rjun67 I first viewed this film (in it's 140 minute original cut)after trying to find out information about the Zanzibar Revolution in 1964 when up to 20,000 Arabs were massacred by African revolutionaries.I was directed to this film and I could not believe such an important film has been banned and damned by most countries in Europe and The USA.It may sound and look racist when you are viewing it but it highlights valid points such as the mindless slaughter of animals (formerly protected by British Authorities)and the need by the new governments to destroy the perfectly workable Colonial infrastructure that they inherited. The racist murders by Black on White and Black on Arab are documented and leaves you feeling chilled that the new Black Administrations motivation was only to childishly say WE ARE African...YOU ARE NOT!, when you are confronted with this it is difficult not to dismiss the entire continent as a busted flush. The film concentrates on just 2 years 1963-64 (when many of the former British and Belgian colonies became independent.The scenes of the Zanzibar Revolution are terrifying you get a feeling of helplessness as the helicopter flies over hundreds of Arabs running into the sea to escape from Blacks with guns, and the day after when the helicopter returns to the same spot........we see that all these people have been butchered, lying on the blood soaked sand in white robes. The main problem with this film is that we are to blame because we never want to see another race in this light and the truth is hidden, when in fact it should be viewed and debated. this is a true masterpiece.

dutchbeats Quite the conundrum, 80% of the comments focus only on the violence, which is extreme and relentless at times. It should also be noted that the film clocks in at 2 hours and 20 minutes, and, there is a whole other world being presented when the violence stops. Quite simply, the cinematography will knock your socks off; we're talking major motion picture stuff with an original score that keeps evolving and is quite breathtaking(i still haven't seen this on a big screen but, wow). Speaking of breathtaking, visually this film is a feast for the eyes, it's hard to believe at times that i'm watching a documentary; a documentary that will open you up and get inside you and everyone that sees it, with no pun intended and no shame. As someone else said here, it is 'an uneasy time capsule'. The brutality, perfectly balanced with tender and profound beauty. Real situations balanced with oddity and humor.I mean, the directors won an Oscar for cinematography just before this and at one part of the film they are a breath away from being executed, only to be saved by an officer who points out that they are Italian. Now in 2009, and every day forward until the end of civilization, this collection of moving pictures becomes more and more potent, gaining credence with every new low that so-called 'modern' humanity sinks to, with the temporal yet exquisite fruits of it's labor always just out of reach of the masses. AN ABSOLUTE MUST SEE

catheter1st This film is an uneasy time capsule. While the early narration clearly bemoans the end of Colonialism in Africa, the 135 minutes of footage that follows clearly justifies the stance of the filmmakers on that point. Basically it says that the handover comes too soon, before Africans are truly ready to rule themselves effectively.This film chronicles the handover of power in several former Colonies, chiefly Tanzania and Kenya, but also a few others. It contains authentic footage of Uhuru rallies, the trials and aftermaths of the Mau-Mau revolutionary movement, and the countless slaughter of both animals and humans alike. In particular, the revolution in Zanzibar under John Okello, and the resulting massacre of some 5000 Arab men, women, and children is clearly exposed, with scenes of mass shootings, mass graves, truckloads of bodies, and beaches littered with corpses as far as the camera can see.Filmed to shock? Maybe, but then again this really happened on the Dark Continent. The film is not without humor however, in particular one scene where an aspiring African politician makes his case to a bunch of tribal people with his bullhorn mounted to the back of a donkey, while a herd of goats knocks over his microphone into the mud. But images like this fade quickly when the viewer watches miles and miles of animal bones and carcasses littering the landscape, hunters killing elephants with the aid of helicopter terrorism, and Belgian paratroopers who execute people on camera in an effort to save a group of missionaries.All in all this is a very important film for anyone interested in how the current state of affairs in Africa got their beginnings. Blame is squarely placed on both the colonial powers, and the new African rulers for failure to effect a proper transfer of power. This version of the film is available in both the Mondo Cane box set, and the far cheaper(in price) two-disc Shocumentary Extreme collection from Blue Underground.

rwduke This is a very well done documentary. But what it shows will mortify you. I was yelling at the screen. The atrocities against the animals in this documentary absolutely made me sick. Animals are slaughtered relentlessly, cruelly and for no reason other than the sport of it. I wanted those wild animals to rip their killers to shreds. At least once it would have been nice to see one of the poachers ripped to shreds by the elephants, lions and hippos. It never ceases to sicken me how a man with a gun thinks he has really accomplished something by shooting an animal. Watching the men stand proudly with their gun over the carcass of an animal for a photo just makes me sick. They should all have been fed to the lions.This documentary proves one thing and one thing only. Humans are the sickest and cruelest animals on the planet.