The Devil's Honey

All the colors...

2007-08-26T15:16:00.000+02:00

I pre-ordered the book Mario Bava: All the colors of the dark by Tim Lucas, and I'm very excited about it. And it finally seems to be (almost) ready to ship...

Check the Bava Book Blog.

B Cult Link

2007-07-12T21:57:00.000+02:00

Renato Polselli

This is the site for Associazione Culturale B Cult, an Italian-based Film Society dedicated to international B movies. It contains articles about for instance Antonio Margheriti, Renato Polselli (with video, in Italian), Rosalba Neri and others, and there is a Trade Area, which is only open to registered socio-cultural members, whatever that means. Still, some pretty cool things to check out.

Quack! Quack! Quack?

2007-07-09T00:25:00.000+02:00

"But you won't understand me, you'll never understand me! You're too stupid! Quack! Quack! Quack!" - The New York Ripper, 1982.

A changing expression...

And a freezeframe.

Something weird happens at the end of Lucio Fulci’s The New York Ripper. In a scene that seems to come out of nowhere, we see Dr. Paul Davis standing on a sidewalk smiling at something, then his expression changes to a more serious one and he walks away. Then he looks back and de image freezes mysteriously for several seconds before it fades out....

Is something implied here about Dr. Davis? What does it mean?

The funny thing is that it is actually a remainder of a previous scene, which comes after the first attack on Fay. Dr. Davis and Lt. Williams (Jack Hedley) discuss this attack and Dr. Davis claims that it is The Ripper’s first big mistake. Then Davis turns down the offer to ride with Williams, and Williams drives off.

My guess is that, while editing, it was just used to fill some kind of gap. But why the freeze frame? To “hide” the meaninglessness? Or do you think there is some (un)intentional significance?

Beyond The Beyond

2007-07-06T10:31:00.000+02:00

I think I was about 10 when I first saw The Beyond, my brother rented the most gruesome horror film he could find and we watched it together. I thought it was extremely scary and shocking, I really had trouble watching it. But then my mother came home and when she saw what we were watching (we were in the middle of the spider scene) she became extremely mad and we had to turn it off.

Still, the film had made such an impact on me that I never forgot it. I told people about it and searched for reviews in film encyclopaedias. But I only became aware of such a thing as Eurotrash when I first search for this film on the Internet, about 7 or 8 years ago. At that time I was also finally able to watch The Beyond again, and so began my obsession with Italian B films.

It is obvious that on a personal level The Beyond is a very important film for me, but I also think that it is just one of the best films to emerge from Italian genre cinema and also the best film Fulci made. And when I see the film’s poster, I always have to think about that VHS from the Video For Pleasure label that my brother rented.

So for me The Beyond is the single most important and influential Italian genre film, the core of that entire cinema and of my obsession with it.

How about you?

Violent Rome/Roma Violenta

2007-07-04T16:59:00.000+02:00

Roma Violenta, 1975. Directed by Marino Girolami. With Maurizio Merli, Ray Lovelock, John Steiner, Richard Conte and Luciano Rossi.

The very first shot: a J&B sign.

Inspector Betti (Maurizio Merli) tries to find two criminals who killed a young man during a robbery. He gets help from a young undercover cop, Biondi (Ray Lovelock), to whom he is an example and mentor. Betti is also after another group of brutal murderous robbers, which leads to a major car chase, Biondi getting paralyzed and Betti’s resignation. Then Betti is contacted by Sartori (Richard Conte), a lawyer who wants to assemble a vigilante-group....

Betti and Biondi

This is the first poliziesco that stars Maurizio Merli. It made him a star and in the next five years he made about 12 more of these police films. Like most of these films there isn’t too much of a story, but that isn’t a bad thing per se. Betti’s ongoing fight with a whole bunch of brutal, ruthless criminals on one hand, and his superiors on the other hand, who’s main concern is with following the rules and avoiding bad press, is just what his films are all about.

Bystanders...

...and the victim getting her ass kicked like there's no tomorrow.

The action is plenty and pretty cool, both Merli’s one-on-one’s with various criminals, as well as the big car chase scene halfway through the movie. Maybe there isn’t too much depth in Merli’s performance, but as sort of an iconic cop-figure, whose main concern is with the victims and catching the criminals, he’s just right. He comes off as passionate and sympathetic. There are also quite a few familiar faces, like John Steiner, Luciano Rossi, Lovelock and Silvano Tranquilli, which really adds to the fun. This is a very enjoyable, well made film, with a great soundtrack by G & M De Angelis.

A mysterious, open ending suggests that Betti might die, but the following year Merli was back for two more Betti-films: A Special Cop In Action (Italia A Mano Armata), also directed by Marino Girolami, and Umberto Lenzi’s Violent Naples (Napoli Violenta), which is my all time favourite poliziesco.

Blog: Film Walrus

2007-07-03T22:05:00.000+02:00

Check out this cool film blog: Film Walrus. Not only are there posts and reviews about Italian genre cinema, but also about many other films and genre’s...

Who's Pino Boller?

2007-07-03T14:45:00.000+02:00

This is Pino Boller's one and only credit: for the story and screenplay of Umberto Lenzi's Spasmo. I couldn't find anything about him, and I was wondering if there's anyway who knows anything about him? (Maybe it's Lenzi's neighbour?)

Holocaust 2000

2007-07-02T21:17:00.000+02:00

Holocaust 2000, 1977. Directed by Alberto De Martino. With Kirk Douglas, Simon Ward, Agostina Belli, Adolfo Celi, Massimo Foschi.

Robert Caine (Kirk Douglas) is an American Industrialist, whose company is about to build a huge nuclear plant in a Middle Eastern country. His son Angel (Simon Ward) works for him and is also determined to build this plant, but Robert’s wife Eva, who has a majority of the shares of their company, wants to cancel the entire deal. But she is accidentally killed by an Arab assassin (Massimo Foschi), whose target was supposed to be Robert.

But there’s more opposition. The new Prime Minister of the Middle Eastern country thinks that the nuclear plant isn’t safe enough and wants to cancel the order. Robert and Angel start extensive tests to prove everything’s safe, but the computer gives a strange error-code. But then Robert meets a priest who shines a different light on that particular code: it might be a first sign of the coming of the Anti-Christ.

Although Robert is fascinated by the priest’s stories, he just can’t believe it’s true. But after a series of gruesome accidents, involving one of his top researchers and the Prime Minister, and a strange, visionary nightmare, he starts to doubt. And when his new girlfriend Sara (Agostina Belli) tells him she’s pregnant, he really believes that that boy will be the Anti-Christ. And he will do anything to prevent it from being born....

This film is directed by Alberto De Martino, who made several films in whatever genre was popular at that time, but never managed to make much of an impression. This Italian/British co-production obviously tries to cash-in on the success of The Omen, made a year before, and it isn’t actually much better or worse then that film.

Kirk Douglas leads a cast of actors with different nationalities and the usual strange mix of accents. All three leads are pretty good actually, and there are also some familiar faces in supporting roles, like Adolfo Celi for instance. With an international star like Douglas attached, the producers obviously could spent some extra bucks and it shows for the most part. Production value is rather high, but there are still some “typical” Italian B movie sets, like the computer room, which looks awful.

The film moves at a good pace, with enough mystery and a few bloody deaths, most notably a beheading by a helicopter. Especially those parts of the film about Caine trying to end Sara’s pregnancy are atmospheric and convey a genuine sense of fear and paranoia. Just like the nightmare-scene, it’s a well shot and edited scene. But the most memorable and effective scenes are those set in the asylum where Foschi’s Arab assassin is locked up. With its plexiglas rooms it is disorienting and claustrophobic.

The inconclusive ending is maybe a bit of a let down, but there is enough to enjoy. Ennio Morricone’s clichéd score works well enough.

Random Contamination Screenshots

2007-06-28T22:05:00.000+02:00

Contamination, 1980. Directed by Luigi Cozzi. With Ian McCullovh and Louise Marleau.

This is said by director Luigi Cozzi in a making off... Very charming, very sweet...

---------------

Commander Ian Hubbard: "But...but...these are photographs of the eggs."

Colonel Stella Holmes: "Yes, that is correct."

Ian Hubbard: "When we were on Mars, there were millions of eggs..."

"...They were all green, just like the one in your photograph."

---------------

"Help! Help me!"

"...There's an egg in here!"

---------------

"What is it you want to know? How many times a week I screw?"

"It's quite obvious you couldn't get it up, even if you used a crane!"

Spasmo Soundtrack: Ennio Morricone

2007-06-28T19:31:00.000+02:00

Spasmo, 1974. Directed by Umberto Lenzi. Music by Ennio Morricone.

The two films Umberto Lenzi made 1974 are probably his most accomplished: the brutal crime film Almost Human, and the convoluted giallo Spasmo. They are also his only films for which Ennio Morricone wrote the score. With it’s complex, labyrinthine plot and it’s strange characters and dialogue, Spasmo is a film with a weird, disorienting feel to it. And this is reflected in Morricone’s score, which consists of a series of variation on three themes.

Some cool artwork on the OST's cover

Bambole, the elegant theme that also plays over the main titles, has five variations and is initially the least dark of the three themes. But by subtlety changing the tempo and orchestrations, Morricone adds an uneasy feel to it. I especially like Bambole 3, with it’s effective combination of guitars, that are of clear sound, and an organ that almost seems a bit out of tune, which results in a very mysterious sound.
Spasmo has a darker and more mournful theme. Especially as Morricone brings in a Hammond organ in the second variation, and, in the next, combines the organ with vocals.
Stress Infinito is more a reflection of the movies nightmarish qualities (or is it vice versa?) and its psychological themes. With an unusual, almost avant garde-like combination of sounds, music and instruments it creates a disorienting and disturbing effect.

This is a score that can stand on its own. The subtle, rich variations Morricone created on his powerful themes are simply stunning. Although Stress Infinito isn’t always easy to listen to, it is the combination of the pieces and the increasing uneasy feel that makes this such an interesting soundtrack.

Sexy Cop (La Poliziotta Della Squadra Del Buon Costume)

2007-06-27T10:42:00.000+02:00

This is a scene from Michele Massimo Tarantini's La Poliziotta Della Squadra Del Buon Costume (1979), the second of three comedies about the adventures of a sexy policewoman, Gianna, played by Edwige Fenech. NoShame released all three films in a nice DVD-box, but without English subtitles.

I can't understand what they're saying, but it is so dated, and so over the top, that it still made me laugh eventually. Unfortunately Fenech isn't in this clip.

Profondo Gatto

2007-06-26T12:25:00.000+02:00

When I watched Lucio Fulci's The Black Cat the other day, I noticed quite a resemblance between the crypt at the beginning of the film and the Museum of Horrors at the Profondo Rosso Store in Rome. Both are dusty, laced with spider webs and have these small chambers closed off with iron gates...

Jill enters the crypt in The Black Cat

The Profondo Rosso Store Website

And a few of my own photo's

The Man From The Deep River/Il Paese Del Sesso Selvaggio

2007-06-25T17:24:00.000+02:00

Il Paese Del Sesso Selvaggio, 1972. Directed by Umberto Lenzi. With Ivan Rassimov, Me Me Lai.

Lenzi-regular Ivan Rassimov plays photographer John Bradley, who is working in Thailand. When a man attacks him in a bar, Bradley kills him in self-defence, and decides to leave Bangkok and heads for the interior. Together with a guide he travels up a river, further and further into the jungle, but then one morning Bradley finds the guide killed and himself captured by a savage tribe.

J&B: Bradley is still in the civilized world...

Initially the natives treat him badly, but with the help of the chief’s daughter Maraya, played by cannibal queen Me Me Lai, and another native woman who happens to speak a little English, he manages to win their trust. This gives him the change to escape, but when he is caught and brought back to the village, he is severely punished.

Me Me Lai

After this, Bradley seems more willing to stay in the village. He falls in love with Maraya and become more and more accepted by the natives. But there’s opposition from the aggressive medicine man, and then there is the thread of a cannibal tribe...

Bradley gets help from Taima

The Man From The Deep River was the first film in the mondo-inspired cannibal genre. Umberto Lenzi made it in between his more adventure-oriented films of the sixties, about for instance Sandokan and Robin Hood, and his string of successful gialli and poliziesci of the seventies.

The medicine man

Punishment

This film feels and looks more like one of those sixties jungle adventures then like a cannibal movie. Its main focus is on the native’s rituals and tribal life, but in a clichéd, unconvincing way. With characters like the old friendly chief, the handsome daughter and the bad-guy-medicine man, it is just too slick to make a real impact. The cannibal scenes, which play more like an separate episode near the end of the film, are on the other hand pretty gruesome, especially for a pre-Deodato cannibal film, and some were re-used for Lenzi’s fun, but ultra cheap-looking Eaten Alive.

Most of the actors don’t add anything to their clichéd roles, although Ivan Rassimov, who is one of my favourite Italian actors, makes the most of his poorly defined character. Me Me Lai, who was pretty ok in Last Cannibal World and Eaten Alive, doesn’t make too much impression here, I found her sort of dumb and irritating. Who I did like is Pratitsak Singhara as Taima, the native woman who speaks English and secretly helps Bradley.

Still, as a jungle adventure, it is actually entertaining enough. And it is nice too see what genre characteristics show up here. It would take several years though before Sergio Martino and Ruggero Deodato turned it into a genre of its own. When Lenzi got involved again he was more capitalizing on the infamous success of the previous entries, than actually developing or adding something new to it.

Mondo Cannibale

2007-06-21T20:47:00.000+02:00

This is the trailer for Ruggero Deodato’s Last Cannibal World (1977). It obviously tries to lift on the success of the Mondo films, by hinting that the film itself is in fact a sort of pseudo-Mondo. The genre had become more extreme and shocking as the years went by, as can been seen in the following shocking video from Antonio Climati’s The Great Hunting (1974), in which a man is eaten by lions.

Two years later, with Cannibal Holocaust, Deodato turned that kind of Mondo into one of the subjects of his film. And funny enough it’s with that film that some people thought, that what was onscreen, was actually real...

Free Hand For A Tough Cop/Il Trucido E Lo Sbirro

2007-06-20T19:33:00.000+02:00

Il Trucido E Lo Sbirro, 1976. Directed by Umberto Lenzi. With Tomas Millian, Claudio Cassinelli, Henry Silva, Renato Mori and Luciano Rossi.

Claudio Cassinelli

Tomas Milian

Another one of those lightweight Lenzi poliziesco’s, and a pretty enjoyable one at that. Inspector Sarti (Claudio Cassinelli) teams up with criminal Monnezza/Garbage can (Tomas Millian) and three other scumbags to find a young sick girl who was kidnapped by Brescianelli (Henry Silva) and his gang. Then we get a whole lot of shout outs, car chases, bitchslappings and the usual foul language, before everything comes together in the finale...

A familiar set...

Not too much story here, more a collection of setpieces, but Lenzi keep things going fast en funny. There are quite a few hold-ups and robberies, but it never gets too serious, with Millian basically being a comic relieve character, with a terrible wig. There are also a lot of familiar faces in this film, including Luciano Rossi and Giovanni Cianfriglia.
Enjoyable fluff...

Renato Mori

Giuseppe Castellano

Claudio Undari

Biagio Pelligra

Antonio Casale

Giovanni Cianfriglia

Luciano Rossi

Mario Erpichini

Umberto Raho

Fulvio Mingozzi

Henry Silva

Keoma Soundtrack: G & M De Angelis

2007-06-20T13:08:00.000+02:00

Keoma, 1976. Directed by Enzo G. Castellari. Music by G & M De Angelis.

Finally I found the Keoma soundtrack by G & M De Angelis. The score they composed plays a big, important part in the film. The many songs, not unlike a Greek chorus, explain and reflect on the emotions and what’s on screen. The two singers do this with such dark and/or penetrating voices, that almost no film reviewer fails to mention it, mostly negative. But there is a group of admirers, and I’m one of them.

Unfortunately not all songs sung by Guy and Sybil are included, only two: In Front Of My Desperation, performed by Guy, and Keoma, performed by Sybil and Guy. The first appears in the movie when Keoma awaits Caldwell’s men, just before the major shootout, the latter is like the opening theme, only this version is sung by Guy and Sybil together. I really like these songs: they are pretty intense, just like the movie itself.

Dusty Banjo (parts 1 and 2) and Piano And A Bear are pieces that obviously work better within the context of the film. But the other four instrumental songs are very good: two variations on Keoma, one on In Front Of My Desperation and a piece called Waiting. They all capture the sadness and melancholy that makes Keoma such a great film and can be enjoyed by people who aren’t to keen on Sybil and Guy’s singing.

All in all a great soundtrack and the most ambitious for the De Angelis brothers, who had their biggest successes as Oliver Onions with their Terence Hill/Bud Spencer-scores. A year later they made another western-score in sort of the same style, but less sophisticated: Mannaja.
Only disappointed is that not all songs are included.

Tracklist:
1. Keoma (instrumental) (04:43)
2. In front of my desperation (02:06)
3. Dusty banjo (part one) (00:42)
4. Keoma (harmonica) (01:38)
5. Piano and beer (01:25)
6. In front of my desperation (instrumental) (03:08)
7. Waiting (instrumental) (01:05)
8. Dusty banjo (part two) (01:25)
9. Keoma (04:45)

2 new DVDs

2007-06-19T15:56:00.000+02:00

Today I got 2 new DVDs. Sahara Cross (1977, Tonino Valerii), with Franco Nero; and L'Allenatore nel Pallone (1984, Sergio Martino), a soccor-comedy with Lino Banfi, but it's only in Italian and no subtitles... Too bad...

Who saw her die?/Chi L'Ha Vista Morire?

2007-06-18T21:34:00.000+02:00

Chi L'Ha Vista Morire?, 1972. Directed by Aldo Lado. With George Lazenby, Astrid Strindberg, Nicoletta Elmi, Adolfo Celi, José Quaglio.

Franco (George Lazenby) is a sculptor who lives in Venice, while his estranged wife Elizabeth (Anita Strindberg) and their 8-year-old daughter Roberta (Nicoletta Elmi) live in London. Roberta visits her father and they have a wonderful time together, as he brings her along to his friends and his art dealer, the rich and powerful Serafian (Adolfo Celi). When Roberta doesn’t come home one day, after playing with other kids at a square nearby, Franco starts looking for her, but nobody knows anything. The next day she is found dead, floating in Canal Grande.

Roberta...

...with her father and his friends.

In the background you can hear a child sing: "Chi L'Ha Vista Morire?"

After the funeral Franco and Elizabeth find solace in each other, but Franco feels guilty and starts a search for answers after a friend tells him of a similar case a year before. He gets in contact with a lawyer, Bonaiuti, who represented the parents of the girl who died a year before. Bonaiuti is a suspicious man who is obvious hiding something... or someone. Franco learns that this lawyer is also familiar with some of his friend and with Serafian.

Where's Roberta?

Serafian’s assistant Ginevra contacts Franco, because she wants to tell him something important, but before they can meet she is also killed, and the trail leads back to Bonaiuti and Serafian...

The child...

The mother...

The father...

I guess with Venice as a setting it is hard not to turn your movie into one big sightseeing-film, but Aldo Lado manages to show another site of this great city. Franco’s life, and the places he visits on his search, have an authentic, local feel to them. And although parts of the film concern the upper class, a lot of scenes are set in the alleys, squares and little bars where most tourists won’t come. This adds to the believability and to the overall impact of the film.

Serafian: "My dear Franco..." Bonaiuti stands in the other room.

Bonauiti and his birds.

And the impact is significant, in large part to the emotional first half of the film. Both Nicoletta Elmi and George Lazenby are very good in their roles, the love and affection between father and daughter comes across as genuine. And Lado expertly handles the scenes of Roberta’s funeral and aftermath, combining Ennio Morricone’s phenomenal score with Franco and Elizabeth dealing with their loss, resulting in some very touching scenes.

This emotional basis enhances the second part of the movie, which is in a much more traditional giallo-style: everybody acts suspicious; there are brutal murders by a blacked gloved killer; there are some red harings, and a lot of subjective cinematography. Lado keeps his film well focused on Franco unraveling the mystery surrounding his daughter’s death, with a few impressive sets and some effective supporting actors, especially José Quaglio as Bonaiuti makes an impression.

Shadows in the fog.

And a great location...

But who's following who?

A great addition is Ennio Morricone’s score, which is beautiful and haunting, and I think one of his best. The use of a boy’s choir works well with both the story itself, as with the images of Venice. And the scenes set at the fog-shrouded docks just look great.

Having seen three of Lado’s films, Short Night of Glass Dolls, Night Train Murders and Who saw her die?, I can say that I’m an big Aldo Lado fan. His movies are well made and intelligent and I hope more of his films will be released on dvd.

Lenzi's glasses

2007-06-18T10:45:00.000+02:00

Seeing this guy from Lenzi's Free Hand for a Tough Cop (1976, Il Trucido e lo Sbirro)...

...just made me think of Umberto Lenzi's current look.

Keoma the Sheriff

2007-06-16T23:46:00.000+02:00

Still in Keoma-mode, I was checking if and what Christopher Frayling wrote about Keoma in his 1981 book Spaghetti westerns: cowboys and europeans, from Karl May to Sergio Leone.

Not too much as it turns out, and also incorrect:

"Despite various attempts to fuse Spaghetti Westerns with popular fashions of the moment (for example, Lucio Fulci's Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, which tried to look like Easy Rider, and Enzo Castellari's Keoma, which had the sheriff behaving like a Civil Rights marcher), the 'Trinity' films, starring the same partnership and directed by Enzo Barboni, continued to outsell them all." (p. 253)

Weird... But it might be corrected in newer prints, I only got my hands on a first edition.

The Black Cat/Il Gatto Nero

2007-06-16T19:00:00.000+02:00

Il gatto nero, 1981. Directed by Lucio Fulci. With Patrick Magee, David Warbeck, Mimsy Farmer, Al Cliver, Dagmar Lassander.

In a small, English village a series of mysterious and deadly accidents occur and somehow a black cat is involved. The cat belongs to the reclusive and strange Mr. Miles (Patrick Magee). He is a medium who communicates with the dead. His nightly visits to the local cemetery don’t go unnoticed and the villagers think he’s a “queer one and a bit mad”.

A photographer visiting the village, Jill (Mimsy Farmer), finds a microphone in an old tomb. She tracks it back to Mr. Miles. They talk about his supernatural powers and then he tries to hypnotise her, but fails when the black cat suddenly attacks and badly scratches him.

Jill enters the tomb...

Unrevealing close-ups...

Scotland Yard-detective Gorley (David Warbeck) arrives to help the local police with the missing of a young couple. The missing girl’s mother, Lillian Grayson (Dagmar Lassander), calls in the help of her ex-lover and psychic Mr. Miles. Following up on his visions, Lillian and the police find the decaying corpses of the couple in a boathouse, which was mysteriously locked from the inside.

Noticing scratches on the hands of yet another victim, Jill is convinced that Mr. Miles is behind all these deaths and confronts him. But he claims it is the cat that is the evil one. After Lillian Grayson is burned alive in a fire started by the feline, Mr Miles drugs the cat and hangs him in his garden. But this unleashes supernatural forces that haunt him, and the cat simply returns. When detective Gorley is also attacked and hit by a car, Jill sneaks into Mr. Miles house to investigate...

Detective Gorley and Sergeant Wilson (Al Cliver)

Visions of death...

And another close-up.

In recent years this film has made sort of a comeback, thanks to a great dvd release and some good reviews. Made after City of the living dead and before The beyond, this movie lacks the extreme gore of Fulci’s other films of the period, but has some eye-catching visuals, lots of atmosphere and a good performance by Magee.

The relation between Mr. Miles and the cat is a complex one. Mr. Miles claims they need each other, but why is never made clear. In fact, the cat seems to be very able to take care of itself and obviously has the upper hand, attacking and hindering the man to great extend. Another thing is that the cat always seems to protect Jill at the expense of Mr. Miles. But no clues are given to explain all this.

Lillian Grayson

The day after she found the decomposed body of her daughter, Lillian is burnt alive.

And there lies the biggest problem with this film. The lack of any explanation or even a hint at the goals of either Mr. Miles or the cat makes their actions completely arbitrary and the movie sort of dull. I realise that Italian horror films were never too big on story and logic, but still... In City of the living dead we knew that the opening of the Gates of Hell could be prevented and in The beyond there were enough clues from the past to sort understand the present and it’s looming dangers...

Big plusses though are the beautiful, slick cinematography by Sergio Salvati, who makes the most of the English village, Mr. Miles-house and the gothicy sets, and the score by Pino Donaggio, his only one for Fulci.

Talking through the fence.

And check out that eye... (Thank you, Hugo!)

Patrick Magee turns Mr. Miles, with his sad, piercing eyes, wild eyebrows and slow diction, to the centre of the film and deservingly so. Mimsy Farmer is her usual boring self and David Warbeck is ok, but with his this-is-all-a-big-joke-body language, he always seems a bit out of place.

Not a bad picture, but not really good either, it feels like a missed chance.

4 DVDs

2007-06-15T16:55:00.000+02:00

Today I found these 4 DVDs for next to nothing. They changed the title so I didn't know exactly what I was buying, but I recognized some of the actor's names and took the chance. It was fun to find out which movies they are and I'm not disappointed. The quality is poor, but still... I haven't seen them yet.

Days of Hell = I giorni dell'inferno (1986), directed by Tonino Ricci

Thunder Squad = I cinque del Condor (1985, Wild Team), directed by Umberto Lenzi

The hard way = La via dura (1987, Colombian connection), directed by Michele Massimo Tarantini

Silent honour = La battaglia di El Alamein (1969, The battle of El Alamein), directed by Giorgio Ferroni (with George Hilton, and not George Hamilton, as the cover states)

Mark Gregory's infamous strut

2007-06-14T21:33:00.000+02:00

The site bronxwarriors.co.uk is all about Enzo G. Castellari's Bronx Warrior films. Check out the characters, weapons, trivia and best lines of these enjoyable films...

Enzo G. Castellari directs his daughter Stephania Girolami, while Mark Gregory stands behind him...

Kinksi: Ich brauche Liebe

2007-06-14T13:54:00.000+02:00

I just love everything about this cover: the lay-out, the title and especially the photo...

Just started reading Klaus Kinski's autobiography Ich brauche Liebe (I need love). If I understand correctly, this weird, half-crazy, maniacal actor's writings are much like himself. Werner Herzog even claims the book is full of lies. But knowing that, I think it might just sort of add to his whole unique image... or legend, as someone claims on the backsite.

Has anyone also read this book, or the English version Kinski Uncut?

Last Cannibal World: Point of no return

2007-06-13T21:33:00.000+02:00

In this scene from Ruggero Deadato's Last cannibal world (1977, Ultimo mondo cannibale) the story is told simple and effective, as much with sound as visually.

After their plane brakes down, Robert (Massimo Foschi) and Rolf are stuck in the middle of the jungle and they decide to build a raft to get back to civilization. But they capsize in a rapid...

Robert manages to climb ashore...

...and sees that the rapid doesn't end.

"Rolf!"

But all we see and hear is the ferocious rapid.

But then Robert realizes...

there's something else he hears...

While the sound of the river fades out....

The sounds of birds...

and apes and insects takes over...

The endless jungle with it's horrors awaits him.

Diabolik: All he can take, or get away with...

2007-06-13T09:15:00.000+02:00

A few posters for Mario Bava's Danger: Diabolik (1968)

Diabolik: A handful of glass

2007-06-12T15:26:00.000+02:00

Diabolik is the main character of a fumetti (italian comic), which was created by Angela and Luciana Giussani in 1962. He is a smart and ruthless professional thief, helped by his lover Eva Kant. His main opponent is Inspector Ginko. Diabolik's popularity in most European countries has faded over the years, as have pulp comics in general, but new episodes are still published in Italy.

In 1968 director Mario Bava and producer Dino De Laurentiis made a feature film based on the fumetti, called Danger: Diabolik, starring John Philip Law and Marisa Mell.

Last time I was in Rome I bought a few of these fumetti at the newsstand at Piazza di San Lorenzo in Lucina. The 60s feel of the movie is absent, but it was still fun to finally see it in fumetti-form and read it. (Well, sort of... I had to use a free online translation service.)

A few pages from Una manciata di vetri. (Diabolik R, n.50, 2007) by S. Zaniboni and F. Paludetti.

The Devil's Honey/Il Miele Del Diavolo

2007-06-11T21:55:00.000+02:00

Il miele del diavolo, 1986. Directed by Lucio Fulci. With Brett Halsey, Corine Clery, Blanca Marsillach, Stefano Madia.

Jessica (Blanca Marsillach) has a passionate relationship with Johnny (Stefano Madia). He pushes her to do more and more kinky things and although she often protest, she gives in every time...
Dr. Wendell Simpson (Brett Halsey), whose marriage is as good as over, likes to visit prostitutes and treats them with disrespect. When his wife Carol (Corinne Clery) learns of this, she wants a divorce.

Johnny playing saxophone. In the reflexion on each side one of his lovers.

Dr. Simpson, bland...

...without emotion. (Much like the quality of the VHS copy I took these screenshots from, sorry for that.)

After being injured in a serious motor accident Johnny is hospitalized and Dr. Simpson performs the operation on him. But with Carol’s divorce plans on his mind, Simpson is unfocussed and Johnny dies. After this, Jessica is stricken by grief and starts to stalk and threaten Dr. Simpson, unintentionally ruining a change of reconciliation between him and his wife.

Then Jessica goes one step further and kidnaps Simpson. Holding him hostage in a seaside mansion, she threatens and sexually tortures him. But she also starts to remember more and more about her relationship with Johnny, and maybe not everything was as good as she thought...

"Here's Johnny..."

"Then I'll huff..."

"...and I'll puff..."

In the first half of what many consider to be Fulci’s last good film, jealousy and sexual degradation play important roles in the lives of both couples. But where Johnny seems satisfied with his life, Dr. Simpson is obviously emotionally detached: when we see him first, in an effective scene, he’s standing still, expressionless, while an assistant takes off his operation-clothes. And later, an encounter with a prostitute isn’t a very joyous affair either.

The women in their lives also seem to be opposites in the same position. While one gets too much “love” and doesn’t protest, the other gets too little, i.e. none, and does protest. And the couples also keep affecting each other: Simpson “kills” Johnny; Jessica “kills” the Simpson-marriage.

"How about lending the driver a hand?"

She: "You don't love me!" He: "Yes I do."

She: "I can't sleep." He: "I can...so go to the next room."

An iconic image: arguing in the car.

And then, in the movies second part, Jessica and Simpson, the characters we’re left with, play their game of humiliation, degradation and extreme emotion together. It takes the sexual extremes Jessica inflicts on Simpson and his eagerness to submit, to somehow redeem both of them.

The cinematography by Allejandro Ulloa, who also shot Fulci’s One on top of the other (1969, Una Sull'Altra/Perversion Story) may not be very spectacular, but it somehow avoids the TV-movie feel of most Italian 80s outings. The same with the music: not good, but ok. Although some of the “erotic” scene’s in the movie’s first part are really corny, they seem to work much better in the last part. Another big plus is the well structured script and the good performances by the four leads. Blanca Marsillach is obvious the least effective, but Halsey and Clery are well matched. All-in-all a pretty good film, worth seeking out.

Torture...

...and sexual degradation.

Lucio Fulci as a street vendor: "And cut!"

Venantino Venantini in Portable Apple ad

2007-06-11T12:27:00.000+02:00

This old commercial for Apple's portable computer stars Venantino Venantini (aka Vernon Vernons), who played numerous supporting roles in italian movies. He's probably most famous for drilling a hole into poor Giovanni Lombardo Radice's head in The city of the living dead (1980, Paura nella città dei morti viventi).

Although he was for me one of the first recognizable faces in italian genre cinema, he never made much of an impression. But in this commercial he's stylish and charismatic and I can't shake the feeling that most movies wasted his talents.

Piccioni's Traffic boom

2007-06-10T21:19:00.000+02:00

This relaxed song which I really like, Traffic boom, by Piero Piccioni, is featured on the cool Beat at Cinecittà Cd and is used in Joel Coen's The big Lebowski (1998).

But I can't find out from which italian movie it is originally. Does anyone know?

Keoma's sister

2007-06-10T14:06:00.000+02:00

This spanish poster for Una donna chiamata Apache (1976, Apache woman) ("a different and audacious western") tries to cash in on Keoma's success.

The film is directed by Giorgio Mariuzzo (aka George McRoots), who co-wrote several Fulci-films, among them The beyond and The house by the cemetry, and stars Fulci regular Al Cliver, Yara Kewa (real name: Clara Hopf!) and Federico Boido (Rick Boyd). Co-written by Antonio Racioppi, who wrote and directed several Decamerotics.

A user comment on imdb.com claims it's "...violent, sleazy, voyeuristic, cheaply made, mean spirited, somewhat unpleasant,..."
So it sounds promising.

Keoma

2007-06-09T15:18:00.000+02:00

Keoma, 1976. Directed by Enzo G. Castellari. With Franco Nero, William Berger, Olga Karlatos, Woody Strode, Joshua Sinclair, Donald O'Brien, Orso Maria Guerrini, Antonio Marsina.

After fighting in the civil war, Keoma (Franco Nero), a half Indian who was raised by his white father, returns home. But what he finds is an apocalyptic nightmare. A man called Caldwell and his brutal, racist gang terrorize the town, which has been ravaged by an outbreak of the plaque. They round up everybody who is sick, or they suspect is sick, and force them into an abandoned mine pit to either recover or die.

Death herself questions Keoma: "Why did you come back?"

Keoma, a quiet man haunted by the past and not sure what to do with his life, decides to stay in town. He defies Caldwell's men by protecting a pregnant woman, who was unjustly forced to go to the mine pit. He also sees George, who used to be a friend to him when he was a child, but is now the town drunk. After Keoma visits his father, and learns that his three half brothers joined Caldwell, he is determined to fight Caldwell and his gang.

Keoma, George and the local doctor manage to smuggle medicine into town, which is immediately confiscated by Caldwell’s men. After Keoma shoots them down Caldwell decides to get rid of Keoma once and for all. Meanwhile Keoma’s power-hungry brothers plan to get rid of both Caldwell and Keoma, but when their father takes Keoma’s site in his fight with Caldwell things turn out different....

"Everything on this land belongs to Mr. Caldwell."

"But it's medicine...!" Far left, Woody Strode as George.

Thinking about the past... and the future.

Keoma's half brother. Orso Maria Guerrini with his piercing eyes.

As in most spaghetti westerns Keoma’s story is more of a background, against which bloody, violent setpieces, cliché’s and revenge motifs can take centerstage. But director Enzo Castellari adds a bleak, poetic sadness to both substance and style, resulting in something quite different and unique.

There are many instances in which flashbacks (and some flash-forward) overlap the present, and explain and add to the emotional power of a scene. They emphasize the contrast between past and present, and it’s influence on Keoma. He doesn’t know what to do with his life, except that the increasing brutality and death that surrounds him must come to an end.

The three brothers discuss their plans...

When Keoma faces Caldwell and his gang...

...Death is nearby.

There are two women in the movie who are symbols for this struggle: the pregnant woman Keoma cares for, who represents life, and an old woman, who in fact is death herself and seen only by Keoma. She questions his actions, claiming there is no use.

Caldwell kills the father...

...and Keoma... well, he's just being Keoma...

Even the violent shootouts have a different feel to them, thanks in large part to the heavy use of slowmotion, a device that Castellari often uses, and that creates some beautiful imagery. Is the shootout with Caldwell’s gang is a more traditional highlight; the final shootout is the opposite, in which the soundtrack consists of only the sounds of the woman giving birth.

I have to admit it took me a second viewing before I really started to appreciate this film. But now every time I see it again I like it better... and I already think it’s one of the ten best films to emerge from Italian genre cinema.

With the death of their father all bets are off...

Who's who... or not

2007-06-09T13:21:00.000+02:00

On his great giallo fever blog K H Brown asked if someone knows who this actor is:

And it turned out to be James Sampson aka Jimmy Deltologo:

In an amazing who's who on caratteristi.it, a site devoted to italian comedy actors, I found this:

It's the same guy, right? But I can't find anything on "Neil Patrick Dawson" at all. So I was wondering where caratteristi.it got this name so I've send them an email.

Coming Soon

2007-06-05T10:33:00.000+02:00

I'm planning to have this blog up and running somewhere this weekend.

But for now check out this song by Riz Ortolani: Serena e lomunno...