He directed the notorious
Cannibal Holocaust (1980), in which--among other things--animals were actually killed on-screen. He was arrested shortly after its premiere in Italy, and faced accusations of first-degree murder--the authorities believed that several local actors in Colombia, where the film was shot, were also actually killed onscreen--as well as animal cruelty. He was exonerated after the actors were brought into the courtroom very much alive; they had special clauses in their contracts ordering them to "disappear" for a year to increase the film's hype. Though Deodato was found not guilty, he was barred from making films in Italy for several years afterward, and the film itself was banned.
