Nice Mr. A. They've got color, splash and pizaazzzzz. They certainly do make me want to check out the films even if I can't read some of the titles. I want to see "Lizard in a Woman's Skin." What a play on words. I'm a Florinda Balkan fan. I'll check YouTube again. Just can't afford to buy anything right now.
Re: Giallo
Posted: January 5th, 2015, 7:51 pm
by Lomm
It's really pitiful what film posters have become in the last two decades. They used to be something special.
Re: Giallo
Posted: January 5th, 2015, 9:27 pm
by Mr. Arkadin
Titles:
Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1969) --You've seen this one.
[youtube][/youtube]
Six Women for the Killer AKA Blood and Black Lace (1964) --Full movie!
The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh AKA Blade of the Ripper (1971) ---Think you've seen this one too.
[youtube][/youtube]
Eye in the Labyrinth (1972) --You have this one, don't know if you've watched it yet.
[youtube][/youtube]
Lizard in a Woman's Skin (1971) --Fever dream giallo from Fulci--Here's a taste:
[youtube][/youtube]
Re: Giallo
Posted: March 6th, 2015, 12:16 pm
by Mr. Arkadin
I've recently been revisiting the work of Umberto Lenzi, who made gialli before the likes of Argento and Fulci, but has never received the same critical praise, or evaluation. Eyeball AKA The Secret Killer (1974) might be his best camerawork and use of visual style, which is somewhat ironic, considering it deals with a killer who cuts out the left eye of victims after stabbing them to death.
Giallo has a history of fascination with eyes--whether it be close ups, or actual mutilation. Lenzi's film seems to explore this by making us look at life and question what we see. The film also takes place on a sightseeing tour of Spain and the opening credits use freeze frames that are later explained in the context of the film, giving us images to read with our eyes and hold in our minds.
A rather sad commentary on a contemporary audience's reception of an ambitious Mario Bava screening. Please click on image below to read the full story:
The Sister of Ursula (1978)
Posted: December 29th, 2022, 8:34 pm
by EP Millstone
By 1978, when The Sister of Ursula (née La Sorella Di Ursula) was released, the giallo was almost moribund. The genre had reached its commercial (and, arguably, its artistic) peak during the early 1970s (1970 to 1975); its perverse plots, European settings and stylizations, and sensational violence were replaced by more prosaic, American shockers starring the likes of suburban creeps Freddy, Jason, and Michael.
The Sister of Ursula is a borderline-hardcore-pornography thriller concerning beautiful women being murdered by a mysterious psycho presented as only a pair of intense eyes. The familiar elements of the giallo (black gloved killer; imperiled women; zoom shots; characters who are types instead of complex human beings; lush, symphonic music -- missing:J&B Scotch Whisky) were applied by the filmmakers . . . who seemed to be making two different movies in one: a murder-mystery and a porn flick. The result, IMO, is a bipolar potboiler.
Pros
If the following attractions appeal to you, you might enjoy The Sister of Ursula:
Picturesque scenery including picture-postcard panoramas of Italian seaside villas on the Amalfi Coast
PLUS . . .
Nekkid wimmen
Bared breasts
Pert breasts
Big breasts
Bush on parade: young bush, old(er) bush, nicely landscaped bush
Simulated knob gobbling
Simulated carpet munching
Simulated kitty petting
Simulated uglies bumping
Authentic nipple noshing
Authentic buttocks bussing
Cons
Clumsy editing
One-note characters including a whiny, cranky, unsympathetic protagonist
Repetitive and clichéd musical accompaniment (according to the filmmakers, nothing denoted rumpy pumpy like a languid serenade played by a moaning tenor saxophone)
The Sister of Ursula invites you to join her on Tubi. Clothing optional.