Trivia

He directed the notorious Cannibal Holocaust (1980), in which--among other things--animals were actually killed on-screen. He was arrested shortly after its premiere in Italy, and faced accusations of first-degree murder--the authorities believed that several local actors in Colombia, where the film was shot, were also actually killed onscreen--as well as animal cruelty. He was exonerated after the actors were brought into the courtroom very much alive; they had special clauses in their contracts ordering them to "disappear" for a year to increase the film's hype. Though Deodato was found not guilty, he was barred from making films in Italy for several years afterward, and the film itself was banned.

He was a big influence on Eli Roth, whose favorite film is Cannibal Holocaust (1980) and who invited Deodato to appear in his own film Hostel: Part II (2007).

Deodato also received condemnation, still ongoing, for the use of real animal torture in his films.

His career spanned a wide-range of genres including peplum, comedy, drama, poliziottesco, and science fiction, yet he is perhaps best known for directing violent and gory horror films with strong elements of realism.

His film Cannibal Holocaust is also cited as a precursor of found footage films such as The Blair Witch Project and The Last Broadcast.

Deodato created massive controversy in Italy and all over the world following the release of Cannibal Holocaust, which was wrongly claimed by some to be a snuff film due to the overly realistic gore effects. Deodato was arrested on suspicion of murder, and was subsequently forced to reveal the secrets behind the film's special effects and to parade the lead actors before an Italian court in order to prove that they were still alive.

Unmade projects included, a snake thriller, Rattles, and a 1983 sequel to Cannibal Holocaust entitled Cannibal Fury, which was to enter production in 1983.

Deodato's film license was temporarily revoked and he would not get it back until three years later, which then allowed him to release his 1980 thriller The House on the Edge of the Park, which was the most censored of the 'video nasties' in the United Kingdom for its graphic violence.

The 2/6/1985 issue of "Variety" announced the film "Ombre sul ponte" (English title "Shadow on the Bridge") would begin filming in March 1985, with director Ruggero Deodato, starring Franco Nero, Patrick Wayne, Lisa Blount, and Eli Wallach. There is no evidence the film was ever made or released.

Cannibal Holocaust strengthened Deodato's fame as an "extreme" director and earned him the nickname "Monsieur Cannibal" in France.

Throughout his career Deodato was attached to a number of projects which either did not come to fruition or for various reasons were assigned to other directors. He was originally attached to The New York Ripper, The Last Shark, Casablanca Express, and Amazonia: The Catherine Miles Story.

His most notable film is Cannibal Holocaust, considered one of the most controversial and brutal in the history of cinema, which was seized, banned or heavily censored in many countries, and which contained special effects so realistic that they led to Deodato being arrested on suspicion of murder.

Deodato grew up on a farm and at eighteen he lived in the neighborhood where Rome's major film studios are located.

Deodato has been an influence on film directors like Oliver Stone, Eli Roth and Quentin Tarantino.

Despite the numerous criticisms, Cannibal Holocaust is considered a classic of the horror genre and innovative in its found footage plot structure.

He was also helping to develop a cannibal-themed video game called Borneo: A Jungle Nightmare.

In 1976 he returned to the big screen with his ultra-violent police flick Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man.

Through a friendship with the son of Rossellini, it was there that he learned how to direct under Roberto Rossellini and Sergio Corbucci; he helped to make Corbucci's The Slave and Django as an assistant director.

He went to Denmark and started as a musician playing piano and conducting a small orchestra at 7 years old. Once back to Italy, he quit music after his private teacher sent him away for playing by ear.

Late in 1979 he returned to the cannibal subgenre with the incredibly controversial Cannibal Holocaust. The film was shot in the Amazon Rainforest for a budget of about $100,000, and starred Robert Kerman, Francesca Ciardi, and Carl Gabriel Yorke. The film is a mockumentary about a group of filmmakers who go into the Amazon Rainforest and subsequently stage scenes of extreme brutality for a Mondo-style documentary. During production, many cast and crew members protested the use of real animal killing in the film, including Kerman, who walked off the set.

In 1977 he directed a jungle adventure called Last Cannibal World (also known as Jungle Holocaust) starring British actress Me Me Lai with which he 'rebooted' the cannibal film / mondo genre started years earlier by Italian director Umberto Lenzi.

In the 1980s, he made some other slasher/horror films, including Body Count, Phantom of Death and Dial Help.

Later on in the 1960s, he directed some comedy, musical, and thriller films, before leaving cinema to do TV commercials.

In 2019, the filmmaker was honored with a documentary about his life and career called Deodato Holocaust. Directed by Brazilian filmmaker Felipe M. Guerra, it was released in May of that year at the Fantaspoa Film Festival, in Brazil, with the presence of Ruggero. The documentary consists of a series of interviews that Guerra made with the Italian director, edited with images from Deodato's movies and personal photos.

Deodato's father was a prefect, a very precise person, convinced that his children should study and graduate, not go into cinema. But in the end he agreed.

Deodato made about two dozen films and TV series, his films covering many different genres, including many action films, a western, a barbarian film and even a family film called Mom I Can Do It.

His Cut and Run is a jungle adventure thriller, containing nudity, extreme violence and the appearance of Michael Berryman as a crazed, machete-wielding jungle man.

For completeness, a mention of the commercials shot during his career. There are over a thousand. To name only the most famous: Piaggio, Fiat, Philips, Carrera, Seat Ibiza, Renault, Sperlari, Kraft, Polenghi Lombardo, Buitoni, Crodino, Fanta, De Longhi, Beghelli, Malaguti, Valleverde, Aperol, Venus, Peso Forma, Fornet, Imec, Salvarani, ...

Long time companion of Valentina Lainati, one daughter Beatrice.