The Bloodstained Butterfly

Una Farfalla Con Le Ali Insanguinate

The Bloodstained Butterfly

Italy 1973

D: Duccio Tessari

P:  ST & Sc: Gianfranco Clerici & Duccio Tessari//DP: Carlo Carlini//E: Antonio Proia//M: Gianni Ferrio//Art D: Elena Ricci//Costumes: Paola Nardi//Makeup: Raoul Ranieri//Color

Cast: Helmut Berger, Giancarlo Sbragia, Evelyn Stewart (Ida Gallieni), Silvano Tranquilli, Amendi D'Olive, Gunther Stoll, Lorella de Luca, Wolfgang Preiss, Peter Shepherd, Anna Zinneman, Dana Ghia, Federica Tessari, Carole André as Francoise.

LOTS OF SPOILERS BELOW!!!

A young girl has her throat slashed in a wooded area during a heavy downpour. Though the killer escapes, there are quite a few witnesses who think they can identify him. Detailed crime scene analysis along with the eye witness testimony pegs the murderer as a sportscaster named Alessandro. Unfortunately for him,his wife (Evelyn Stewart) and lawyer are having an affair and are using the trial to get Alessandro out of the picture. He's found guilty and given life imprisonment. However the murders continue to occur in the same wooded area. This along with new evidence, causes Alessandro to be released. It turns out that the first victim was the girlfriend of piano virtuoso Giorgio (Helmut Berger). He discovered who the real murderer was and so committed two other killings just so he could have the pleasure of killing the real murderer.

In gathering the data for this project, it was rewarding to discover certain behind the scenes personnel who have been over looked in the past. Screenplay writer Gianfranco Clerici's main claim to fame (or infamy) was as the screenplay writer for Deodato's CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST. In fact, he along with Ernesto Gastaldi can lay claim to be the best toiling in the Giallo salt-mines. The structure of this film, mixing both the present and the past is brilliant. Tessari also goes into great detail about the actual procedures used by crime labs and the technicians involved doing the work long before the torrent of CSI clones playing endlessly on TV today. Gianni Ferrio's use of Tchaikovsky's Thematic Concerto #1 for piano emphasizes Giorgio's torment and descent into madness. Interestingly, Francesco De Masi used this same piece of music (for comic effect) in THE WEEKEND MURDERS. Silvano Tranquilli plays the harried police inspector who spends the entire film trying to get a decent cup of coffee. Helmut Berger is not one of my favorite actors as he usually comes off as unfocused and stiff. I will give him credit for being able to carry out the requirements of the film's downbeat ending with aplomb as he makes you sympathize with his motivations, even though he has murdered two innocent people. One of the best.