 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Posted: |
Apr 14, 2024 - 1:04 AM
|
|
|
|
By: |
Tall Guy
(Member)
|
Crazy Desires of a Murderer (Filippo Walter Ratti, 1977)
Another of those films where disparate characters are thrown together in a mansion/castle/villa, each with their own aims and motives, and the mystery is how anyone thought they’d make money from it. That said, this version was quite engaging. Aged baron, beautiful but dead young wife, mute taxidermist son, decadent and in some cases crooked houseguests, dodgy staff and a limping, overweight but very smart police inspector. Tick!
Piero Piccioni is credited for the score but I think some of it was pre-existing and I’m not sure I didn’t detect some Morricone in it.
One of the best things about the film was the Lamborghini Espada belonging to one of the guests. I’d never fit in it, mind you. Another car (BMW) suffered from that old trope of bursting into flames as soon as the front wheels left the cliff top.
Funky music - no, downbeat main and end titles, verging on turgid
Twist ending - yes
Witness of murder - no
Striptease - not
Killer’s POV - no
Man slaps woman - no
Overloud or inappropriate music - lounge porn film music during a torrid sex scene, to me inappropriate to the film
Outrageous title - yes, slightly more so than the original Italian title Morbid Desires of a Governess.
J&B bottle - yes, but not prominently
Naked woman - yes
Death by stabbing - yes, repeatedly
Red herring - yes, even called one in the film
Black-gloved killer - no
Goofy police inspector - no, quite the opposite
Important picture - no
Woman takes bath or shower - no
Blackmail - no
Gay/lesbian character - a little girl-on-girl but during a game of charades. Still counts though.
Important memory - yes; in fact so important it was in black & white
Random scene in Italian - no
Ooh ooh music - no
Death by razor - no, all stabby
Childhood trauma - yes
Killer’s footsteps - yes, part of the strategy to throw you off the scent
Better than I expected in its execution, 11 gb points
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
My newest driving ambition in life is to raise enough money to
make an American film called “Morbid Desires of a Governess”.
It’s got “winner” written all over it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
My newest driving ambition in life is to raise enough money to
make an American film called “Morbid Desires of a Governess”.
It’s got “winner” written all over it.
If its getting made it must be a reboot.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I find that it is easier to find out the Italian, that dubs an Italian, in an Italian film. But not into English.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: |
Apr 29, 2024 - 11:43 PM
|
|
|
|
By: |
Tall Guy
(Member)
|
The Sister of Ursula (Enzo Milioni, 1978)
On the face of it, this film in Forgotten Gialli volume 4 is a sleazy, almost too sleazy entry in the genre. Barbara Magnolfi is quoted as saying she was unaware that several sex scenes had been added until she saw the finished article, and I think she has plausible deniability given that she isn’t in any of them.
Two sisters travel from Austria to Italy’s gorgeous Amalfi coast looking for their estranged mother to share the inheritance their late father left them. Ursula’s obvious mental issues are tangled up in jealousy and her sister is almost her carer. Running alongside this red herringish plot is a drug smuggling operation and the tawdry lives of some of the minor characters.
If you can move beyond the rude bits, the film is actually an interesting study of class, haves and have-nots, and is more than just another exploitation film. It’s a film about deception, with very little turning out to be what you expect.
Apart from Magnolfi, who appears in Suspiria and one or two other gialli, the big name is Marc Porel (her real life husband) whose appearance as a junky is a sad foreshadowing of his early death only three or four years later.
Funky music - no
Twist ending - yes
Witness of murder - not by another character
Striptease - almost but not quite
Killer’s POV - I’m not sure that’s exactly the case, so not giving it
Man slaps woman - yes -wait, no
Overloud or inappropriate music - nope; cliche yes, wailing sax during the love scenes as the most obvious feature
Outrageous title - not outrageous, but it adds to the mystery and chicanery. Ursula is the main character, so why is her sister the subject of the title? And why the slightly awkward grammar?
J&B bottle - yes, together with matching bar accessories
Naked woman - tick, Ursula’s sis… sorry, the sister of Ursula divests at the earliest opportunity on arrival in their hotel room
Death by stabbing - yes
Red herring - yes
Black-gloved killer - yes
Goofy police inspector - no
Important picture - no
Woman takes bath or shower - yes
Blackmail - yes
Gay/lesbian character - yes
Important memory - not shown in flashback so no
Random scene in Italian - ‘twas all in Italian
Ooh ooh music - yep, in the main title
Death by razor - no
Childhood trauma - yes
Killer’s footsteps - not sufficiently noticeable
Eleven GBPs, almost tempted to add another for the J&B ashtray.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Posted: |
May 1, 2024 - 10:43 AM
|
|
|
|
By: |
Tall Guy
(Member)
|
Arabella Black Angel (Stelio Massi as “Max Steel”, 1989)
Like “Ursula”, I’m reviewing this because it’s in the Forgotten Gialli box, but both are a little near the knuckle sexually for my liking. The difference is that Ursula has more than just the naughtiness. It includes some style and symbolism, and some weightier acting talent. You can read things into it and that makes it a more satisfying watch.
Arabella, however, is pretty empty. It really did seem like a group of exploitative filmmakers just chucking a set of scenes together in the hope that the hanky panky will attract enough viewers to pay for itself. The plot was poorly thought out, requiring the hapless characters to act without much logic or consistency. There are other late-era quasi-giallo films that I haven’t included in this thread - The Devil’s Honey and The Psychic spring to mind, which I hunted down as Fulci efforts - which I’ve chosen not to include as yet, and maybe never will unless they appear in giallo box sets in the future.
The present one is the worst film I’ve seen since Dark Phoenix. And barely a giallo, despite the numerous tropes.
Funky music - yeah man
Twist ending - not really
Witness of murder - yes
Striptease - yes
Killer’s POV - yes
Man slaps woman - yes
Overloud or inappropriate music - no
Outrageous title - no, just hope I remember it enough to avoid it
J&B bottle - yes, just a small one in the car whilst driving, a bad example to viewers…
Naked woman - yes
Death by stabbing - yes
Red herring - bugger, yes
Black-gloved killer - yes
Goofy police inspector - no, just a poorly-written one
Important picture - some pictures, not that important
Woman takes bath or shower - no, although I needed one after watching it
Blackmail - not counting it
Gay/lesbian character - yes
Important memory - no
Random scene in Italian - all in Italian
Ooh ooh music - no, that would have been at least a little entertaining
Death by razor - nope
Childhood trauma - it did come into it somehow
Killer’s footsteps - no
12 points. Not to be watched again unless I lose my mind or want to get rid of unwanted guests.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Posted: |
May 1, 2024 - 11:09 PM
|
|
|
|
By: |
Tall Guy
(Member)
|
The Killer is Still Among Us (Camillo Teti, 1986)
The last film in FG volume 4, another late period giallo, based on a series of murders around Florence (and apparently banned locally as a result). No star names apart from being co-written by Ernesto Gastaldi, director of Libido and writer of many more distinguished films than this one.
It struck me whilst watching that the 80s had big hair and small cars.
This was a slightly carelessly made film. A knife drips blood a split second before touching flesh, for instance, and at one point a corpse flinches massively at a gunshot.
Funky music - no
Twist ending - no
Witness of murder - not really
Striptease - no
Killer’s POV - yes
Man slaps woman - no
Overloud or inappropriate music - no, just a bit boring
Outrageous title - no
J&B bottle - although one of the settings was a bar, I saw none
Naked woman - yes
Death by stabbing - yes
Red herring - yes, various people are proposed as the killer and then dismissed
Black-gloved killer - no, latex
Goofy police inspector - no
Important picture - no
Woman takes bath or shower - no
Blackmail - no
Gay/lesbian character - not overtly
Important memory - no
Random scene in Italian - watched in Italian
Ooh ooh music - would have been a relief
Death by razor - no
Childhood trauma - no
Killer’s footsteps - no
Happy to have it to make up the collection, but this volume is somewhat disappointing. Four giallo bingo points.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: |
May 4, 2024 - 1:27 AM
|
|
|
|
By: |
Tall Guy
(Member)
|
Tropic of Cancer (Edoardo Mulargia and Gian Paolo Lomi, 1972)
Not to be confused with the notorious Henry Miller novel of the same name, the giallo du jour portrays an American couple who travel to Haiti to save their marriage. They bump into an old friend and local doctor, who’s invented a powerful aphrodisiac that a number of parties are trying to buy or steal. Honestly, it all gets a bit convoluted after that, and the two male leads are similar enough that I could only tell which was which when they were in the same scene.
The amazing Anita Strindberg could have been the iceberg that sank the Titanic, and she brings all her augmented frostiness to her role as the wife who is both fascinated and repulsed by the local voodoo practices. And men.
Inadvertent hilarity in the subtitles: A couple of very pale corpses are found without any red blood cells. How that happens is a mystery until the hero explains to the police captain “It’s a drug that destroys the haemoglobin levels in the blood”. The cop replies “Ah, that makes it all clear, then.”
Funky music - it’s by Piero Umiliani, what do you think?
Twist ending - so confusing, I couldn’t say
Witness of murder - not that I recall
Striptease - no
Killer’s POV - yes
Man slaps woman - yes
Overloud or inappropriate music - going to say no, although as often with Piero you could argue that it all is
Outrageous title - no, makes it sound like a soap opera
J&B bottle - no, more a rum place, really
Naked woman - yes
Death by stabbing - yes
Red herring - not clear in my mind so not giving it
Black-gloved killer - yes
Goofy police inspector - nope
Important picture - a painting does feature in it, but not importantly
Woman takes bath or shower - yes, well it’s hot and steamy out
Blackmail - no
Gay/lesbian character - heavily-enough implied to say yes
Important memory - no
Random scene in Italian - yawn, watched it in Italian
Ooh ooh music - see answer to funky music question
Death by razor - no
Childhood trauma - no
Killer’s footsteps - not significantly
Not a great film despite the exotic setting. It’s like Live and Let Die with boobs. 8 gbs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
[staryquote]Not a great film despite the exotic setting. It’s like Live and Let Die with boobs
And no boats.
Tropic Of Cancer- Well, well just watched this tonight. I thought it was pretty poor- no suspense, most murders off screen. And not just the end , I thought the whole was hard to follow. I watched in English. Also, if not the whole, then a couple of pieces of score had an annoying synth gimmick. Otherwise a groovy Piero.
Oh the killer I had forgotten about him , wasn't on the film forages, then hello.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: |
May 5, 2024 - 12:08 AM
|
|
|
|
By: |
Tall Guy
(Member)
|
A White Dress For Marialé (Romano Scavolini, 1972)
Another “And then there were none” (shouldn’t that be “was none”?) - anyway, an eclectic group of guests are invited to a remote estate by Marialé, who as a child saw her beloved dad shoot her mother and her mother’s lover, and then blow his own hat off. What could go wrong.
Giallo stalwarts Luigi Pistilli, Ivan Rassimov and Ida Galli (as Evelyn Stewart) don’t quite push this one into the higher echelons of the genre (thereby qualifying as a Forgotten Giallo in volume five) but there are some interesting ideas along the way. If you like foodie erotica, for instance, this provides a less shocking The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover vibe.
The methods of despatching the unlucky victims don’t show a pattern (bludgeoned, stabbed, razored, beset by dogs and unknown) but they’re given a certain style.
The score is by Fiorenzo Carpi and conducted (if I caught the credit correctly) by Bruno Nicolai. It’s serviceable, but the opening ooh ooh music isn’t lived up to elsewhere.
Funky music - no, s’all a tad gothic
Twist ending - I don’t think an ambiguous ending can be twisty be definition, or can it?
Witness of murder - not by a character, because that would give the game away
Striptease - no
Killer’s POV - not significantly
Man slaps woman - yes
Overloud or inappropriate music - no
Outrageous title - I wouldn’t say so
J&B bottle - not to be seen
Naked woman - yes
Death by stabbing - yes, amongst others
Red herring - not that’s been earned
Black-gloved killer - not definitively
Goofy police inspector - total lack of law enforcement
Important picture - no
Woman takes bath or shower - eh no
Blackmail - not in the slightest
Gay/lesbian character - yes, if bi counts
Important memory - yes, going hand in hand with childhood trauma
Random scene in Italian - all in Italian
Ooh ooh music - from the outset
Death by razor - yes
Childhood trauma - in the pre-credit sequence
Killer’s footsteps - no
Seven bingo points, average all round.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Posted: |
May 7, 2024 - 12:38 PM
|
|
|
|
By: |
Tall Guy
(Member)
|
Nine Guests for a Crime (Ferdinando Baldi, 1977)
Yet another “And then there were none”, possibly the most common giallo plot, certainly outside of the Argento-Martino-Bava axis. This was one of the more enjoyable ones, with Arthur Kennedy and John Richardson the most familiar players in very good cast. Baldi is better-known for his Italian Westerns but made a good fist of this.
Kennedy as the father of a wealthy and disfunctional family takes his offspring and their partners, his sister and his new young wife to his remote island villa (actually Sardinia) on his yacht for a getaway. It goes without saying that various adulterous bonking ensues, and slowly but steadily a long-kept murderous family scandal emerges. The yacht and its tender vanish, leaving them stranded in luxury and without the ability to contact the mainland. One by one potential beneficiaries of the old man’s will are done to death, indicating that the plot is money-driven, but the motive is actually quite different.
I also learned a new word from the subtitles -
“Abulic” - irresolute, or suffering from an inability to make decisions. Every day’s a school day with gialli.
Funky music - oh yes, the main title alone ticks that box, grazie Carlo Savina
Twist ending - yes
Witness of murder - not as such
Striptease - no
Killer’s POV - yes
Man slaps woman - no
Overloud or inappropriate music - no
Outrageous title - yes, on the grounds that it doesn’t really make much sense, at least not in English
J&B bottle - yep, it should have got its own credit; it’s on screen more than some of the actors
Naked woman - yes
Death by stabbing - yes
Red herring - yes, see the above comments re motive
Black-gloved killer - yes
Goofy police inspector - complete absence of law enforcement
Important picture - no
Woman takes bath or shower - yes
Blackmail - no
Gay/lesbian character - no
Important memory - I think it has to be yes to this
Random scene in Italian - as usual, watched in Italian
Ooh ooh music - no
Death by razor - no
Childhood trauma - no
Killer’s footsteps - not sufficiently significant
This is an immediate favourite and one I’ll be returning to regularly, I should think. It was also the final film In Forgotten Gialli volume 5. 11 gbps.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
