Cannibal Holocaust (1980) is a controversial exploitation film which was banned in Australia (where the ban has since been lifted), Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy, due to its depiction of graphic rape, torture, and the killings of real animals. It was conceived by Gianfranco Clerici and Giorgio Stegani, and made under the direction of Ruggero Deodato with a budget of around 100,000 USD. It is probably the best-known and most financially successful of the exploitation subgenre of Italian cannibal films.
Cannibal Holocaust is often claimed to be banned in almost 60 countries (the IMDb states it holds the world record for the film banned in the most countries . The exact number has never been verified, however, as the producers have never released an actual list of the countries which have banned the film.
According to the IMDb, Cannibal Holocaust is known to be banned in at least eight countries as of 2006.
Countries where Cannibal Holocaust is banned: Iceland Ireland Germany (uncut version only) Malaysia New Zealand (both versions banned outright as of July 2006) Philippines Singapore Thailand South Africa (Film seized in the 1980s. Uncut version only) UK (uncut version only)
Countries that previously banned Cannibal Holocaust: Australia (Banned from 1984-2005, now uncut) Finland (Banned from 1984-2001, now uncut) Italy (Banned from 1980-1984, now uncut) Norway (Banned from 1984-2005, now uncut) UK (Banned from 1984-2001. Ban has been lifted, but only with the film cut) West Germany (Country no longer exists) South Africa (Film was seized in the 1980s, but was never banned per se. It received an XX rating which prevented it from being sold in the country. A cut version has now been released with an 18 rating).
