A trio of Italian “giallo” pictures made in the 1970s, all enmeshed in lurid murders whose victims are exclusively the members of the weaker sex (mostly sylphlike, nubile girls), but each with their different kinks and kicks.
Sergio Martino’s THE STRANGE VICE OF MRS. WARDH finds the titular wife (Fenech, a porcelain-like trophy wife) of a diplomat harassed by mysterious letters and life-threatening attacks while any of the three men in her current life, her seemingly upstanding husband, her current, swarthy and caring paramour and a deranged, sadistic old flame, could be a serial killer offing young women with a blade.
The film’s final reveal would certainly throw audience for a loop. Although the twist is quite shark-jumping, it really goes out of its way to pinpoint a woman’s precariousness in this world, but that doesn’t hinder Mrs. Wardh from seeking out a possible new romantic object, sexual morality is something her and the film take a dim view of, above all, a woman’s extramarital affair is simply a mote in the eye of the oceanic masculine malignancy circling around her.
In Massimo Dallamano’s WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SOLANGE?, several sexually emancipated, pubescent schoolgirls in a London Catholic school are ruthlessly iced with a very startling modus operandi. The cases eventually turn out to be a personal vengeance with a conservative connotation. Here, our nominal protagonist is the school’s Italian professor Enrico Rosseni (Testi, who is in fine fettle but his amateur sleuth operation is half-baked), whose flagrant affair with Elisabeth (Galbó), one of his students, doesn’t get much flak besides the cold glare from his frigid German wife Herta (Baal).
When Enrico, and by extension, audience, finally sees daylight of the revenge act, the story’s punitive overtone of promiscuity-censuring and sadistic punishment cannot hide its sexist, even misogynic slant and disregard for reproductive justice, not to mention the hidebound, incorrigible hymen fixation (Enrico is easily forgiven for his peccadillo by Herta after Elisabeth is revealed to be a virgin). Dallamano vehemently nails his orthodox Catholic color to the mast but that notion is truly démodé half a century later.
Dissimilar to the aforementioned films, Lucio Fulci’s THE PSYCHIC (one of its many alternative titles is MURDER TO THE TUNE OF THE SEVEN BLACK NOTES) is rather chaste and barely blood-stained, with no exploitative sexual and nude contents, which is also uncharacteristic for him, after all, he is famously dubbed as “the poet of macabre”.
Riding on a high-concept construct of parapsychology, about a woman (O’Neill) who can foresee events happened in near future, only too late to realize that they are the components of a dreadful situation where her own life will be put in extremis, THE PSYCHIC is a taut Hitchcockian thriller and mystery, vigorously piecing together all the puzzles of a predestined climax, and suffixed with an open-end coda, leaving the fate of our hapless heroine a moot point. A case of saving by the music, but not a complete victory, as fanciful as MRS. WARDH.
All three pictures are reined by competent hands despite their moderate-to-scanty funds. MRS. WARDH seems to be spurred by Martino’s somewhat hog-wild energy, brandishing slapdash compositions and punch-drunk cuts as if in a delirium. It also tries to creep audience out with a sinister POV and an eldritch ambience of a slasher (including emulating a notorious a slashing scene in the bathroom).
The similar technique also appears in SOLANGE, where Gothic oppression, Catholic formality and idyllic lushness all gel into a rigid whodunit, while treacherously belying the transgressions and profligacy underfoot. The sadistic commission can hardly match the black-and-white flashback sequence which could be an adolescent girl’s worst nightmare.
Fulci’s psychotronic pyrotechnics in image-confecting and myth-fabrication are well served in THE PSYCHIC. The neatness of its narrative procedure elicits a wonderful adrenaline rush through Fulci’s time-honed proficiency and savvy in the trade, only the periodic zooming-in close-ups of Jennifer O'Neill’s soulful, spacey eyes to segue into her eerie vision is woefully deployed ad nauseam.
As per in the genre’s idiom, the dialogues in all three films are crummily composed, merely to thuddingly implement their function as plot propellers. Apart from distinctive visual finesse, a good giallo’s best bedfellow is a killer score, and that’s something the trio isn’t shy of. Nora Orlandi, the first female film composer of Italian cinema, confidently dazzles and seduces audience with her strangely alarming and discordant accompaniment in MRS. WARDH; whereas Morricone’s contribution to SOLANGE is alternately lyrical and unsettling, the titular tune is particularly mellifluous and melancholic; as for THE PSYCHIC, its score is also quite untypical, preferring a more melodious, otherworldly atmosphere than the usual suspect as a routine mood enhancer.
At the end of the day, for all their gratifying demerits and logical lacunae, each film makes for a gripping first-viewing. For an erstwhile genre mainly regarded as a purveyor of divertissement, it still remains a mother lode of perversion, delectation and thrill for an audience of new generations to discover.
referential entries: Dario Argento’s SUSPIRIA (1977, 7.3/10), THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUME (1970, 6.1/10); Yann Gonzalez’s KNIFE + HEART (2018, 7.7/10); Mario Bava’s BLACK SUNDAY (1960, 7.3/10); Ti West’s X (2022, 6.2/10); Peter Strickland’s THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY (2014, 8.0/10).
English Title: The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh
Original Title: Lo strano vizio della signora Wardh
Year: 1971
Country: Italy, Spain
Language: Italian, Spanish
Genre: Crime, Mystery, Horror
Director: Sergio Martino
Screenwriters: Eduardo Manzanos, Ernesto Gastaldi
Music: Nora Orlandi
Cinematography: Emilio Foriscot, Florian Trenker
Editor: Eugenio Alabiso
Cast:
Edwige Fenech
George Hilton
Ivan Rassimov
Alberto de Mendoza
Conchita Airoldi
Carlo Alighiero
Manuel Gil
Bruno Corazzari
Marella Corbi
Letizia Lehir
Anne Pouchie
Rating: 7.1/10
English Title: What Have You Done to Solange?
Original Title: Cosa avete fatto a Solange?
Year: 1972
Country: Italy, West Germany, UK
Language: Italian
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Director: Massimo Dallamano
Screenwriters: Massimo Dallamano, Bruno Di Geronimo
Music: Ennio Morricone
Cinematography: Joe D’Amato
Editor: Antonio Siciliano
Cast:
Fabio Testi
Karin Baal
Cristina Galbó
Joachim Fuchsberger
Günther Stoll
Claudia Butenuth
Camille Keaton
Rainer Peukert
Pilar Castel
Giovanna Di Bernardo
Vittorio Fanfoni
Antonio Casale
Maria Michi
Maria Monti
Giancarlo Badessi
Rating: 6.3/10
English Title: The Psychic
Original Title: Sette note in nero
Year: 1977
Country: Italy
Language: English, Italian
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Director: Lucio Fulci
Screenwriters: Lucio Fulci, Roberto Gianviti, Dardano Sacchetti
Music: Frano Bixio, Fabio Rizzi, Vince Tempera
Cinematography: Sergio Salvati
Editor: Ornella Michelli
Cast:
Jennifer O’Neill
Gabriele Ferretti
Marc Porel
Gianni Darko
Ida Galli
Jenny Tamburi
Fabrizio Jovine
Loredana Savelli
Bruno Corazzari
Rating: 7.0/10
看了这么多恐怖片,真正被吓到的没几部。之前推荐过的意大利恐怖片《威尼斯疑魂》,算得上一部,还有就是今天不得不推荐的意大利超自然铅黄恐怖老片。 1959年的欧洲,小女孩Virginia,天赋异禀。在异地求学期间,远在意大利的她竟然能感知到英国发生的事情。那一刻,她的母亲跳崖自杀,Virginia甚至能感知到其中的细节,比如满脸的血污… 转眼间,女孩Virginia成为了大姑娘,她也找到了心爱的丈夫。有一天,Virginia送完丈夫去机场,在返回的路上,她驾车连续穿过几个隧道。奇怪的是,一旦进入黑暗的隧道,她的面前就出现恐怖的凶杀画面:奇怪的音乐,满脸鲜血的死者,封闭的房间。她还看见一堵墙,里面埋葬着一个女人… 如此毛骨悚然的画面一直困扰着Virginia,她告诉丈夫和朋友,但是没人相信她,都认为她是神经过敏。 终于有一天,Virginia忍不住了,她按照幻觉中的画面找到了那个地点。当她打开房间,她惊恐地发现,房子里的摆设和物件简直和幻觉中一模一样! 那么,是否意味着,那堵墙内真的埋葬着一个女人?惊恐之中,Virginia拿起了锄头开挖… 《黑暗中的音符》(Seven Black Notes),由意大利著名恐怖片大师卢西奥·弗尔兹执导的悬疑片,詹妮弗·欧内尔和加比利艾尔·费泽蒂出演,于1977年上映。 卢西奥·弗尔兹以执导丧尸片闻名,其作品大多追求感官刺激和血腥画面。但本片一反常态,以纯悬疑推进剧情,并加入超自然因素,辅助以配乐,眼睛特写,器具和色彩的特写,营造出恐怖惊悚的氛围。 有几处确实吓到了本人:女主开车进入漆黑的隧道,诡异的画面和音乐,令人感觉到对未知的恐惧;女主进入房间,一拉幕布,血红色的台灯罩子,那么鲜艳,令人想到凶杀和鲜血… 电影通过女主的幻觉,不断印证,不断推进剧情,疑点重重,勾引着观众往下看。高明之处在于,电影还出现了几次反转。一开始,女主包括观众都以为她的幻觉是已经发生的事,后来才发现她在预知未来。这就更加恐怖,女主每走一步愈加凶险,甚至那墙内的女人就是Virginia自己… 不多剧透了,相比于一般的意大利铅黄片,本片不落俗套,大胆地涉及了预知超能力。剧情反转不觉得单调,就连结尾也来了个大反转,最后采用了开放性的结尾,引人猜测和回味!
意大利电影就是人美,风景美,光线美,色彩美。
手表的音乐让人想起驱魔人+ 月光光心慌慌+夜深血红
导演摒除了以往电影都会出现的血浆和恶心。除了开场10秒钟的坠崖画面,看到坠崖时就一个想法“想不开的人千万不要选这条路”
女主有预知未来的技能,她自己应该清楚,但这天赋却不能保护她。并不算bug,而是片刻的阴差阳错,真相就和她擦肩而过了,等到脊背发凉的时候,可能为时已晚,世间很多事都是如此。
即使白天,这座发生过可怕事的房子也是半明半暗的,走廊里只有从窗户缝隙透进来的零碎的亮光。看守人打开窗户,黑暗的走廊顿时变得光彩夺目,一扫阴沉的气氛。面对医生的质问,丈夫回答得天衣无缝,周围一切毫无破绽。在丈夫彬彬有礼的背后,是对拿他毫无办法的人的讥笑。可就在这时候,之前在女主躲藏时响起的音乐再一次响起了。往日让人想掐碎的声音现在如天籁一般,像一道光芒把黑暗中的一切都照亮。镜头随着医生的视线转到了被书柜挡着的墙那儿,一直停留在那儿,戛然而止。
导演的一些电影结局总是晦涩不明,但这次结局是绝对的明朗,女主最后能被解救出来(可能死亡),但是凶手不会再被逃脱。
玩丧尸最起兴的导演居然玩起了悬疑也这么出色!尽管影片前半段的节奏就像他电影里的丧尸一样慢吞吞的行走,但峰回路转的那一刻才开始钦佩不已,这就是被丧尸捉住然后掏脑子的速度啊,根本停不下来好吧!一个又一个谜团的解开像节日里的烟花一样照亮了灰暗的人生有木有!信息量之大比他在《活死人之城》里下的那场惊世骇俗的蛆雨还要多有木有!墙壁里的凶杀终于能及时得救,爱伦坡可以死而瞑目了有木有!可怕的过去就像手榴弹上的弦,轻轻一扯就把未来炸碎了有木有!
卢西奥·弗尔兹埋下的那条线索太重要了,直接扭转了整个局面,比小哥用腰劲拧下海猴子的脑袋还过瘾,在这坚决不剧透!
片头曲超好听,歌词记下来了:
和你在一起,整个世界就变了模样
和你在一起,我的生活就不再枯燥无味
和你在一起,天堂就在眼前
现在你就在这里,就在我身边
我的所有梦想都会来的及实现
生命又将重回港湾
幸福就会降临在我身边
当你守护着我
请你永远不要离开我
因为我知道我无法独自生活
因为有你
这里就是天堂
这一次我想要更完美
因为有你,我的未来便清晰可见
现在你就在我身边,紧紧地抱着我
7.5/10非常纯正的giallo
颜色绝摆
看了38分钟看不下去了。
氛围拉满,从旧知到预知的反转很精彩,短评豆友提醒的英国意大利时差太到位了。btw我最开始下了意语版97分钟源,用了各种我会的方法调轴全都不成功,后来下了98分钟英语版才发现,原片拍摄用的英语,意语配音台词和原版都不一样
让人惊喜的Giallo~
我了擦,吓到了!!
Giallo风格中少有的不以血腥暴力为卖点的正统悬疑片,女主漂亮难得演技也不错,虽然片子前2/3节奏稍慢但后面的反转精彩,而且看到最后就会发现故事情节设计得很妙!真喜欢这个剧本啊,而结尾采取开放式结局也是赞啊,女主若是被救出之后就跟心理医生在一起吧!
卢西奥重口的一面只在开篇自杀时撞崖壁的镜头中昙花一现,整部片子的节奏实在是太拖沓了。
情节流畅紧凑,因为有了预知能力所以预知的才会发生这种逻辑非常得我心。结局的反转虽然猜得到,但是70年代的片子不能太苛责。追逐的那场代入感很强,惊到我。还有加分的是,女主角太惊艳了。还有一个细节,影片开始英格兰和佛罗伦萨都是11:45,已经暗示了女主是预知力了,意大利时间早于英国时间。
giallo本色 静待黑暗中的音符响起 4K修复
不错.
最后心理医生的眼神太深情了~~
幻觉的引入让人觉得有点像麦比乌斯带的感觉。不过节奏实在有点缓慢,也算不算是正儿八经的破案,看得有点让人昏昏欲睡。
好赞!
好故事,有些希区柯克的味道了,转折得非常巧妙,终于又找到一首《杀死比尔》原声音乐采样的一个来源,这个音乐太棒了,又好听又惊悚,昆汀果然是看过无数B级片的超级影迷,信手拈花自然嫁接。
到现在Lucio fulci的主要作品基本上补完了。。
未来感知加凶杀,结局不俗,卢西奥电影的配乐一向动听又简单
完全可以推为Lucio的代表作...
Jennifer O'Neill长得简直完美!
低估的经典,卢西奥·弗尔兹最佳作品,这次他舍弃了惯用的血腥、暴力和情色元素,是他最克制的giallo。基本上是一部优雅的客厅悬疑片,故事和结构令人满意,女主角的预知能力都是剧作高度选择的操纵性信息,用碎片化的视觉信息拼凑案件的关键,让观众随主角一起猜测反派的身份。我基本能嗅出一丝信息、道具的运用,但还是沉迷于故事稳重的讲述方式。