Faces of Death (1978)

User Rating:

3.3/10   

Director:

John Alan Schwartz

Writer:

John Alan Schwartz (writer)

Release Date:

24 May 1980 (Japan)

Genre:

Documentary | Horror

Tagline:

Banned in 46 Countries!

Plot:

A collection of death scenes, ranging from TV-material to home-made super-8 movies The common factor is death by some means.

Plot Keywords:

Death | Mockumentary | Alligator | Execution | Monkey

Cast

Michael Carr	...	Dr. Francis B. Gröss
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Samuel Berkowitz	...	Himself; Cryogenics patient
Mary Ellen Brighton	...	Herself; suicide victim shown jumping out of a window
Thomas Noguchi	...	Himself

Also Known As:

The Original Faces of Death (USA) (video box title)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

New Zealand:(Banned) | West Germany:18 (cut) | Australia:(Banned) (original rating) | Australia:R (re-rating) (2007) | Australia:R (uncut) | Netherlands:16 | Finland:(Banned) | South Korea:18 (heavily cut) | UK:18 (cut) | USA:Not Rated | UK:(Banned) (1984-2003) | Norway:(Banned) (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Guanajuato, Mexico

Company:

F.O.D. Productions

Trivia:

In an interview, director John Alan Schwartz said that he played the leader of the flesh eating cult at the end of the film.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: A sign posted reads "Authurised entry only", it should say "Authorized entry only".

Quotes:

Dr. Francis B. Gröss: Do the animals know they are going to die? The men who kill them claim they don't. But when the machinery begins to rumble and the conveyor belts start to roll, sounds that expedite death are heard by animal and man alike.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Jeff Goldblum/Aerosmith (#19.3)" (1993)

Soundtrack:

Life

Brilliant Marketing!

The movie itself is horrible, but if you look at it from a marketing standpoint it's brilliant! "Faces of Death" is in all of our collective conscience. The infamous "monkey brain scene" has been talked about in this forum ad naseum. Most everyone has seen or at least heard about this movie. It WAS a right of passage from when I was a teenager. "Banned in 46 Countries" made me HAVE to see this as a 15 year old in the late seventies. Look how the country is transfixed by "reality television" of today. This was definitely a precursor. The makers of this movie were not concerned about how the movie looked artistically, they wanted to get your attention, they wanted, no, dared you to watch. I'm sure the people that made this are all retired now and living on private islands with all the money they've made off the FOD series. As well they should! The curiosity of people and the word-of-mouth strategy used worked perfectly for them all over the world (This was well before the internet world we live in today). Masters of marketing they all are. Movie makers today only wish they can get this sort of buzz and interest in a movie. And to all of you that say that the people who watch this are sick and depraved, you know what? They got you too! Your curiosity made you look and watch. That's what the makers of this film wanted all along and you took the bait. It is people's curiosity that got them watching, not their morales. BRILLIANT!