Dagli Appennini alle Ande

A team of doctors sets out through a steamy African jungle to check an outbreak of sleeping sickness.

A 1955 Italian independent film, released in the USA in 1956, which is basically a travelogue telling four stories, each about a different island in the South Pacific. Native customs, tribal rites,ceremonial procedure, courtships, and feats of strength and courage are depicted. The test of courage, for males, on one island , is a leap from a high wooden tower to the ground with a thin vine wrapped around their ankle breaking the fall at the last minute. The first bungee-jumpers?

This 95-minute, full-color documentary was released in the U.S. as Sixth Continent. That continent is Africa -- or, more specifically, the coast of Ethiopia. Director Folco Quillici takes his cameras deep, deep into the waters near the coastal islands of Dalach, observing the passing parade of sea life on an up-close-and-personal basis. Particularly thrilling is a shark attack and its aftermath, with the cinematographers obviously in the thick of things. Gian Caspare Napolitano provides the narration, while the lush, evocative musical score is the handiwork of Roberto Nicolosi.