Goodbye Uncle Tom – Blue Underground (4k UHD/Blu-ray/CD Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1971
Directors: Gualtiero Jacopetti, Franco Prosperi
Writers: Gualtiero Jacopetti, Franco Prosperi
Narrator: Stefano Sibaldi

Release Date: April 23rd, 2024
Approximate Running Times: 135 Minutes 48 Seconds (Addio Zio Tom - Italian Version), 123 Minutes 17 Seconds (Goodbye Uncle Tom - English Version)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10 (Both Versions)
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Italian (Addio Zio Tom - Italian Version), DTS-HD Mono English (Goodbye Uncle Tom - English Version)
Subtitles: English (Addio Zio Tom -Italian Version), English SDH (Both Versions), Spanish (Goodbye Uncle Tom - English Version)
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $69.95

"The film considered too shocking for the world! Written, edited, produced and directed by Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi of Mondo Cane fame, this epic recreation of the American slave trade atrocities was both condemned as depraved exploitation and acclaimed as an unprecedented cry of Black anguish and rage." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (Addio Zio Tom, Goodbye Uncle Tom)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "brand-new restorations, scanned in 4K 16-bit from their original negatives, with Dolby Vision HDR".

Addio Zio Tom comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 89.8 GB

Feature: 82.3 GB

Goodbye Uncle Tom comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 83.1 GB

Feature: 77 GB

Blue Underground has done a phenomenal job; both versions look excellent. Flesh tones and colors look perfect; image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid; and the image always looks organic.

Audio: 5/5 (DTS-HD Mono Italian, DTS-HD Mono English)

Addio Zio Tom comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in Italian with some English. This version comes with two subtitle options: English for everything that is in Italian and English SDH for the entire film.

Goodbye Uncle Tom comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English with removable English SDH. This version also comes with removable Spanish subtitles.

Both audio tracks sound excellent. Dialog always comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced and robust when it should.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc with Addio Zio Tom include an Italian theatrical trailer (5 minutes, DTS-HD mono Italian with removable English subtitles).

Extras on the 4K UHD disc with Goodbye Uncle Tom include an English language theatrical trailer (3 minutes 29 seconds, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles).

Extras on a Blu-ray disc include stills galleries: posters (14 images), advertising materials (19 images), Japanese souvenir program (24 images), lobby cards (55 images), stills (34 images), video & soundtrack (19 images) and Giampaolo Lomi’s behind-the-scenes photos (53 images), an Italian theatrical trailer (5 minutes, DTS-HD mono Italian with removable English subtitles), an English language theatrical trailer (3 minutes 29 seconds, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles), an interview with professor Matthew J. Smith titled Abjection Under Authoritarianism (19 minutes 47 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with author and academic Mark Goodall titled Mondo Mercenaries (27 minutes 15 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), behind-the-scenes 8mm footage with optional audio commentary by production manager Giampaolo Lomi (49 minutes 51 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival featurette titled Goodbye Cruel Mondo with comments by screenwriters/directors Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi, and composer Riz Ortolani (20 minutes 1 second, Dolby Digital stereo Italian with non-removable English subtitles), a documentary titled The Godfathers of Mondo (89 minutes 16 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian and English with removable English subtitles), and a documentary titled The Importance of Shocking: Gualtiero Jacopetti (93 minutes 59 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo Italian and English with removable English subtitles).

A CD with Riz Ortolani’s 23-track score.

Other extras include reversible cover art, a slipcover, and a 20-page booklet with an essay titled A Case for Goodbye Uncle Tom written by Dan Madigan, and a track listed for  Riz Ortolani’s score.

Summary:

When one discusses Italian Mondo films, the discussion begins and ends with Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi. With Mondo Cane, they revolutionized this type of filmmaking, and with each subsequent film, they continued to push the boundaries of on-screen content further. By the time they directed Addio Zio Tom, they had already directed these influential Mondo films: Mondo Cane, Women of the World, Mondo Cane 2, and Africa Addio. They co-directed Mondo Cane and Women of the World with Paolo Cavara, who would go on to direct three Mondo films on his own.

It is interesting how different Goodbye Uncle Tom is from Addio Zio Tom; what started off as a singular film evolved into what is essentially two films. All but one scene in Goodbye Uncle Tom takes place in the past, while Addio Zio Tom is a mixture of the past and the present. In the case of the latter, the bulk of the modern footage revolves around the black power movement in America. Also, these differences in footage are not where they differ; the way in which Addio Zio Tom juxtaposes the Black Power footage with the past drastically changes the tone. No matter which version you watch, they are both grueling experiences that are not for the faint of heart. That said, for me, Goodbye Uncle Tom is the more powerful of these two versions.

Though Mondo films are known for staging footage, what happens on screen in Goodbye Uncle Tom and Addio Zio Tom takes it to another level. Needless to say, the amount of suffering is excessive; it gives you a crystal clear view of what slaves endured. The non-actors endured great hardships to stage the horrific moments in this film, making it the most challenging aspect of Goodbye Uncle Tom and Addio Zio Tom. The most impactful aspect of Goodbye Uncle Tom and Addio Zio Tom is Riz Ortolani’s evocative score, which is swelling with deep emotions, especially the music cue Oh My Love. His score perfectly contrasts with the on-screen brutality and depravity, similar to his score for Cannibal Holocaust.

One always examines their countries' pasts through a narrow viewpoint, as told by those who are in power and control history. The most interesting aspect of Goodbye Uncle Tom and Addio Zio Tom is its viewpoint from outsiders, two Italian filmmakers. Despite using documents and other materials from the era they are depicting, their view of American history is not the same as that of someone who lives here. Also, when it comes to the past, there are scars that remain from painful moments. In recent times, atrocities from America's past have received significant attention. Instead of ignoring its past, we should never overlook it. However, focusing too much on a painful scar from the past does not heal what has been done; it only widens the rift further.

That said, cinema’s main goal is to tap into our emotions. All films manipulate us in some way. Filmmakers manipulate us in two ways: subtly interjecting or wielding a sledgehammer. It is clear that the filmmakers intended to provoke viewers with Goodbye Uncle Tom and Addio Zio Tom. Ultimately, no matter where you sit with Goodbye Uncle Tom and Addio Zio Tom, it is a powerful piece of filmmaking that you will not soon forget.

The extras for this release are essential, as they provide further context about the film and the filmmakers behind it. Goodbye Uncle Tom gets a definitive release from Blue Underground that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and an exceptional selection of extras, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer