Ruggero Deodato, inspirational director to Tarantino, dies aged 83

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Ruggero Deodato, who directed what is considered one of the most controversial films in cinema history, has reportedly died aged 83. The late screenwriter and actor is said to have influenced high-profile Hollywood filmmakers with his work, including Quentin Tarantino, Oliver Stone and Eli Roth.

Deodato had a lengthy career in cinema, but remains best known for his gruesome 1980 horror film, Cannibal Holocaust.

The movie was banned in multiple countries and sparked controversy around the world.

Some disturbing scenes included depictions of extreme violence and torture, while real violence against animals, including onscreen killings of monkeys and a coati, were shown.

Cannibal Holocaust was also a pioneer of the “found footage” pseudo-documentary genre, preceding other famous films such as 1999’s The Blair Witch Project. 

The late star began his career as a highly regarded assistant director for Roberto Rossellini.

He then went on to work as a number two to Sergio Corbucci on the influential 1966 spaghetti western Django.

The movie was the inspiration for Tarantino’s 2012 Western drama film Django Unchained.

Deodato spent the next few decades of his career making more than 30 movies, although Cannibal Holocaust remains his best-known.

 

The film’s plot follows an academic who heads into the Amazon forest in search of a missing US documentary crew who are feared to have been eaten by a tribe.

He then discovers the film they recorded before their horrific deaths and, to ramp up the believability even further, the director convinced the actors to agree to vanish for a year.

The film sparked outrage after its premiere in Italy that year and the police quickly seized all of its copies. 

Due to the missing stars, Deodato was even accused of killing his actors.

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