Traces of Death

Traces of Death
VHS cover
Produced by Brain Damage and Foxx Entertainment Enterprises
Written by Damon Fox
Based on Faces of Death
Narrated by Damon Fox
Music by T.O.D.
Cinematography Mondo Z/ Shockumentary, Exploitation Documentary
Edited by Studio D
Dennis Deroche
Production
company
Dead Alive Productions
Foxx Entertainment Enterprises
Distributed by Brain Damage Films
Release date
 April 20, 1993
Running time
 76 minutes
Country  United States
Language English

Traces of Death is a 1993 Z movie mondo shockumentary that consists of various scenes of stock footage depicting death and real scenes of violence.

Unlike the earlier Faces of Death which included fake deaths and reenactments, Traces consists mostly of actual footage depicting death and injury, and consists also of public domain footage from other films. It was written and narrated by Damon Fox. Since its release, Traces of Death has been followed by four sequels. The first sequel, Traces of Death II, was released the following year in 1994. This was followed by Traces of Death III in 1995, Traces of Death IV: Resurrected in 1996 and Traces of Death V: Back in Action in 2000.

Film content

In the first two films of the series, Damon Fox was the narrator. Darrin Ramage, who would later become the founder of Brain Damage Films, would become the host for the third, fourth and fifth volumes. Unlike Faces of Death, the footage throughout the entire films are real and are not staged or reenacted. Starting with Traces of Death 2, scenes were accompanied by background music from death metal and grindcore bands. Also contained in the series, especially in the first one, is footage of step-by-step autopsy procedures, which are shown from a coroner's point of view. Most of the other footage is recognizably notable. In the past several decades before the Traces of Death series came out, advances in video technology have revolutionized the coverage of international events. With cameras placed in the most troubled and remote places of the world, they have brought a new sense to the reporting of breaking news. The content of Traces of Death gives privilege for viewers to have a glimpse of history in its making. Traces of Death mainly contains samples of some of the most compelling and unforgettable images of the 20th century. Among these footage samples seen on Traces of Death and in the sequels that followed are listed below.

Traces of Death (1993)

The first film of the series also contains footage from Ultime grida dalla savana, where a tourist, Pit Dernitz gets mauled and eaten by African lions. The first two films both contain scenes of Sex Reassignment Surgery. Part I contains a Male to Female SRS, which is also featured in the 1974 mondo film, Shocking Asia, and Part II contains a Female to Male SRS.

Traces of Death II (1994)

There is one unusual piece of footage taken at a monster truck show in Baltimore, Maryland, on March 23, 1992. What makes this footage so unusual is that the robot transformer at the show malfunctioned. A big rod from the malfunctioning robot went into the actor of the alien suit's chest, and exploded. Another notable air show crash in the film took place in Plainview, Texas, on September 11, 1983, where the pilot lost both his plane's wings in mid-air and plummeted into the field below. There are many other various plane crashes and race car crashes during the middle and towards the end of the film.

Traces of Death III (1995)

  • The First Markale Massacres in 1994
  • Killings of Children during the Algerian Civil War
  • Villager Killings during the 1984 Elections in El Salvador
  • Discoveries of Skeletal Remains in the Killing Fields in Cambodia
  • The 1991 Discovery of Ötzi
  • A 1988 Crash Involving the Monster Truck Wild Stang, which was one of the first monster truck crashes to be captured on film
  • The 1994 Assassination of Luis Donaldo Colosio

This volume shows the 1991 press conference of Frank Tempest, an English man disfigured in the face when he was attacked by two pit bulls. There is also footage taken of bullfights, including one famous film of El Córdobes from the 1960s. There is also a piece of footage shown towards the end of this volume is the aftermath of a car bombing of a rival gang member in Moscow, Russia, in early June 1994.

Traces of Death IV (1996)

  • The 1972 Assassination attempt of George Wallace
  • The 1992 Agdam Massacre, which was a massacre of Azerbaijanian civilians by Armenian militants during the Nagorno-Karabakh War.
  • The 1968 Execution Of Nguyễn Văn Lém
  • The 1990 Ethnic Cleansing Of Kashimir Hindus
  • A mortar attack in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (now Serbia) that killed 16 civilians in line for water and bread on May 27, 1992.
  • Villager Killings during the 1984 Elections in El Salvador

Another piece of notable footage in the fourth volume is a moose attacking a man to death in Anchorage, Alaska on January 9, 1995 Towards the start of the film shows graphic photographs of birth aberrations. There is also footage of traffic accidents from the graphic driving education film, Signal 30.

Traces of Death V (2000)

In the beginning of the last volume, it starts with three police chases. The first was in Los Angeles, California, in June 1996. The second was in Los Angeles as well, but it took place in June 1995. The third took place in Whittier, California in September 1995. All were televised live by helicopter pilot Bob Tur.

Home media

In 2003, a box set of the entire series was released on DVD by Brain Damage Films.[1]

Banning in the UK

In 2005, the British Board of Film Classification refused to give the first film an age certificate, effectively banning it. The BBFC deemed the film to have "no journalistic, educational or other justifying context for the images shown", while also suggesting that the film could potentially breach UK law under the Obscene Publications Act.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Traces of Death Box Set - Volumes 1-5 (2003)". Brain Damage Films. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
  2. ↑ "Traces of Death". BBFC. 22 June 2005. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
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