Mondo cane (1962)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Directors:

Paolo Cavara
Gualtiero Jacopetti
(more)

Writers:

Paolo Cavara (writer)
Gualtiero Jacopetti (writer)

Release Date:

30 March 1962 (Italy)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

All The Scenes You Will See In This Film Are True And Taken Only From Life...If Often They Are Shocking It Is Because There Are Many Astounding, Even Unbelievable Things In This World

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Cargo Cult | Pet Cemetery | Slaughter | Shockumentary | Parade

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Rossano Brazzi	...	Himself
Stefano Sibaldi	...	Narrator (voice)

Directed by
Paolo Cavara
Gualtiero Jacopetti
Franco Prosperi		(as Franco E. Prosperi)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Paolo Cavara		writer
Gualtiero Jacopetti		writer

Produced by
Gualtiero Jacopetti	....	producer

Original Music by
Riz Ortolani

Cinematography by
Antonio Climati
Benito Frattari

Film Editing by
Gualtiero Jacopetti

Music Department
Nino Oliviero	....	composer: song "More"

Production Companies

• Cineriz

Distributors

• Times Film Corporation (1963) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Cinemation Industries (1970) (USA) (theatrical) (retitled re-release) (dubbed)
• Tempo Films (1963) (Canada) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Blue Underground (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia Films (Spain)
• Intermedia Video (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Intermedia Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Prima Film (Canada) (re-release) (dubbed)
• Simitar Entertainment (1997) (USA) (VHS) (as "Tales of the Bizarre: Rites, Rituals and Superstitions")
• Vidcrest (1983) (USA) (VHS)
• Woodhaven Entertainment (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Woodhaven Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

A Dog's Life
Mondo Cane No. 1 (USA) (reissue title)
Tales of the Bizarre: Rites, Rituals and Superstitions (USA) (video box title)

Runtime:

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

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:R (original rating: 1962) | USA:R | UK:X (re-rating: 1963) (cut) | Finland:K-16 | Italy:VM18 | Norway:16 | South Korea:15 (DVD rating) | West Germany:18 (nf) (w)

Filming Locations:

Bismarck Archipelago, Papua New Guinea

Company:

Cineriz

Trivia:

The film was initially rejected for UK cinema and only passed in 1963 after 14 minutes of cuts with heavy edits to the animal killings, scenes showing German drug addicts, and the killing of a man by a bull.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Time Chasers (#9.21)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

Ti guarderò nel cuore (More)

The source of all those drive-in Mondo potboilers of the sixties is still quite a hoot today.

As retro films go, Mondo Cane is still a refreshing take on schlock, documentary filmmaking, hilariously camp in it's motives and of more than passing interest in this age of reality TV. The setups and prurient approach that made these films popular at the time of their release is only re-reflected in the equally blatant, reality trash that has successfully been permeating TV since the turn of the new century. It's stunning just how the tastes of pop-culture audiences have changed in the last 50 years or so. A retrospective of the Mondo film genre is represented beautifully in a nicely-packaged DVD box set, which includes a terrifically interesting documentary on the two filmmakers, Jacopetti and Prosperi, who started the trend with this Italian potboiler back in 1962. MONDO CANE is not as dated as some would lead you to believe, particularly if you examine the motives behind it, and the method of it's humor and social commentary. Perhaps the most significant contribution MONDO CANE offers as a film chronicle, and undeniably the most artistic, is the Riz Ortolani/Nino Oliviero music score which includes one of the great melodies of the 20th Century, MORE. MONDO CANE is a "reality" movie sure to please even the most jaded multiplexer. Beautifully photographed and scored.