God has weird sense of humor - he made human race.Very interesting "shockumentary" from 1962.Even if it is partially faked, it's still has message that will make you think what's weirder and more savage - tribes that didn't change their ways for centuries or western civilization...This film can make you laugh and cry, shock you and make you rethink some things you were always taking for granted...Highly recommended (not to watch during, right before or right after meals) :)And again I need additional lines to be able to submit :)

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.

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. ****

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")