review for Africa, Blood and Guts on AllMovie

Though credited to documentarians Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi, Africa Blood and Guts actually constitutes a severely edited-down version of the 1966 Africa, Addio!, that drastically changes the filmmakers' visions. The original material (which ran almost 2 1/2 hours) was recut by shockmeister Jerry Gross, retitled, and marketed as an exploitation film in the U.S. Unfortunately, this version became the one widely available on video in North America during the ensuing decades. This version sets out to be an indictment of the corruption on both sides that ravaged Africa when it was freed from colonial rule in the 1960s. When it sticks to this mandate, it is powerful and often quite moving. For instance, a sequence where footage of Mau Mau leaders being tried for murderous crimes is intercut with footage of the abandoned murder scenes communicates the horrors of their crimes in a subtle, but effective, way. Unfortunately, these moments of subtlety are rare, and Africa, Blood and Guts spends much of its running time wallowing in gruesome footage of animals being slaughtered by poachers and corpses littering battlefields. Such moments would be powerful if used sparingly but they are allowed to drag on to the point where they become leering and exploitative. Africa, Blood and Guts is further hurt by the sarcastic tone taken with the film, which tends to obscure its often thoughtful takes on racism and Apartheid. As a result, this might be of interest to cult movie buffs and historians due to its subject matter, but its mix of exploitation, gallows humor, and misanthropy is likely to alienate most viewers. Others should try seeking out the original version.