Dolce e selvaggio
Encyclopedia
Dolce e selvaggio (Sweet and Savage) is a Mondo film
directed by Antonio Climati and Mario Morra. The title "Sweet and Savage" refers to the juxtaposition of pleasant ("sweet") and violent ("savage") imagery within the film. It is narrated by the producer and long-time Mondo film director Franco Prosperi.
The film is the third and final entry in Climati and Morra's Savage Trilogy and is also the last collaborative feature between the two directors. Footage in the film was supplemented by scenes that originally appeared in their previous two films, Ultime grida dalla savana
and Savana violenta
. Morra went on to direct one final Mondo film, The Savage Zone, while Climati later made the cannibal film
Natura contro
in 1988.
The film has gained notoriety for the inclusion of several scenes of human death. One of the scenes, in which a man is tied to two trucks that tear off his arm, is staged. The other scenes, which are genuine, include a corpse in Tibet that is hacked apart by monks and fed to vultures and the accidental deaths of tightrope walker
Karl Wallenda
and stuntman
A.J. Bakunas.
and focused heavily on the staged death scene in its advertisements.
In Australia
, the film was released uncut theatrically in 1984, but an edited video release submitted to the Australian censors was banned for excessive violence. Although the film was rated M and R18+ for three different submissions in 1986, it was only ever released once on video by Roadshow's Premiere video label in 1987.
Mondo film
A mondo film is an exploitation documentary film, sometimes resembling a pseudo-documentary, usually depicting sensational topics, scenes, and situations...
directed by Antonio Climati and Mario Morra. The title "Sweet and Savage" refers to the juxtaposition of pleasant ("sweet") and violent ("savage") imagery within the film. It is narrated by the producer and long-time Mondo film director Franco Prosperi.
The film is the third and final entry in Climati and Morra's Savage Trilogy and is also the last collaborative feature between the two directors. Footage in the film was supplemented by scenes that originally appeared in their previous two films, Ultime grida dalla savana
Ultime grida dalla savana
Ultime grida dalla savana , also known as La Grande caccia and by its English title Savage Man Savage Beast, is a Mondo documentary directed by Antonio Climati and Mario Morra. Filmed all around the world, its central theme focuses on hunting and the interaction between man and animal...
and Savana violenta
Savana violenta
Savana violenta , also known as This Violent World and Mondo Violence, is a Mondo film directed by Antonio Climati and Mario Morra. The film documents various scenes of graphic behavior in an attempted exposé of worldly violence...
. Morra went on to direct one final Mondo film, The Savage Zone, while Climati later made the cannibal film
Cannibal film
Cannibal films are a sub genre of exploitation film made mostly by Italian filmmakers through the 1970s and 1980s. This sub genre is a collection of graphically gory movies that usually depict cannibalism by primitive, Stone-age natives deep inside the Asian or South American rain forests...
Natura contro
Natura contro
Natura contro , also known in English as The Green Inferno and Cannibal Holocaust II, is a 1988 Italian cannibal film directed by mondo director Antonio Climati...
in 1988.
The film has gained notoriety for the inclusion of several scenes of human death. One of the scenes, in which a man is tied to two trucks that tear off his arm, is staged. The other scenes, which are genuine, include a corpse in Tibet that is hacked apart by monks and fed to vultures and the accidental deaths of tightrope walker
Tightrope walking
Tightrope walking is the art of walking along a thin wire or rope, usually at a great height. One or more artists performs in front of an audience or as a publicity stunt...
Karl Wallenda
Karl Wallenda
Karl Wallenda was the founder of The Flying Wallendas, an internationally known daredevil circus act famous for performing death-defying stunts without a safety net.-Personal life:...
and stuntman
Stunt performer
A stuntman, or daredevil is someone who performs dangerous stunts, often as a career.These stunts are sometimes rigged so that they look dangerous while still having safety mechanisms, but often they are as dangerous as they appear to be...
A.J. Bakunas.
Release history
Dolce e selvaggio was originally released on 2 September 1985 in Italy and was later released internationally the following year. The film was released as Caramba! in JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and focused heavily on the staged death scene in its advertisements.
In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, the film was released uncut theatrically in 1984, but an edited video release submitted to the Australian censors was banned for excessive violence. Although the film was rated M and R18+ for three different submissions in 1986, it was only ever released once on video by Roadshow's Premiere video label in 1987.