Faces of Death 1978

After performing an unsuccessful open heart surgery, Dr. Francis B. Gröss tells the audience that he is drawn to the transitional moments of life and death, a fascination sharpened by a recurring dream. His experiences as a surgeon have made him numb to the more grotesque elements of death, yet he has assembled a wide array of footage to map the many faces of mortality. The film unfolds as a documentary-like journey through images and narration, inviting viewers to weigh what death means from a clinical, philosophical, and even spiritual perspective.

Footage opens with stark scenes of animal deaths, followed by human violence captured on camera. Gröss describes a violent retaliation from a creature that has endured abuse, signaling a recurring theme: humanity’s own capacity for harm. The sequence slides into recordings of assassinations and other killings, and Gröss observes that humans often kill for reasons tied to greed or power rather than necessity. A notable moment is an interview with John Alan Schwartz as the Leader of Flesh Eating Cult, whose responses provoke questions about motive, belief, and society’s role in violence. The narrative then shifts to a high-tension gunfight between a SWAT team and a gunman; when the gunman’s house is searched, the remains of his stabbed family underscore the double-edged nature of force and punishment, prompting Gröss to ask whether social structures can ever excuse or explain such actions. In a stark moral turn, the film juxtaposes an execution by electric chair with Gröss’s lingering question: do two wrongs make a right?

The examination moves to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office, where Dr. Thomas Noguchi performs autopsies on several bodies. The images range from a bloated drowned woman to a decapitated figure, exposing the clinical detail behind death’s anatomy. Gröss asks Noguchi what happens to the self after death, and Noguchi replies simply that life is a transitory state. This segment also introduces the concept of preserving the dead for future science: a man named Samuel Berkowitz undergoes cryopreservation, his body replacement fluids cooled and stored with the hope of revival. Gröss reflects on the promise and peril of such technology, weighing the lure of revival against the ethical costs.

A brief foray into the topic of suicide follows, with footage of a woman leaping from a building. Gröss acknowledges this image as one of the “faces of death” he would rather never confront again. The film then broadens its scope to the darker chapters of history, presenting wartime atrocities and the Holocaust. As the footage documents battles, Nazi destruction, and the fall of fascist symbols, Gröss notes that Hitler lost control not only of his army but of his mind, a provocative observation about the limits (and perils) of power.

The documentary continues with scenes of environmental harm and human suffering: polluted landscapes, sick children in impoverished areas, and a variety of perilous accidents in nature. A portion of the film focuses on a venomous snake cult in Louisville, Kentucky, and a cannibalistic cult that desecrates a morgue’s cadaver, culminating in a gruesome orgy. The montage culminates with a fatal parachute jump, where Gröss disputes the idea that the death was quick and painless, insisting the victim would have remained conscious through the fall. The sequence closes with the harrowing aftermath of the PSA Flight 182 crash, featuring photos, air-traffic audio, and wreckage. Witnesses describe the neighborhood’s stench of rot and jet fuel, and Gröss highlights a mutilated torso as one of the most disturbing images of death seen in the film.

Seeking to test the boundaries of the unknown, Gröss then ventures into the realm of the supernatural. He consults with architect Joseph Binder, whose grief over the loss of his wife and son leads him to believe their presence lingers in the family home. To probe further, Gröss enlists parapsychologists who document footprints and apparitions. Binder communicates with his deceased relatives through a medium, a sequence that appears to confirm for some that life persists beyond death. The film uses this case to argue that, in Gröss’s view, “when we die, it isn’t the end,” and that the soul may travel beyond the body.

In its closing statements, the documentary leaves viewers with a contemplative invitation. The mood shifts toward a calmer, more hopeful cadence as the narration suggests that the journey of life continues in another form. The camera finally settles on peaceful imagery: a newborn baby, the quiet bond between mother and child, and the sense that happiness can thrive even after confronting the stark realities of death. Throughout, the film promises a measured, thoughtful exploration rather than a sensationalized spectacle, inviting the audience to interpret the mysteries of mortality for themselves.

life is purely a transitory state

when we die, it isn’t the end

the soul in each of us remains a traveller forever