Anybody seen Mondo Cane? Or any Mondo film, for that matter?

[Ichirou]

I've been a huge fan of Italian movies for years - peplums, spaghetti Westerns, giallos - the kind of stuff that was considered disposable cinema back during the sixties and seventies.  One of the things I've never seen, though, has been a Mondo film.

(For explanation on what Mondo films are, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondo_film )

Recently I've become interested in delving into the genre, and I think probably the best way to start would be with Mondo Cane.  I've been thinking of purchasing it on DVD but there's a bunch of different editions of it so I'm going to have to see which one's the best to buy (for example, with another relatively obscure Italian movie, Django, there were several releases, but only one included the original Italian track, which is the one I picked up).

After Mondo Cane, any suggestions as to what Mondo films I should check out?  I'm guessing TVC 15 might know about this.

[TVC15]

No idea.  I've never seen any of them though I have read about them.  I want to see them.  Are they readily available on DVD, or are they bootlegs?

[Ichirou]

Blue Underground has released what appears to be a pretty comprehensive collection of the works of the directorial team behind Mondo Cane.



Mondo Cane, Mondo Cane 2, Africa Addio, Goodbye Uncle Tom, Women of the World, and a documentary about Mondo film called The Godfathers of Mondo.  The set is pretty pricey at Amazon ($129.99), but I'm sure I could find it for cheaper at DeepDiscountDVD or something.  I'd just like to know if it's worth it to take the plunge first...that's a lot of money to spend on DVDs sight unseen.

You can also buy Mondo Cane separately for $8.99 (again, at Amazon, probably cheaper elsewhere).  I might do that instead, and then buy the box set if I like it, and sell off my copy of Mondo Cane.

[Van Cruncheon]

wasn't addio zio tom the one where they filmed a mockumentary set in early 1800s southern america? i think i caught part of that.

[Ichirou]

wasn't addio zio tom the one where they filmed a mockumentary set in early 1800s southern america? i think i caught part of that.

Yeah, that's the one.  I'm not really interested in seeing the more gory Mondo films (like the Faces of Death series), but the original films sound bizarre.

EDIT: How was Addio Zio Tom?

[Van Cruncheon]

i've seen the first couple faces of death. i've seen worse in police instructional videos, frankly.

addio zio tom? i was pretty fuckin' stoned at the time, but i remember it being really tongue-in-cheek and dry. it was subtitled, and made brutal fun of modern american civil rights two-facedness. production values and film quality were awful, and some of the black actors couldn't play it straight, but i remember being amused.

[Ichirou]

Sounds fun enough.  These Italian sixties films all have terrible production values, so I'm used to that...I might pick up this set if I find it for cheap enough.  DeepDiscount has it for $100, I'll try to see if I can find it for cheaper than that, though.

[Mr. Gundam]

Sounds fun enough.  These Italian sixties films all have terrible production values, so I'm used to that...I might pick up this set if I find it for cheap enough.  DeepDiscount has it for $100, I'll try to see if I can find it for cheaper than that, though.

If you can hold off until June, you can save another ~$20 or so with DD's 20% off sale.

[Ichirou]

Sounds fun enough.  These Italian sixties films all have terrible production values, so I'm used to that...I might pick up this set if I find it for cheap enough.  DeepDiscount has it for $100, I'll try to see if I can find it for cheaper than that, though.

If you can hold off until June, you can save another ~$20 or so with DD's 20% off sale.

 

Thank you for telling me about this.  I can wait a month before I start the MONDO MADNESS.

[Mr. Gundam]

Sounds fun enough.  These Italian sixties films all have terrible production values, so I'm used to that...I might pick up this set if I find it for cheap enough.  DeepDiscount has it for $100, I'll try to see if I can find it for cheaper than that, though.

If you can hold off until June, you can save another ~$20 or so with DD's 20% off sale.

 

Thank you for telling me about this.  I can wait a month before I start the MONDO MADNESS.

No problem. They have their twice-yearly 20% off sales in November and June every year.

[Ichirou]

I'm going to start making a list of stuff to buy, then. 

[Mr. Gundam]

I'm going to start making a list of stuff to buy, then. 

Good idea, I put my wish list together last week. I only buy anime twice a year now, since it takes me forever to actually watch it.

[Ichirou]

I no longer buy individual DVDs for any show.  It's all about the cheap box sets.