The Mondo movies were a way of people to see what’s freaky in the world in the ’60s and early ’70s. The arrival of Mondo Cane from Italy in 1962 got audiences eager to see the wildness that wasn’t going to be airing on broadcast TV. The Mondo Cane documentary included clips of drunks in West Germany, the running of the bulls a tribe in New Guiana that worship airplanes. The movie quickly spawned dozens of other Mondo films that mixed travelogue footage with grotesque moments. This was how people were able to see grotesque things before HBO, home video and TikTok. Mondo New York promised to give audiences a view of the more disturbing cultural events happening in Manhattan in 1987. This was a time when the island was rather sketchy. The rents hadn’t made the interesting people flee to Brooklyn or Hoboken, New Jersey. Many of the acts listed on the poster were often mentioned in Details, Interview and the Village Voice. But for those of us growing up hundreds if not thousands of miles from the Big Apple, we had no clue what they were really like on stage. Mondo New York was a peep at the action we had only imagined.
The movie opens with the legendary Lydia Lunch reading a poem about what to expect in New York City. The words contrast with the city skyline behind her. It’s not exactly what you’d read in an official tourism brochure. Mondo New York isn’t just a random series of clips. We follow Shannah Laumeister on her journey along the sidewalks, nightclubs, basements and a few apartments in the city. She’s an innocent in her denim outfit and red sneakers. She’s not used to the acts that she discovers on her journey. She ends up at the Cat Club to watch Phoebe Legere perform “Marilyn Monroe” on stage. Phoebe would become a Troma superstar with appearances in The Toxic Avenger Part II, Part Ill and Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. As a performer, she seems to have no problem rolling around the stage floor. Joe Coleman’s spoken word performance in Cuando Theatre might upset people very quickly when he goes Ozzy Osborne on a pair of lab mice. He tops this by lighting a batch of fireworks on his chest. For those wanting to see an outrageous act, Joe Coleman delivers.
There’s a visit to a leather bar that was rather shocking for audience in 1988. They didn’t have fetish night at your neighborhood microbrewery for another decade. The next stop is artist Frank Moore’s showing. He’s paraplegic and seated in a wheelchair. But his models are body painted and making the scene. Singer Joey Arias has two numbers during the movie with “Fish Out of Water” and The Beatles’ “A Hard Days Night.” A crowd gathers in Washington Square Park to catch a comedy performance by Charlie Barnett (Noogie on Miami Vice) and Rick Aviles (Carlito’s Way and Waterworld). Ann Magnuson pops up at a park dressed like a Swiss Miss. She delivers a monologue as a turkey gets in her camera view. Magnuson had previously been seen getting killed by David Bowie in the opening of The Hunger. Recently she was on Star Trek: Picard as the commander-in-chief of Starfleet.
We get outrageous moments with a rooster fight, a slave auction, a view of the mosh pit at the CBGB and a voodoo ceremony. There was so much going on at night. Shannah gets a fright when Emilio Cubeiro delivers a poem that sounds like a threat. Karen Finley doesn’t do her yam performance. Instead, we get her “Easter Special.” The evening wraps up with Dean Johnson & The Weenies rocking Save the Robots nightclub. He’s a tall bald man in an angular androgenous outfit. Shannah sees a lot on her trip around Manhattan.
I don’t think Mondo New York played a theater in my area back in 1988. Perhaps the mouse and rooster business made it too risky for a booking. This didn’t stop the VHS tape from showing up at North American Video. A group of us watched it late one night. We were impressed by the wild nature of the art being created in New York City. This was a glorious postcard from the downtown clubs and denizens. Even after all these years, the movie still has the ability to shock and impress depending on the performer. Mondo New York is a jolting tour of the city.
The Video is 1.78:1 anamorphic. The 2K transfer was taken off the original camera negative. You’ll get to see New York City before Disney cleaned it up. The Audio is LPCM 2.0 Stereo. The sound mix is clear. You’ll hear the odd noises of Manhattan. This also makes the musical number sparkle. The movie is subtitled in English.
Interview with Joe Coleman (49:33) points out that his performance was at a church that rented out as a performance space. Stuart Shapire points out to Joe that he was selected because he represented the extreme nature of performances found on Manhattan. He talks about various places you could perform in the ’80s. He gets into the other things he did with live mice and fireworks. He got arrested afterward. He delves into the sideshow geek.
Interview with Joey Arias (49:48) has him mention that he still lives in Greenwich Village. He and Shapiro talk about being linked. For three months when Mondo New York played at a theater, Joey Arias showed up to introduce them film each night. He talks about how Mondo New York helped showcase his career after his monumental time backing up David Bowie on Saturday Night Live with Klaus Nomi. He was supposed to be on the poster until his management said, “No!” He wanted to be the devil crawling up from New York. A lot of people recognize him from Mondo New York and his “Fish Out of Water” song.
Interview with Shannah Laumeister (36:16) finally lets her talk. She played the innocent girl seeing the performances. She landed the part the day before they shot her first walking down the street scene. She had the look they wanted for the role. She was curious about things, so she related to what her character was experiencing. She would go on to appear in Bullets Over Broadway, Vegas Vacation and Nobody’s Fool. She was married to photographer Bert Stern (best known for his photographs of Marilyn Monroe).
Interview with Stuart Shapiro (27:20) sits down with the producer who also was behind Night Flight on USA network in the ’80s. He is a beacon of Counter Culture. This is true since his Night Flight Streaming runs my Danger! Health Films series hosted by the Cowboy from the Village People. He did Tunnelvision and distributed other films. This was what he used for Night Flight. The first few years, there wasn’t any censorship from the channel. This came to an end when he ran The Clash’s Rude Boy film. People wrote nasty letters and the channel assigned a censor to preview the weekend’s offerings. After he left the show in 1986, he went to Brazil to dry out. He was inspired to make Mondo New York to show the outrageous parts of the city.
Behind The Scenes Photo Gallery has 80 pictures from the production and performances. There are photos of Director Harvey Keith and producer Stuart Shapiro.
Press Kits & Scripts Gallery lets you know what was sent out to reviewers.
Trailer (1:23) gets funky with the shots and various leader elements. Lydia Lunch’s monologue sets the tone.
Mini-Poster that’s perfect for framing. The reverse side appears to be Japanese release.
Booklet has photos from the production and information on the acts with location
Soundtrack CD has 14 tracks to let you jam out to the Mondo sounds.
MVD Rewind Collection presents Mondo New York. Directed by Harvey Keith. Produced by Stuart S. Shapiro. Starring Shannah Laumeister, Joey Arias, Rick Aviles, Charlie Barnett, Joe Coleman. Emilio Cubeiro, Karen Finley, Dean Johnson, Phoebe Legere, Lydia Lunch, Ann Magnuson & Frank Moore. Running Time: 83 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: December 12, 2023.
