A Dog's Life (1962)

Original title

Mondo Cane

Directed by

Franco E. Prosperi, Gualtiero Jacopetti, Paolo Cavara

Genre

drama film, documentary film

Country

Italy

Runtime

1h 48m

Rated

12

Rating

6.3 of 10 from 101 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This Italian documentary travels to various countries and shows strange or shocking cultural practices. The scenes are presented without a clear order to surprise viewers. Some parts are staged or altered for effect.

shockingsensationalistkaleidoscopicdisjointedunsettlingvoyeuristicprovocativenumbing

What happens

Mondo Cane (a somewhat coarse Italian expletive, literally 'dog world') is a 1962 Italian mondo documentary film directed by the trio of Gualtiero Jacopetti, Paolo Cavara, and Franco E. Prosperi, with narration by Stefano Sibaldi (Anthony La Penna provided the narration for the English-language release). 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. The musical score by Riz Ortolani and Nino Oliviero gained considerable popularity outside of the film itself. Its main theme, "More", won a Grammy Award and earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song, and was covered by such artists as Frank Sinatra, Andy Williams, Roy Orbison, Bobby Darin and Vince Guaraldi. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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