Mondo Cane

Mondo Cane (meaning Doggish World, which is a mild Italian profanity; also known in the United States as Tales of the Bizarre: Rites, Rituals and Superstitions) is a 1962 Italian mondo documentary film written and directed by Paolo Cavara, Franco Prosperi and Gualtiero Jacopetti. The film consists of a series of travelogue scenes that provide glimpses into cultural practices around the world with the intention to shock or surprise Western film audiences. These scenes are presented with little continuity, as they are intended as a kaleidoscopic display of shocking content rather than presenting a structured argument. Despite its claims of genuine documentation, certain scenes are either staged or creatively manipulated to enhance this effect.

The film was an international box-office success and inspired an entire genre of mondo films in the form of exploitation documentaries, many of which also include the word mondo (meaning "world") in their title.

Plot
A documentary that shocked many viewers at the time of its release, this film presents scenes from across the globe that feature strange rituals. Animal slaughter and bizarre religious ceremonies are among the many events in the movie, which also exhibits cuisine that is highly unconventional to the Western palate. The collage-like production covers a lot of ground, both literally and figuratively, in depicting unusual cultural practices from around the world.

Production
In the beginning, as Cavara (who took the helm for European and Euro-Asiatic zone) and his supervisor Stanis Nievo' interviews revealed, Mondo Cane was a unique project conceived with La donna nel Mondo, and worked at the same time (1960–62).

Reception
Mondo Cane was an international box-office success and inspired the production of numerous, similar exploitation documentaries, many of which also include the word "Mondo" in their title. These films collectively came to be recognized as a distinct genre known as mondo films. In addition, the film's success led Jacopetti and Prosperi to produce several additional documentaries, including Mondo Cane 2, Africa addio and Addio zio Tom, while Cavara directed La donna nel mondo, Malamondo, as well as the anti-Mondo drama Wild Eye (Occhio selvaggio).

Accolades
The film was nominated for two awards for the 1962 film season. It won the David di Donatello for Best Production (Migliore Produzione) by the Accademia del Cinema Italiano, which it shared with Una vita difficile. It was also nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 15th Cannes Film Festival, which it lost to O Pagador de Promessas. The theme song, "More", was written by Riz Ortolani and Nino Oliviero, and was given new lyrics in English by Norman Newell. In 1963, the song was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, where it lost to "Call Me Irresponsible" from the film Papa's Delicate Condition.

Influence
The film spawned several direct sequels, starting with Jacopetti and Prosperi's own Mondo Cane 2 (also known as Mondo Pazzo), released the following year. Much later, in the 1980s, two more emerged: Mondo Cane Oggi: L'Orrore Continua and Mondo Cane 2000: L'Incredible. The films continued into the nineties with two follow-ups from German filmmaker Uwe Schier; despite the fact that they were the fifth and sixth installments, they were titled Mondo Cane IV and Mondo Cane V.

As well as encouraging sequels, Mondo Cane 's shock-exploitation-documentary-exquisite corpse style is credited with starting a whole genre: the mondo film. Examples include Mondo Bizarro, Mondo Daytona, Mondo Freudo (1966), Mondo Mod, Mondo Infame, Mondo New York, and Mondo Hollywood; later examples include the Faces of Death series.

The film also inspired lampooning, including Mr. Mike's Mondo Video, written by Saturday Night Live's Michael O'Donoghue and starring members of the contemporary cast of the program.

In 2010, Mike Patton released a musical album in tribute to the film, also called Mondo Cane.