Forbidden France

What question has plagued mankind more than the mystery—and terror—of death? This forbidden pursuit has driven Dr. Frances B. Gröss to the brink of madness, but in his obsession, he has amassed a uniquely comprehensive collection of films that depict life in its final, grueling moments. From the savagery of cold-blooded murder to the perverse realities of war, tragic accidents, and the everyday lives of those who collect, dissect, and bury the dead, this descent into morbidity lays bare a truth that all of us will one day face.

To mark the 30th anniversary of L'Étrange Festival, Gaumont is opening up its archives to offer the best of its most secret, bizarre and crazy images, digitized for the first time. A unique program featuring black magic, surrealistic happenings, world records, the evolution of feminism, wild bets, vanished places, forgotten inventions and other delights.

Completely topless. Completely uninhibited. The craze that began in San Francisco is now exploding across the USA and Europe.

A new age Mondo film that explores the realm of urban decay and various oddities of the modern world, ranging from underground club scenes to sex change operations.

The third installment in one of the most disturbing shockumentary series ever made, and it gets even more sick! Includes an autopsy of an unfortunately real dead infant, a cooking tutorial on road-kill, a walk-through of an abandoned house cleared after the homicide of an exchange-student, and a video of re-enactments of workplace incidents.

Early Mondo film featuring primitive rituals, animals being butchered, unusual birth defects, and a legit trepanation scene.

A chronicle of the violence that occurred in much of the African continent throughout the 1960s. As many African countries were transitioning from colonial rule to other forms of government, violent political upheavals were frequent. Revolutions in Zanzibar and Kenya in which thousands were killed are shown, the violence not only political; there is also extensive footage of hunters and poachers slaughtering different types of wild animals.

This documentary looks at strange behaviors and practices in Europe, including nude skiing in Switzerland, hot-butchering in Italy, and an orgy in a graveyard.

The film documents modern slave trade through a number of African countries, under dictatorship rule. The filming was conducted both in public places, and sometimes with the use of hidden cameras, for high impact scenes of nudity, sex, and violence - and a few surprises, as slaves made out of peregrins to Asia, and slave traders paid in traveller checks.

The sensational follow-up to "London in the Raw," "Primitive London" sets out to reflect society's decay through a sideshow spectacle of 1960s London depravity—and manages to outdo its predecessor. Here, we confront mods, rockers and beatniks at the Ace Café, cut some rug with obscure beat band The Zephyrs, smirk at flabby men in the sauna and goggle at sordid wife-swapping parties as we discover a pre-permissive Britain still trying to move on from the post-war depression of the 1950s.

The sequel to one of the most infamous shockumentaries ever made. Includes a real home video of a girl being exorcised, a recording of the aftermath of a brutal gang massacre, a russian science experiment on a decapitated dog, and a splatter-filled educational video.

Mondo Cane and the Schoolgirl Report series stand as obvious influences on this occasionally amusing but generally rather tedious exploitation film that alternates between documentary, fake documentary and docudrama. The theme is Satanism and the linking thread is a recreation of what is supposedly the real-life case of a murder and attempted murder of two Munich teenage men by a quartet of girls who had been dabbling in devil worship. During the ensuing trial, the lawyer resorts to dilatory tactics while the hearing is frequently interrupted by the girls breaking into incantation, temper tantrums or shivery fits ostensibly bearing on demonic possession. When the subject of the Manson killings is brought up, the most obnoxious of the defendants breaks in indignantly, claiming that Sharon Tate’s “execution” was justified as she posed dangers to the Satanic community.

Cult director Sergio Martino, during the most glorious mondo years, delivered Naked and Violent, a documentary which unveils the brutality of the USA. Hidden behind a mask of perfection and justice, Naked and Violent traces the problems of American society in the 70s: from racial persecutions to the depraved sexual habits of the middle class, from the drug market to illegal gambling.

Examines real footage of the various methods humanity has used throughout history for capital punishment. The makers point out how unjustifiable the death penalty is in every situation, so they do take a staunch stance against what's presented.