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Andrea Bianchi's Nude per l'assassino feels a bit like a sleazier and more crude version of The Case of the Bloody Iris. All the important ingredients of the genre are on display. There's plenty of violence and nudity (I don’t think Bianchi misses a single opportunity to show of the female cast in a state of undress). Edwige Fenech always makes a great giallo heroine and this is no exception. Nino Castelnuovo feels very much like a poor man’s George Hilton, but he does a fairly good job with his role although the chemistry between Fenech and him isn’t as good as it was between Fenech and Hilton. It's not great film, but it's a very entertaining one.
Amazing how you can pass on the opportunity to have Fenech on the locandina though...
It might be one of the more infamous films of the genre, but in terms of quality, Giallo a Venezia is one of the worst gialli I've come across. There are no likable characters (I’m not sure if Landi thought having Detective De Paul eating a boiled egg in every scene was a great substitute for characterization) and the film lacks any sort of tension or suspense. Instead Landi resorts to bombarding us with liberal amounts of violence and sex scenes. I guess some might think that’s a positive thing, but the special effects are risible and the film more or less grinds to a complete halt every time one of the flashbacks sex scenes are shown. This really is bottom of the barrel stuff.
Although the 70's was the golden age of the giallo, both in terms of films and locandine art, there were some decent ones made in the 80's as well. Lamberto Bava's La Casa con la scala nel buio is a good example, a minor but entertaining giallo and a great looking poster.
The second of the four gialli Lenzi made with Caroll Baker between 1969 and 1972. Like the other three, Così dolce...così perversa is a great thriller. Set in Paris and starring Caroll Baker, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Erika Blanc and Horst Frank, the film features an excellent soundtrack by Riz Ortolani. The film will receive an Italian DVD release in early april, but unfortunately there are no english options on the disc. A real shame, but I've not given up hope that we might see a boxset with all the Lenzi/Baker gialli someday.
Anthony Steffen plays Peter, a blind composer (who seems to be scoring A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin) whose ex-grilfriend is found murdered. As more bodies with yellow scarves are found next to their bodies, Peter decides to find the murderer himself...
Enjoyable giallo set in Copenhagen. I could see some people being put off by the killers MO (since it has one of the more implausible methods of killing that I’ve ever seen in a giallo), but the film is well paced and the last 10 minutes (which include a very brutal razor slashing) are excellent. The score by Manuel de Sica is a bit repetitive, but the main theme is excellent and up there with the very best gialli themes.
No info on the poster design unfortunately.
The poster art for Le Foto probite di una signora per bene makes you think the film is a lot more lurid than it really is. Luciano Ercoli's 1970 debut is sure to leave some people disappointed since it's virtually bloodless affair, but with a script by Ernesto Gastaldi, beautiful leading ladies in Dagmar Lassander and Susan Scott, a wonderful array of 70’s fashion and a brilliant score by Morricone what more could you possibly ask for?
Like yesterday's poster, the poster art is by Renato Casaro
When a film starts off with an astronaut on the moon, you know you’re not in for your average giallo. Le Orme is as much of a psychological drama as it is a thriller, but there are enough mystery elements to the story to attract the more adventurous giallo fan. Florinda is great in the role of Alice, a woman who’s desperately trying to piece together what has happened to her during the last three days. It’s the kind of role that’s perfect for Florinda and I really can’t think of any other genre actress from the mid 70’s, apart from possibly Mimsy Farmer, that would have pulled it off as well as her. Like in The Fifth Cord, Bazzoni once again used Vittorio Storaro and this film looks every bit as great as their previous collaboration. An excellent film that's unfortunately still not available on dvd. Poster art by Renato Casaro.
Time for another Argento locandina. This one from 1971's Il Gatto a nove code. Poster art by P. Franco
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