Craving Desire

Graffiante Desiderio

Craving Desire

Italy 1993

D: Sergio Martino

P: Alessandro Loy Danà for Dania Film & Devon Cinematografica//St & Sc: Sergio Martino & Maurizio Rasio//DP: Giancarlo Ferrando//E: Eugenio Alabiso//M: Natale Massara//Art D: Stefano Massimi//Costumes: Silvio Laurenzi//Makeup: Giuseppe Ferranti, Francerco Napoli, & Gilberto Provenghi.

Cast: Vittorio Belvedere, Ron Nummi, Simona Borioni, Riccardo Perrotti, Viviani Polic, Barbara Cavallari, Serena Bennato, Antonio Ferrante, Alessia Franchini, Gabriella Barbuti, Hal Yamanouchi, Andrea Roncato, & Serena Grandi.

Luigi is a yuppie with everything going his way. He's successfully moving up the ladder at work and is about to marry Cinzia, a rich socialite from a successful family. That is until his cousin Sonia walks into his life. She has returned from living in Venezuela and looks to Luigi for comfort and guidance. Before long she succeeds in getting him into bed and having him call off his marriage to Cinzia. The next thing he knows, she has him participate in shoplifting, armed robbery and having sex with anonymous strangers. When one of those strangers turns up missing, Luigi begins to suspect there is something seriously wrong with his cousin. She causes him to lose his job, has an affair with his boss and generally makes life a living hell for the poor guy. When he discovers the body of the missing girl in the freezer, it's almost too late as Sonia knocks him out and begins to torture him. Will the police rescue him in time or will Luigi become another victim of the crazed Sonia?

Sergio Martino proves with this erotic thriller that not only can he compete with such U.S. fare as Adrian Lynn's FATAL ATTRACTION, he can surpass such lame affairs with ease. What a shame that today's audiences don't realize that what they are getting are warmed over plots from Italian thrillers made in the seventies. Martino has succeeded in today's American dominated marketplace, unlike most current Italian filmmakers, by producing (along with his brother Luciano) his own films. Because of this, he is able to stay active whereas talents such as Umberto Lenzi and others remain inactive. This film features a fine performance by Vittorio Belvedere as the cousin from Hell! She is erotic when she needs to be (such as seducing Ron Nummi's hapless character) and makes for a convincing killer when her secret (she murdered her own family) is about to be revealed. Nummi's character is a kindred spirit to Griffin Dunne's in Scorcese's AFTER HOURS. His precipitous fall from grace is quick and irrevocable, all because of a woman's seductive powers. Martino even kinks things up a bit by mixing in a little cannibalism to the plot. The look on Nummi's face when Sonia tells him he ate one of her victims in a meal she prepared earlier speaks volumes. I doubt you'll see that in an American thriller! Finally, Serena Grandi's erotic cameo as the boss' wife out to seduce Nummi is a welcome return by her to the screen. 

Day of Love on the Edge of a Razor

GIORNO D'AMORE SUL FILO DI UNA LAMA

Italy 1973

D: Giuseppe Pellegrini

P: Fausto Del Chicca//St & Sc: Camillo Fantacci, Giuseppe Pellegrini, & Dante Cesaretti//DP: Mario Vitale//E: Enzo Alabiso//M: Gianfranco & Felice Di Stefano

Cast: Peter Lee Lawrence, Erika Blanc, Ivana Novak, Silvano Tranquilli, Enzo Loglisci, Fausto Del Chicca.

Stefano, upon meeting Lidia, falls deeply in love with her. They carry on a torrid relationship until tragedy strikes Lidia when she is killed in a car wreck. Stefano remains depressed until he meets one of his client's daughter. Their relationship renews Stefano's zest for life. Soon after however, he sees a girl who looks exactly like Lidia. He becomes obsessed with finding her, to the detriment of his current relationship. Eventually he discovers just what happened to Lidia and ends up becoming involved in drug running. Lidia was never killed and is being used by a gang to secure Stefano's help in pulling off one last job.

Here's a thriller that deserves its obscure status as there is far too much sentimentality and not nearly enough murder and mayhem. The film's middle portion really bogs down as we become witness to Stefano's soap opera-style love life. The scenes of Peter Lee Lawrence and Erika Blanc falling in love utilizes all the cliches in the book—slow motion, soft focus and a syrupy score by the De Stefanos. Giuseppe Pellegrini only directed one other film (a Spaghetti Western) and it's easy to see why he wasn't given more opportunities as he appears to have no conception of how to direct a film. All he had to do was ripoff Hitchcock's VERTIGO (Lord knows the screenplay writer sure did) for 90 minutes and he would have been hailed as a genius (ie Brian De Palma's OBSESSION). 

Giallo A Venezia

GIALLO A VENEZIA

Director: Mario Landi.

P: Gabriele Crisanti for Elea Cinematografica//Sc: Aldo Serio//DP: Franco Villa//E: Mario Salvatori//M: Berto Pisano//Costumes: Itala Giardina//Makeup: Mauro Gavazzi

Cast: Gianni Dei, Gabriele Renzulio, Eolo Capri, Maria Angela Giordan,Vassili Amesinis, Giancarlo Del Duca.

The film's parallel story line involves a sadistic serial killer and a young couple involved in twisted sex games. Fabio (Gianni Dei) can only work up the desire for his wife, Flavia, if she is getting screwed by an outside party. Flavia is repeatedly humiliated until she has had enough and decides to do in both her husband and herself.

The only reason this film gets two stars is the presence of Maria Angela Giordan (THE SECT) and the over-the-top gore sequences. Since the serial killer is easily apprehended you begin to feel his sole reason for him being here at all was to provide the film it's most spectacularly nasty death sequence involving Ms. Giordan. Very little else in this stupid film deserves merit. This rancid piece of shit is a travesty of a film. Every character in this film, except poor Flavia, makes you sick to your stomach. Even the police inspector engages in the disgusting habit of cramming hard-boiled eggs down his gullet (but why?). Berto Pisano's score sounds like it belongs in an MGM musical. Did the director arbitrarily steal from another source and shove it in wherever he felt? This film is a turd floater of immense proportions. 

Murder for pleasure

IL GATTO A NOVE CODE

THE CAT O'NINE TAILS

D: Dario Argento

P: Salvatore Argento for Seda Spettacoli, Terra Filmkunst & Labrador Film//St & Sc: Dardano Sacchetti, Luigi Cozzi & Dario Argento//DP: Erico Menczer//E: Franco Fraticelli//M: Ennio Morricone//Art D: Carlo Leva

Cast: James Franciscus, Catherine Spaak, Karl Malden, Pier Paolo Capponi, Horst Frank, Tino Carraro, Aldo Reggiani, Rada Rassimov, Carlo Alighiero, Vittorio Congia, Ugo Fangareggi, Tom Felleghy, Fulvio Mingozzi, Umberto Raho, Werner Pochat, Cinzia De Carolis

A robbery takes place at the Terzi Institute. The next day one of the scientists confides to his girlfriend, that he knows who the thief is and what he stole. Blind, ex-reporter Franco Arno visits Carlo Giordani and asks him to look into the "accidental" death of the scientist who knew too much. When Giordani discovers the photographer, who took a photo at the scene of the accident, is murdered, he and Franco realize a killer is on the loose and he's most likely one of the scientist at the Institute. More deaths occur before they discover who the killer is and what his motives were.

Most critics feel Argento's second film was a step in the wrong direction. They sight the needlessly complicated plot, his passion for bullshit scientific theory, and the poor chemistry between Franciscus and Spaak. I'm not a big fan of the film, but even luke warm Argento still puts 90% of the other directors toiling in Giallo field to shame. One of the film's greatest strengths is Argento's use of camera movement. He probes every corner of the set and you can definitely tell he was headed in a direction that culminated in the photographic artistry of DEEP RED. The genetics subplot is more timely today than when the film was made thanks to the overwhelming number of CSI crap on TV these days. And while I agree that Franciscus and Spaak generate  no heat in their scenes together, the growing friendship and concern dispayed by Franciscus and Malden is definitely a high point for an Argento film when it comes to his work with actors ( Finally, a rare use of comedy by Argento occurs when he lets a blindman be the lookout when two characters are rummaging around a crypt.). Even little Cinzia De Carolis (who matures into a sexy Lolita character seducing John Saxon in CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE) develops a very warm and touching relationship with Karl Malden's character. 

The Cat O'Nine Tails

IL GATTO A NOVE CODE

THE CAT O'NINE TAILS

D: Dario Argento

P: Salvatore Argento for Seda Spettacoli, Terra Filmkunst & Labrador Film//St & Sc: Dardano Sacchetti, Luigi Cozzi & Dario Argento//DP: Erico Menczer//E: Franco Fraticelli//M: Ennio Morricone//Art D: Carlo Leva

Cast: James Franciscus, Catherine Spaak, Karl Malden, Pier Paolo Capponi, Horst Frank, Tino Carraro, Aldo Reggiani, Rada Rassimov, Carlo Alighiero, Vittorio Congia, Ugo Fangareggi, Tom Felleghy, Fulvio Mingozzi, Umberto Raho, Werner Pochat, Cinzia De Carolis

A robbery takes place at the Terzi Institute. The next day one of the scientists confides to his girlfriend, that he knows who the thief is and what he stole. Blind, ex-reporter Franco Arno visits Carlo Giordani and asks him to look into the "accidental" death of the scientist who knew too much. When Giordani discovers the photographer, who took a photo at the scene of the accident, is murdered, he and Franco realize a killer is on the loose and he's most likely one of the scientist at the Institute. More deaths occur before they discover who the killer is and what his motives were.

Most critics feel Argento's second film was a step in the wrong direction. They sight the needlessly complicated plot, his passion for bullshit scientific theory, and the poor chemistry between Franciscus and Spaak. I'm not a big fan of the film, but even luke warm Argento still puts 90% of the other directors toiling in Giallo field to shame. One of the film's greatest strengths is Argento's use of camera movement. He probes every corner of the set and you can definitely tell he was headed in a direction that culminated in the photographic artistry of DEEP RED. The genetics subplot is more timely today than when the film was made thanks to the overwhelming number of CSI crap on TV these days. And while I agree that Franciscus and Spaak generate  no heat in their scenes together, the growing friendship and concern dispayed by Franciscus and Malden is definitely a high point for an Argento film when it comes to his work with actors ( Finally, a rare use of comedy by Argento occurs when he lets a blindman be the lookout when two characters are rummaging around a crypt.). Even little Cinzia De Carolis (who matures into a sexy Lolita character seducing John Saxon in CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE) develops a very warm and touching relationship with Karl Malden's character. 

Eyeball

Gatti Rossi In Un Labirinto Di Vetro

Sales Title: Wide-Eyed in the Dark

US Video Title: Eyeball

Italy-Spain

D: Umberto Lenzi

P: José Maria Cunilles//St &Sc: Felix Tusell & Umberto Lenzi//DP: Antonio Millan//E: Amadeo Moriani//M: Bruno Nicolai//Art D: Jose Massague//Color

Cast: John Richardson, Martine Brochard, Inez Pellegrin, Silvia Solar, Jorge Rigaud, Martha May as Alma, Daniele Vargas, Andres Mejuto, Raf Baldassare, Jose Maria Blanco, John Bartha, Olga Pehar.

An eclectic group of Americans are touring Barcelona by bus. Before long, this diverse gathering (which includes a priest, executive with his mistress, a lesbian couple, a husband and wife who fight all the time and others) begin to be decimated by a maniac with penchant for removing his victim's eyeball. Each tourist seemingly has a reason for being the orb snatching killer, however blame finally rests on a person who lost his/her eye while playing doctor as a child. She is now psychotically trying to replace it by killing those around her.

The only misstep in Umberto Lenzi's prolific career in the genre, one has to believe the addition of graphic gore to his bag of tricks was not a welcome one (unlike Sergio Martino, whose Torso was both extremely violent and a taut thriller to boot). No doubt Lenzi was more comfortable making thrillers that relied on eroticism (the many films he made with Carroll Baker) rather than grue. He allows everyone to overact shamelessly which throws the entire mood of the movie off kilter. It becomes ludicrous after a while with every move someone makes framed as if he was the guilty party (a man can't even shave without coming across as a potential maniac). This mostly Spanish production boasts fine photography by Antonio Millan and a host of familiar faces—Jorge Rigaud, Silvia Solar and Mirta Miller from that country's film industry—but it's not enough to overcome the handicap of a poor script. Fortunately for Lenzi his career would rebound and head off into another genre, Crime Films, where he did his most interesting work.

Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion

Le Foto Proibite Di Una Signora Per Bene

The Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion

Italy-Spain

D: Luciano Ercoli

P: Alberto Pugliese & Luciano Ercoli for Produzioni Cinematografica (Rome), Mediterrane (Rome), & CC Trebol Films (Madrid)//St & Sc: Ernesto gastaldi & Manuel Velasco//DP: Alejandro Ulloa//E: Luciano Ercoli//M: Ennio Morricone//Art D: Claudio Gianbanco//Costumes: Gloria Cardi//Color

Cast: Dagmar Lassander, Pier Paolo Capponi, Simon Andreu, Osvaldo gennazzani, Salvador Bugetti, Susan Scott (Nieves Navarro).

Minou is the high strung wife of an industrialist named Peter. He often travels leaving Minou by herself which stresses her out to the point where she drinks and takes pills to cope. One night, while out for a walk, she's attacked by a stranger who accuses her husband of murder. Obviously shaken up by the incident, she can't seem to get her best friend Dominique, to show much concern. The next time she meets up with the mystery assailant, he rapes her and threatens blackmail. Minou tells all of this to Peter, but when the police are called in to investigate, they find no clues. As the film builds to its climax, you can't be sure whether Minou is losing her mind or is someone close to her trying to drive her to suicide.

You can always tell a Luciano Ercoli directed thriller, it features his actress/wife Susan Scott in a prominent role (here as Dominique), and, the characters never shut up! While the appearance of Scott is always a big plus (although unfortunately she keeps her clothes on while appearing in her husband's films), it's the interminable talking that ultimately cause his thrillers to fall short of the mark. A prolific producer in the sixties, he was responsible for director Duccio Tessari's best work (ie the RINGO Spaghetti Westerns). Dagmar Lassander is quite stunning here, especially the opening bubble bath scene, as Minou and she manages to involve the audience with her character's rather desperate situation. The big casting mistake was using Pier Paolo Capponi in the role of her husband. As soon as you see him on screen, you can't help but feel he's an unsympathetic bastard, capable of anything. This certainly doesn't help the supposed surprise revelation at film's end. Finally, this was the time period when composer Ennio Morricone created some of his best work and he doesn't disappoint here.