La montagna del dio cannibale (1978)

Director:

Sergio Martino

Writers:

Cesare Frugoni (screenplay)
Cesare Frugoni (story)
(more)

Release Date:

April 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

When the price of lust is death..!

Plot:

A girl and her brother fly to New Guinea to look for a lost expedition, led by her husband, which has vanished in the great jungle.

Plot Keywords:

Jungle | Cruelty | Animal Cruelty | Iguana | New Guinea

Cast

Ursula Andress	...	Susan Stevenson
Stacy Keach	...	Professor Edward Foster
Claudio Cassinelli	...	Manolo
Antonio Marsina	...	Arthur Weisser
Franco Fantasia	...	Father Moses
Lanfranco Spinola	...	Consul Burns
Carlo Longhi	...	Phil, the pilot
Luigina Rocchi	...	Sura
Akushula Selayah		(as Akushla Sellajaah)
Dudley Wanaguru
T.M. Munna
M. Suki
Giovanni Masini
Franco Cuccu		(as Franco Cucco)
Franco Coduti		(as Gianfranco Coduti)
Claudio Morabito
Alfredo Senzacqua
Angelo Pennoni
Franco Freda		(as Francesco Freda)
Adalgisa Favella
Rodolfo Ruzza
Giuseppe Romano
Luciana Pianella
Paolo Ricci
Matt Giordano		(as Matteo Giordano)
Fernando Massaccesi
Mario Massaccesi
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tom Felleghy	...	Susan's Husband (uncredited)

Directed by
Sergio Martino

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Cesare Frugoni		screenplay
Cesare Frugoni		story
Sergio Martino		screenplay
Sergio Martino		story

Produced by
Luciano Martino	....	producer

Original Music by
Guido De Angelis
Maurizio De Angelis

Cinematography by
Giancarlo Ferrando

Film Editing by
Eugenio Alabiso

Production Design by
Massimo Antonello Geleng

Costume Design by
Luca Sabatelli

Makeup Department
Adalgisa Favella	....	hair stylist
Franco Freda	....	makeup artist (as Francesco Freda)

Production Management
Franco Cuccu	....	production manager
Giovanni Masini	....	production manager
Gianni Sarago	....	production manager (as Gianni Saragò)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Franco Coduti	....	assistant director
Franco Fantasia	....	assistant director

Art Department
Rodolfo Ruzza	....	props

Sound Department
Bruno Moreal	....	sound mixer

Special Effects by
Paolo Ricci	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Matt Giordano	....	key grip (as Matteo Giordano)
Fernando Massaccesi	....	gaffer
Mario Massaccesi	....	chief electrician
Claudio Morabito	....	camera operator
Angelo Pennoni	....	still photographer
Alfredo Senzacqua	....	assistant camera

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Luciana Pianella	....	seamstress

Editorial Department
Giuseppe Romano	....	assistant editor
Luciano Vittori	....	color consultant

Other crew
Helietta Caracciolo	....	jeweller

Production Companies

• Dania Film
• Medusa Produzione

Distributors

• New Line Cinema (1979) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Wizard Video (1982) (USA) (VHS) (Betamax)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD) (widescreen)
• Brentwood Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• RBC Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Astro Distribution (2001) (Germany) (DVD)
• BCI Eclipse (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Blue Underground (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Diamond Entertainment Group (DEG) (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Echo Bridge Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (USA) (VHS)
• Reel Media International (2007) (USA) (all media)
• Video for Pleasure (VFP) (1984) (Belgium) (VHS)
• Vidtape (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Westlake Entertainment Group (2003) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Mountain of the Cannibal God (USA) (DVD box title)
Mountain of the Cannibals (Philippines: English title)
Primitive Desires (UK)
Prisoner of the Cannibal God (UK)
Slave of the Cannibal God (USA) (censored version)
The Mountain of the Cannibal God (International: English title)
Bergets grymma hemlighet (Sweden) [sv]
Die weiße Göttin der Kannibalen (West Germany) [de]
Góra Boga kanibalów (Poland) [pl]
Jakten på bergets hemlighet (Sweden) (video title) [sv]
La montaña del dios caníbal (Spain) [es]
La montagne du dieu cannibale (France) [fr]
Lanetliler dagi (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
To vouno ton kannivalon (Greece) [el]
Viidakon julma salaisuus (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

99 min | Sweden:92 min (heavily cut) | USA:103 min (extended version) | USA:86 min (R-rated version) | UK:96 min (cut)

Country:

Italy

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Sweden:15 (heavily cut) | UK:18 (re-rating: 2001) (cut) | USA:Unrated (uncut) | UK:X (original rating: 1978) (cut) | Italy:VM18 (original rating) (1978) | Italy:VM14 (re-rating) (1993) | Finland:K-18 (cut) (1987) | Australia:(Banned) | Australia:R (cut) | West Germany:18 (cut) | New Zealand:R18 | Ireland:18 (cut UK version) | UK:(Banned) (1984-2001) | USA:R (cut) | West Germany:(Banned) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Central Province, Sri Lanka

Company:

Dania Film

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the snake eats the monkey, it is supposed to be natural footage of one animal eating another. There are many leaves around the shot, and one of them is very clearly added during editing to hide a device to launch the monkey into the snake's mouth. (A frame by frame analysis of this is on the unrated Blue Underground DVD.)

Movie Connections:

Featured in Famous T & A (1982) (V)

Madman's review!

Italian horror supremo Sergio Martino managed to persuade Ursula Andress into this now notorious jungle adventure and moreover got her to display her boobies! Back in the days when animal rights activists were just a glimmer in their fathers eye, film makers were able to shock audiences by showing gratuitious scenes of animals being killed. In this case, a giant snake eating a monkey, tribesmen slicing open a large lizard, and a number of others - intense imagery but it does go to show how brutal nature can be.

Andress plays Susan Stevenson, the wife of a scientist who has become lost in the New Guinea jungle, and mounts an expedition with the help of her brother and another scientist. They soon meet up with the mysterious Manolo who helps in the search and discover that Susan's hubby has gone in search of a secret tribe living on a remote mountain called Ra Ra Me which translates as Mountain Of The Cannibal God.

Much of the group are killed on the way by members of the cannibal tribe and when they do arrive at the mountain, it is the Uranium in the rocks that Susan seeks for financial gain rather than locating her husband. However, her plans are quickly scuppered when the tribe capture her and the last remaining scientist and take them to their mountain lair. They believe that Susan is a goddess and create a living monument by smearing her naked body with fluid and putting ceremonial items on her. How sweet.

The jungle locations are rich and vibrant, and the cannibals are genuinly scarey looking characters - especially the midget one. The flick does over use shock tactics in parts such as the frenzied sex scene which includes a large boar as far as I can make out. That said, I personally enjoyed the whole 70's exploitation experience but that may be due to having something wrong with my head.

7.75 out of 10.