Big Mondo

If you're as fascinated by New York City in the 1980s as I am -- and if you've got a strong stomach for some genuine disgusting stuff -- then I recommend the 1988 film Mondo New York to you, which is premiering on blu-ray and DVD for the very first time today thank to the folks at MVD. You can pick up a copy of the fancy collector's edition at Amazon right here -- it also includes the film's soundtrack on a separate disc. Or if you wanna go even fancier the soundtrack has been pressed to vinyl too, and you can get that at MVD's site. The film contains performances by downtown artists and musicians like Joey Arias, Karen Finley, Ann Magnuson, John Sex, Joe Coleman, and Dean Johnson, among other... stuff. 

Fair warning -- there is a weird amount of actual animal violence in this. They were obviously riffing on exploitation films like Mondo Cane, "travelogue" documentaries that were really just excuses to show real life horrific rituals. Anyway I had to look away a few times watching some of this stuff. And there is a good dose of racist and homophobic humor too. Anyway you've been warned! This won't be for everybody! But you can watch the trailer here if you're interested. It's very much an undistilled portrait of that moment in time. I haven't had a chance to dive into the heaps of special features on the disc yet but I'm sure they copntexutalize what we see better than I can. 

“Home to Outcasts, Misfits, Losers, Perverts, Lunatics, Gangsters, Pranksters, Outlaws, Neurotics, Psychotics, Maniacs, Brainiacs, Hippies, Yippes, Yuppies, Junkies, Flunkies, Monkeys, All trying to claw their way to the top of trash heap, all screaming me, me, I want my fame my fortune, my lousy 15 minutes, my what the fuck whatever it is – You want it, We Got it! It’s Mondo New York.” - Lydia Lunch