All language subtitles for Legacy.of.the.Cannibal.God-Mountain.of.the.Cannibal.God.1978.by-ATO.English

I decided to begin making
cannibal movies because

I've always worked for an organization

whose main purpose is to make
successful movies.

I went from westerns to horrors to 'gialli'

then to the 'cannibal genre,'
as some called it.

In those days, there were
already some movies

which had achieved
international success.

This film is actually part of a trilogy
which I made back then,

a series of films that depicted

exotic adventure.

I made three of them:

Mountain of the Cannibal God

The Island of the Fishmen

and the third one, which was called
Great Alligator River.

At that time, we were working in
the 'imitation' genre,

mimicking successful
American genre films

...at ten times less cost.

We shot in Sri Lanka and in Malaysia.

In Malaysia there was 99% humidity

and this is the type of movie where
you had to be physically fit to survive...

I remember that reaching the grotto
location where we shot most of the film

was disastrous because every day
some people were not able to

climb the 1600 foot ascent.

So you can imagine, with a constant
temperature of 96 degrees

and all the accumulated exhaustion...

those poor people who had to
carry all the equipment.

I always said,
"I carry the responsibility,

you carry the cameras!"

Initially, we feared a very
uncomfortable situation there.

But we also had a great life experience,
which I remember to this day.

We saw crocodiles and
many other animals.

I also took time to observe
the life of the natives

where I discovered that
the women are the ones who work

While the men in the shade
and get stoned.

Sri Lanka is definitely
a very agreeable country.

Weather-wise, it was the right season
to film and so it was very pleasant.

We shot at the
Kandy Botanical Gardens.

The Kandy Botanical Gardens is really
an extraordinary place

where you can find
a true concentration of jungle.

We also shot some scenes
in the real jungle

but logistically that was extremely
difficult to do

whereas in this garden
there are streets

where you can park
the cast and crew trailers

and there are these little collections of
forests that are completely wonderful,

where the vegetation and leaves
are well cared for.

I remember where we had some
wonderful shots

like Stacy Keach cutting his way
through with a machete.

Those scenes, for example,
were shot there.

Obviously, the caretakers
were concerned

about the vegetation, but anyway...

He was an actor - like all American
actors - who was very professional.

Excellent actor.

He was somewhat disappointed
at the end of the movie

because a certain scene had been
cut out of the film.

It was a scene that he strongly wanted
when he agreed to make the film.

But it wasn't a betrayal.
In reality, it didn't fit in the story.

Basically, it was a choice that was
made for the good of the film.

This was the only part of
our relationship

that wasn't completely positive.

Otherwise we remained good friends.

Ursula Andress is an actress who has
absolutely no fear when it comes to

her relationship with nature.

She is a woman who had
explored Africa,

perhaps during her relationship
with Belmondo

who is also a very
adventurous person.

For example, letting the python
wrap around her -

although the python's head was
held by someone off-camera

to prevent it from getting
a tighter grip,

that's something
I would have never done.

But she was a natural,
she had fun with it and was not afraid

to have this violent contact
with nature.

In this sense, I remember her as
a very courageous woman.

Claudio Cassinelli was
an extraordinary actor,

full of enthusiasm.

I think that the misfortune of dying
so tragically as a fairly young man

- I believe that he was 47 years old
when he died -

is that today he probably would be
a very popular actor

in the thriving business of
Italian television dramas.

He was an actor with great appeal
and was a person whom I considered

to be extraordinary on a human level.

I am very sad that
he is no longer with us.

Cinema is a very beautiful profession

because it always
makes you feel young.

There is often this
campus-like atmosphere

of people working together.

But when you are confronted with
such tragedies, you are thrown into

a harsh reality.

What offended me was
one famous critic

whose name I won't mention

who wrote, "This is the movie
in which Claudio Cassinelli died.

It wasn't worth it."

And I wonder: For what movie,
even by the greatest director

in the history of cinema,
would be worth dying for?

The film definitely focused on
some images of violence

that at times were meant to have
a documentary quality.

There is the famous scene with the
monkey being eaten by the python

that I believe has been
used in other films

because it was so effective.

It was an unfortunate scene.

There was this 23-foot python that
followed us around for part of the film.

It was like a supporting actor.

And we tried to wake him up by having
a monkey walk up in front of it.

Suddenly, the snake launched,
grabbing that poor animal.

Now, the camera was already in
position and so we shot the scene

which looks so very violent,
so very cruel.

Actually, I am a little embarrassed
remembering that episode

because we didn't do anything
for that animal

although there was not much
we could do

since pythons may look like animals
you can confront

but they have teeth worse than
a moray eel.

Well... the person in charge of
the animals was

- I remember the scene being shot
in Malaysia - was very close,

but the few moments of hesitation
were enough to make it impossible

to avoid the inevitable outcome.

Maybe it was cruel of us
to film that scene,

but I remember many people
asking me over time how we shot it.

It was a chance opportunity.
It was not planned.

And I say this not to shed
any responsibility.

Maybe this movie is a little too violent.

I blame myself a little now,
because movies this violent are

counter-educational.

But in those days, to tell the truth,

there were other movies
made earlier that are

worse in that respect.

We were protested by the local
puritans who were devout Muslims.

They wrote in a newspaper
that the film contained nude scenes.

Well yes, it did, but they were
scenes of natives.

Then by the end of production,

there were people screaming
out of their windows,

"Italians go home!"

Because God knows what kind of movie
they thought we were making.

In reality, the movie didn't have any
erotic or pornographic content...

I have a kind of love-hate relationship
with the movies I make

because of the stress that you have
when there are limited budget and time.

Therefore, while you are making them
you are under a lot of pressure

especially when shooting in
foreign countries

because the point of reference
are different

and as a result, at the time,
I suffered.

Now, as time passes,
what I remember is that

- besides the fact that I was
20 years younger, which was nice -

is the fact that

this movie had a dimension
of realism

in the eyes of its audience.

That's the best thing about this movie.

The great thing about those days
was that

producers would always take my calls.

I was always welcomed because

the projects I proposed,
or the ones I made,

with only a few exceptions, as you
always have in someone's career,

always made money.

People always made money
with my movies.

I, on the other hand, didn't make
as much money.

Fortunately, I recently discovered
an Internet site called

"How to Make Money as a Director!"