Quack! Quack! Quack?

"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

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?

Who's Pino Boller?

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?)

Kinksi: Ich brauche Liebe

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?

Piccioni's Traffic boom

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?

Who's who... or not

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.