Directed by:
John Alan SchwartzScreenplay:
John Alan SchwartzComposer:
Gene KauerCast:
Michael Carr, Thomas Noguchi, John Alan Schwartz, Adolf Hitler (a.f.), Benito Mussolini (a.f.)Plots(1)
Volume I features a vicious pit bull fight, the clubbing of baby seals, monkey brains, a man setting himself on fire, an electrocution, San Francisco cultists dining on human organs, a suicidal jumper taking his final leap, a visit to the slaughterhouse, an alligator attack and a visit to an autopsy room. (official distributor synopsis)
Reviews (2)
This time I must object to the cheap labels like "perverse, primitive or disgusting" that this peculiar work often receives. Unlike the more recent Traces of Death, which is just a haphazard sequence of brutal events, Faces of Death has a much more complex documentary feel to me, the commentary didn't sound so unbearably sarcastic, and most importantly, I saw a hint of an idea in it: to point out how thin the line between life and death can be, even if it's all wrapped up in an exaggerated and inexplicable fascination with painful death and human atrocity – but that's part of life, unfortunately.
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"The Faces of Death" is undoubtedly a controversial film and it is very easy to condemn it. However, I would avoid such an easy judgment. Yes, the creators might have been focused solely on controversy, but on the other hand, it draws attention to the events that people actually carry out, whether towards animals or themselves. For me, some forms of human behavior were truly revealing, and therefore I believe that the film deserves attention.
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