Alternate Versions and Sequels
Due to its graphic content, there are several different versions of Cannibal Holocaust in circulation which are edited to certain degrees. Other versions also contain alternate footage that does not depict nudity, shot specifically for Middle Eastern markets. Many uncut releases also differ in content as there are multiple versions of the "Last Road to Hell" segment of the film, which includes footage of genuine political executions from Nigeria and South East Asia. An extended version of "The Last Road to Hell" includes approximately ten seconds of footage not seen in an alternate, shorter version. This additional footage includes a wide-angle shot of firing-squad executions, a close-up of a dead victim, and extended footage of bodies being carried into the back of a truck. The longer version also includes different titles that correctly name the film team as they appear in the final film, while the shorter version gives the names of the film team that originally appear in the script.
The longer version of "The Last Road to Hell" is no longer found in the film’s negatives, but it was included in the original Dutch Ultrabit DVD release by EC Entertainment in 1999. This digital version has since been re-released and licensed for other various DVD releases in Europe. The Grindhouse Releasing DVD release in the United States and the Siren Visual release in Australia have the shorter version of "The Last Road to Hell" within the feature film but include the extended version in the special features on the first disc.
Although no official sequel has been released, several films have adopted the moniker Cannibal Holocaust II as to be associated with Cannibal Holocaust's notoriety. These films were originally released under different titles that were then changed for various releases, although none have been directed by or associated with Deodato. The first of said films came in 1985 with Mario Gariazzo's Schiave bianche: violenza in Amazzonia. Known in English as Amazonia: The Catherine Miles Story, it has also been released on European DVD as Cannibal Holocaust 2: The Catherine Miles Story. In 1988, Mondo film director Antonio Climati made his film Natura contro, which was released as Cannibal Holocaust II in Thailand and the UK. Italian director Bruno Mattei also made two straight-to-video films back to back in 2003, which have been released as Cannibal Holocaust sequels in Japan.
In 2005, Deodato officially announced that he planned to make a companion piece to Cannibal Holocaust entitled Cannibals. Deodato was originally hesitant about directing his new film, as he thought that he would make it too violent for American audiences. While in Prague filming his cameo appearance in Hostel: Part II, however, Deodato viewed the first Hostel film and decided that he would direct after all, citing Hostel as a similarly violent film that made a mainstream release in America. Although the screenplay, written by Christine Conradt, was completed, a financial conflict between Deodato and the film's producer led to the project's cancellation.
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