Regg Mac This film is raw, real, honest and scary. Films aren't made like this because it causes people to look deep within themselves and consider the part all have played in such a horrible event. Many don't want to look at events this morbid. Yet its truthful.The film tells the truth, but I think it goes too far. The amount of gross nudity, and the enjoyment of such was just disturbing. While I know it may be the truth, a truth that does need to be addressed it is still very uncomfortable, and yet I think it is a discomfort that some people need to visit. For me I already knew these stories that covered slavery so I didn't necessarily need the added imagery. But still this film is a powerful telling of harsh truth.I am polarized by how to score this film. disturbingly truthful and honest is all I can think of....

The_Void Goodbye, Uncle Tom is one of the Mondo films released in Italy in the seventies. I'm not a fan of this type of film and therefore I've only seen a handful of them - however, from my basic knowledge of the genre; this one is way above average and actually delivers a good film to go along with the numerous shocks. I have to be honest and say that the central theme doesn't really interest me. The film is basically an exploitation style documentary the American South prior to the civil war and primarily focuses on the slave trade. I don't know a great deal about this period of history and so I can't say how accurate this film is - but really it doesn't matter. While the film follows a documentary approach; that's really not the strongest element of Goodbye, Uncle Tom. The film, for me, is all about style and directors Franco Prosperi and Gualtiero Jacopetti lay this style on thick and it really works brilliantly. The music (excellent score by Riz Ortolani) and the cinematography are fascinating, and this is a real bona piece of seventies Spaghetti film-making.Films like this are generally designed to shock the viewer, and that is certainly the case here. The central theme allows for plenty of shocks and the most shocking scene on a visceral level is probably the rape sequence. However, the core of this film's ability to shock stems from the premise upwards and it's uncomfortable, especially in these times, to see how black people were once treated by their "masters". A scene in which a slave trader explains what his slaves are worth in the same way a cattle rancher might try and sell his stock, and why you cannot train an Indian to be a slave is the most shocking in this respect. It's hard to really rate the film alongside others in terms of acting and the script; but suffice to say, everything shown in the film is very realistic and it wouldn't be hard for an audience to believe that the film is taking place in pre-civil war America (if it weren't for the fact that film-making equipment was not invented back then, of course). Overall, Goodbye Uncle Tom is a great piece of exploitation that shocks, thrills and intrigues in equal measures. Highly recommended viewing.

fertilecelluloid This is an extraordinary piece of documentary cinema that is as fresh and cutting edge today as it was when it was first released and universally crucified. Directors Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi, who also made the two "Mondo Cane" films and the equally extraordinary "Africa Adios", were true originals. The fact that their methods were so questionable is what made them unique. In this brilliant staged "documentary", the filmmakers travel back in time, via helicopter, to the "golden age" of Slavery in America's Deep South. They "interview" white slavers, depict the degradation and humiliation of the blacks, recreate the transportation of slaves across the ocean and show white landowners enjoying the exploitation of people they considered for less than human. An early helicopter shot of the filmmakers arriving at a cotton plantation, the rotor blades whipping the fields into a frenzy, is absolutely mesmerizing. Riz Ortolani, the talented composer who scored "Cannibal Holocaust", the great American Western "The Hunting Party", and "House on the Edge of the Park", to name but a few of his achievements, enriches this production with a sweeping, majestic, searing score that acts as an ironic counterpoint to the film 's bold perspective. You really have to see and hear "Farewell Uncle Tom" to appreciate its incredible originality and courage.

sebastian06 I viewed this particular film in the summer of 1972 in New York City. I remember that it was opening day and the turnout was surprisingly large. The other thing that I remembered was that I thought the filmmakers had taken an original approach as far as their documentary-style on slavery. As if I were actually there, watching the events take place. As an African-American man, I found the film fascinating and enlightening. The only thing I did find questionable was, once again, the Black man was depicted as a sexual beast with over-sized reproductive organs. I do believe that this, to some, is what made the movie so titillating. Overall, I still had a pleasant movie going experience. I would like to ask any readers of this commentary that if they have any knowledge of how I may a obtain a copy of this film to please contact me through my e-mail.