Man is unlimited.
Nothing is impossible for him.
What seemed to be a unthinkable undertaking yesterday
are history today.
The conquest of the moon for example
Who talks about it anymore?
Today we are already on the threshold of conquering our galaxy.
And in the not to distant tomorrow
We'll be considering the conquest of the universe.
And yet man seems to ignore the fact that on this very planet
there are still people living in the stone age and practicing cannibalism.
Primitive tribes isolated in ruthless hostile environments
where the prevailing law is survival of the fittest
And this jungle which its inhabitants refer too, as the Green Inferno
Is only a few hours flying time from New York City
was it to remind us that four brave Americans
went there to make a documentary on life in the jungle
was it also to remind us for instance
that before venturing into space
we should become more acquainted with the planet that we live on.
Four young and fearless Americans, children of the space age...
armed with cameras, microphones, and curiosity.
Alan Yates, director famous for his documentaries on
Vietnam and Africa.
Faye Daniels, his girlfriend and script girl.
and their two cameramen, inseparable friends, Jack Anders and Mark Tomaso
Four youngsters who never came back.
But let's have a look at them
at the beginning of their incredible adventure.
Here at the border between Brazil and Peru.
They are about to board a plane to take them to the Rio Ocoro.
A last outpost from which they will continue on foot.
Deep into the Amazon Jungle.
Into the area known as the Green Inferno.
Hey, are you really not scared?
Not at all... I have been in plenty of dangerous places with them.
What about you, Alan?
Well there's only one thing scares me.
and that's marriage..
He'd take me to the North Pole to put it off...
I'd say you succeeded this time too.
And this last time.
Yes, provided we come back in one piece.
Alright, alright... Let's go.
Well you four are certainly the first to embark on such an adventure.
There was a expedition in 59 and another in 67
And neither of them came back.
Yea that was Smith and a bunch of Frenchman.
Yea, Frenchman, they were amateurs and a bunch of jerks.
They never succeeded in doing anything.
For us the difficult doesn't exist.
The impossible just takes a little more time.
We have Felipe our guide.
Those are the last pictures we have of them.
Two months have passed since they were last heard from.
Are they still alive?
And if so - where are they?
These are the questions that the rescue team sponsored by
New York University and the Pan American Broadcasting System
...hope to be able to answer.
Thank you for accepting Professor Monroe. Good luck.
Professor Harold Monroe, NYU's noted anthropologist.
Has taken part in various expeditions exploring primitive cultures.
But this will be his first journey into Amazonea...
Help him!
Enough
Look at what he's carrying... A lighter!
Poor Oliveira...
He was only 20 years old.
Once it hits the bloodstream, there is nothing one can do...
Better a bullet than a dart from a blowgun.
But we gave him the serum at the right time.
Sure, the serum
It only works half the time...
If it isn't already too old by the time we get it.
The guys wouldn't give a shit after the death of Oliveira.
And they are right.
In a short while the American is arriving...
... and we've got orders to help him.
He's lucky
A Yacumo prisoner is like a passport into the Green Inferno.
Here you are Lieutenant...
Well Professor Monroe... Do you think you can turn that...?
Thanks... All I can say is that you
anthropologists and missionaries, are made out of special stuff.
If hell holes like this didn't exist
I'm sure you would invent one.
Whereas I'd give both my...
well let's say I'd give anything to be somewhere else.
Look, Lieutenant.
I'll be as little trouble as possible, it's just...
I'm sure you got enough problems of your own.
I'll have to be honest with you...
No, no thanks...
I need your help in organizing this expedition.
How can I refuse?
You have been recommended by everybody.
Only a sure guarantee that you'll
still be breathing when you return.
Look, I know this is not going to be a picnic, believe me.
This is not my first trip into bush.
A skunk must have pissed that...
Lieutenant...
This lighter belonged to Faye Daniels.
Come with me, Professor. I'll introduce you to your guide.
He's the best there is, if you can get along with him.
Hey Chaco! This is professor Monroe.
Hello... Nice to meet you. Lieutenant here was telling me...
What a excellent guide you are.
You gonna take all of this with you in the jungle?
Yes, well forget it. We gonna need some weapons...
Some ammunition plus some medicine
that's all we need.
I already told your friends.
The more you carry, the quicker you get tired...
the sooner you die.
Alright, alright...
All I wanna know Mr. Chaco is
do we have a chance of finding them alive?
Who's to say?
The only thing I know is - we're gonna risk our lives to
save those fuckers... Let's go see Yacumos.
Great warriors, these Yacumos!
They're afraid of no one except the Tree People.
No white man has ever seen them
Or the ones who have, never lived to tell.
Did you see this?
Looks like the sacred scar of Ateri.
That's what is. He's a son of a shaman
and he's been consecrated to the spirit of the jaguar…
Which also explains what they were doing this far from home.
What do you mean?
They were caught, yet they are not really cannibals.
Some religious ceremony... To chase evil spirits outta the jungle...
White men's spirits
Come on, Professor...
Quit worrying about Yacumo!
You can't afford to waste your strength helping that savage.
He'll out live all of us!
Can you make it?
We'll have to wade across.
But there are no piranhas here.
Come on!
Come on...come on...
There may not be any piranhas
but there is always a few hungry cavemen around.
Leeches!
Leave that shit alone.
He can't do it by himself and there's three of us here..
Why can't we help him? Don't try this again Professor.
Here, we do as I say, and this bastard...
needs to know who is the strongest.
Chaco's right, Senor. This guy's completely full of hate.
As soon as you don't look, he will slit your throat.
They passed this way. Yacumos dig a hole to cook.
And it means...
We're following the same trail, right? Right.
Hey, Professor!
I recognize these teeth.
This is Felipe Ocana.
He knew the jungle as well as I do.
That makes me feel terrific.
I wonder what was his mistake.
See that? We're near his village; he can already smell his home.
Mira!
Here comes dinner...
Hey. Mira!
A muskrat!
Today we eat meat, OK?
This is Miguel ... hurry up I'm hungry
It's dying that's for sure...
Hey, Chaco, what the hell are you doing?
It's for our Yacumo friend.
A little bit of this stuff
and he'll forget all about trying to run away tonight.
Atalaka, catra!
This will make him very happy, just wait and see.
Drug addicts in the jungle.
Hey, give him some of this.
A little muskrat stomach.
He'll love it.
You like it? Eat it it's all yours, go on stuff yourself.
What the hell is that?
I swear, that looks like a ritualistic punishment for adultery. That's what it is.
Just sit back and enjoy the show, because afterwards he's gonna take us to the village.
Don't be a fool!
Come on, Professor!
That punishment is considered a divine commandment.
If he had not killed her, the tribe would have killed him.
Here he comes!
Follow him!
It's no masterpiece but it'll do. Can you guess what it's for?
Oh let me try Chaco, please let me try...
Ok, is it possible that this way they won't know
How many of us there are until we talk with them?
He's learning fast eh, Miguel?
Terrific, just terrific!
They're coming ..
Where? I don't see a thing
Don't worry, they are there ..
I know they are there, but where?! I don't see anything.
Come on, let's send out our ambassador.
Come on Miguel.
Fuck good luck!
Come on boy...
We may be in trouble...
Good... you've raised deductive reasoning to an art.
Instinct...
Something says your friends have made quite a mess of things.
Wait!
If Miguel pulls this off, I swear I'll buy him a bottle of whiskey.
This is supposed to demonstrate their good intentions.
There, they're going to show themselves now.
Where the hell are you going?
They're going to lead you into an ambush.
No, this is a sign of a good professor.
You could a fooled me...
They just want to show us they are brave warriors.
They want us to follow them to the village.
Follow them?
Yea, to return the prisoner and to talk.
Listen, I do not know about this.
I think they want us for dinner tonight.
Chaco...
Pretend you've seen nothing.
OK.
Friends shot him.
Let's hope he doesn't die from wound...
Get busy, Miguel!
You can breathe easy... It's alright now, Professor.
Kimnamma...
Cheers, Professor...
You now have the honor of drinking Hisimo.
Yes.
The group we are looking for...
is probably headed for the center of the jungle.
or the center of the Matos.
No white man has ever seen before.
This area is under the domination of two cannibal tribes.
They are so fierce, they are feared by all of the tribes in the area.
Including the tough courageous warriors of the Yacumo Tribe.
These are the two super powers of the Green Inferno.
Perpetually at war with each other.
The Yanomano or Tree People.
and Shamatari, the Swamp People.
Each considers the other fair game.
Hunted...
Then eaten.
This will keep you high and dry.
No, thanks.
Yacumo blame the Alan Yates' crew
...for the great calamity
exactly what happened remains a mystery.
Only know the four whites...
Hey! Shut that up!
God, we're in the middle of a hunt.
Tree people or both?
Both hunting each other... Let’s get going.
Despite the fact that our intervention saved them from the Shamatari
The tree people, although they welcomed us into their territory
continue to behave strangely towards us.
With a mixture of fear and distrust.
Nevertheless we've been permitted to observe the execution of one of the warriors.
Death by mutilation.
Criminal thwarted by the chief.
Criminal for the way he was destroyed.
Must have done something horrible to incur the wrath of his own people.
It is not clear whether it was to pay a debt of honor towards us...
or only to demonstrate how they dispense justice?
Careful, they're referring to us...
We weren't able to get anything out of the Yanomamo.
Except for the wristwatch they gave us.
as a token of the gratitude to an ally
An ally they continue to fear and mistrust.
So I decided to try an experiment in psychology.
to strip myself completely
Clothes, weapons, dog tags, rings, everything to become like them...
Naked and unfettered as Adam.
The Tree People would not let us bury the ghastly remains.
they had painted ochre
To drive away the evil spirits which the dead represented.
Once again I ask myself
What unspeakable crimes could have called for such atrocious retribution.
I know our lives are hanging by a thread.
But I can't turn back without at least trying to recover
the footage Alan Yates and the others paid for with their lives.
I'm thinking of the enormous human and scientific interest it's going to contain.
I must do something.
Chaco and Miguel can't possibly understand this.
Yet, I must somehow gain the confidence of these savages.
After all, they too have rules of conduct.
Hold it.
You did it, God damn it!
They just invited us to dinner.
By some incredible act of God
they hadn't tried to open it.
I'm hoping the climate hadn't damaged it too much.
And so in exchange for the tape recorder...
The Cannibal chief let you take away the cans of film. Is that it?
Yes, they thought since I was capable of capturing human voice I was also capable of capturing their spirit.
This convinced them that I was the only one capable of breaking the evil spell
That had been cast over the Tribe...
by the murder of the whites...
Of course, they had no inkling of what was really in those cans.
How could you explain what a movie is?
They just felt they were a threat.
Why do you say threat?
Well the Yanomamo's understood how important
these film cans were to Alan Yates' crew
They thought these silver boxes contain power
The power which I must say again...
Caused much damage and violence.
A fantastic story. Thank you, Professor Monroe.
You're very welcome.
As we conclude this special interview
we would like to remind you Wednesday at 9pm
here on Pantheon,
we'll be presenting part 1 of The Green Inferno.
The dramatic film testimony, of an extraordinary adventure...
that took its protagonists all the way back to the stone age.
And you would be the ideal host of the program?
That's right.
Professor Monroe,
as an eye witness as well as a scientist, you would be the most...
Yes... but before I make any decisions
I'd like to review all the film material.
As of yet we've seen none of it.
Professor Monroe, I can assure you...
that they knew exactly what they want.
That maybe...
But meanwhile they're all dead, aren't they?
Which is exactly why we have to let the public know the truth.
We'll let the people be the judge.
Better yet, we'll let the people who knew them best be the judge.
Their parents, their wives...
This is a documentary they shot for us...
about a year and a half ago.
Can I start? - Yes, please do.
Pretty powerful stuff huh?
Well just to give you an idea how Alan and the others worked.
Everything that you just saw was a put on.
You mean this was... That was no enemy army approaching.
Alan paid those soldiers to do a bit of acting.
You'll have to excuse me now. I'll join you later.
Yes, thank you.
Shall I go ahead?
Yes...
This is Jack...
Faye...
Alan...
And this is Mark...
They have worked together for years.
They were terrible prima donnas
I have to admit they were real pros
The stuff they shot could really gut punch you.
Yes I can imagine.
Their ratings were fantastic.
Higher than most of the big comics.
And they know how to play an audience
Alan especially
Look at this bit they shot before leaving.
Yes, were coming back anyway... we got Felipe our guide
Come on up here...
Yes there we go ok...
This shots dark because the diaphragms
...setting on the camera was wrong.
There, now he's got it right.
Forget it.
There's no electricity where we're going.
Nope, this is anything but a well organized
safari with all the comforts.
Weapons...
Camera...
medicinal supplies. That's about it!
Since we'll be covering hundreds of miles on foot
And that's another thing...
Who knows when we'll have another shower?
Of course I don't think Faye will have any problem...
remaining the sexiest script girl in history.
Are you really shooting! Jerk...
Okay, okay, that's enough.
Has anyone seen my pants anywhere?
What do you want those for?
To put them on my head, stupid...
I thought ever since Jack took them off two years ago...
You didn’t need them anymore.
Right, Mark?
That's right! You idiot.
Knock it off...
Are you shooting again?
You idiot.
Crew of clowns.
They had a great sense of the theatrical.
Like I said...
Real professionals.
What was I saying, Professor?
I tried working with Alan a couple times
...and I just couldn't handle it.
You know he pushed his people to the limit...
Demanding everything including blood.
And talk about paranoia.
God have mercy on his soul. He was one ruthless son of a bitch.
So I feel we have a duty to tell the public their story Mr. Yates.
You know I really appreciate you coming.
You're the first person to come...
...and talk to me about Alan and what happened.
What I'd like to know professor is
What did happen to my son?
Can you tell me?
Faye - no, it was not her real name.
she always wanted to be an actress
her real name was Tina.
Excuse me a minute.
Children, look I'm just going to be
speaking with this man one more minute. And then we'll play, OK?
As you can tell we're very different in our characters.
but Tina was very energetic.
Very hard working...
very ambitious, extremely ambitious.
I used to say to her
Do you ever think you'll be at peace with yourself?
Anyway...
Now she is... God rest her soul.
Elizabeth! Elizabeth!
Excuse me, Ms. Anders,
...just two minutes.
How did you feel about Jack?
What's the use? What I'm I suppose to say about Jack?
After two years of marriage...
I was with him for just for four months.
What are you doing?
I'll see ya.
He was always on assignments. India, Asia, Africa.
Yea sure he was good in bed. But, he liked to eat too.
No brains though.
To easily influenced...
Alan was his god you know...
You know what I mean?
You guys think I can get any bread out of this.
Mr. Tomaso,
Mr. Tomaso, please ...
I just want to ask you one question about your son.
Ya what do ya wanna ask me?
Look, your son was a man of special importance to the news world.
Can you tell me something about him?
My son, my son was no good.
He doesn't work he doesn't go to school.
Wants to lay around the house all day.
He's no good period! Now that's it....
Now I gotta go back to my job.
Don't bother me no more!
But Mr. Tomaso, please, your son was very well known
by a lot of people... just one question.
OK, just one..
About your son what kind of man was he?
My son, my son was a son of a bitch.
And he was no good.
That's it, my son is dead!
I don't wanna talk about him no more.
Now leave me alone! Good bye.
Mr. Tomaso, millions of Americans...
Mr. Tomaso, please...!
Why didn't they print the whole thing?
The negative needed special treatment
because of the humidity
The quality isn't the best, but its pretty good
considering the lousy conditions they were shooting in.
Unfortunately two reels were light fault.
we had to throw them out.
I put a piece of black leather between
one sequence and another.
Good, that's were will put the interviews with the families.
...and the one in which you talk about your search for them.
Go ahead Bill.
This first segment is silent.
Evidently they didn't always use their mics,
though they were attached right to the camera.
just above the lens, like a gun barrel... see?
Remember this is a very rough cut.
Almost like watching rushes
a lot of this stuff will be thrown out in the actual editing.
Here we are; there should be some sound coming in now.
No, no, not yet.
Here...
Felipe.
We've been walking for six days in this marvelous air.
Today is Saturday the 25th
If I were in New York right now, I'd probably be out shopping.
Get the camera.
Damn thing.
Wait, wait, wait...
How much of the material is without sound?
Less than half.
Every so often I laid in some stock music.
...to juice things up.
What is it?
The Yacumos passed this way
We are not far from the village.
Move away!
Jack, get the shot!
This is fucking dangerous. Shut the fuck up!
Look at it...
We've been walking through the jungle for days.
With the harrowing feeling we've been moving in circles.
At night we have to sleep in the trees, so we don't get bit by...
...the snakes or spiders.
Felipe, are guide claims we're near the big river.
Where the Yacumos live in the village.
Look at my feet! Fucking jungle...
Alan do you want some tea?
Ahhh!!! Puta! Puta!
Cut my leg!
Puta!
Kill it!
Grab the leg...
Hold him down...
My God...Jesus Christ
Cut my leg
Cut it off! Come on put it on the fire...
Come on, do it.
Are you still shooting? Yea...
Do it now...I'm gettin' all...
Do it!
Felipe was a great buddy and a top-notch guy.
We'll miss him.
But even more we'll miss the security he gave us.
We decided to go on.
But we've only got the compass...
...and our instincts to show the way...
Panning to you Alan
Faye, give us some earth shattering...
You know this is gonna make us famous.
You think so? How famous?
Real famous and real rich.
What you going do with your money?
Gonna buy a house... and a piece a ass...
Do you think this is funny?
Think that's funny huh? Yea that's the only way you can get it.
Where's Faye?
I don't know. Turn the camera off, will you.
Christ, what's taking you so long?
Well, I had to wait in line with the rest of the animals.
You're disgusting!
Hey get outta here! I told you to get outta here with the camera.
Hey, I just want a little peak.
Will you get outta here!
I told you to turn the goddamn thing off.
I'll get you...
Come on, push!
Look there's a caiman.
Get out of the water.
No, no, forget about me.
Film it, film it...
Come on, get on the raft you guys.
Snake!
We're saved...
By the anaconda!
Saved from the jaws of death.
Come on...
I wonder where there village is?
Just shoot in the air and follow them...
And when they scatter how are we gonna get there?
No, wait.
I know what I'm doing.
Don't you get it?
We can never keep up with them.
This way that buck will go slow enough...
...to take us right to the village.
Well, what do you think Professor?
It's not the best way of establishing peace with the Yacumo tribe.
I'm beginning to understand...
why they greeted us with such hostility.
Do you think this is bad? This is nothing.
Alan did much worse. Just watch.
They could play it rough when they thought they had too.
Remember how they set up some of those executions.
Faye!
Here we are at the end of the world in human history.
Things like this happen all the time in the jungle.
It's survival of the fittest.
In the jungle it's the daily violence of the strong overcoming the weak.
Jack!
Let's do it!
Jack a torch.
Ready!
OK!
The massacre of the Yacumos by the Yanomamos.
A set-up...all a set-up!
Get this fucker.
That's it.
Keep them inside.
Get in, Get in.
Get em' back inside.
It's beautiful.
Alan! Here!
Show them how we do it.
Oh, you motherfucker.
Get the fuck outta here.
Do you believe this?
You fuckin' turkey.
I'm drained.
You must admit it is exceptional footage.
I didn't expect such impact and authenticity.
I don't think exceptional is the right word.
You don't?
No
I mean, what's exceptional about a primitive tribe like the Yacumos being terrorized...
...and forced to do something that they don't normally do?
Come on now Professor,
Let's be realistic
Who knows anything about the Yacumo civilization?
Today people want sensationalism..
The more you rape there senses the happier they are.
Oh yes, the typical western thought.
Civilized... that's what Alan thought and that's why he's dead.
The Yacumo Indian is a primitive...
...and he needs to be respected as such.
Did you ever think of Yacumo point of view
that we might be the ones that are savages?
Well, I never thought of it that way.
But it's an interesting idea... Yes...
Let's say things are reversed, right.
...and the Yacumo attacked your house
defiled everything you held holy.
You know that pig that was killed?
That was food for those people.
What if someone came into your house and you're hungry
and took the little bit of food you had
in the refrigerator
and threw it down the toilet
would you behave in a civilized way?
Would you like people make money off your misery?
We have succeeded in establishing....
shall we say...diplomatic relations with the Yacumas
But, what are we for them?
These are people who have never seen a white man before.
...or heard the sound of a gun.
We know they are really afraid of our powers.
But for how long?
And can we really be sure they don't hate us, like...
most people hate what that don't understand
When the old members of the tribe feel death approach
they wander off to a secluded spot.
After she dies this old woman
This old woman will probably end up as lunch for some alligator.
In the jungle nothing goes to waste, nature recycles everything.
You are about to witness an ancient ritual
never before seen by civilized man.
The tribe is a primitive social unit.
Bound together for the basic needs of survival.
To protect itself, the tribe must eliminate any diseased elements.
Now don't go away.
What your about to see...
...may simply be described as social surgery.
Had a long discussion last night about whether
to keep going or turn back?
Wasn't easy to come to an agreement.
Perhaps others were right, perhaps we shouldn't push our luck.
God knows we've been lucky so far.
But you know what finally convinced them?
The chance to become famous.
To reach that spot where...time stopped...
...3 or 4 thousand years ago.
Yanomamos, the Tree People live in constant strife with their...
...enemies the Shamatares
See this guy?
This was a Yanomamo warrior...
....killed by the Yacumos.
Just to give you an idea, to the Yacumos this is a savage.
I'm not speaking as a scientist but as a man of the street.
This so called documentary footage is offensive
it's dishonest and above all it's inhuman!
Yes, yes, of course... we all know what Alan was like
He overdid it as usual.
But what you saw is a rough cut.
Perhaps I haven't made myself clear. But I...
I refuse to have anything to do with this material.
Look! Professor...
We are talking about the most sensational documentary to come along
in years.
...and you want us to just shelf it, forget about it
as if it had never been found?
Is that what you want?
Yes.
Yes, that’s precisely what I want.
I've seen the rest of the material, you haven't
You haven't seen the stuff your editors...
...didn't have the stomach to put together.
If you'd had, you wouldn't hesitate to agree with me.
John? Go ahead...
Somewhere in the middle of this Green Inferno
where no civilized man has been before.
The jungle here's different.
It's almost hospitable.
So far we've seen no sign yet of the Tree People.
The Yanomamos...
We're beginning to wonder if they really exist
or if they're just a legend.
I think we got one...
Look what we found...
Some taste you guys have, she stinks...
She's marked. What do you guys think she is? A Yanomamo?
Or a Shamatare?
Why don't you ask her?
What do you want to do with her?
I'll take care of the little monkey!
Judging from the looks of this girl...
We finally found the Yanomamos, The Tree People.
We're gonna have to be very careful.
Cause these people are known for their cruel...
Get her! Come on!! Alright...
Alright...I got this little monkey
You go first.
Oh, drop on her...Oh right.
I can't help it...
Oh, go ahead alright...
Open!
Jack! What do you want to use for? Porno films? You stupid ass!!!
That's not a bad idea... How about jungle Joeys?
Hey, you want me to keep shooting?
Do you want me to keep shooting or what?
That's a stupid question.
Hurry up Casanova it's Jack's turn... Jack's next!
OK Jack... Go ahead.
Come on.
We only have three cans of film left, we can't use this...
Why do you wanna waste it like that? Shut up!
Aren't you gonna get some Alan?
The only thing he get's off on is his camera!
'Kay, Mark!
Stop shooting Mark!
Stop it Alan!!!
God damn you!!!!
He's changing reels.
Alright...Hold it tight, tight
Zoom in for a close up...
Watch it Alan I'm shooting.
Oh good Lord!
It's unbelievable...
It's horrible!
I can't understand the reason for such cruelty?
Must have something to do with some obscure sexual rite or
...with some profound respect these primitives have for virginity.
You're rolling Mark? Yea...
Look up there on the right.
Wait they're all around us.
Keep rolling... We're gonna get an Oscar for this.
Jaaack!
Jack! Alan, Alan you can't!!!
Look he's had it anyway... He's still alive you bastard!
Get the fuck of me...goddamn it!
Keep filming Mark I'll cover you.
You got it! Right down to the last foot.
We really screwed ourselves this time.
trying to stay there for the last shot.
I don't even no where we are now.
But, I know that...
They followed us...
...and we lost everything trying to escape.
We're screwed! We're trapped!
I'm gonna try an scare em' away with this.
I hope it works.
Stay by me, Faye! Don't get too far away!
Stay over here!
You motherfucker!!!
Alan...
Faye!!!
Alan ahhhh!! Help Me!
She's had it!
We've gotta think of ourselves!
Gotta take the film back home Alan.
Think of the film.
Save the film.
John.
I want this material burned, all of it.
I wonder who the real cannibals are.