3. Mondo Movies
In 1962, a bold, brash Italian documentary came to the attention of the cinema viewing public - Mondo Cane (A Dog's World). This documentary was an 'exposé about strange rituals and bizarre happenings all over the world. It took a rather sneery tone at its subject matter and it presented its findings in a sensationalist way. Directors Franco Prosperi and Gualtiero Jacopetti were quick to cash in on the success of Mondo Cane, releasing Mondo Cane 2 the next year (which mainly consisted of staged footage) . Staged footage became a main stay of the Mondo movie as film directors jumped on Prosperi and Jacopetti's band wagon and sought to emulate their success. Several unintentionally hilarious films resulted such as Brutes and Savages - where our narrator 'Uncle' Arthur Davis, in a salmon pink safari suit, takes us on a journey of 'brutes' and 'savages' around the world (I always thought the title of the film was rather insulting to the peoples it follows). African men wear day glo face paint and try not to laugh as they do a native dance. There is the worst ever death by crocodile misadventure in the history of cinema - replete with a paper mâché crocodile. Peruvian farmers simulate sex with llamas and by this time we have laughed so much, we are on the verge of being sick. Some Mondo movie makers played it straight, with very little staged footage. They used real footage of hideous goings on in them. The main source of these films were centred on the continent of Africa and were produced by the Castiglione Brothers. Widely considered to be the 'strongest' Mondo Movies, titles include The Last Savage and Shocking Africa - I'm sure you are hopeful they will turn up in your Christmas stocking! Prosperi and Jacopetti kept themselves busy after the runaway success of Mondo Cane and Mondo Cane 2. As was the fashion, they went to Africa to film and they ended up with a movie charting the terrible problems colonialism had brought to the continent of Africa and the terrible problems Africa had in readjusting to self governance. There are deaths caught on camera, at one point Prosperi and Jacopetti are nearly pulled out of their car and killed, scenes of extremely gratuitous violence against the wildlife of Africa are on film and wide-scale genocide is captured on camera. The worst thing about Africa Addio (the name of the resulting documentary) is the shockingly racist narration which levels serious slurs against African people. Prosperi and Jacopetti were bewildered by the racial controversy surrounding Africa Addio and as a result to redeem themselves, they made Addio Zio Tom (Farewell Uncle Tom) - a supposed indictment of the period of slavery in America. It was so sordid and sensationally staged, it ended up even more racially charged than its predecessor (although it features one of Riz Ortolani's best ever scores). By the time the Mondo movie/shockumentary reached the 1980s, there was a definite change in tone for the sub genre. Faces of Death purported to be a serious examination of the many 'faces' of death with its own mock expert - Dr Francis B Gross. Really, it was mainly a facetious and desperately insensitive piece of trash. However, the Japanese loved it. It became notorious in Britain - banned and prosecuted as a Video Nasty which cemented its cult status. A slew of salubrious imitators followed in its path. There were about 4/5 sequels and it spawned franchises such as Death Scenes and the stupidly titled Traces of Death. And this is basically where we are now with the Mondo Movie. It takes no great skill to cobble together footage of real life deaths with a horrible Death Metal soundtrack. And there is no joy in watching it. RIP Mondo movie.