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Title: GODS OF DEATH by Yaron Svoray ISBN: 0-684-81445-5 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 09 September, 1997 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 2.24 (17 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Searching for the "snuff" film
Comment: Israeli Yaron Svoray, the man who exposed Nazis in "In Hitler's Shadow," this time searches for "snuff" films, filmed records of actual murders. Though there is an aspect of journalism here, the book reads more like a spy novel, albeit not an especially well-written one. Because of the thriller-esque nature of the book, saying whether Svoray actually finds a snuff film would, in a sense, give away the ending, and I will not indicate whether he is ultimately successful.
What I will say, however, is that the existence of actual snuff films has been a topic of much speculation. Many view such films as "urban myths," stories that many believe are true but are not. Others, particularly anti-pornography feminists such as Catharine MacKinnon (who is mentioned in the book), seem to have an abiding faith that such films really do exist. The existence of actual snuff films would do much to support the sex-violence link of pornography and to support the arguments of many feminists. But the issue is not of concern merely to feminists; certainly any rational person should be disgusted if snuff films do exist.
"Gods of Death" is Svoray's search for such a film, and it is a search that nearly costs his life and finances. Svoray recounts accurately (one presumes) the many dead ends and false leads he encountered, and therein lies part of the problem with the book. From the very first word of the book, there is one overriding question: Did he find an actual snuff film? The answer can be summarized in a single word (either yes or no), but the answer is a long way off. The book, therefore, reads like a frustrating tease. No doubt Svoray felt that way himself throughout the process, but it bears mention to note that part of the art of journalism is sifting out the extraneous details. The story, therefore, becomes less about the existence of such films and more about an obsessive search for them.
One thing that the book does make clear is that if such films exist, they are indeed very hard to find. To this extent, Svoray at least implicitly discounts much of the urban myth in that the extraordinary lengths to which he went indicate that the average person would not be able to find an actual snuff film.
Rating: 2
Summary: Don't believe the hype!
Comment: Having read the reviews here, I purchased this book full of enthusiasm for what is described as a work of non-fiction that reads like a "spy novel" or thriller. Having been blinded by that hype, it wasn't until I was on about Page 200 of 300 pages that I realized that what I was reading was/is a very boring book! Zzzzzz..... Besides, a major hurdle that I had in getting comfortable with the story is this: if the author had seen a snuff film in Germany (which he claims to have done) that gave him repeated nightmares, then why the obsession with obtaining a copy of such a film in order to "prove" that they really do exist?
Rating: 2
Summary: Shooting for the stars...
Comment: ...this endeavour narrowly avoids plummeting to Earth.
As it is, it's just not all that good. By all means, do not pay full price for this book. Like the other reviewers, I will not spoil the 'ending', and I will also say that there is hardly a shred of evidence or compelling presentation to make you really believe this is all true.
It's not investigative journalism. It's not entirely schlock, but it certainly is not the compelling story as promised by the slipcover.
The story is littered with all sorts of events, but not a shred of documentation; he even states that he avoids a lot of truth by changing names, places, times, events. Sadly, this also destroys what little credibility the story has. Even the name-dropping he does, doesn't carry much weight (and you'd think Robert De Niro's name would carry some weight, no?)
It's not a waste of time... but it's not the gripping story that one hopes it would be.
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Title: Killing for Culture: An Illustrated History of Death Film (Creation Cinema) by David Kerekes, David Slater ISBN: 1871592208 Publisher: Creation Books Pub. Date: 01 January, 1996 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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