A Fool's World

1964 "We Don't Make the Love Scenes in Mondo Balordo...We Just Filmed What Nature Already Started!"
4.3| 1h33m| en
Details

Documentary showing perverse and aberrant behavior from around the globe, including such things as sex slavery, dwarf love, Asian brothels and lesbians.

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Crown International Pictures

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Reviews

Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.
Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.
Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.
Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
EVOL666 I've never been real big into "mondo" films. I've seen a few over the years, but they've just never really held my interest. I've had a bunch laying around that I'd been given, and figured I'd give a few a shot to see if my opinion has changed. Not knowing anything about MONDO BOLARDO, I decided to give it a go. I wish I'd have never bothered. I'm going to spend very little time summarizing this one.Boris Karloff narrates a bunch of EXTREMELY boring and non-shocking stuff that shows no nudity, sleaze, or any of the other things that mondo-fans seem to dig. The most "shocking" scene is some African hunting footage...I guess I should have done my research and realized that this film was made in 1964. Had I known that, I would have expected something about as exciting and sleazy as ANTIQUES ROADSHOW instead of something more akin to FACES OF DEATH. The only reason I was able to sit through the entire run-time of this one is because I was doing other things while it was on - namely, trying to pay as little attention to the film as humanly possible, while still retaining enough to advise that it sucks. I can recommend this film to...well...no one - unless you are suffering from severe insomnia - in which case, this one should do the trick nicely...2/10
John Harrington 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.)
Glenn Andreiev 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!
Lou Rugani I saw Mondo Balordo ("A Fool's World") at the late, lamented Mid-City Outdoor Theatre in 1964 (it closed in 1984) and at the time there were a number of films copycatting the wildly-successful "Mondo Cane" ("A Dog's World"). For the uninitiated, these are anthology documentaries of the offbeat, bizarre, and often even disgusting, all supposedly genuine, with an unseen narrator (in this case, Boris Karloff, who's great in anything), and a musical score. As a shockumentary, although I really don't remember even one topic, I recall that MB was hardly as well done as Mondo Cane, and if this turns up anywhere on video, I believe you'll be underwhelmed.Except for Boris Karloff's narration, which is the best thing going for Mondo Balordo. I rated it a 5.A footnote observation: it's amazing what little it took to shock the audiences of 1964. Nowadays ... hm.