Savage Man, Savage Beast, originally titled Ultime grida dalla savana ("Last Cry of the Savanna"), is an Italian mondo film directed and produced by Antonio Climati and Mario Morra, with a script by noted Italian novelist Alberto Moravia.
The film is a series of loosely connected segments that all relate in some way to the subject of hunting and of humanity's relationship with nature. As with most films in the subgenre, it purports to be a documentary, though the vast majority of the footage is staged. Two scenes in particular, depicting a Belgian tourist named Pit Dernitz being mauled to death by lions in South Africa and the murder of an indigenous South American man by mercenaries, have gained notoriety among film buffs due to their graphic nature.
The film inspired two sequels, Savana violenta ("Violent Savanna", AKA This Violent World) and Dolce e selvaggio ("Sweet and Savage"). Together, the three are known collectively as the Savage Trilogy.
Savage Man, Savage Tropes:
- Anthology Film: A collection of various scenes, usually violent or bizarre in nature, that somehow relate to hunting and the relationship between humanity and nature, presented with little regard for narrative continuity.
- Artistic License – Physics: One of the many giveaways as to the staged nature of the tribesman's murder is the fact that he somehow falls backwards despite having been shot from behind.
- As Long as It Sounds Foreign: "Pit Dernitz" has to be the most awkward-sounding attempt at a Dutch name in the history of film. His given name could at least be understood conceivably as a misspelling of "Piet", a shortened form of "Pieter" and a common male name in the Netherlands and Belgium (where the character is said to originate), but his surname bears little resemblance to any Dutch last name on record.
- Central Theme: As stated above, hunting and the relationship between humanity and nature.
- Crippling Castration: The mercenaries who butcher the Amazonian tribesman also castrate him.
- Due to the Dead: A group of Australian Aborigines are depicted hunting kangaroos and giant bats, which they then symbolically bury in the sand to placate the spirits of the animals.
- Forced to Watch: Pit Dernitz is attacked and eaten alive by lions in front of his terrified family.
- Hollywood Natives: The film includes scenes of various African tribesmen, who are depicted this way.
- I'm a Humanitarian: One scene shows two brothers arrested for engaging in a form of post-mortem cannibalism of three of their relatives in an attempt to absorb their memories and acquire their hunting skills.
- Ironic Juxtaposition: Similar to Mondo Cane (on which Climati served as a cinematographer), vignettes from one society will often be contrasted by a different one from somewhere else. For example, an anti-hunting demonstration in which the participants freely copulate and practice nudity is contrasted with scenes of ancient hunter-gatherer societies with strict rules concerning nudity.
- Mondo: A quintessential example, exhibiting such common genre traits as the sensational subject matter and staged scenes presented as "found footage".
- A Party, Also Known as an Orgy: At an anti-hunting demonstration on the Isle of Wight, the demonstrators regularly engage in nudity and intercourse.
- Surprisingly Happy Ending: After an hour and a half of violence, bloodshed, and general madness, the film concludes with footage of Swedish conservationist Erik Zimen and the wolves he wishes to save, showing a rare example of humanity and the natural world living together in peace.
- Too Dumb to Live: Pit Dernitz. Seriously, leaving your safari vehicle to get a close-up view of dangerous wildlife is a recipe for disaster.
