I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

hyped garbage

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

MONDO BALORDO is one of the many mondo documentaries that boomed in Italy in the 1960s. This one's narrated by the ever-genteel Boris Karloff, whose dulcet tones add immeasurably to the viewing experience. The rest is the usual concoction of clips culled from news footage, documentaries, et al. What's remarkable about this one is just how tame it feels for the modern viewer, a film where dwarfs, transvestites, and lesbians are described as 'strange' and 'abhorrent'. Elsewhere, there are scenes of women exercising and in their bikinis on the beach; Bedouin prostitutes; debauchery in Hong Kong nightclubs; elephant hunting and turtle butchery; zoo scenes and operations on sick dogs. It's all so dated that it feels like it comes from another world.

The so-called “Mondo” exploitation documentaries weren’t the sole province of Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi who made the first such film, MONDO CANE (1961), and several more thereafter. This is one of their imitations and it’s actually the first I’ve watched of the latter: while I can’t say that the ‘originals’ were exactly good to begin with, or even enticing to the undersigned, the films made by other hands (at least, judging by this title) are downright mediocre. Though each entry in the genre purported to tackle specific themes, they were mostly interchangeable, so much so that some of the idiosyncrasies dealt with here (say, the 'phenomenon' of transvestism or the dubious assertion that camel waste possesses beautifying properties) were also featured in WOMEN OF THE WORLD (1963), which I watched a fortnight or so ago! Among the wackier episodes here involves a midget pop-star; otherwise, the accent is on titillation (censorship hadn’t completely relaxed as yet) and, needless to say, there are the usual insensitive depictions of animal cruelty. Frankly, however, the single most notable thing about this particular effort is the fact that the narration for the English-language edition was provided by none other than horror icon Boris Karloff (clearly making for one of the lowest points in his generally respectable filmography).

Mondo movies are a time-machine sending one back to a pre-politically correct world. If you are sensitive, avoid them. But if you want to know what amused, titillated and shocked western audiences in the fifties and sixties, one may get much out of Mondo films. As for Mondo Bolardo, relax and watch people do their own thing and enjoy the melodious tones of Boris Karloff's narration. For example, note the goods for sale at the Italian black market. Those old electronic devices selling then for only a few million lire(!) would go for quite a bit on E-bay today. (And, yes, a few animal slaughter scenes in this film are disturbing, but there is no reason not to fast-forward through those scenes and enjoy the rest of the show.)

MONDO BALORDO, whose tagline promises "intimate shocking scenes of love - man's insatiable hunger.." was slightly reshaped for salivating American consumption. A lively Boris Karloff provides the often humorous narration.We travel with Boris to all sorts of hidden corners of our weird, kooky world. First we see an Italian rock group in full swing. Their lead singer is Franz Drago, a frantic, almost acrobatic 27-inch tall volcano of energy. Then it's off to Las Vegas, to see Beauty Pageant footage lensed by a boob-obsessed cinematographer. Next stop, a photo session of Asian girls in bondage. "This is for magazines for readers of special tastes..." Karloff purrs. Some of the footage, featuring natives tearing apart hunted animals may turn off some viewers. (Hey, the Mondo films were meant to shock.) An actual African exorcism where a live chicken is consumed, instructions on how to behave at a drunken transvestite party, and a poverty stricken Italian town where citizens visit the cemetery to ask the dead to cast spells on enemies and choose winning lotto numbers, fill the bill. After watching this film, you will think the world is filled only with chicken-eating, gambling drag queens! One scene in BALORDO shows a European freak show where Mr. Karloff tells us "Sometimes the people buying the tickets are the freaks." Tell it like it is Boris!