Actually, For Your Eyes Only would be a terrific alternate title for Eyeball (I don’t believe this is too much of a spoiler) They should have had You Only Die Twice. A view to a razor killing?
Actually, For Your Eyes Only would be a terrific alternate title for Eyeball (I don’t believe this is too much of a spoiler) They should have had You Only Die Twice. A view to a razor killing?
Doctor, No! From Russia With Gloves
The possibilities are finite
BTW, Damian, many of us wear glasses, your majesty…
Actually, For Your Eyes Only would be a terrific alternate title for Eyeball (I don’t believe this is too much of a spoiler) They should have had You Only Die Twice. A view to a razor killing?
Doctor, No! From Russia With Gloves
The possibilities are finite
BTW, Damian, many of us wear glasses, your majesty…
And I only notice that when mine are on and steam free.
Two Pairs of Eyes/ Gli occhi di cera sono accecati dal sangue (1974)
Directed by Ruggiero Deodato, heavily influenced by Argento’s “animal trilogy”, this finds a local Tuscan slob (Ugo Tognazzi) who sees a black-clad figure pursue one of his girlfriends into an alley behind the neighborhood tavern. She is found dead, eyeless, and he soon finds himself as suspect number one. He soon mysteriously finds an ally in a hot reporter (Susan Scott) and the plot boils into Satanic cults, a “haunted” wax museum run by Howard Vernon, and nasty murders. Unbelievable hairstyles, godawful scarves, and tiny European cars all on display. And yes, the third score by Mr. Donaggio helps.
Funky music- yes a little bass groove Witness to murder- yes but he doesn’t know at first Killer’s POV- yes a little overused Striptease- yes literally and enjoyably Man slaps woman- yes front and back of the hand J&B- yes Tognazzi has a bottle in both hands at one point Twist ending- kind of surprising reveal, but she gets her just desserts with a steel cable a la Fellini’s Toby Dammit Naked woman- yes she looks like she has Jimi Hendrix in a leglock Outrageous title- yes the Italian title is silly Death by stabbing- yes with a broken mirror piece Inappropriate music- no unsurprisingly solid Red herring- yes the “evil” museum owner Black gloves- yes prominently Woman takes shower- yes Susan gets soapy Goofy inspector- yes he slips in a pool of blood Important picture- yes a macabre unfinished portrait of a woman Gay character- yes a flaming antique store owner Important memory- yes involving the killer and her doll collection Blackmail- yes briefly until the blackmailer gets it in the throat Scene in Italian- watched with subtitles Death by razor- yes a gross variant on Un Chien Andalou Childhood trauma- yes obviously negative Killer’s footsteps- at the 1:17 mark on the Arrow Blu-ray Ooh ooh music- gloriously used for both sexy and scary purposes
Perhaps not a true blue giallo, but it plays like one. And it's from the classic era. See this review (don't worry about spoilers; this is a suspense film, not a mystery):
Funky music - Baroque funk, lots of harpsichord. Twist ending - Yes, in the revealing of the true motive. Witness of murder - A variation. A witness to a murder triggered by the witness who isn't the killer. Got that? Striptease - Just when you think you'll see all of Adrienne La Russa, the camera cuts away. Maybe just as well: she's so gorgeous it will be debilitating to experience the whole of her. Killer’s POV - Not in the "keeping the killer's identity hidden" style. Man slaps woman - No. Overloud or inappropriate music - Every now and then, a blaring cue blasts in for scenes of La Russa simply walking around while we're treated to mod montage sequences. There's also a rock combo at a function - this whole scene needs to be seen and heard to be believed. Outrageous title - It barely makes any grammatical sense. The word "psych-out" is always outrageous. J&B bottle - I'm bad at noticing what the drinks are. Naked woman - Almost, but still quite a lot of flesh. Death by stabbing - No Red herring - No. Black gloved killer - No Goofy police inspector - No Important picture - No. But! A use of "switching the film reels to something scandalous" here, predating that trope in Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds." Woman takes bath or shower - Yes. Blackmail - Emotional blackmail, certainly. Gay/lesbian character - No. Important memory - No. Random scene in Italian - It's all in Italian. Ooh ooh music - More like "na na na" music. Why do so many bad pop songs in Italian movies of this time sound like ripoffs of the "Batman" TV theme? Death by razor - No Childhood trauma - Not childhood, but trauma for a teenager which affects her. Killer’s footsteps - Not in the traditional sense, but a lot of sneaking around by the killer.
Here's a taste of the film, of the delectable, pelican-mouthed La Russa, and the wonderfully awful main theme music:
DEFINITELY allowing that one, notwithstanding its tangential relationship to the genre… but under the Italian title. And na na na will do for ooh ooh. I’m pretty liberal on that point.
DEFINITELY allowing that one, notwithstanding its tangential relationship to the genre… but under the Italian title. And na na na will do for ooh ooh. I’m pretty liberal on that point.
Whew! 'Cuz I definitely tend to hear more "na na na" than "ooh ooh" in these movies!
DEFINITELY allowing that one, notwithstanding its tangential relationship to the genre… but under the Italian title. And na na na will do for ooh ooh. I’m pretty liberal on that point.
Whew! 'Cuz I definitely tend to hear more "na na na" than "ooh ooh" in these movies!
Whoever came up with ooh ooh needed to be a bit more open-minded about that particular trope. Na na na is probably more typical. I’m going with the spirit of the law, rather than the letter.
A rare Klaus Kinski giallo, it won me over in the first few seconds, featuring a beautiful Zephyr mark IV, in the same metallic fern green as my dad’s company car in the late 60s. There’s also an earlier model Zodiac, an Aston and an E-type Jag. On the down side, there’s some terrible back projection and a mixture of decent and appalling model work.
Set in London, Kinsky is an industrialist whose wife is killed in a car accident, leaving him with the controlling interest in a successful company. But is she dead? Kinsky turns gumshoe to get to the bottom of the mystery. It’s actually very well shot apart from the contrivances. There’s a scene where Kinsky is walking through London backstreets at night which is as gorgeous as anything in Bava.
Nora Orlandi (here as Joan Christian) produces a piano-based score, amazing main title track and some interesting capsules of music throughout . The Blu-ray has a great extra about Nora, including that Allesandro Allesandroni was a member of her “choir” for a year in the 50s.
Funky music - yes, some early disco Twist ending - yes Witness of murder - no Striptease - no Killer’s POV - no Man slaps woman - yes Overloud or inappropriate music - yes, loud creeping around blasts of music Outrageous title - no J&B bottle - 90% sure, so I’m counting it Naked woman - yes Death by stabbing - no Red herring - totally Black-gloved killer - yes Goofy police inspector - there are two inspectors, one from London and another from Liverpool, both in the English dub in possession of exactly the same rather effete high-English accent. But not goofy. Important picture - yes Woman takes bath or shower - yes Blackmail - no Gay/lesbian character - yes Important memory - not really Random scene in Italian - sadly not Ooh ooh music - yes, backing singers Death by razor - no Childhood trauma - no Killer’s footsteps - no
11 GBPs, very entertaining film, if not a well known one.
Also on the disc, a fascinating interview with Nora Orlandi, talking with a great deal of humour about the crossover between Double Face and The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh, the directors she worked with, and namechecking Morricone, Fellini, Rota and other giants. Highly recommended Blu-ray.
Autopsy aka The Victim, aka Macchie Solari (Armando Crispino, 1975)
One of Forgotten Gialli volume 3 from the excellent Vinegar Syndrome, this film could easily be dismissed as a contest to see whose shirt could unbutton the deepest between Mimsy Farmer and Ray Lovelock. However, dig a bit deeper and it’s stylishly helmed with lots of brilliant touches. A rash of suicides that may or may not be caused by sunspot activity draw an intern doctor in a hospital mortuary into a convoluted plot with the macguffin being a last will and testament. A superlative Ennio score that I never picked up on either LP or CD is a real bonus.
That’s not to say the film’s perfect. It’s not terribly clear how lives are saved by a bidet, for instance. But it’s one that I look forward to seeing again.
Funky music - not funky but avant garde, with a gorgeously simple love theme Twist ending - yes, I suppose Witness of murder - not that I noticed Striptease - nothing that would count Killer’s POV - no Man slaps woman - slap Mimsy? Don’t even think it. Overloud or inappropriate music - a thousand times no Outrageous title - no, none of them J&B bottle - yes Naked woman - yes, generally (but not only) on mortuary slabs Death by stabbing - not a one Red herring - of course Black-gloved killer - nope Goofy police inspector - no, but a pretty pointless one, played by a heavy from several poliziotteschi of my acquaintance Important picture - not to speak of Woman takes bath or shower - yes Blackmail - just a touch Gay/lesbian character - far from it Important memory - not that I recall har har Random scene in Italian - yes, glorious yes! Ooh ooh music - yes from the first few seconds and throughout Death by razor - no Childhood trauma - no Killer’s footsteps - not really
Competent Spanish giallo from a first time director, also from Vinegar Syndrome. Not convinced the plot hung together but you can overlook that for a bit of style, and there’s plenty here. There are a few jump scares, which I’m rarely keen on. The main title with portentous Marcello Giombini music seems more like a Hammer Films opening, undermined by the first scene of the film, involving a bit of road rage between two characters who’d continue to be entwined through the film. It then morphs into an Agatha Christie-meets-Scooby Doo “haunted house” mystery . There are some good-looking characters, led in my opinion by Lisa Leonardi, who light up every scene of the film. No nudity at all, maybe Señor Polop was a godfearing type.
Funky music - no Twist ending - yes Witness of murder - no Striptease - no Killer’s POV - no Man slaps woman - no Overloud or inappropriate music - no Outrageous title - no J&B bottle - a glimpse Naked woman - not entirely and only from the back Death by stabbing - no Red herring - yes, plenty Black-gloved killer - no Goofy police inspector - no Important picture - no Woman takes bath or shower - no Blackmail - no Gay/lesbian character - yes, or heavily implied Important memory - yes, being disappointed by her father Random scene in Italian - I watched it in Spanish with English subtitles so unlikely Ooh ooh music - yes, some vocalise when the apparently supernatural effects were centre stage Death by razor - no Childhood trauma - not as such, although there were daddy issues left and right Killer’s footsteps - no
Likeable if undistinguished film, scoring six bingo points.
No nudity at all, maybe Señor Polop was a godfearing type.
Getting nudity on screen wasn't easy and/or possible in Spain in the 70's !! Paul Naschy got around this by shooting clothed versions for Spain and nude ones for the international markets. Several blu-ray releases have those shots in the extras.
No nudity at all, maybe Señor Polop was a godfearing type.
Getting nudity on screen wasn't easy and/or possible in Spain in the 70's !! Paul Naschy got around this by shooting clothed versions for Spain and nude ones for the international markets. Several blu-ray releases have those shots in the extras.
Might well be!
