INGAGI (1930)
New 4K Restoration Now Available on Blu-ray
Includes Audio Commentaries by Film Historian Kelly Robinson
and Series Curator Bret Wood
Kino Classics announces the home video premiere of the 1930 cult exploitation classic Ingagi, now available on Blu-ray, presented in association with Something Weird Video. Long unseen, and never before available on home video in any format, this notorious pseudo-documentary was met with great controversy upon its release, and has not been commercially distributed for at least 50 years.
Newly restored in 4K, from materials preserved by the Library of Congress, Ingagi makes its debut on Blu-ray (SRP: $29.95) featuring two audio commentaries, by film historian Kelly Robinson, and Bret Wood, curator of the "Forbidden Fruit: Golden Age of the Exploitation Picture" series. The Blu-ray also includes a featurette about the restoration, trailer gallery, and optional English SDH subtitles.The exploitation cinema had its share of scandalous films, but none is so mired in controversy as the bizarre pseudo-documentary Ingagi. Purporting to be an ethnographic journey into the wilds of Africa, it combines authentic footage purloined from other films, with outrageous scenes staged for the camera in Los Angeles.
Among the hoaxes perpetrated are the discovery of the “tortadillo,” a heretofore unknown species of animal, and the exposure of an indigenous cult that worships (and sacrifices its women to) gorillas—a particularly racist concept that would resurface in films for years, most notably as the dramatic springboard for King Kong.
After spawning a whole sub-genre of exotic shockumentaries (e.g. Forbidden Adventure, Karamoja), the originator faded into obscurity, mired in lawsuits and cursed by the notoriety of its title (the Kinyarwanda word for “gorilla”).
Ingagi is also available to buy and rent digitally on Kino Now.
Ingagi
U.S. | 1930 | Color Tinted | 82 minutes | 1920x1080p | 1.33:1 | Not Rated |
Optional English SDH Subtitles
Director: William S. Campbell
Starring: Sir Hubert Winstead, Daniel Swayne, Arthur Clayton, Louis Nozor
Blu-ray Street Date: January 5, 2021
Bonus Features:
- Audio Commentary by Film Historian Kelly Robinson
- Audio Commentary by Series Curator Bret Wood
- About the Restoration
- Trailer Gallery
