User Reviews

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.

Uneven but fascinating documentary on bizarre customs around the world. It has a few dull stretches (the auto junkyard scene) and the narration sometimes gets a little too condescending. But there are also unforgettable scenes (the giant sea turtle that has lost any sense of orientation, great bullfighting footage) that make "Mondo Cane" essential viewing for anyone who is even mildly interested in cult films. (***)

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.

Perhaps not as bizarre or shocking as its successors, Mondo Cane is still a bit unsettling, and -- if it doesn't pack a wallop -- it at least delivers a mild slap. The biggest surprise to me, however, was the photography, which is vivid, colorful and exceptionally framed. Except for the occasional accidental reflection of the camera in a window or the shadow of the camera seen in the shot, I couldn't help but be impressed by the quality of the cinematography throughout the picture. I also found the narrative clever and engaging. If you can stomach the occasionally unpleasant content (animal lovers beware) I would recommend this film, not only for its content, but as an interesting artifact of what society considered shocking back in the early sixties.

I just saw this movie again for the first time since it was originally released. It is still truly different, truly bizarre, truly grotesque and definitely not for the squeamish. I do not know what rating Mondo Cane would be given in movie theaters today because, at the time of its' release, the movie rating system had not yet been invented. However, I would have to say that it would get at least an "R", and perhaps even an "X" rating. Actually, I do not think this movie could be made today at all. For instance, do you know those disclaimers they have in the credits of movies nowadays that read, "No animals were injured in the production of this film"? Well, they definitely could not have displayed one of those disclaimers in this movie. The Humane Society, the SPCA and PETA would have such a fit over a movie like this today that they would prevent its' release. Occasionally scenes such as the ones depicted in this movie are posted on YouTube or Facebook, but there is usually such a clamor against them that they are quickly withdrawn. This movie contains some seriously disturbing images, even by today's standards, so just imagine how it was received by audiences back in 1963. Those interested in seeing something truly bizarre need look no further. However, be warned, just because this movie was made over 55 years ago does not mean that it is tame.

The first impression I have watching "Mondo Cane" for the first time in 2006 is of a sensationalist, dated, bizarre and scatological drive-in movie of the 60's. But I recall that when I was a kid, this movie was very commented in Brazil. Inclusive, our expression "mundo-cão" originated from the title of this movie. A great part of this film is a cheap exploitation of worldwide exotic costumes, most of them weird and shocking for Western civilizations, like a fake documentary with some funny observations spoken by the narrator as if they were true. But there is a few images that recalls National Geographic films, like the turtles that are misguided to the sea and die in hot sand. The Italian music score "Ti Guardero' nel Cuore" was a hit in the 60's in Brazil and it is still very beautiful. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "Mundo-Cão" ("Dog World")

Simply stunning images. Well-shot, and expertly edited for maximum effect. The shots of the Japanese guys massaging cow's asses were particularly incredible. Though much of the shock was lost due to the effects of passing time and the condescending commentary, it is still interesting to see (the foie- gras sequence should be enlightening for anyone who still eats the stuff). Mondo Cane may have kicked off the shock-reality genre, but it reads as an interesting exploration of normality, raising questions about difference and anthropological methods. Well worth the two hours...

OK. it's 1962. i'm 10. the single-screen movie theatre is showing a witch film (another great one: burn, witch, burn) and the, what i would assume to have been, r-rated mondo cane. i'm not prepared for this adult glimpse of the world as-it-is, as-it-were. no big shattered reality, or anything of the sort... but: definitely brought me from playing with my erector set to... well, you know. i'm 53 now, and on occasion glimpse back upon that volcanic day, so innocently interspersed among the myriad others that were so prominent at that ripe age. i found the glimpse of the world almost astonishing, even as my pal & i were giggling, mostly. the very diverse experience presented to the viewer can be almost overwhelming, that is, of course, if you are age 10. the prurient value contained therein was, well, errr, lets see... i know: helpful! but second to that, just the mere concept of people skiing naked would have easily astounded me. but SEEING people skiing naked, well, that was just what a growing mind needs to SEE to realize that life is not just what you're taught at home, or school, or even heard from your pals. this was the REAL world. the really real world, where people just did... what people do, i guess. and that was great to see! on that note, i think i'll look into finding a disc of this and revisit the whole experience all over again. ahhh, life. enjoy.

I would probably have enjoyed this movie in the sixties - had I lived then - or if I had been asleep for 40 years. But for an adult with some knowledge of the world we live in, I'm sorry to say this is a waste of time.

There's one minute of footage that I really enjoyed, it might even make the rest of the movie worth watching, but other than that it's just boring. I expected more, a lot more. Compared to another movie that some people may find disturbing, Cannibal Holocaust, I feel that Mondo Cane may have been equally interesting at the time of it's release, but the lack of any value except sensationalism currently makes it a waste of time. Watch it for it's historic value, but don't expect to learn any shocking facts about the world we live in.

"Mondo Cane" of 1962 is the first of a bunch of Italian 'Mondo' Shockumentaries and, without any doubt, an immensely influential piece of Exploitation cinema. Gualtiero Jacopetti and Paolo Carva came up with an entirely new style of film-making with this, and back in 1962 it must have made even greater an impact on audiences, and also been more shocking than it is now. While some folks might point out that "Mondo Cane" may seem slightly dated, one must not forget that this was revolutionary and ground-breaking for its time and highly influential for many films to come. "Mondo Cane" has spawned quite a bunch of other 'Mondo' films including the sequel "Mondo Cane 2" as well as the notorious "Addio Zio Tom" (1971), and furthermore served as an influence to countless exploitation classics including masterpieces such as Ruggero Deodato's "Cannibal Holocaust" (1980). But it is not merely the film's classic status and influence that make this worth watching. "Mondo Cane" is a highly interesting, and often bizarrely ironical film as such, and everybody interested in Exploitation cinema should see it at least once.

"Mondo Cane" shows more or less unrelated scenes from around the world, some of which are shocking, others comical. To label the film as sensationalist may be justified to a certain point, but people who are bothered by this are probably not best advised to watch Exploitation cinema anyway. The scenes include such different things as drunk people behaving like drunk people do, or scenes in a massage parlor, the slaughtering of animals (these are real documentary shots, so Peta and pals are probably best advised not to see them), or bizarre religious rituals. While the film is a documentary it is not to 100 per cent. Inbetween real scenes there are some which are obviously fake, and several with which neither is obvious and which cold be either staged or real. Some might label the premise of "Mondo Cane" voyeuristic or sensationalist, but the film never looks down upon the depicted people, especially not tribesmen of so-called primitive cultures. Some of the scenes are actually quite funny, and make it harder to take the whole thing seriously, but then, some of them are highly interesting, some of them shocking (in a comparatively un-explicit manner), and in some parts, especially in the second half, the film becomes downright fascinating. The brilliant score by maestro Riz Ortolani adds a lot to the atmosphere and overall value of the film. "Mondo Cane" is narrated, and the voice-overs are actually quite interesting without seeming too serious for the films own good. One may look at this film in one way or another, but the least one can say is that Giacopetti and Cavara deserve great respect as pioneers. Not to be missed by fans of Exploitation/Cult cinema!

Now, here's a decidedly weird, wild, gross, perverse, sad, pathetic, sensational, little documentary whose vivid images clearly speak louder than any words ever could.

Mondo Cane is the original, 1962 "Shockumentary" that just might be perfectly ideal for the jaded "been there/seen that" viewer of today.

Though its content is definitely not suited for all tastes, it's actually quite surprising to see how well Mondo Cane (that's Italian for "Dog's World") holds up today, 52 years after its original theatrical release.

With its in-your-face images and its leering, sneering narration, Mondo Cane explores eccentric behaviour, bizarre delicacies for consumption, and, yes, sexual taboos (amongst other things), amidst the barbarism of civilization gone insane.

From every corner of the globe (excluding the Arabic world), Mondo Cane brings to the viewer a disturbing and controversial glimpse at this mad, mad, mad world which exists all around us.

*Warning* - Mondo Cane contains graphic scenes of heartless cruelty towards animals.

I saw "Mondo Cane" twice or more in the early '70s. I first saw it in boarding school as part of the Saturday night film series (this being 1971). At the time kids thought it extremely racy and daring; to see it was an act of rebellion. Teenagers made it a rite of passage. That said, it never carried an x-rating or was banned, that I know of. I recall the cargo cult sequence most vividly, along with the dog-eating segment and a few others. I found the narration often humorous but rather self-righteous and condescending at times. And that lush theme music! In those days (early '50s to early '70s), every film had to have a hit song, often mushily romantic. Even shockumentaries had to have one (that may have died out by the time of "Cannibal Holocaust," however). "More" helped balance out the often very seamy aspects of the film. At school the kids often snickered at the various bizarre scenes, or made ribald comments. Catcalls occasionally erupted. I thought the film daring at the time, sometimes gross. I saw it again a couple of more times, though not after the early '70s. The film seemed less avant garde or challenging each time. Now it seems tame and dull compared to the shockumentaries that followed it. I have little interest in seeing it again, and have had no chances to do so (though you can get it on DVD). Repertory theaters where I've been have not shown it in recent years, nor has it appeared on television (to my knowledge). According to descriptions, it has numerous scenes of cruelty to animals (which I thankfully don't recall), and thus I would not be inclined toward repeat viewings. "Mondo Cane" did set the stage for reality TV and predicted much of what would happen in today's exploitative television and underground film world. That gives the film at least some historical interest. In retrospect, the cargo cult sequence is the most poignant.

please, as you watch this documentary, realize that although the narration is spoken in a straight, scientific tone, in actuality the narration is full of hyperbole, invention, and jokes. sometimes, the narration is close to the truth; sometimes, the narration is campy and silly. the tone does not change, however, and you are left on your own to decide what is real and what is not. it must be said that anthropologists and scientists were not closely consulted for this film. the fish found on tree branches and out of water have done that for 1000s of years. the atom bomb test did not suddenly cause that behavior.

one must even question whether or not the crew manipulated some of the scenes. for example, if a sea turtle is dying in the sun, how could it end up dead on its back?

please, watch this alleged documentary with a careful eye.

I like this one still. It could almost play on late night TV, (it actually did play on the BET network one night in the early '90's) but it still packs a bit of a punch. The shark hunting scenes later showed up on 'Shocking Asia II.' Those scenes and the Chinese hotel for the dying were really the only scenes that still shake people up today.

It deserves mention mostly for bringing documentaries to a whole new level. It's not the first shock-doc, but it's the first one to sell itself as one. The best part about it was the music. Riz Ortolani deserves a special achievement Oscar in my opinion. And he was nominated for this film.

Mondo Cane II is basically more of the same. I heard scenes from that and 'Women of the World' were basically was was left over from filming this.

Not for the faint of heart or for those easily offended or easily bored by documentary 'filler'. This film and its' sequel are documents of a different time,....the 1960's, way before the internet, cable and satellite TV brought us the world instantly. It brought the world to the masses. People were not jumping on planes and going to Africa, Asia or anywhere else like we do now. These brought the unusual strange parts of the world to them at their local cinema.

Violent, Odd and downright strange are good words to describe this film.

Not your typical documentary film, to be sure. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

This was my first fully-fledged mondo, not counting Killing of America, which I think is more of straight documentary, and Faces of Death, more of a shockumentary. Anyway, I enjoyed it, but it is not without it's flaws.

The composer was Riz Ortolani, and as usual, was very good. However, some parts of the score had pre-70's soundtrackitis, which means it sometimes sounds like the soppy and immensely boring soundtracks that were usually in movies before the 70's. However, this only some parts, and the rest is spot on.

What amazed me about Mondo Cane was the cinematography. You would not guess that this was shot in the early 60's if you weren't told. The colour and the shots were just so beautiful and vivid.

One thing I didn't like was the pace of the film. Some scenes dragged on way too long, and some didn't need to be included at all. I mean, one five minute segment is just drunks/stoners stumbling around the streets. I think about 15 minutes could have been lopped off.

Overall, I liked Mondo Cane, but it was a little boring in some places, and I certainly would not recommend this to real gore fans, as there is barely any of the red stuff in this. People with more patience than me would enjoy this more. 7/10

When I first saw this movie, in 1963, I was shocked and awed (to coin a phrase). It exerted a significant shaping influence on my awareness of the relativism of cultural practices and the crassness of some in my native U.S.A. Over the years, I've recommended it to many others, but had never had a chance to view it again myself. I guess I should have left it at that. It's sad in a way how poorly the movie has aged: the bias of the vignettes is too obvious, the editing is choppy, and that awful narration is so grating you just want to scream. On the other hand, we can take some pride I think that our collective values have evolved over the past 40+ years so that this film's blatant sexism and deprecating condescension toward foreign cultures is no longer acceptable to us. I guess I'll have to start recommending something else. How about "The Loved One"?

This planet which many humans believe is theirs, has so many mysterious aspects that when a cinematic camera and light are turned on it, are interestingly illuminated like the elusive creatures of the night. A world traveler may go seeking the strange, the unusual, the bizarre and occasionally the forbidden and often find much more than he bargained for. That is what the film "Mondo Cane" is all about. It is a black collection of the many unusual parts of our strange world. The film travels around the globe seeking out the odd customs of various people and offers them up as interesting fare to the ambivalent traveler, the timidly interested and the curiously morbid. In each country visited, we find that what one nation finds disgusting, another finds tolerable. One nation offers up unusual human sexual practices, which another country often finds offensive, tasteless and guttural. Animals in one country are revered, honored and treated as royalty. Yet in a neighboring nation, these same beasts are prepared as special delicacies fit for consumption. Women, boys and pain seeking parishioners are accepted as sacrificial fodder. Viewers are treated to the world's most primitive customs and often as not we see ourselves at the very depth of depravity and learn it is not polite to stare, which we do anyway. A frightening movie, but one which reveals more about us than we care to know. Still, one cannot turn away without wanting to see 'MORE' which happens to be the Theme Song of this same picture. ****

Parents, Mondo Cane deserves its United States 'R' rating for animal cruelty and killing (and some fierce payback), encounters with human deformity, death, human remains, and nudity and fisticuffs. It's easy to see why the film caused such a fuss when it was first released to a more innocent U.S. almost 40 years ago. I'm just a few years older than Mondo Cane, and as a child, I remember my parents describing it as a degenerate cross between Playboy and the local cockfights.

But we're all more worldly now. And for adults familiar with National Geographic-style documentaries, Mondo Cane is an amusing, charming, and rather quaint potpourri of a travelogue, spiced with some touches of Ripley's Believe It Or Not, and with only a few difficult moments. In fact, except for bull decapitations, there's little here that I haven't seen elsewhere in some form. Mondo Cane is about odd cultures, odd customs, and human foibles. I was especially awed by a sequence of the most amazing drunkenness I've ever seen. But in an era of environmental awareness, what shocked me the most was the film's visually tame sequence on how wildlife has adapted (and failed to adapt) to the radioactive legacy of Bikini Atoll.

Mondo Cane was worth the price of a rental and the 90 minutes I spent watching it. It was light entertainment with a few moments of learning and a few moments of nausea. But seeing what all the fuss was about was really more interesting than the film itself, and that makes Mondo Cane unworthy of a second viewing or a place in my video library.

I can't believe anyone would watch this movie and actually believe what the narrator is saying. There is no real audio, there is no way we know exactly what is going on and being said. It could all be staged, or it could be a totally different scenario than the narrator is claiming.

Often times in anthropology, we impose our own views on the other cultures, thereby never understanding fully what the culture being studied is actually doing. How do we know that the people in New Guinea were man-hunting? Maybe they were just playing a game. Maybe they were acting something out. This movie is totally sensational and I don't buy a word of it.

I especially thought the part about the "primitive caveman" was really lame. The narrator shows some people in a cave and claims that these folks were just discovered there, and are possibly the only existing "cavemen" left. Had they known they were being videotaped, who knows what these savages would do? ?? I highly doubt a word of this is true.

Before you start believing everything you see on TV, especially this movie, try opening your mind to the idea that White America is not "THE RIGHT WAY". Try to understand that these cultures depicted are just as "right" as we are in America. It's just a different way of doing it, and what the narrator is saying cannot be believed because of the main fact that he is putting words in the statements that sway your opinion. Calling people "savages" and "barbarians" is not exactly being objective.

Anyway, this movie, even though it was totally distasteful and disrespectful to other cultures (and hard to watch during the bull decapitation scene) was entertaining. And I guess that's all that matters, right? Who cares if we give bad names to different cultures around the world, as long as we in America can sit back and think about how much better we are. RIGHT? whatever. Rent this if you want to see bad research.

After viewing this I must say I was left mesmerized to a degree. You really don't know what is going on the other side of the globe. Some people claim that these events aren't real, and the images are just for a psuedo-documentary, but you be the judge. Me personally, I believe that those things are going on. Even though this film shows its age, it is still a very strong piece of work and will not be easily forgotten.

As a big fan of cult cinema, there's usually at least one film I like in each of the main genres (with the exception of Nazisploitation), and although this is only the second 'Mondo' film that I've seen; I doubt I'll ever have a favourite in this one. Surprisingly, there was actually quite a few of these films made (I could never see them having mass market appeal, but I'm wrong apparently) and Mondo Cane was the one that kicked it all off. These films would go on to try and top each other in terms of shock value as more and more were made; but since this was the first one, it's not as shocking as some of the later ones. The Italian word 'Mondo' literally translates into English as 'world' and that is actually quite fitting as this film could be described as a visual representation of various things that go on in both the animal and human worlds. The film takes a documentary approach, although it couldn't really be considered a documentary as not all of it is exactly real, with several obviously fake sequences getting mixed in along with the real stuff.

The film is not very strong, shock-wise, in terms of gore or nastiness; but it is an entirely bleak film. Just about everything in it paints a bad picture of the world; we've got tribal men taking revenge on a shark, turtles baking in the sun, people gathering up shark fins off the beach etc. A lot of the footage shown in the film is fake, and unfortunately most of is obviously fake too. This is a shame because a lot of what the film has to say is interesting; it's just hard to take seriously. I can't say I'm a big fan of documentaries in general, but rated as a documentary; this film falls down again. There's a voice-over that runs throughout, and is actually quite entertaining and informative, but there's no real narrative to the film and it does feel a lot like the filmmakers just filmed a load of stuff on a similar topic and then just stuck it all together - and to be honest, I reckon that probably is what happened. There's not really very much to recommend this film for and I wonder who it was actually aimed at; but it's interesting for the fact that it's the first 'mondo' film and some of the things in it are worth seeing...even if they are fake.