VHS Memories...

Technology is fucking amazing. While I'm kind of a luddite in the sense that I don't own a fucking smartphone or GPS or any of that silly shit, I do put what sadly little money I have into my home theater system. Tonight I watched the recently released HD of Cannibal Holocaust and I simply cannot get over it. I have watched this film probably 100 times - and it's never been in the same format. Starting with my first 50th-generation Venezuelan bootleg in 1988 (which looked like it was filmed through a paper towel) to the limited 25th Anniversary box set which was until now the pinnacle; I've purchased nearly every iteration of this cannibal epic without even thinking twice. The new Blu-Ray is fucking amazing. I can't help but actually stand in front of the fucking TV while it's playing. Shit that was a blur of off-whites is now a clear, crisp hut in the corner, or discarded turtle carcass. In a nutshell - I fucking love Cannibal Holocaust and seeing it in a more beautiful format than the few folks who saw it in 1979 makes me feel oddly priviledged. Here's the uncut soundtrack from Deodato regular Riz Ortolani, a beautiful synthesizer symphony which stands alone as the most haunting soundtrack to an Italian horror movie in history. Enjoy.

The Deuce

Disco-Ortolani

Of course we all love Ruggero Deodato's flicks for the über-violence (and some would argue for their socio-political agendas) but one high point has been his repeated employment of Italian composer Riz Ortolani. Known primarily for his (Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated) Mondo Cane score as well as the beautifully haunting Cannibal Holocaust soundtrack; Riz is an incredibly affluent composer, with over 215 scores across 50 years in the business. One oft-ignored score is for Deodato's sweetly mean-spirited House On The Edge Of The Park, David Hess's post-Last House vehicle where he plays nearly the same role and terrorizes a group of naïve partying socialites. Regardless, one of the few humorous points in the film is a catchy disco tune entitled "Do It To Me (Once More)" which, as with most 80's Italian horror film scores, sits completely out of place with the rest of the film. It eventually found release on his 1981 Phantom of Love (Fantasma d'Amore) album, an incredibly catchy tune which you'll find yourself humming for days. Go Riz.

For the audiophiles, I could not find a satisfactorily full version of the song (his CDs are out of print and the tracks I could find on the internet are minute-long 128 kbps edits) so I ripped it off of video and removed as much hiss as I could. The file is in AIFF format and I think it sounds pretty good. Enjoy.

Groovy

 
 
Currently watching: Return Of The Killer Tomatoes

Currently listening to: Body Count Body Count