MVD Entertainment Group Bestows Rewind Collection Status On Director Harvey Keith’s Mondo New York • DVD And Blu-ray Editions Available On Dec. 12

MVD Entertainment Group has a new addition to its ultra-popular “Rewind Collection” of diverse film productions line up for a Dec. 12 rollout on both Blu-ray and DVD.

The film in question is either from outer space — the goings on in an entirely different solar system — or a glimpse at New York City’s underground circa 1988.   Either way, director Harvey Keith’s Mondo New York is from an alternate reality.

 

This is a brand new 2K HD restoration from the original camera negative.

 

Imagine Fellini’s Satyricon as being real and heavily influenced by the early works of Robert Downey Sr. and John Waters.   Add in cinéma verité and performance art and you have Mondo New York, complete with the likes of poet and avant-garde artist Lydia Lunch (Black Box, She Had Her Gun All Ready, The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things, etc.), Karen Finley, Joey Arias, Phoebe Legere, Ann Magnuson, Rick Aviles — and more — plus an uncredited Shannah Laumeister as our underground venue guide.

 

Without getting into a lot of detail — that would require a whole bunch of paragraphs to even scratch the surface — just imagine a filmmaker, in this case Harvey Keith (Jezebel’s Kiss, Stand-Ins), who has a pipeline to New York City’s artist, performance, recording and alternate community and simply reaches out as asks, “what’s happening?”

 

From there he has our unnamed beauty (Laumeister) wander from one “event” to the next — a “concert” (“concert” in a figurative sense) by Phoebe Legere (as Claire in The Toxic Avenger Part II and The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie), rats have their heads chewed off, an underground cock fight, a slave auction (a performance or real? … you be the judge), poetry read, impromptu comedy and more.   

 

A feature length travelogue is the result.   OMG, would be appropriate in describing Mondo New York!!

 

As to bonus goodies, the Blu-ray edition comes complete with an 18-track soundtrack of the movie (hint: pony-up the extra ten bucks and purchase the Blu-ray over the DVD, it will be worth it), plus there are extended video sessions with Joe Coleman (a fondness for rats) and performance artist (among other talents) Joey Arias — both session run about 45 minutes each — and 36-minute video session our tour guide, Shannah Laumeister, and 27-minute session with producer Stuart Shapiro.