|
A mondo film (from the Italian word for "world") is an exploitation documentary film, sometimes resembling a pseudo-documentary and usually depicting sensational topics, scenes, or situations. Common traits of mondo films include an emphasis on taboo subjects (such as death and sex), portrayals of "foreign" cultures (which have drawn accusations of ethnocentrism or racism〔Kerekes & Slater, p. 108.〕), and staged sequences presented as genuine documentary footage. Over time, the films placed increasing emphasis on footage of the dead and dying (both real and fake). The term ''shockumentary'' is also used to describe the genre.〔(Mondo New York (1988) ) The New York Times,〕 ==History== Although earlier films such as ''European Nights'' (1959) and ''World By Night'' 1 & 2 (1961) may be considered examples of the genre,〔Kerekes & Slater, p. 102.〕 the origins of the mondo documentary are generally traced to the 1962 Italian film ''Mondo Cane'' (''A Dog's World''—a mild Italian profanity) by Paolo Cavara, Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi which was a commercial success.〔(Mondo Cane (1962) ) The New York Times〕〔(Revisiting a Cinematic Smackdown, and Other Avant-Garde Pleasures ) The New York Times, October 1, 2009〕〔(Mondo Cane ) Variety Reviews, December 31, 1961〕 Documentary films imitating ''Mondo Cane'' in the 1960s often included the term "mondo" in their titles, even if they were in English; examples include ''Mondo Bizarro'', ''Mondo Daytona'', ''Mondo Mod'', ''Mondo Infame'' and ''Mondo Hollywood''.〔Kerekes & Slater, p. 107.〕 Films outside the genre followed suit: ''Mondo Trasho'', ''Mondo Weirdo: A Trip to Paranoia Paradise'', ''Mondo Keyhole''〔Kerekes & Slater, p. 109.〕 and ''Mondo Brutale'' (a German release of Wes Craven's ''The Last House on the Left''〔Kerekes & Slater, p. 315.〕) title themselves ''mondo'', although none are mondo documentaries. Later in the decade, this naming convention began to fall out of favour and fewer mondo films identified themselves as such in their titles.〔 Filmmakers wanted to top each other in shock value to attract audiences. Cruelty to animals, accidents, tribal-initiation rites and surgeries are features of a typical mondo. Much of the action is staged, although the filmmakers may claim their goal is to document "reality". Subjects of mondo films include sex (''Mondo Sex'' and ''Mondo Sexualis USA''); celebrities (''Mondo Elvis'' and ''Mondo Lugosi''); youth culture (''Mondo Teeno'') and the gay subculture (''Mondo Rocco''). Russ Meyer's film ''Mondo Topless'' was one of the few "documentaries" restricted to the old midnight movie circuit in the pre-VCR era; it explored strip clubs in 1960s San Francisco at a time when strip clubs were a novelty in the United States, restricted to centers of port-city decadence (such as San Francisco). Other examples of this genre include ''Mondo New York'' by Harvey Keith, ''Mondo di Notte'' by Gianni Proia and ''Mondo Balordo'' by Roberto Bianchi Montero. The 1980s saw a resurgence of mondo movies focusing almost exclusively on (onscreen) death, instead of world cultures. The ''Faces of Death'' series is a notable example of this type of mondo (or "death") movie. The producers used fake footage (passed off as real), but some of the footage was legitimate (including scenes of autopsies, suicides and accidents). The rare 1985 film ''Mondo Senza Veli'' (''World without Veils'' or ''Mondo Fresh'') was purported by viewers to feature at its end the brutal execution of a young Arab rapist by public rectal impalement. This episode was, however, believed to have been a staged execution by some viewers. Mondo films in the 21st century feature gore, exemplified by the ''Faces of Gore'' and ''Traces of Death'' series. There is less fake footage, and many use news footage of accidents from East Asia. A number of films have parodied the genre. Examples include Ricardo Fratelli's '' Mondo Ford''; ''Mr. Mike's Mondo Video'' by ''Saturday Night Lives Michael O'Donoghue and ''Is There Sex After Death?'' by Jeanne and Alan Abel. ''Mondo Beyondo'' spoofed the films' approach to titling, but was a parody of satellite television.〔Kerekes & Slater, p. 155.〕 The Italian cannibal film is arguably an offshoot of the mondo film.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「mondo film」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|