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A Blade in the Dark (1983)
A film composer rents a villa while he composes a film score. People get killed
Funky music= no, one piece of slight. Jazz the rest was shit
Twist ending= I say yes , came complete with signposts
Witness of murder= only their own
Striptease= no such luck
Killer’s POV= yes, but not prominent
Man slaps woman= no such luck
Overloud or inappropriate music= yes, one of the poorest I've hears. All the more annoying as it's about a film composer( and he wasn't German)
Outrageous title= no, in fact it was to the point
J&B bottle = not a sniff
Naked woman= yes, as magazine pictures and one when changing into a swimsuit
Death by stabbing= several and one by spanner and one by cine film
Red herring=,if you're feeling generous
Black gloved killer= briefly
Goofy police inspector= not a coppa in sight, even in the epilogue
Important picture= no
Woman takes bath or shower= no
Blackmail= nope
Gay/lesbian character= maybe
Important memory= I can't recall
Random scene in Italian= no
Ooh ooh music= once , while killer was stroking a set of kitchen knives
Death by razor= no and no one shaved , either
Childhood trauma= yes , the basis of the film within the film
Killer’s footsteps= briefly
So a poor nine. And the film was a bit on the poor side, limp.
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Posted: |
Jun 20, 2023 - 3:44 AM
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By: |
Graham Watt
(Member)
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Well as there have been no howls about spoilers…
Eye in the Labyrinth (Mario Caiano, 1972)
Nice-looking giallo with the lovely Rosemary Dexter, the legendary Adolfo Celi and the scary Alisa Valli, filmed on Elba Island in Tuscany. Pakistan-born Rosemary played Mortimer’s sister in For a Few Dollars More, thought she looked familiar.
Funky music - yes, kinda, some aleatoric-sounding jazz from the Roberto Nicolosi score
Twist ending - yes, but not going there
Witness of murder - yes, upon which hinges the plot
Striptease - no
Killer’s POV - no
Man slaps woman - yes, before you’ve even made yourself comfortable
Overloud or inappropriate music - yes, on several occasions, it really sets the tone
Outrageous title - a marginal yes
J&B bottle - hell yea, more than once
Naked woman - yes, from a distance. Much toplessness, though.
Death by stabbing - yes, more than somewhat
Red herring - mmm I’m going to say no on this one
Black gloved killer - nay lad
Goofy police inspector - conspicuous by absence
Important picture - yes, but for once not an incriminating photo
Woman takes bath or shower - no, smelly lot
Blackmail - yes, pivotal
Gay/lesbian character - borderline but no
Important memory - not really
Random scene in Italian - not on the Amazon Prime version at least
Ooh ooh music - no, no, no
Death by razor - not for Mr Caiano this particular trope
Childhood trauma - yes
Killer’s footsteps - not as such
So a solid 12 for this entertaining and picturesque giallo. Always good to see “Emilio Largo” and indeed this film enjoyed almost as many continuity errors as Thunderball.
Worth a watch.
I'm resurrecting TG's post because I watched it spontaneously last night. Best not to think for more than three seconds before making those decisions or you'll finally choose something ostensibly more worthwhile to do.
I wasn't counting bingo points, but I must say I enjoyed this... in a way. Especially when the weather was nice. Otherwise it was just inept and a bit nutty - we don't give points for cinematic brilliance in gialli, or do we? Anyway, I dropped by here to say that I found the Roberto Nicolosi score rather wonderful. I'm so glad these films rarely have dour suspense scores. It was an interesting touch to have the jazz musicians listed in big red letters right at the start of the End Credits. And thus to my clever observation - the score was VERY CLEARLY modelled on, nay, copied from Miles Davis' "Bitches Brew" album from 1970. It's not a criticism. Gil Mellé's THE ORGANISATION "repurposed" some of Bitches Brew too, and you won't find me saying a bad word about Gil.
I would have put this on the main side of the board but then people would expect me to put up direct links to TouTube, and my inability to master that skill - despite years of teaching from Ms Hurdy T. Gurdy herself - has scarred me for life, creating a childhood trauma which I have suppressed, only to come to light when I'm topless at the swimming pool with my goofy police inspector, his JB bottle, and my chopper.
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E Tanta Paura(1976)
Cop, Michele Placido is on the case of who killed people ,who belontrled.to a 1
Funky music= a little
Twist ending= I think so, well it wasn't who I expected
Witness of murder= niet
Striptease= no
Killer’s POV= yes but not prominently
Man slaps woman= no but woman slaps man, for a change.
Overloud or inappropriate music = yes in a couple of places it wad fkn annoying
Outrageous title= wouldn't say so, or the English title
J&B bottle= yes, a couple of sneaky ones
Naked woman=several
Death by stabbing= no, but by strangulation, big spanner, fire
Red herring= no
Black gloved killer= briefly
Goofy police inspector= quite competent though side kick was bit of a dick
Important picture= yes, in the plural
Woman takes bath or shower= no smelly lot
Blackmail= yes
Gay/lesbian character= yes but only briefly
Important memory =not really
Random scene in Italian=nope
Ooh ooh music= no, though some on screen ooh ooh
Death by razor= no
Childhood trauma=no
Killer’s footsteps=no
So only 10
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E Tanta Paura(1976)
Cop, Michele Placido is on the case of who killed people ,who belonged to th same club.
A little different that most of the murders were at the beginning. The rest was the coppa.investigating.also it was novel in the revealing of the killers.
Funky music= a little
Twist ending= I think so, well it wasn't who I expected
Witness of murder= niet
Striptease= no
Killer’s POV= yes but not prominently
Man slaps woman= no but woman slaps man, for a change.
Overloud or inappropriate music = yes in a couple of places it wad fkn annoying
Outrageous title= wouldn't say so, or the English title
J&B bottle= yes, a couple of sneaky ones
Naked woman=several
Death by stabbing= no, but by strangulation, big spanner, fire
Red herring= no
Black gloved killer= briefly
Goofy police inspector= quite competent though side kick was bit of a dick
Important picture= yes, in the plural
Woman takes bath or shower= no smelly lot
Blackmail= yes
Gay/lesbian character= yes but only briefly
Important memory =not really
Random scene in Italian=nope
Ooh ooh music= no, though some on screen ooh ooh
Death by razor= no
Childhood trauma=no
Killer’s footsteps=no
So only 10
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The New York Ripper(1982)
At least the 4th viewing and still enjoyed it, sort of. If you can get past its excesses it quite good.
Anyway-
Funky music= yup rhe main theme is funky, man
Twist ending= yup , I still guessed wrong!!
Witness of murder= no , the killer was careful
Striptease=no
Killer’s POV= I think so but no as prominent as some.
Man slaps woman= possibly but not a lot
Overloud or inappropriate music= no
Outrageous title= wouldn't say so
J&B bottle= I think everyone were tea total
Naked woman= several
Death by stabbing= oh yes and then some
Red herring= yep , for about15 minutes, anyway, the cops fell foe it too.
Black gloved killer= here blue rubber
Goofy police inspector= no, a decent one
Important picture= no
Woman takes bath or shower= nope, pongo city
Blackmail= no
Gay/lesbian character = I think a bit of both. Though not prominent. One of the main characters, a male psychologist, was seen buying , I assume a gay mag . It was called hunks in trunks or similar.
Important memory= no that I recall, certainly not in the usual sense
Random scene in Italian = but a brief one in Spanish
Ooh ooh music=no
Death by razor= yes but it was a dream
Childhood trauma= yes but not the killers
Killer’s footsteps= slippers were the shoe of the day
Only ten , including one generosity.
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Get them on I'm curious( especially if I don't have 'em)
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Puzzle(aka L'Uomo Senza Memoria) 1974
Luc Merenda & Senta Berger
Luc is an amnesiac. He starts being hounded by some unsavouries. They claim to know who he is and what he's done.
It says giallo on the box but it's not the usual fare. Decently played out. So here goes-
Funky music= nope, a bit groovy
Twist ending= not really
Witness of murder= yep
Striptease= if only
Killer’s POV= not that kind of giallo
Man slaps woman=don't think so
Overloud or inappropriate music= nope, even a bit of Beethoven thrown in.
Outrageous title= nope , both titles are quite to the point
J&B bottle= yep,a couple of time and a bottle of white horse thrown in, to shake things up a bit
Naked woman= yep , but nothing on display!
Death by stabbing= possibly, someone was stabbed, off screen. The bloodied knife was left in a door.
Red herring= nope. Not even a ' hard of '
Black gloved killer= no, not even mittens
Goofy police inspector= hardly present.
Important picture= yep , though not dwelt on
Woman takes bath or shower= nope
Blackmail= sort of. The 'if you don't we'll kill your wife' type
Gay/lesbian character= didn't notice but they may have been lurkin'
Important memory= duh, the original title folks
Random scene in Italian= no , apart from singing a song in Italian
Ooh ooh music= no but a bit of Nora
Death by razor= yep also bu chain saw , and cliff fall
Childhood trauma= no
Killer’s footsteps= no just hush puppies
So 7 ( + 1 on a good day
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Posted: |
Jun 23, 2023 - 9:10 AM
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By: |
Tall Guy
(Member)
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The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave (Emilio P Miraglia, 1971)
Not very good but certainly entertaining gothic giallo, playing on the themes of madness, lust, avarice, betrayal and murder. It’s not terribly coherent, nor was the cast ever going to make the Oscar nominees list. The main character goes from being called Sir to Lord in the course of the film’s subtitles, having done nothing to justify the peerage. His aunt looks younger than him (yes, I know it’s possible) and is only in a wheelchair to add a smidgen of interest to her otherwise pointless existence in the film. She is a bit of fox, however, which is ironic as she’s eaten by a pack of them before the film’s denouement. That’s not a spoiler as she’s such a peripheral character.
The plot concerns a British nob (Sir/Lord Alan) whose wife Evelyn died in childbirth, which apparently sent him into doolally episodes, since when he’s specialised in bringing red-headed prostitutes or dancers to his tatty castle and whipping/stabbing them in his dungeon. He evades detection by having false number plates on his bright green Ferrari. Yes, that’d work.
The plot becomes fairly twisty at the end and you’re obliged to root for this unpleasant and poorly-acted aristocrat.
It’s a handsome film with a perfectly adequate Nicolai score (Bruno, not Zwar) and a number of disrobed ginger ladies, if you like that kind of thing.
Funky music - not that kind of score
Twist ending - yes
Witness of murder - no diegetic witnesses that I recall
Striptease - yes (partial but a definite show)
Killer’s POV - no
Man slaps woman - yes, a few times in a row
Overloud or inappropriate music - don’t think so
Outrageous title - I’d say so, wouldn’t you?
J&B bottle - yes, fleetingly
Naked woman - yes
Death by stabbing - yes
Red herring - very much so
Black-gloved killer - nope
Goofy police inspector - not really, although it’s always jarring to see a pointy-helmeted English bobby nattering away in Italian
Important picture - yes, a portrait that sparks insane delusions in the protagonist
Woman takes bath or shower - no, eww
Blackmail - nope
Gay/lesbian character - no
Important memory - no
Random scene in Italian - I watched it in Italian for the subtitles, gonna say no
Ooh ooh music - yes, right there in Bruno Nicolai’s main title
Death by razor - no
Childhood trauma - no (childBIRTH trauma, but that doesn’t count)
Killer’s footsteps - not as a feature, no
Ten giallo points, and next up, Mr Miraglia’s other effort in the genre. I hope it’s a little better than this one…
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Good contribution, Damian, and not a title I can find in my giallo bible so perhaps misleading advertising on the box …
Still I’ll call it eight and include it in a summary that I’m preparing.
I'd have called it polizioteschi ( probably spelt wrong) but there were hardly any coppas in it. Certainly no detecting.
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Death Walks at Midnight(1972)
Nieves Navarro witnesses a murder , during a drug induced stupor. Resulting in her being hounded by the killer etc.
Funky music= overall no, more groovy
Twist ending= not really though the revelation of one involved was a little surprising.
Witness of murder= obviously
Striptease= didn't notice or I'm slipping
Killer’s POV=nope
Man slaps woman= yep, a few good ones on the bounce
Overloud or inappropriate music= no quite listenable.actually
Outrageous title= I'll say yes this time
J&B bottle= yup
Naked woman= no
Death by stabbing= yup
Red herring= no, no fish whatsoever
Black gloved killer= no, but a metal one
Goofy police inspector= no the inspector was fairly decent, saved the day.
Important picture= yep, helps to identify the killer
Woman takes bath or shower= no, another whiff bunch
Blackmail= no
Gay/lesbian character=yes
Important memory=no
Random scene in Italian=no
Ooh ooh music= no
Death by razor=no
Childhood trauma=no
Killer’s footsteps=no slippers.again
Only a poor 7! A decent film and a nice Gianni Ferrio score.
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The Red Queen Kills Seven Times?
Bring it brother, turnabout is fair play.
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A rare dp to start the day!
You are forgiven. It can be difficult to type, while wearing black gloves.
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Enjoy the film, I like it better than “Evelyn”
Good Bruno soundtrack too.
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Posted: |
Jun 24, 2023 - 2:31 AM
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By: |
Tall Guy
(Member)
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The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (Emilio P Miraglia, 1972)
Not sure it’s that much better than its stablemate, still quite gothic, quite hard to grasp the plot, not least because there are four or five women who look like variations on Liz McDonald. Better acting overall, although some of the characters occasionally stand around as if uncertain how to react. Probably down to the director.
There are some moments of carelessness, such as a corpse being on screen for less than three seconds but managing to blink in that time.
I wouldn’t call the police inspector goofy, but he ain’t pulling up any trees. Eg: at one point several people are crowding around a bloodied spreadeagled corpse in the back of a van with high couture garments strewn around it, and the inspector actually says “there’s nothing to see here”…  He also tries to be Gian Maria Volonte with his acting and moustache but misses by several miles.
Funky music - not noticed
Twist ending - you find out about a plot twist near the end, I’m coming down on the side of yes
Witness of murder - yes
Striptease - not really, although at one point a woman is reclining clothed on a couch or perhaps chaise longue talking to a man. Man turns his back for a moment and when he turns around, she’s disrobed. (Believe me, the novelty wears off after a few times)
Killer’s POV - not really
Man slaps woman - yes, and well-deserved
Overloud or inappropriate music - not in my opinion
Outrageous title - yes, what? Come on!
J&B bottle - a glimpse of the unmistakable label at first, and then with some regularity
Naked woman - yes, as above (on the chaise longue, on the chaise longue NOT in her underwear, no data available on whether she likes her muffin buttered)
Death by stabbing - yes, in the whore-park, at the castle, all over really
Red herring - several
Black-gloved killer - yes, nice long ones too
Goofy police inspector - no (see narrative above)
Important picture - yes, puts someone on the trail
Woman takes bath or shower - no,
Blackmail - yes
Gay/lesbian character - overlooked them if there were
Important memory - absolutely
Random scene in Italian - no
Ooh ooh music - no
Death by razor - no
Childhood trauma - kicks off the whole thing
Killer’s footsteps - some running, okay, allowed
So 14 bingo points from my assessment.
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Suspiria
Piss poor. As of now this is the worst one I've seen. Not really much to sat ' giallo'. That is except for overloud/ inappropriate music. It was headache inducing. I almost turned it off but curiosity held sway. A couple of deaths were cut, which doesn't help. It was a visual delight for the eyes. Yet, at the same time, it was jampa ked with emptiness. Nothing happened until the last five minutes and even then it was over too easily. Did I mention the music was terrible.
Bingo point = can't be arsed. One I won't be watching again. Time for a paracetamol.
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