Faces of Death (1978)

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:

John Alan Schwartz came up with the electrocution scene by reading an article in Hustler Magazine on electrocution.

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:

Edited into Nudo e crudele (1984)

Soundtrack:

Jesus Doesn't Live Here Anymore

Crowning Jewel of My Cult Movie Collection

Before I get responses beginning with "you sick bugger", let me explain that this set of movies is the jewel of my collection strictly for it's cult status. I first saw FOD #1 when I was about 12yrs old in the extreme early 80's. The caption "Banned in 46 countries!" made this a compulsory rental for twisted little minds. During the first viewing however, I can remember distinguishing between the "real" and "fake" clips and thinking that the blood in "Dawn of the Dead" was far more realistic. Jump ahead about 20 yrs. I purchased the 6 video collection (with additional "Executions" video thrown in for good measure) in the late 90's. For those who have only seen clips or stopped after #1, the rest of the videos are pretty much the same (#2 is a lot of war atrocities, #3 has more nature/animal attacks, #4 should be called "Faces of Stupidity" due in part to the dumb ways people are getting killed, and #'s 5 & 6 are a best of compilation....the "real" 5 and 6 are German and Japanese releases that are fairly hard to get a hold of and rather expensive). I watched all of these videos, knowing that the majority of the clips are staged with bad SPFX and the real clips look as though they are unedited news footage, but It's "schlockiness" is mildly entertaining (Dr. Francis B. Gross hosting). The "Executions" tape I received as well however I have been unable to make it through in the past 6 years(everything on there is real and disturbing). I found that in my teens, this series was amateurish and only slightly interesting, but in my mid thirties it is much harder to watch and brings up morality questions that I didn't have when I a kid. The series definitely isn't for the faint of heart, but credit must be given for an unapologetic exploration (albeit 90% phony) of often taboo subjects.