|
|
April 30, 2006
Every scene looks you in the eye – and spits!Headpress head honcho David Kerekes led the way (along with David Slater) in 1993 with the groundbreaking research into mondo, "death" and rumoured "snuff" films in the book "Killing For Culture" (Creation Books). A much improved and updated second edition came out in 1995. Soon Kerekes will bring the book "home" to Headpress/Critical Vision in a third upgraded edition.
 In the meantime Headpress brings out a book touted as "The first ever English-language title devoted exclusively to the shocking, controversial and influential mondo documentary film cycle." I would say that "Killing For Culture" was that first book, as its investigation of the possible existence of "snuff" didn't amount to much, and it is clearly a closely related subject anyway. After all, the makers of "Mondo Cane", Jacopetti and Prosperi, had to go to trial to convince people that they didn't interfere and cause or hasten the execution of civil war prisoners in their harrowing documentary "Africa Addio" a.k.a. "Africa – Blood & Guts".
The new book is "Sweet & Savage; The World Through the Shockumentary Film Lens" by Mark Goodall.
It's not a comprehensive guide, but tackles the genre as a phenomenon, analyzing key titles in the genre, and with a chapter on the use of music as a sensationalistic narrative tool in mondo films, as well as a chapter on the exploitation of animals in these movies. The fake and staged is separated from the real and semi-real, and the history of mondo is traced from the early sixties "Mondo Cane" cycle up to the video store mega-hit "Faces of Death".
 The book is different enough from "Killing For Culture" to make it a worthy companion and addition to the film library, and it unearths several titles not covered in the earlier book, along with a wealth of rare illustrations and promotional adverts. Strongly recommended for anyone who wants to find out more about this black sheep of the documentary genre. One of the introductory chapters is an interview with controversial author JG Ballard. He touches upon the blurred line between reality, fantasy and propaganda in the current media climate where information on the war in Iraq is very tightly controlled and censored.
The "Mondo Cane Collection", a complete set of Jacopetti/Prosperi's films along with docu. "The Godfathers of Mondo" is sadly out of print, but the actual films can all be bought separately – except "Godfathers...". But the whole Mondo box seems to have been split in two and re-released in ugly covers, with the "Godfathers..." docu. again available in Vol. 2 of the two sets.
16:57
May the Lordi be with us! Check out the monstrous appearance of Finland's contribution to this spring's Eurovision Song Contest. They're a metal band, in itself a rarity in this sea of blandness an ballads, and they're also decked out in some of the most outlandish costumes and masks this side of Lord of the Rings.
Official site: www.lordi.org
16:45
|
|
