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HumanoidOfFlesh from Chyby, Poland
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"Faccia di Spia" is kind of a mondo movie.It is a propaganda film I think(I have it in Italian,so the plot wasn't fully understandable to me)and re-creates certain political events.The first hour is pretty tame,but after it the film suddenly crosses into sicko territory-it features some of the most shocking and cruel torture scenes I have ever seen!There's a brutal rape,a metal pin inserted into a guys penis and heated,eels shoved graphically into woman's vagina,arms hacked off with an axe and eyes gouged out.Apart from such sickening scenes the film is well-made and interesting.Recommended only for fans of extreme mondo movies.

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dbborroughs from Glen Cove, New York
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This film is a recreation of the trouble the CIA has caused over the years around the world. Its done in a mondo style with recreations for most of the first hour before settling on the insanity on Central and South America.

I'm not what to think of this film. Certainly its graphic in its violence and tough to take as a catalog of violence. But this film aspires to be more than just being an exploitation film. It wants to be an anti American tract on the evils of the CIA. The problem is that the CIA's dirty laundry has been aired so many times in the last 30 years that the film's revelations are far from shocking. With the shock of the "laundry" gone we're left with just the plot of the freedom fighters in Central America, and the film falls rather flat. Its not bad, its just unremarkable and we're it not for the violence and torture there really wouldn't be any reason to see this. In an exploitive mood this film isn't bad, but I wish I could have seen this 30 years ago when its revelations and graphic violence would have rocked my world. Now its just sort of there.

If you're looking for an exploitation film with a little meat give it a try. Otherwise this is a film that can probably give this a pass.

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Scott-from-Modesto (andrea_yates_clogged_drain@comcast.net) from United States
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I honestly thought most of Faccia di Spia was boring and I even saw it dubbed in English (which sounded ridiculous). Interspersed with historical archival footage and mondo material, Faccia di Spia tries to tell the story of the CIA and other government intelligence agencies with lots of re-creations and dramatizations and points out some of the more brutal aspects of the intelligence community from around the world. Wars are started, all facets of everyday life are controlled, innocent people are tortured needlessly and subjected to extreme violence. The acting is pretty bad, but this is still must-see exploitation.

There's a good showing of sleaze and gore in this one and that's why it gets my above-average marks. Everything looks good from a woman who is beaten, whipped, raped, hogtied, and has her nipple lit on fire to a group of black people having their limbs hacked and one gentleman even getting his eye gouged out. The notorious needle-in-the-nethers scene is quite pleasing as well. Add in a bit of gruesome mondo footage and a scene where a Japanese girl gets an eel (what else?) inserted in her woman parts and you'll see why I call this one a winner. 7/10.

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lfdr from Mexico
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I saw part of this film about 4 or 5 times because it was aired in cable television in Mexico many years ago... Most of the times while changing from one channel to the other i just found the film in the middle of the torture scenes (which were somehow very extreme for cable television i remember). I gotta tell that apart from the exploitation formula, i remember the film being really depressing. I've always been curious about the name of the film until today that i've finally found this review in IMDb. Does anybody knows if this one is out there in DVD? Also if by casualty someone in Mexico reads this, do you know if this one was released as a VHS? Thanks...

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trashgang from Midian
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This is some kind of stranger. It isn't banned but it's hard to find, mostly you can find it at specialized shops or at conventions. The strange thing about it is that it's been hunted by the geeks and if it is available at conventions it's the first thing to get sold out. It's weird because the flick itself isn't really entertaining but rather boring except for some shots. It tells the story of the CIA being involved in coups in south America. The director (Giuseppe Ferrara) uses original and broadcasted footage combined with storylined features. The original footage contains some gory shots like beheaded bodies. The flick starts of well with the original footage but once the actors come in it's boredom all around. It's a lot of blah blah. I waited to see what the fuss was all about. I thought, well, maybe it's the mother of bloody real footage, 4 years later Faces Of Death comes out, except for the Mondo Cane's coming from the 60's. Luckily being an Italian movie it is available in dubbed English. In the beginning the language changes from Italian to English (on the same track so a bit annoying) but it only appears in the beginning. It takes exactly 1 hour before the torture comes in. And that is really not for the squeamish. First you see a girl captured standing naked on two open cans, of course her feet starts bleeding, being hit by the men surrounding her they start burning her nipples. Afterwards she's been raped but in a position you just can't believe. If you can stand that then the hardest part comes, A metal pin is inserted into a penis, imagine that, once the pin inserted it's being heated! Next scene you see eels being inserted into a vagina, you really see them going in! If you want to see that be sure to watch the full uncut. Also the last minute of this weird flick shows the WTC start bleeding, it's so realistic knowing that 26 years later (9/11) this shot becomes reality. A strange movie, but indeed worth catching for the real footage and the torture scene's.

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EVOL666 from St. John's Abortion Clinic
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I really only checked FACCIA DI SPIA out because of the torture scenes that have been hyped about it - and honestly, that's the only thing of interest in this one. The film is reminiscent of the "mondo" films of the era, and with the "strong" torture scenes, it also sorta reminded me of MEN BEHIND THE SUN - though not nearly as powerful or interesting.

The film itself is a propaganda-style fictional recreation of events based on actual situations concerning the CIA.

Most of the events portrayed were of little interest to me and most of the film is quiet dull. The acting is sub-par, and again - the only thing I found of any real interest were a few decent torture scenes that included metal-rod-penis-insertion, a strong rape scene, an eel-insertion, an arm-hacking-offing, and an eyeball removal. I can confidently say that this film should be a "pass" for most viewers and would only be recommended for sleaze-film completists - and although the torture scenes are decent, they are short and aren't anything that are so interesting as to make it a must-see...4/10

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The_Void from Beverley Hills, England
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Whether or not this film was supposed to be powerful I don't know, but despite some ghastly images and a sort of documentary feel, Faccia di Spia is a mostly boring Italian effort. The film, as the English title ('C.I.A. Spy Story') suggests focuses on events surrounding the C.I.A. I'm very interested in sickening filthy cinema, but most of this film is concerned with army related stuff and it really turned me off. There are a few good scenes of torture, however, and they include people having their limbs chopped off, eyes gouged out, set on fire and some unfortunate soul gets a piece of metal inserted into his penis. These scenes may prove to be of interest for some; and indeed they may have for me too if they were involved in a more interesting film. I'm guessing that this film was meant to put a bad light on the C.I.A., and it may have succeeded in doing that for some, but not for me. Italy has made a million exploitation films like this one, and that considerably lessens its impact as rather than showing the ills of the C.I.A. - it just shows that the Italians found a new way to film exploitation. Overall, I can't really recommend this film...although it may appeal to some.

mondo|torture|cia|

AKAs Titles:


Certifications:
West Germany:(Banned) (1988)