Ecco/The Forbidden
Director– Gianni Proia /Benjamin Andrews, Lee Frost
Starring - George Sanders, Alexander, Maria Ansaldi/Baby Bubbles, Bob Cresse, Pat Hall
Country of Origin - U.S.
Discs- 1
Distributor - Severin
Reviewer- David Steigman
Date- 03/28/2019
The Film (3/5)
Fans of the sleaze film genre should get a kick about a few Mondo documentary films from the 1960s recently released on Blu-ray by Severin Films. Two of the more obscure Mondo films, Ecco and The Forbidden have been paired together on one Blu-ray to make this doubly sleazy for aficionados and voyeurs of these genre films. These are the Bob Cresse Olympic International American releases of both films with added footage.
Also known as This Shocking World, Ecco is Mondo film that was made in Italy directed by Gianni Proiaand and later re-edited by Bob Cresse with some scenes taken from Il Mondo di Notte Numero 2.
Narrated by screen legend George Sanders (All About Eve, Foreign Correspondent), ECCO explores abnormal human behavior around the world including satanic rituals, odd religious ceremonies and cultural stereotypes. Among the groovy highlights are German sword fighting while blinded, self-body piercing, violent roller derby, sadism, juvenile delinquents behaving inappropriately, witchcraft, a beheaded chicken spraying blood on a naked lady during a satanic ritual, whales being harpooned to be eaten and the dreaded Lapland women castrating reindeer with their teeth which wasn’t as graphic as originally thought but was still repulsive. Some of these scenes are not for the squeamish.
Not being acquainted whatsoever with Mondo films, I found Ecco to be interesting and somewhat compelling, but felt the best part of the film is the narration by screen legend George Sanders who doesn’t have many positive things to say about the footage shown and is quite amusing to listen to, in case just seeing the Mondo footage isn’t entertaining enough.
The second feature, advertised by Severin as a bonus feature, is the Mondo rarity from 1966 known as The Forbidden. This is also the American version with newly added footage to original French cut. Directed by Benjamin Andrews and Lee Frost and starring Bob Cresse, Pat Hall and Baby Bubbles this rare film is actually a phony Mondo, a “mockumentary” despite the fact that the theme of the film is about “Forbidden” topics. The picture has staged scenes including one of a rapist in Los Angeles attacking two naked women. Among the other tantalizing highlights are a kinky female martial arts class, juvenile teens on the Sunset strip, Swiss lesbians doing their thing, lovely topless Paris girls, and scenes of some Nazi strippers.
The Forbidden is a decent enough “Mondo” documentary and features a great amount of nudity which should be of grand entertainment to many a fan of these sleazy exploitation films
Audio/Video (3/5)
Severin Films has given both of these films a ‘shocking’ Blu-ray release. Both films are short enough to be on one single Blu-ray. This is a robust package. Starting with the video quality, according to Severin Films, Ecco has been given a 4K scan from the original internegative, and in its original letterboxed 2:35: 1 aspect ratio. The image looks as good as it will most likely ever get as the source materials weren’t in terrific condition. Colors at times can be bold with rich colors, but still not looking as smooth or polished as one might suspect. The footage at certain intervals does look a bit washed up, with print damages and vertical lines appearing throughout. Film grain is in abundance here, and I’m 100% sure no DNR has been applied to the image. The film still has appearance of a 60s or 70s television show. Given all the animals in Ecco, let’s say it visually compares to Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom.
As for The Forbidden, this presentation has more of a grindhouse look to it than anything. Transferred in 1080p “from the only known 35mm print in existence” the image quality, just like Ecco is not something to write home about.
The opening credits are in color, and look washed up and murky. The rest of the film is inconsistent. The black and white footage ranges from looking clear and sharp with great detail and texture to scenes that have print damages and speckles throughout. In a nutshell don’t expect the image to look like a digitally shot 2018 film. But at the very least, it’s on Blu-ray.
English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 was used for this release. There are some pops and crackles in both films, but nothing too distracting to ruin the listening experience. Overall the audio track came in clear with sounds of the dialog, music and other noises being consistent. One thing I recognized while listening, which isn’t of great importance was part of the music used in The Forbidden was taken from 1957’s schlock classic The Unearthly.
Extras (2.5/5)
Extras for this release include a featurette called “The Bandit: Producer David Goldstein Remembers Bob Cresse”. In this interview, David Goldstein talks about the legendary cult filmmaker and some of his films. Another feature, “I Want More” is a short film about paid for sex, love making and other deviant sexual behaviors. This is a feature borrowed from Something Weird Video as the SWV logo appears throughout the black and white picture. There is a trailer for Ecco as well. And worthy of note, this release is region free
Overall (3/5)
These two films do have entertainment value, especially for those who love the Mondo film series, and enjoy exploitation films with an ample amount of topless females. The audio and video presentation, while not pristine by any stretch of the imagination, is still certainly serviceable. The superb extras put this release over the top and make this Blu-ray a worthwhile purchase.
