I didn’t see that one coming.

I would not find it the least bit surprising to find out that Faces Of Death was the most commonly bootlegged video ever. I really wouldn’t. You see, I was privileged to have grown up in a pre-Internet world during the VHS video boom (and do I feel old for even saying that). As such, The Original Faces Of Death was nothing short of the ultimate taboo for anyone and everyone at the time: something that was only spoken of lightly by high school males of various factions…the title which you had to be 18 in order to rent at the video store when it was in…and providing somebody returned the copy on time…or at all, for that matter.

As years went by however, the demand for shockumentaries depicting the final moments of poor, hapless, and random individuals grew -- and competitors and rip-offs such as more authentic Traces Of Death series and the laughable (and short-lived) The Many Faces Of Death (which my friends and I renamed The Many Faces Of Bloody Sheets due to its lack of anything other than such) emerged in a market that existed solely (and successfully) through mail-order.

Then came that confounded World Wide Web thing. Digital cameras. Video upload. The whole lot…all of which forced us into a new era where the sight of one’s demise was no longer out of reach…all you had to do was Google it.

But I digress.

I remember a few years back when many of the filmmakers behind Faces Of Death came out of the coffin to say “Yep, we faked a lot of it.” A lot of people were even more shocked to learn that than they were when they first saw the film. The rest of them said, “Hah, I knew it!”…despite having previously defended the scenes that turned out to be faked.

No matter how you cut it (heh, cut), Faces Of Death is a classic. An ingenious classic, at that.

In case you’ve somehow managed to go through your entire existence without even so much as hearing about this movie, Faces Of Death is the brainchild of John Alan Schwartz, a man who made nature films, who was approached by a group of Japanese backers to create a documentary about that final chess game. Why? Because the Japanese are really weird and sick like that, that’s why! Diving through box after box of footage purchased from television stations, Schwartz and editor Glenn Turner (among others) assembled a series of gruesome demises and, when they presented it to their producers, were a bit confused when they said, “No, no, that’s not quite what we want.” The backers wanted not only death, but they wanted to see what happened to the deceased both before and after they bought the farm.

“Sure, we can do that…”, the filmmakers said. Unfortunately, they had no such footage. What to do?

Here’s where Schwartz pulled a Jerry Warren. It was a ballsy move, yes, but it worked like a motherfucking charm. After assembling a group of budget-priced Special Effects artists, Schwartz and his team shot some of the most famous and controversial footage that, when grouped with a few shots of real, honest-to-goodness footage, managed to fool everyone from the common thrill seeker to the goddamn FBI! And how do you account for the bits and pieces if someone says “Ummm…?” Easy: a disclaimer at the very end of the film reads “Certain scenes in this motion picture have been recreated to depict factual events.”

Pure genius.

So, the movie was made, the backers loved it, and the final product was released in Japan -- where it became a huge hit. Schwartz figured it was over. He was wrong. Some time later, the film surfaced back in the States on both the big screen and the little one. A storm of hullabaloo erupted surrounding whether or not Faces Of Death was a snuff film or not. Video stores discovered how much money you can really make off of one measly cassette. Teenage boys started their new ritual. And one cheaply made pseudo horror film found its destiny as the ultimate taboo film.

Gotta love it.

Presentation
The genius collective behind MPI and Dark Sky Films made a wise and unprecedented move by bringing the defunct Gorgon Video label back from the dead with this one. Since the former underground company is best known for the Faces Of Death series and specialized in this type of family fun, the old school hardcore fans will be delighted to see the familiar logo again (MPI owns the label).

Now, I’ve tried several times to write something here, but I can’t. I just can’t. It’s Faces Of Death, people…on Blu-ray! Why, it’s as absurd as someone saying “a worthy candidate for congress”, “a caring skilled nursing facility” or “a hardworking road crew employee”.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Oh, the funny…

That said, Faces Of Death has never looked or sounded better…which is something I never thought I would hear myself say. The improved video transfer at last gives one the innate ability to distinguish the vintage footage from the fake stuff, as the older (authentic) stock is a lot fuzzier and contains more grain and debris. The wraparound scenes with Michael Carr as Dr. Francis B. Gröss are the most immaculate of all, but of course, don’t go expectin’ perfection.

A new English 5.1 mix is available on the disc along with the good ol’ 2-Channel Mono we remember so well (neither of which are anything outstanding, but there’s no reason to bash them, either). English Subtitles are also included…just in case you really need to know what Carr is saying.

Extras
Here’s where the Gorgon delivers the Goods: with the digital debut of the world’s most frequently banned motion picture (aside from Freddy Got Fingered, that is), MPI has included an Audio Commentary with director Schwartz (under his alias, Conan Le Cilaire) and Red Shirt Pictures prop. Michael Felsher. The Commentary is highly entertaining, as the two discuss the film from its genesis to its success, laughing at some of the mocked footage and tensing up at the real stuff (the funniest part is that Schwartz does not refer to himself by his real name…but rather, assumes the identity of his fictitious alter-ego and proceeds to talk about himself as a separate entity).

Also included for your pleasure are two Featurettes: Choice Cuts With Editor Glenn Turner and The Death Makers With Special Make-Up FX Creators Allan A. Apone And Douglas J. White. Both mini-docus interview the respective individual(s) about their involvement in the cult classick and there are a lot of amusing bits and pieces here (including Apone’s cat who, just like any other cat, can’t help but ruining a take).

The final Special Features include a Deleted Scene which we saw on the VHS release but is edited out for this, the original Japanese Theatrical cut (you have no idea how weird that sounds to me -- incidentally, since the movie is the Japanese cut, any and all genitalia is censored, albeit with modern technology so it isn’t as noticeable as it would have been a few years ago); some silent Outtakes that give you a better glimpse of the corpse that washed up on the beach and some of the actors in the staged stuff…with Gene Kauer’s bizarre music accompanying throughout; and the Theatrical Trailer we all saw at one point as a kid and said, “Wow…death and boobs!”

The Bottom Line
I wonder if MPI and Dark Sky will resuscitate other classy and obsolete video labels like Paragon and Continental? C’mon guys, give it a shot!