Gualtiero Jacopetti

  • Gualtiero Jacopetti & Franco Prosperi – Africa addio AKA Farewell Africa (1966)

    1961-1970DocumentaryExploitationFranco ProsperiGualtiero JacopettiItaly

    “What the camera sees it films pitilessly, without sympathy, without taking sides,” it begins. “This film only says farewell to the old Africa and gives the world a picture of its agony.” As colonialism collapsed in 1960s Africa, Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi rushed to the Dark Continent to record the horrifying battle for control that followed. Here was a world now ruled by rebels and refugees, plunderers and poachers, mercenaries and murderers, a land suddenly aflame with brutality, racism and unspeakable slaughter. At the risk of their own lives, the filmmakers’ cameras captured it all. The result is a daring and disturbing work that ranks among the greatest achievements in documentary cinema, an experience that remains as shocking – and shockingly relevant – as it was 40 years ago. This is AFRICA BLOOD AND GUTS!Read More »

  • Gualtiero Jacopetti & Franco Prosperi – Mondo cane n. 2 (1963)

    Documentary1961-1970Franco ProsperiGualtiero JacopettiItaly

    Synopsis:
    IT STARTS WHERE MONDO CANE LEFT OFF!
    The official sequel to the original shockumentary, presenting new and bizarre behavior from around the world, including cruelty, graphic gore, and strange rituals.Read More »

  • Gualtiero Jacopetti & Franco Prosperi – Addio Zio Tom AKA Goodbye Uncle Tom [Italian cut] (1971)

    1971-1980CultDocumentaryFranco ProsperiGualtiero JacopettiItalyThe Cannon Group

    Synopsis:
    Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco E. Prosperi, best-known for the groundbreaking shockumentary Mondo Cane, directed this bizarre and shocking look at slavery in America. Set in the deep South prior to the Civil War, Zio Tom finds Jacopetti and Prosperi travelling back in time aboard a helicopter to investigate the nuts and bolts of slavery as it happened in the United States prior to abolition. Along the way, the filmmakers go aboard a slave ship as frightened Africans are brought to America under inhuman conditions; they witness the dangerous and degrading process by which slaves were made ready for market; and they visit a “breeding farm” for slaves after laws prohibit the importation of slaves from abroad. Read More »

  • Paolo Cavara & Gualtiero Jacopetti & Franco Prosperi – Mondo cane (1962)

    Documentary1961-1970CultFranco ProsperiGualtiero JacopettiItalyPaolo Cavara

    Synopsis:
    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.Read More »

  • Gualtiero Jacopetti – Addio zio Tom aka Goodbye Uncle Tom (1971)

    1971-1980CultDocumentaryGualtiero JacopettiItalyThe Cannon Group

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    Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

    Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco E. Prosperi, best-known for the groundbreaking shockumentary Mondo Cane, directed this bizarre and shocking look at slavery in America. Set in the deep South prior to the Civil War, Zio Tom finds Jacopetti and Prosperi travelling back in time aboard a helicopter to investigate the nuts and bolts of slavery as it happened in the United States prior to abolition. Along the way, the filmmakers go aboard a slave ship as frightened Africans are brought to America under inhuman conditions; they witness the dangerous and degrading process by which slaves were made ready for market; and they visit a “breeding farm” for slaves after laws prohibit the importation of slaves from abroad. Also included is a sermon from a preacher who argues for the moral and spiritual necessity of slavery (while another man speaks out against it strictly on grounds of economics and practicality); the contrasting thoughts of men and women on the matter of miscegenation; and an interview with an educated slave who feels his circumstances are better for him than conventional employment. Also shown is the brutal torture and punishment of slaves for any number of real or imagined grievances. Re-creating both the opulence and the ugliness of the Old South on a grand scale, Zio Tom concludes with present-day African-Americans reading The Confession of Nat Turner and contemplating violent overthrow of the white-dominated culture. Understandably controversial, Zio Tom received a very brief theatrical release in the United States under the title Farewell Uncle Tom, where it received an X rating from the MPAA despite being trimmed by approximately 20 minutes from its original Italian running time.Read More »

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