Cheap Primitive Love/Mondo Balordo (DVD) (Roberto Bianchi Montero) Price

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Customer Reviews of Primitive Love/Mondo Balordo

Beware the Trailers!
Both "Primitive Love" and "Mondo Balordo" are tamer examples of the "mondo" movies that were popular during the 1960s, beginning with the success of "Mondo Cane" (best known, perhaps, for the song "More," which received an Academy Award nomination). Mondo movies were pseudo-documentaries that purported to reveal shocking, exotic rituals around the world, but, in reality, concentrated their subject matter on third-world countries in Africa and Asia (where said subjects couldn't complain too much and were probably desperate for money, if they received any at all). By any stretch of the imagination, much of the footage would today be appallingly racist.

"Primitive Love" is an inept Italian sex farce starring Jayne Mansfield (already past her prime and obviously desperate for movie work) that includes some footage of so-called "primitve love" rituals from around the world. Some of these "rituals" include graphic documentary footage of the slaughtering and disembowling of animals that featured so prominently in the mondo-movie genre. Animal-rights activists would have a field day with these movies if they ever became popular again. What is inadvertantly hilarious about this movie is definitely not the antics of the two co-stars (a bargain basement Italian version of Martin and Lewis), but Jayne's voiceover narration. It may be the only time in cinema history where you are afforded the chance to hear a blonde bombshell sex goddess seriously conversing on Marxist economic theory!!!

"Mondo Balordo" may have been one of the last gasps of the exhausted mondo-movie genre upon its release, and it features a narrative voiceover by Boris Karloff. It's an incoherent mess of a movie, with random footage spliced together that promises insights into exotic rituals from around the world, but looks more like a package-tour travelogue through a very boring hell.

The real problem with this DVD release, however, is the attachaed trailers for other mondo movies. Here, you get the full, noxious variety of how degrading these movies became over the course of time in an effort to provide more shocking and disturbing thrills to jaded 1960s audiences. Easily the most offensive is a trailer for the mondo-movie "Secret Africa," which features typical National Geographic footage of bare-chested African women that may have been shocking 35-40 years ago, but now seems nothing less than degradingly racist. But more offensive is the inclusion of footage of a baby being held down and, in bloody close-up, ritually scarred as it screams in pain. Also included are close-ups of disfigured victims of the then raging war in Angola. This is appalling, graphic and inexcusable.

Because of the content of the attached trailers, this DVD is unfit for viewing -- certainly by minors and advisedly by any adult with a sensitivity for human misery, suffering and degradation. I would rate this no stars at all if given the chance.

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primitive love/mondo balordo
lousy foreign film pass on this one

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Jayne!
Another fine release here from Something Weird Video. PRIMITIVE LOVE features Jayne Mansfield (who totally eclipses Marilyn whatsername in every possible way in my personal book of Cool), while the 2nd feature MONDO BALARDO is narrated by a venerable Boris Karloff. Both are fairly tame, but enjoyable, 60's mondo-fests. Jayne's dance/strip segments are priceless and alone are worth the price of admission.

There are also a bunch of extras on the DVD, including trailers for other mondo movies and two short-shorts. My one minor complaint is that the cover's listing of the extras uses the kinda misleading title "Let's Go To The Drive In!" - An interactive feature allowing uninterrupted playback of almost three hours of mondo drive in madness". This is really just a way to play the disc through without using the menus. Nothing new if you've already gone through everything. No big deal, though.

Now if only SWV would release THE WILD WORLD OF JAYNE MANSFIELD...