's cinema verite approach, and the convincing nature of the gore effects, actually led many people to believe that "Cannibal Holocaust" was a s***f film. Director Ruggero Deodato was arrested and charged with multiple counts of murder, and his name was only cleared when the movie's actors, still living, appeared to testify in court.
However, the film remains controversial because the many animal deaths depicted ARE genuine. The butchering of several exotic species is shown in graphic detail, including a sea turtle, a coatimundi, and a spider monkey. I think it's worth noting that the native groups filmed did actually eat the meat prepared. But whatever your stance, these scenes are certainly not for the faint of heart or stomach. Be thankful that in this blog series, you only get audio.

Provided to YouTube by The Orchard Enterprises Cannibal Holocaust (Main Theme) · Riz Ortolani Cannibal Holocaust ℗ 2015 CTC Creative Team Company S.r.l. Rele...

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