One of the classics of the mondo-film genre, which explores the killer instinct of civilised man
For better or worse, the episode of a tourist being torn to pieces by lions has entered into the history of cinema
The mondo-film genre was characterised by a feverish search for bizarre and shocking images from the four corners of the Earth, and this film is one of its most appreciated works. Antonio Climati (director of photography on the legendary Mondo cane) and Mario Morra, with a commentary written by Alberto Moravia, create a collection of clips demonstrating how civilised man is violent for no apparent purpose, while in the rest of the natural world animals kill for a reason. Beyond the thematic justification for the film, what matters most, of course, is providing the public with a documentary stuffed with hard-hitting scenes: Aborigines who procure tasty bat meat with their boomerangs, fertility rituals, fox hunts by English aristocrats, the cutting of male private parts, Eskimos who locate prey by observing the flight of birds… However, the most famous moment, the authenticity of which is debated and will continue to be debated, is that of a tourist being torn to pieces by some lions. The following year saw the release of a sequel: Savana violenta.
To demonstrate how civilised man kills for no reason, while death in nature is a matter of survival, the documentary takes us around the world to explore human and animal hunting and its various rituals.
One of the classics of the mondo-film genre, which explores the killer instinct of civilised man
For better or worse, the episode of a tourist being torn to pieces by lions has entered into the history of cinema
The mondo-film genre was characterised by a feverish search for bizarre and shocking images from the four corners of the Earth, and this film is one of its most appreciated works. Antonio Climati (director of photography on the legendary Mondo cane) and Mario Morra, with a commentary written by Alberto Moravia, create a collection of clips demonstrating how civilised man is violent for no apparent purpose, while in the rest of the natural world animals kill for a reason. Beyond the thematic justification for the film, what matters most, of course, is providing the public with a documentary stuffed with hard-hitting scenes: Aborigines who procure tasty bat meat with their boomerangs, fertility rituals, fox hunts by English aristocrats, the cutting of male private parts, Eskimos who locate prey by observing the flight of birds… However, the most famous moment, the authenticity of which is debated and will continue to be debated, is that of a tourist being torn to pieces by some lions. The following year saw the release of a sequel: Savana violenta.
To demonstrate how civilised man kills for no reason, while death in nature is a matter of survival, the documentary takes us around the world to explore human and animal hunting and its various rituals.
