Mondo cane (1962)

The original "shockumentary" consisting of a collection of mostly real archive footage displaying mankind at its most depraved and perverse, displaying bizarre rituals, cruel behavior, and animal violence.

Directors:

Paolo Cavara, Gualtiero Jacopetti,

Writers:

Paolo Cavara, Gualtiero Jacopetti

Stars:

Rossano Brazzi, Stefano Sibaldi, Henning Skaarup

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Rossano Brazzi	...	Himself
Stefano Sibaldi	...	Narrator (voice)
Henning Skaarup	...	(Danish Narrator)

Storyline

Nominally a documentary, this film combines a number of unrelated sequences (both real and staged) -- including a South Pacific "cargo cult", the ritual slaughter of a bull, tribal dances and rituals, and a visit to an ornate pet cemetery -- all focused on the lurid, sensational, and eccentric.

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Plot Keywords:

pet cemetery | shockumentary | slaughter | cargo cult | bull | 

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Taglines:

It enters a hundred incredible worlds where the camera has never gone before!

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

30 March 1962 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Mondo Cane No. 1

Filming Locations:

Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cineriz

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min 91 min (cut) 97 min (re-release: 1970)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

On March 13, 1961, following some shooting of the documentary in Las Vegas, writer-directors Paolo Cavara and Gualtiero Jacopetti and the film crew traveled to Los Angeles. One car contained Cavara, Jacopetti and Jacopetti's paramour, actress Belinda Lee (who was not in the picture), in addition to their Italian driver. Nearing San Bernardino on US 91, the speeding car lost control on a winding road and flipped after blowing a tire. Actress Lee, who was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown from the car and died at the scene of a broken neck and fractured skull. The others escaped serious injury and taken to a Barstow hospital. Jacopetti suffered a broken leg.

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Connections

Referenced in Cette liberté de chien (2007)

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Soundtracks

"Ti guarderò nel cuore (More)"
Music by Riz Ortolani & Nino Oliviero
Lyrics by Norman Newell

User Reviews

Bizarre mix of the amusing, disgusting and disturbing. Still powerful after 25 years!

Watching "Mondo Cane" some 25 years after it originally shocked cinema audiences, I still found myself experiencing a variety of emotions. Despite the dated presentation (in many ways, this actually enhances the weirdness of the whole experience), the film still packs a mild punch, even to this jaded viewer.

A combination of the amusing (would-be actors posing themselves for the camera and geriatric Hollywood residents working out on a variety of unusual equipment), the sad (turtles on a radioactive Bikini beach, having lost their ability to find water, head away from the sea and into the scorching sand and certain death) and the shocking (animal cruelty including bull fighting) results in a powerful cocktail.

The cynical, xenophobic narrator delivers a witty commentary while the proceedings unfold on the screen.

Superbly edited and scored, this is definitely a different viewing experience. A journey into bizarreville; 7 out of 10.