I love Lenzi's gialli offerings, or at least the one's I have experiences! I still need to see KNIFE OF ICE and A QUIET PLACE TO KILL. SPASMO and EYEBALL are some of my more favorite gialli viewings. Two very stylish yet, odd in nature but still very effective in the payoff!
It's been a long time since I first seen his SO SWEET... SO PERVERSE (1969), was that not just recently issued on DVD again??
I absolutely loved Freda's brilliant I VAMPRI! Now, what was the deal with Bava being uncredited for with this again? I know he had something to do with the overall direction, but what's the full story on that again?
Any opinions about this more recent giallo? I've heard some bad things but when I found it dirt cheap on eBay, I couldn't resist the temptation of picking it up. Figured I need to give some of the more recent horrer/thriller stuff a chance too. Still waiting for it to arrive and I'm not quite sure what to expect of it but at least it has a pretty good cast that includes famous transsexual Eva Robins from TENEBRAE (1982) and the good-looking Elisabetta Rocchietti, who has been cropping up in a lot of horror stuff like THE THREE FACES OF TERROR (2004), DO YOU LIKE HITCHCOCK? (2005) and THE LAST HOUSE IN THE WOODS (2006). Not to mention supporting roles by Florinda Bolkan and Franco Nero! Anyone here seen it?
Interesting looking film out of Italy with Irish/Spanish co-financiers. Directed by Italian SFX man Stefano Bessoni.
In the 1600s, long before the invention of photography, a scientist named Girolamo Fumagalli was obsessed with the idea of reproducing images. He discovered that by killing a victim and removing the victim's eyeballs, it was possible to reproduce on paper the last image imprinted on that person's retinas. He named this technique 'thanatography'. Today, the same kind of gruesome ritual and abominable crime recurs within the walls of an international school of cinema. -imdb.com
Also stars the daughter of Charlie Chapman, Geraldine Chaplin as well as her daughter Oona.
Well, it seems this is yet another Argento flick that is taking a beating in the review department. Even die hard fans are not too pleased with this outing. Anyhow, the PAL R2 DVD is now out via a Polish company that found it important to force the Polish subs!
Looks like this will be getting a UK release first via Arrow Films! I still haven't seen this, it was on my radar during last year's Midnight Madness during the Toronto Film Fest. The disc will be released March 15th..
I'd love to grab this, but for now I'm holding off on the Blu-Ray player for now, too unstable industry right now. Plus, the multi-region player are way too expensive!
(2008/USA/ITALY)REVIEW BY-STEVE GENIER/DIRECTED BY-GIOVANNI PIANIGANI/CAST-YASSMIN PICCI, LEANDRO GUERRINI, FABRIZIO CROCI, RAINE BROWN, JOSEPH ZASO and EILEEN DALY/SOURCE-CINEMA IMAGE PRODUCTIONS (UNCUT LIMITED EDITION DVD/ 100 MINS / 2008)
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(2008/USA/ITALY)REVIEW BY-STEVE GENIER/DIRECTED BY-GIOVANNI PIANIGANI/CAST-YASSMIN PICCI, LEANDRO GUERRINI, FABRIZIO CROCI, RAINE BROWN, JOSEPH ZASO and EILEEN DALY/SOURCE-CINEMA IMAGE PRODUCTIONS (UNCUT LIMITED EDITION DVD/ 100 MINS / 2008)
A serial killer is loose killing one woman and snatching three others. The next in line is Roberta, once regarded for her talents as a painter now living on the edge of sexual fantasies and thievery. The killer has a different agenda for her, to jumpstart her talents once again to serve his diabolical schemes. To paint portraits of the very three women who he has held captive. It is always nice to see the once mighty Italian giallo, once again revived to showcase to a whole new audience.
Director Giovanni Pianigani installs many elements that are in homage to the 70’s version of this Italian sub-genre of cinema. Not only does he use the colour spectrum much like that of Argento via SUSPIRIA. he also plays homage to it’s style and eccentric characters. One in particular is that of Derek (Joe Zaso), a blind detective from America. This is in the vein of Argento once again and it’s similar traits in which Karl Malden once portrayed in CAT O’NINE TAILS. Pianigani also treads with another usual suspect in the classic giallo, sexuality and nudity. Two major factors that drove the success of this genre. Though once again, he gears his homage towards that of the later gialli. Where both the violence and sexuality had heightened. Something explored and pretty much jumpstarted it all, Sergio Martino’s TORSO. The direction though often busy, it plays out perfect in a sense of given you not only Roberta’s confusion or state of mind, but also that of the police trying to understanding the direction of the crimes being committed. DARKNESS SURROUNDS ROBERTA is stylish in look and sexy in nature, that overlaps into the face of the central character of Roberta, played by the very stunning Yassmin Picci. It is her that gives this film an overwhelming feel of beauty, something that Pianigani uses to it’s fullest. His ability to not only handle the beauty of Picci, but the actors on a whole is evident as well. Keep and eye out for some scream queen power as well, two sexy vixens, Raine Brown(BARRICADE, WOODS OF EVIL) and Eileen Daly (RAZOR BLADE SMILE, ALONE IN THE DARK)It’s nice to see some fresh direction into a genre that has pretty much laid dormant since the 80’s, of course with the odd example here and there.
The DVD has an excellent offering as well, on top of the main feature, there is an rather fun look at the behind the scenes during the filming of ROBERTA. There also the option of an audio commentary with Joe Zaso and Raine Brown while watching the film.Rounding out the rest of the extras, there is also photo galleries, and more.
DARKNESS SURROUNDS ROBERTA
