Camille KeatonI Spit on Your Grave

Description

.com Writer-director Meir Zarchi's controversial story of rape and revenge has lost none of its ability to shock viewers since it first gained notoriety in the late '70s. Camille Keaton (grand-niece of Buster Keaton and, later, Zarchi's wife) stars as a young woman who is terrorized and then brutally assaulted by four men while on vacation. After slowly pulling herself together, she methodically tracks down and butchers each of the perpetrators. Zarchi's film has been consistently accused of celebrating violence against women, and while the rape scenes are graphic, they also lack the voyeuristic qualities that earmark other similarly plotted exploitation films. If anything, Zarchi is guilty of awkward scripting; the dialogue is leaden, and Keaton's transformation from victim to avenger is too swift. But to label him a pornographer is wrong, and while the film is challenging--perhaps more than most audiences can bear--its depiction of the psychology of violence is undeniably powerful. --Paul Gaita Additional Features Elite Entertainment's Millennium Edition DVD presents I Spit on Your Grave in anamorphic widescreen and with optional audio tracks (Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital 5.1, and DTS 5.1, the last of which best highlights the film's lonely soundscape). Fans will undoubtedly want to hear Meir Zarchi's commentary track, given that he's remained mostly silent about the film since its release. Zarchi provides a great deal of background information (including the events that inspired the film) and technical detail, as well as a bit of self-aggrandizement about its place in cinema history. His accent is difficult to understand at times, and less devoted viewers may enjoy cult critic Joe Bob Briggs's more lighthearted commentary as an alternative. The extras are rounded out by a wealth of international promotional art and trailers, as well as a collection of reviews, including Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel's damning write-ups, which helped to fan the flames of controversy surrounding the film. --Paul Gaita