Goodbye Uncle Tom 4K Review (Blue Underground)

Goodbye Uncle Tom (aKa Addio zio Tom, Farewell Uncle Tom, and White Devil: Black Hell) is a 1971 exploitation film written/produced/edited/directed by Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi (Mondo Candido, Mondo Cane series, Women of the World, Operazione Ricchezza, Un’idea Della Pace, The Wild Beasts, and Africa: Blood and Guts). This nasty recreation of the American slave trade atrocities during the Pre-Civil War in the south. It was condemned as depraved exploitation for it’s honest brutality and real life nightmare visuals for those dark days in history. It’s tragedies and punishment of the innocent acclaimed as an unprecedented cry of Black anguish and rage seeking their retribution!!!! This is one of the most controversial films ever made in the entire history of cinema. It’s one of those disturbing features that stays with you for awhile after viewing. I honestly felt a little dirty after experiencing Goodbye Uncle Tom, this exploitation film doesn’t hold back at all. Directors Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi were infamous for making crazy stuff like this but this was their most extreme project. This documentary recreation of some of the worst times dealing with some of the cruelest people is like a trainwreck that you can’t stop watching because it’s beyond shocking that it actually happened. It’s a more uncut and uncensored take on Roots with similar territory. Most of the cast here is uncredited for Goodbye Uncle Tom and I don’t blame them at all. It’s not exactly something you want on your filmography or resume. The few that were known for this includes Susan Hampshire (The Woman in the Hall, Idol on Parade, Night of Passion, The Long Shadow, Night Must Fall, The Violent Enemy, and The Exorcism of Hugh) and Dick Gregory (The Hot Chick, Panther, Children of the Struggle, and Reno 911!). Goodbye Uncle Tom is the most racist movie that I’ve ever seen on my entire life and it’s makes a good amount of the notorious films ever made look like something from Disney. It’s filled with uncomfortable moments and scenes that stay burned into your head. It’s not recommended for the weak, it’s really a one of a kind experience. No one really made anything like this. Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Blue Underground! These 2160p (2.39:1) transfers with Dolby Vision and HDR10+ are from brand new 4K restorations. There’s two different versions included on this home video release, each cut gets it’s own UHD disc. There’s the U.S. version that’s 123 minutes and the extended Italian version that’s 136 minutes that has English subtitles. I did some research on some of the past releases and this is major improvement because Goodbye Uncle Tom has never exactly been the reference quality type but it’s never going to look better than here. It has a few different audio options which includes English: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono and Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio Mono on the UHDs. Definitely much better than you would expect for a 70’s low budget exploitation flick. All of the dialogue is crisp, the nightmare situations are elevated, and the music has a nice boost to it. It has English, English SDH, and Spanish subtitles. It has a “Trailer” for each version on their separate discs, those are the only extras on the UHDs. Everything else is located on the loaded bonus blu ray. “The Importance of Shocking: Gualtiero Jacopetti” is a 2009 archival documentary directed by Andrea Bettinetti (Swinging Roma and Cy Dear). This full length 94 minute piece is dedicated to the shock filmmaker. It has interviews with Riz Ortolani, Claudio Quarantotto, Ursula Andress, Jean Douchet, Folco Quiilici, and others. It covers his career before he started making movies. It talks about his collaborations and working relationship with Franco Prosperi. It really explores his life in great detail. It has everything from prison time, drug problems, his influence on the documentary sub-genre, stories from his productions, and his overall work. It’s in English, Italian, and French with English subtitles when needed. “The Godfathers of Mondo” is a 2003 archival documentary directed by David Gregory (Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson, Master of Dark Shadows, Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau, Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Shocking Truth, What’s in the Basket?, The Theatre Bizarre, and Plague Town). This full length 90 minute look at the infamous Mondo Cane filmmakers Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi. It has interviews with the directors, David Flint, Benito Frattari, David Kerekes, and Riz Ortolani. This one focuses on the Mondo Cane series. It goes into great detail about the controversial documentaries. It does spend some time chatting about the Goodbye Uncle Tom production. They cover a variety of subjects including their inspirations. It dives into social reactions from their ambitious projects. Plus it gives the crew some time to shine and share their additions to the chaotic documentaries. It’s in English and Italian with English subtitles when needed. The 20 minute archival “Goodbye Cruel Mondo” from director David Gregory has interviews with Gualtiero Jacopetti, Franco Prosperi, and Riz Ortolani. It chats about the influence of Mandingo and how this film was originally was going to be based off of that rather than what they ended up doing. They talk about using normal people as the cast and using a documentary crew for the shoot. It’s in Italian with English subtitles. “Behind the Scenes 8mm Footage” is 50 minutes and it has an optional commentary with production manager Giampaolo Lomi. “Mondo Mercenaries” is a 28 minute interview with author Marc Goodall. He shares his thoughts and discusses directors Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi. He goes over to their work including Goodbye Uncle Tom. He brings up some ripoffs and sequels that were taken from the shock directors work. This extra is more recent and it’s from High Rising Productions who always do quality bonus material. “Abjection Under Authoritarianism” is a 20 minute interview with professor Matthew J. Smith. This is another one from High Rising Productions and it’s newer. It’s a dedicated chat about this 70’s exploitation feature that still shocks viewers with it’s nasty and vicious visuals. He chats about the people used for the production and the racist tone here. It has so many cool promotional materials for the movie that includes “Posters”, “Advertising Materials”, “Japanese Souvenir Program”, “Lobby Cards”, “Stills”, “Video and Soundtrack”, and “Giampaolo Lomi’s Photographs”. It has a 23 track soundtrack CD from the legendary composer Riz Ortolani that’s a little over 53 minutes. Blue Underground killed it when it comes to the special features here, this 4 disc set will keep you busy for a long time. It’s wild that something like Goodbye Uncle Tom got this insane royal home video 4K treatment. It also comes with a slipcover and reversible artwork. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!