Post by Todd Tjersland on Jun 18, 2006 22:08:07 GMT -8
FACES OF GORE (1998)
Hosted by Dr. Vincent van Gore
Written, Produced & Directed by Todd Tjersland
Uncut Run Time: 89 Minutes
Summary: BANNED IN 37 COUNTRIES! From the twisted mind of TODD TJERSLAND comes the ultimate Real Death Experience...
Join your fiendish host, Dr. Vincent van Gore, as he leads you into the forbidden world of the dead. Only the nastiest car accidents, suicides and murders are here; faithfully and explicitly documented through actual crime scene investigations by police and emergency response teams from around the world.
Everything you see is REAL; nothing has been faked. There are no boring autopsies or old World War 2 footage. Only the best and bloodiest corpses killed wihtin the past 10 years are good enough to become the FACES OF GORE! If you cannot handle smashed brains, bug-eyed corpses, and char-broiled fetuses then DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE!
Nothing you have ever seen before can prepare you for htis breakthrough new shockumentary by TODD TJERSLAND, the Visionary Overlord of American Horror!
MEDIA BUZZ
"The best shockumentary on the market... This film really shocks!"
--Doom
"The most brutal footage I've seen! Will make anyone with a strong stomach turn their head in disbelief!"
--Screem Magazine
"Death at its gooiest!"
--Shock Cinema
"...One hundred per cent genuine scenes of death. ...Definitely not for the squeamish or easily offended."
--Castle Dracula
"...Makes Faces of Death look like Walt Disney."
--Putrescine.com.br
AN INTERVIEW WITH TODD TJERSLAND
Q: What were you thinking when you made FACES OF GORE?
Todd Tjersland: I was thinking how bored I was watching FACES OF DEATH, TRACES OF DEATH and other shockumentaries. I wanted to do something different, to create a "revolutionary" new kind of reality film that was guaranteed to shock its audience. If not through its horrifying imagery, then through its narration.
I wanted to craft a film that was entertaining, of course, but also one that engaged its audience and forced them to confront their own fears and prejudices, their own mortality and sense of decency.
Q: You've taken a lot of crap over the years about the extreme viewpoints expressed in your narration. Why do you think that is?
Todd: Some people just don't "get" it.
It's supposed to be a parody of shockumentaries like FACES OF DEATH. That's why it's so over-the-top! I don't actually hold the opinions stated or agree with the comments made; I wrote them pretending to be a far right-wing nutcase and delivered my narration accordingly. It's supposed to be shocking!Q: And what did you learn from people's reaction?
Todd: I learned that shockumentary fans don't have a sense of humor, LOL. ;D Maybe that's why they watch that kind of movie in the first place. Me, I have a hard time sitting through them--even my own. I can take them in 10-20 minute doses before I have to shut them off. They're just so gross! LOL
Q: A lot of people seem to think that the guy doing the narration and Dr. Vincent van Gore are the same guy. Are they?
Todd: No. I wrote both, of course, but I only performed the narration. Dr. Vincent van Gore was an actor I hired. Looking back on it, I should have played the good doctor as well. He was terrible, and only got moreso as the series progressed (but in a more entertainingly bad sort of way).
Q: Where is Dr. van Gore now and what does he think of the series that bears his name?
Todd: He's still lurking around in a cemetery near you, but he hates the series and regrets appearing in it.
Q: Yes, but is he a real doctor?
Todd: Are you on crack? I said he was an actor, LOL.
No matter what some people want to believe, Dr. Vincent van Gore is a made-up, fictional character, and so is his organization, the American Institute of Gorenology. They don't exist.Q: Is it true that FACES OF GORE was the #1 bestselling video in Germany when it was first released in the year 2000?
Todd: I was as surprised as anyone by the news. I mean, here was my micro-budgeted little shockumentary outselling multi-million dollar Hollywood movies! It was incredibly validating to me as a filmmaker to see my celluloid child embraced this way.
Q: But the movie was banned a month later, wasn't it?
Todd: That's my understanding, yes. German police raided 300 videotheks (video stores) and seized all copies. The Bochum District Attorney's office was quoted as saying something like--and forgive the translation if it is faulty--"We believe that FACES OF GORE has unequivocably crossed a moral and ethical boundary." Whatever that is.
The next thing I knew, they'd hauled Bad Boy Movie, the German distributor, into court, accusing them of "glorifying violence" or some such trumped-up nonsense... Not being a German citizen, I was spared any such insanity.
Q: What happened next?
Todd: From what I can piece together, Bad Boy struck a deal with the government--there might have been a fine involved--and was allowed to rerelease the film in a cut version. This censored version was missing approximately 30 minutes of footage the German censors deemed most objectionable, which was the entire "Murder" section of the documentary...
Q: Wasn't FACES OF GORE 2 banned there as well?
Todd: Yes. The Part 1 rerelease was differentiated from the original because it was paired with FACES OF GORE 2--also in a cut version missing its "Murder" section. The rerelease title was FACES OF GORE I + II. FACES OF GORE 2 was never released in its uncut form in Germany as a result.
Q: What about the other sequels?
Todd: I had hoped to license FACES OF GORE 3 and the BEST OF FACES OF GORE to Bad Boy Movie, but alas, I think they'd had enough. These latter sequels never had an international release, which is a shame. I think the series just kept getting better as it went along.
Q: Will there ever be any more sequels?
Todd: If the money is there, certainly. I still have a small arsenal of unused footage sitting in my dungeon--enough to fashion at least one or two more 90 minute sequels, or a new series.
Q: What is your fondest memory of FACES OF GORE?
Todd: That's easy, it's a true story that refutes every criticism the film ever received. There was a woman who phoned me up after seeing my ads, and she said she was very much interested in buying a copy. I was a bit surprised; I'm always surprised to find I have female fans, after THE NECRO FILES, LOL. So I asked this woman why she was so interested. She confessed to me that she had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer--I forget the exact type--and she felt that if she could see FACES OF GORE, she could confront and accept her own death... I was quite moved and touched by this, but of course, still felt a bit of apprehension. This was perhaps the ultimate audience for such a film.
So I sent her the film, and not hearing back, forgot all about it. Some time later, I received a thank you letter from her saying how much FACES OF GORE had helped her. Having watched my film, this woman was now convinced that she could accept the fact that she was going to die...
Really, this meant more to me than anything. How many copies you can sell--it pales into insignificance, when you compare it to being able to make a difference--to change someone's life for the better. What more can you ask for as a filmmaker than to be able to connect with your audience on such a personal level?
