La montagna del dio cannibale (1978)

A girl and her brother fly to New Guinea to look for a lost expedition, led by her husband, which has vanished in the great jungle.

Director:

Sergio Martino

Writers:

Cesare Frugoni (screenplay), Cesare Frugoni (story)

Stars:

Ursula Andress, Stacy Keach, Claudio Cassinelli

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ursula Andress	...	Susan Stevenson
Stacy Keach	...	Professor Edward Foster
Claudio Cassinelli	...	Manolo
Antonio Marsina	...	Arthur Weisser
Franco Fantasia	...	Father Moses
Lanfranco Spinola	...	Consul Burns
Carlo Longhi	...	Phil
Claudia Rocchi	...	Puka Body Painter #1 (as Luigina Rocchi)
Akushula Selayah	...	Sura (as Akushla Sellajaah)
Dudley Wanaguru
T.M. Munna
M. Suki
Giovanni Masini
Franco Cuccu
Franco Coduti	...	(as Gianfranco Coduti)

Storyline

Susan Stevenson and her brother Arthur get off a plane in Papua New Guinea, looking for her missing husband. They team up with, Dr. Edward Foster. The three head into the jungle, get in more than a few fights amongst themselves, and view lots of gratuitous animal cruelty, notable an iguana getting eviscerated.

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Plot Keywords:

cannibalism | grindhouse film | drive in classic | extreme violence | topless native women | 

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Taglines:

Their cult was death ... Their lust was for blood!

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Genres:

Adventure | Horror

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Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

13 April 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Slave of the Cannibal God

Filming Locations:

S.A.F.A. Palatino Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dania Film, Medusa Distribuzione

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min 92 min (heavily cut) 103 min (extended) 86 min (R-rated) 96 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was banned in the UK until 2001 for its graphic violence (mostly for its very real animal violence) and one of the infamous 72 "Video Nasties".

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Goofs

When the snake eats the monkey, it is supposed to be natural footage of one animal eating another. There are many leaves around the shot, and one of them is very clearly added during editing to hide a device to launch the monkey into the snake's mouth. (A frame by frame analysis of this is on the unrated Blue Underground DVD.)

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Crazy Credits

The ending credits do not actually state what the job of each individual was. Instead, it merely lists the technicians involved, which is why many have mistaken this for a cast list. This was because of the guerrilla nature of the shooting of this movie, which meant the crew positions were very fluid.

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Alternate Versions

The film was one of the original UK video nasties (as "Prisoner Of The Cannibal God") on the infamous DPP 72 list. The cinema version was cut to remove all footage of animal violence and the 2001 Vipco DVD (now retitled "Mountain Of The Cannibal God") featured a longer and more complete U.S print although a further 2 minutes 6 secs were cut by the BBFC to remove genuine footage of a snake fighting a bird and a snake killing and eating a live monkey.

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Connections

Referenced in Tarzan the Ape Man (1981)

User Reviews

National Geographic Channel meets Italian Sleaze

Sergio Martino's 'Mountain etc' is somewhat an outcast in the notorious Italian field of cannibalism… This film has a bit more style, depth and – compared to such films as 'Cannibal Holocaust' or 'Cannibal Ferox' – you don't necessarily feel the need to take a shower after seeing it. It's actually better to compare this film with old-fashioned adventure-movies, actually…but with cannibals and a healthy dose of authentic Italian sleaze. Ursula Andress (still the finest, most ravishing Bond girl to date) stars as a strong woman who goes on an expedition, deep down the Guinean jungle, to search her missing husband. Her brother and another respected anthropologist (Stacy Keach) accompany her to 'Ra Ra Mu' … Roughly translated: the mountain of the Cannibal God, where a savage tribe still feasts on human flesh.

The first hour of the film is slow, atmospheric and surprisingly educational! Several sequences, portraying animal's hunting rituals, seem to come right out of a National Geographic broadcast and you're actually waiting for the voice-over to inform you more. The original, uncut release of Mountain of the Cannibal God contains a good share of violence and nudity, but it never becomes repulsive or nauseating. To be entirely honest: the 'horrible' cannibal tribe actually is rather lame. So, the fact they're only appear in the movie after the first hour is a good thing! Until then, you've got compelling adventure and Andress's ravishing body to keep you entertained. Highly recommended viewing!