Faces of Death (1978)

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

Director:

John Alan Schwartz (as Conan Le Cilaire)

Writer:

John Alan Schwartz (as Alan Black)

Stars:

Michael Carr, Samuel Berkowitz, Mary Ellen Brighton

Cast

Credited cast:
Michael Carr	...	Dr. Francis B. Gröss
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Samuel Berkowitz
Mary Ellen Brighton	...	Herself - Suicide Victim
Thomas Noguchi	...	Himself - Chief Medical Examiner Coroner

Storyline

A 'mockumentary' hosted by Dr. Francis B. Gross, a coroner. He is trying to show you the different 'faces' of people while dying. There are faked scenes of people getting killed intermixed with footage of real accidents. There are executions by decapitation (in an unknown Arab country) and the electric chair. One scene shows a group of tourists in Egypt smashing a monkey's head while still alive and eating its brains. There are shots of animals eating people and Satanic orgies using dead bodies. There is a segment that deals with an alligator that accidentally entered 'residential' waters. The local warden goes in his boat to get the alligator back into the sea when he accidentally falls over and becomes gator bait. The film ends with newsreel footage of people jumping off buildings and major accidents.

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Plot Keywords:

video nasty | blowpipe | death | alligator | mockumentary | 

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Taglines:

Experience the graphic reality of DEATH, close-up...

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Genres:

Documentary | Horror

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Gorgon Video

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

10 November 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Original Faces of Death

Filming Locations:

Guanajuato, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$450,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$35,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

F.O.D. Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

One sequence involves cryogenic patient Samuel Berkowitz, who was frozen in July 1978 and stored in northern California. The relatives who were funding the suspension began to lose interest and/or wherewithal, an offer was made to continue the suspension as a neuro (head-only) free of charge, but it was turned down. Instead in October 1983 they had Berkowitz thawed, submerged in formaldehyde, given a proper funeral and buried. No attempt was made specifically to preserve the brain.

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Goofs

The narrator refers to "the country of Africa". Africa is a continent.

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Quotes

Dr. Francis B. Gröss: There is a continual balance that must be maintained in the jungle. The death of one creature ensures the existence of another.

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the film, the credits say "Special thanks to the mummies of Guanajuato, Mexico"

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Alternate Versions

In 2003, the BBFC passed a less cut version, removing 2m 19s of animal cruelty ("to sight of fighting dogs and monkey being cruelly beaten to death"). They later issued a more detailed description of the cuts, stating that the dogfight had been completely removed but the monkey scene had been edited rather than completely cut. The brain-eating scene had been left in the movie, owing to the head being an obviously fake rubber one, and the main edits were to the shots of the clamped monkey as "It seems entirely possible that the head bashing was done with rubber hammers and the monkey came to no harm. However, the monkey was clearly - at least in the short term - restricted in a cage/head clamp and terrified and this is prohibited by law".

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Connections

Featured in The Cinema Snob: Faces of Death (2012)

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Soundtracks

Faces of Death Theme Part 1
Written by Gene Kauer
Performed by Gene Kauer

User Reviews

Gory, bloody, graphic, yuck, yuck, YUCK!! (but you'll still want to watch!)

I can't remember a time when I've felt so afraid to die!! This movie (the first of a series) shows you what you've always been frightened to see. You're staring into the faces of the condemned. You're witnessing the last moments that others will ever spend on this planet. You're seeing the horror, terror, and insane fear that strikes without warning as you are about to die.

Yet, after watching, there is a strange feeling. I walked around for two days unable to erase the images from my mind. I saw this film by accident (my brother and a friend were watching it, I walked in thinking it was "Children of the Corn" and somehow stayed glued to the couch until the last credits rolled).

I never felt nauseous. The only emotion I had was one that I had never TRULY felt before...empathy. I felt sickened for the families of the people who I was watching. I felt like crying because there was nothing I could do. It was just a movie. What I was watching had been done years before. For those people whose faces appeared on the screen, peace had finally come. But me...I would never be the same again.

I saw that movie about ten years ago. To this day, I still see some of the scenes in my mind, particularly when I hear the evening news or see a car accident. For anyone considering renting it, you will be forever changed after watching. It is really quite unlike anything you will ever see.