The original 'Mondo' shockumentary. Considers the variety and lunacy of the human animal via all manner of shocking, exotic, violent, sad, hilarious, pitiful, fatal, vicious etc etc (this is an in-joke you will get if you watch it) scenes. Some are real and some are set-ups. There is a colossal amount of animal killing/cruelty so be warned. Quite a few people die as well. Superb filming, sequencing, editing and scoring make this a cracking film as it moves from, say: bikini dumbness to Bikini Atoll and heartbreaking scenes of the effects of radiation poisoning in the animals; or from the grim reaper to alcoholics and prostitutes on the Reeperbahn. You have to see this with the original Italian narrator as his camp asides and venomous jokes are really funny, but every now and then you get a sober meditation on, say, death or faith that is brilliantly well written. Highlights for me were the self-flagellants who inadvertently looked like Hitler impersonators wearing turf for hats! And the tropical island chief with a thing for very large ladies, many many very large ladies, with all of whom he had knocked out goodness knows how many children...oh the joy when you finally get to see him.
