An Italian mondo documentary directed by Gualtieto Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi.
Scenes of contrast from around the world are shown and "explained" by the narrator.
These old mondo films were wild and still are. There were funny moments like the explanation of the vending machine restaurant, paint spitting art and the "hard head" village. Many of the scenes from America were explained as if Americans are a strange and foreign tribe, almost aliens from another planet. It may have been intentional for humor. There were also tragically disturbing moments like the stink bug tacos in Mexico, flamingos and the tortured children. I can watch almost anything, but those pushed my limits. The audio on the version I got was in English, so it was easier to watch than the last mondo film I reviewed. I like to keep my reviews of mondo films short so as not to give away everything. If mondo films are for you, you need to see the originals (like this) and I rate it good. If mondo films are not for you, you know it and won't watch them. Be aware that it seems nothing is "off limits" in these.
An Italian mondo documentary directed by Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi, with music by Riz Ortolani.
Scenes of various things happening in Africa in 1964 are shown and explained.
The best parts about this to me are Riz Ortolani's music (knew it sounded like Cannibal Holocaust) and being filmed in Technicolor Techniscope. I did appreciate that it showed a wide variety of material. There was everything from poachers and corpses to white women at the beach in Cape Town. From what I've read, it's all real and not staged. There was stuff that disturbed me and that's pretty gruesome. The zebra scene was not cool. However, the narrator pointed out that the only dangerous animal in Africa is humans. I don't mind seeing human skeletons scattered along a road and being run over by jeeps, but the zebras did not deserve what happened to them. It's difficult to describe something like this. If you're ready to see anything and everything, get ready to read subtitles really quickly because I would recommend it. If you don't want to see nudity, violence and stuff like that, Discovery Channel, National Geographic and Animal Planet skip the grizzly and gruesome details of reality. Africa was not fit for children's programming in the mid-'60s. I rate this awesome just for being so wild and raw.
An Italian mondo film directed by Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi.
A historical tour of slavery in America is shown. Interviews with slave owners show different aspects of the practice.
This was alright. The plot was non-linear and there were no consistent characters. The video was pretty good, with very graphic close-ups and panning helicopter shots. The audio was atrocious. The dialogue was generally too quiet and not very good quality of recording. The soundtrack was loud, repetitive and annoying. There were some female anatomy points as the female slaves were mostly topless and the slave breeder was striving for breast quality. To be totally honest, even this racist cowboy found the treatment of the slaves almost too cruel to watch. Overall, the production quality hampered the content. I rate this o.k.
An Italian documentary directed by Gualtiero Jacopetti, Paolo Cavara and Franco Prosperi.
A wide variety of scenes from around the world document different ways of life and the differences between cultures.
This suppesedly "shocking" documentary was absolutely awesome! The rich tapestry woven by cameramen and editors contains the very fibers of life on Earth. I know of no other way to describe it. Some highlights included Japanese health spas, animals altered by radiation, a fancy restaurant serving foul food and a German beer house. My personal favorite was an American gymnasium for women that was accompanied by train sounds in a most amusing way. My least favorite scene was the Earthlings-esque sea turtle with no sense of direction. The variety of scenes ranges from compassion to violence and everything in between. Overall, this is what filmmaking is about. I rate it best. WATCH THIS!!!!
An Italian action crime film directed by Franco Prosperi, starring Robert Blake and Ernest Borgnine.
A young boxing champion's criminal manager is killed and he is the prime suspect. To save himself from jail, he must find who really killed the manager.
Upon reading the plot after viewing the film, most of the film had little to do with the plot. It seems like an awful lot of Stephen King style setup for a cheap Italian crime film. The characters were barely identifiable and easily confused due to stereotypical '70s fashion choices. Fortunately for us, most of the bad guys had mustaches and the good guys had relatively clean shaven upper lips. The audio and video were lo-fi '70s standard and I was afraid that I was turning on a kung fu film when it first started. The style was generic enough to deserve no further description. The only scene that caught my attention was in the diner, the main character pours various items onto the counter and mixes them together. Overall, it's just another '70s crime flick. I rate it poor.
