Another in the seemingly-endless run of the Darkest-Africa exposed genre of documentary features, some of which weren't filmed in Africa. This one was, but the hand-to-hand combat between the Great White Hunter and the Seven-Foot gorilla smacked of staging.
Ben Burbridge
United States
Is 'The Gorilla Hunt' worth watching today? Short answer: yes, but with significant, critical caveats. This film is primarily for film historians, anthropology students, and those ...
Archivist John
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Comparing the cinematic DNA and archive impact of two defining moments in cult history.
Ben Burbridge
Claude Friese-Greene
Community
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"The Gorilla Hunt" emerges from the problematic yet prevalent cinematic tradition of the 'Darkest Africa exposed' genre, a category notorious for its dubious claims of authenticity and often exploitative gaze. This particular entry asserts its genuine African locale, setting it apart from peers that merely simulated the continent. However, its central dramatic spectacle—a purported hand-to-hand confrontation between the intrepid Great White Hunter, embodied by Ben Burbridge, and a formidable seven-foot gorilla—betrays a palpable artifice. The raw, visceral struggle, intended to be the film’s unvarnished peak, instead registers as a meticulously staged, if not entirely fabricated, display of human versus beast, questioning the very documentary integrity it purports to uphold.
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