John Saxon plays a Vietnam Vet who returns home with a thirst for flesh in Cannibal Apocalypse. New to 4K UHD from Kino Lorber’s newest label Kino Cult.
The Film
Take one part Taxi Driver, one part Dawn of the Dead, multiply it by Cannibal Holocaust and you get Antonio Margheriti’s cult classic Cannibal Apocalypse.
Vietnam Vet Norman Hopper (John Saxon) struggles with the nightmares of a specific mission gone awry. That operation saved the lives of Charlie Bukowski (Giovanni Lombardo Radice) and Tommy Thompson (Tony King) but not before Hopper witnesses them eating the flesh from a woman’s body and biting him. Charlie recently released from the mental health facility instantly is triggered by Bikers who eventually end in a police standoff. Saed by the quick thinking of Hopper he’s put back into the facility with Tommy. This begins a series of events that will have Hopper, Charlie, and Tommy reunited on the run from the law in the sewers hungry for what they found in Vietnam … flesh.
Cannibal Apocalypse is not for everyone. Director Margheriti’s film is as gory and violent as anything he’s produced (which is saying a lot). The type of butchery that goes on in cannibal movies is here and very much in detail. Though not as violently disgusting as Deodato’s Cannibal Holocaust. When there isn’t cannibalism going on there are weirder cultural touchstones that throw things off as many Italian genre films do when trying to present as an American film. Moments like Saxon’s character having a sexual relationship with the teenage girl next door even at the time are wildly strange. Or the biker gang that causes all the trouble that Charlie gets into and how quickly the police side with this gang against a war vet is also wildly out of place – other than to justify the 20-minute set piece that occurs around the incident.
One would not complain if Margheriti’s direction and Saxon’s performance weren’t great. Both the director and star seem to have been inspired and never take any shortcuts in their work. The result is a film that’s stylishly executed around a performance that’s at least on par with the work that William Devane does in Rolling Thunder. One as existentially dark but with a wee bit more flesh-eating.
The Transfer
The 2020 UHD SDR Master by StudioCanal – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative is an all-around amazing upgrade to the last Blu-ray from Kino Lorber. The image is sharp with a beautiful patina of active grain giving it the look of a freshly struck print. The color density, the grain structure, and the contrast are leveled up here. There’s more refined detail in the blacks giving us a more lustery image than prior. This may end up being the definitive edition of Cannibal Apocalypse, it hasn’t even looked this good when it’s been projected in 35mm. Bravo to the folks at Kino/StudioCanal for doing an impressive job at giving the film a true upgrade in picture.
The Extras
They include the following;
- Audio Commentary by Film Historian Tim Lucas
- Cannibal Apocalypse Redux: Featurette with Actors John Saxon and Giovanni Lombardo Radice, and Director Antonio Margheriti
- Cannibal King: Interview with Actor Tony King
- Apocalypse in the Streets: A Video Tour of Filming Locations
- Alternate U.S. Opening Sequence
- European Theatrical Trailer
- Japanese Teaser
The Audio Commentary by Film Historian Tim Lucas opens with a discussion of the new 4K transfer and the UHD disc and the various titles this film was released under. Some of the details include a discussion of what the Green Berets do – something that Saxon’s character is; a discussion of the work of director Antonio Margheriti – including the Special FX which is something Margheriti specialized in on his lower budgeted films; its closeness to Apocalypse Now – the film that inspired its name; the famous names that the film uses – a larger discussion of the author Charles Bukowski; the work of cinematographer Fernando Arribas; the filming in Atlanta – and a history of productions using the city and how it’s become a modern hub for big budget filmmaking; the impact of George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead on this film and Italian genre filmmaking; the mid-movie takeover of the department store by the Radice’s character – how important this extended scene is to the film itself and how its constructed; the work and career of John Saxon; the work and career of Tony King; the work and career of Giovanni Lombardo Radice; a larger discussion of the various cast members and their dubbing actors – including various films they’ve appeared in; and much more. Lucas’ track is a great accompaniment to the film; thoughtful, and informational in equal measure.
Cannibal Apocalypse Redux: Featurette with Actors John Saxon and Giovanni Lombardo Radice, and Director Antonio Margheriti (54:11) – this great archival set of interviews is more of a making-of as the three participants recount the development, shooting, and release of Cannibal Apocalypse. This featurette has Saxon, Radice, and Margheriti all in a very transparent mood and the result is something more honest about their feelings about the film itself, the production, and the director. Radice in particular is very forthright about his feelings for the film and the era in which the film was made. Well worth watching as it contains anecdotes from the production that are, to say the least entertaining.
Cannibal King: Interview with Actor Tony King (10:01) – in this interview with the actor he discusses how his football career ended, and his acting career began. King discusses how he started in smaller roles; how he was cast in Shaft and The Godfather – which led to more work and an agent, how he moved to Italy, and the wild story of meeting Antonio Margheriti – eventually working with the director in Italy, the Philippines, and Atlanta; working with John Saxon; and much more.
Apocalypse in the Streets: A Video Tour of Filming Locations (6:40) – in this archival featurette looks at the various locations in Atlanta, Georgia (specifically Decatur) that the production used to film Cannibal Apocalypse. Noting that this isn’t the only Italian production to film in the South, doubling for other locations, during this time.
Alternate U.S. Opening Sequence (8:16) – Appears to be pulled off a VHS rip of the film. The US titles call it Invasion of the Flesh Hunters. This is a great way to see the massive uptick in quality that has occurred in the intervening 40 years.
Rounding out the special features are the trailers for Cannibal Apocalypse [European Theatrical Trailer] (2:33); Cannibal Apocalypse [Japanese Teaser] (0:38); Nightmare Beach (2:42); Parasite (1:27); Baby Blood (0:58); Rawhead Rex (1:06)
The Final Thought
Kino has given us a great upgrade to their Cannibal Apocalypse Blu-ray now in 4K UHD loaded with extras for their new Kino Cult label. Highest Recommendations!