06-19-2008, 10:18 AM
What a great little film this turned out to be.
Had a chance to finally catch this 1963 Mario Bava giallo blueprint and I really, really enjoyed it. Equally great was getting to see the uncut International version under it's original title, LA RAGAZZA CHE SPAEVA TROPPO courtesy the first of the two Bava boxes (which both came to me earlier this week courtesy of my dear, dear friend Kit Gavin, to whom I am not only in debted to for this very exciting gift, but for our years of sincere friendship).
John Saxon and Letícia Román are both wonderful here in the leads, but for me, Bava and peplum regular Dante Di Paolo (BLOOD AND BLACK LACE, SON OF HERCULES VS. VENUS) stole the show in an excellent performance as the important to the story, ill-fated Landini. I also very much enjoyed the main song that plays throughout, adding a swanky, jazzy vibe to the proceedings, fitting in perfectly with the exciting time it was made and the black and white of which Bava would abandon for the wonderful world of color following this. The featurette afterwards with Saxon, titled 'Remembering the Girl with John Saxon' was a nice little piece to wrap it all up. I must say as well, the man has aged very gracefully.
Adding even more fascination is the U.S. trailer under the title, THE EVIL EYE, which my girlfriend and I both noticed showed several scenes not included in this Italian cut of the film (as did a couple of the lobby cards on display in the gallery section), one of which is a gondola shoot-out between Saxon and I believe, Giovanni Di Benedetto. It would have been interesting to see this print included on the disc as well. My understanding is these sequences shot for THE EVIL EYE release were still handled by Bava. Does anyone have this version? A rundown of what's included that's not in the LA RAGAZZA CHE SAPEVA TROPPO variant would be most interesting and helpful.
All in all, I can see how this established the giallo and firmly planted it in as the groundbreaker in the annals of what was to come. What other Italian films of this period followed in a similar mold as very early giallo pieces?
Had a chance to finally catch this 1963 Mario Bava giallo blueprint and I really, really enjoyed it. Equally great was getting to see the uncut International version under it's original title, LA RAGAZZA CHE SPAEVA TROPPO courtesy the first of the two Bava boxes (which both came to me earlier this week courtesy of my dear, dear friend Kit Gavin, to whom I am not only in debted to for this very exciting gift, but for our years of sincere friendship).
John Saxon and Letícia Román are both wonderful here in the leads, but for me, Bava and peplum regular Dante Di Paolo (BLOOD AND BLACK LACE, SON OF HERCULES VS. VENUS) stole the show in an excellent performance as the important to the story, ill-fated Landini. I also very much enjoyed the main song that plays throughout, adding a swanky, jazzy vibe to the proceedings, fitting in perfectly with the exciting time it was made and the black and white of which Bava would abandon for the wonderful world of color following this. The featurette afterwards with Saxon, titled 'Remembering the Girl with John Saxon' was a nice little piece to wrap it all up. I must say as well, the man has aged very gracefully.
Adding even more fascination is the U.S. trailer under the title, THE EVIL EYE, which my girlfriend and I both noticed showed several scenes not included in this Italian cut of the film (as did a couple of the lobby cards on display in the gallery section), one of which is a gondola shoot-out between Saxon and I believe, Giovanni Di Benedetto. It would have been interesting to see this print included on the disc as well. My understanding is these sequences shot for THE EVIL EYE release were still handled by Bava. Does anyone have this version? A rundown of what's included that's not in the LA RAGAZZA CHE SAPEVA TROPPO variant would be most interesting and helpful.
All in all, I can see how this established the giallo and firmly planted it in as the groundbreaker in the annals of what was to come. What other Italian films of this period followed in a similar mold as very early giallo pieces?
