Tweet
Released by: Jezebel/Kino
Released on: April 24, 2012.
Director: Arnold L. Miller, Norman Cohen
Cast: David Gell
Year: 1964/1965
Purchase From Amazon
The Movies:
Two British Mondo films paired together on one double feature disc from Salvation Films' Jezebel label, released by Kino Lorber. How's it all play out? Well…
London In The Raw:
When Mondo Cane struck box office gold, it only stood to reason that there'd be knock offs but few people likely anticipated just how many Mondo films would be unleashed upon the world in the wake of that originator. While the bulk of the knock offs came from Italy, the trend was worldwide and the United States churned out their fare share of cash-in's as did the United Kingdom, which brings us to London In The Raw.
Co-directed by Norman Cohen and Arnold L. Miller (the son of the comic book publisher who brought E.C. Comics to England!) in 1966, this film differs only slightly from the film's that inspired it in that it doesn't attempt to show us the world so much as it simply wants us to gaze at the seedy underbelly of England's capital. The times they were a changing in the sixties and London, just like any other large western city, seemed to be in a transitional period where the old social mores were being replaced by those of a more liberal and permissive society.
We start off by exploring legalized gambling as it relates to horse races before moving on to one of the many scenes in which the film points its finger at government hypocrisy where an old man playing a tin whistle is said to be committing a crime while the prostitute who lives in the building nearby him is not breaking the law by calling up 'friends' she sees passing by her below on the sidewalk. From there we get a look at some women working out in a gym. While this is positively tame by today's standards, we're to assume at the time that this picture was made that it was not the norm for women to exercise using machines in a public place. As belts and pulleys attempt to burn off the excise fat from all manner of slightly chubby pasty white English women, we then learn, rather graphically, about the wonders of electrolysis before we lay witness to a more masculine form of vanity as we watch in gory detail a man receiving a hair transplant.
From there the picture sets about documenting different forms of local entertainment. We see a bunch of beatnik types living together and feasting on cat food, we see some night club and pub singers (including a great old man with teeth that would make Shane MacGowan proud), jazz singers, and various strippers and burlesque dancers who gyrate and perform for some unusually docile crowds populated by older men who seem far more intent to drown their sorrows in booze than pay attention to the curvy treats on display in front of them.
The film doesn't really have a particularly succinct point though it does make some interesting comparisons between what would have been at the time a more traditional and conservative English lifestyle and the supposed new way of doing things that we witness on the screen. The cinematography in the picture is quite good, capturing some interesting moods throughout the various set pieces, most of which definitely feel staged. You won't see anything nearly as shocking as some of the nastier entries in the Mondo cannon here, but you will get a uniquely British take on the shockumentary film which gives the picture plenty of curiosity value. It's an interesting and quirky picture, one well worth checking out for fans of the genre or anyone with an interest in the social unrest and changing morality of the 1960s and the birth of its various subcultures.
Primitive London:
While not quite as interesting as its predecessor, London In The Raw, Arnold L. Miller's second attempt at cashing in on the success of Mondo Cane and its countless knock offs is never the less worth a look, particularly for those who enjoy bizarre anthropological digs through counter cultures past.
After a particularly graphic opening salvo in which a woman gives birth to a baby (some sort of attempt to provide a though provoking context to the picture, we can guess) the film dives in head first into how kids these days tend to grow up into different subcultures. We learn about mods, rockers and pinball wizards as well as hats. Yep. Hats. From there, we learn how the battle of the sexes has opened up doors for the modern woman, and now she can learn martial arts, get tattooed or put on all manner of makeup appliances to change her very appearance. Woman, thou art a chameleon indeed!
From here we wander around London a bit more and check out a factory that processes chickens, converting them from ugly birds into tasty morsels and stopping into a club now and again to see what's up with the city's sexier citizens. It all winds up with a completely pointless but equally welcome reenactment of a Jack The Ripper murder that doesn't so much succeed in closing out the film on a logical note as it does in confusing those who watch it. It's pointless, but it's trashy and bloody and somehow it fits like a square peg through a round hole.
While London In The Raw did have a more serious tone to it, this sequel has an 'everything but the kitchen sink' mentality to it. Primitive London isn't nearly as cohesive in its structure or its narrative and seems to want to emphasize shock value over enlightenment, all of this in spite of the classy narration that comes courtesy of David Gell.
That said, as dopey as the movie is, Mondo fans will eat it up as most of the staples of the genre are all here - sex, violence, a little blood, throw in a goldfish and yep, hats, and you're pretty much ready to go. There's even some completely out of place 'dialogue' between the film's editor and producer thrown in as some sort of completely inappropriate attempt at comic relief that just adds to the overall wackiness of the film. With the international hunger for Mondo movies in full swing at the time that this picture played British theaters in 1965 it's not hard to imagine how it got butts in seats and turned a pretty decent profit. It was also probably pretty shocking to the audiences of the day, even if by modern standards it doesn't seem particularly harsh anymore - even if newborn babies covered in slime are still icky.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Both films look pretty good in their original 1.33.1 fullframe aspect ratio. Minor print damage pops up here and there but there's nothing so distract here that anyone will likely find it distracting. Detail is generally strong though it does vary from scene to scene, while colors are reproduced rather well and look quite natural. There are no issues with compression artifacts or edge enhancement and while these standard definition presentations can't beat the BFI issued Blu-ray discs from a while back, this is a very good standard definition offering.
Both films get the Dolby Digital Mono treatment in their native English language with no alternate language or subtitle options provided. Clarity is fine, there are no issues with hiss or distortion and the levels are well balanced. No problems here, the movies both sound good.
Outside of a static menu and chapter selection, there are no extras on the disc.
The Final Word:
Two oddball British Mondo titles, Primitive London and London In The Raw make for a pretty great double feature. Those intrigued by the shock value inherent in the genre will certainly find stronger entries out there to titillate but these give us a uniquely English take on the shockumentary and for that reason stand out. Interesting stuff, and recommended.
