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There's a long history behind
the origins of giallo films.
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00:00:24,106 --> 00:00:26,234
The name derives from the
yellow cover of
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00:00:26,526 --> 00:00:28,277
the crime novels published
by Mondadori.
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00:00:28,569 --> 00:00:30,780
Back in 1929, Mondadori,
who was and still is
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00:00:31,072 --> 00:00:33,658
a pretty important
publishing company,
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00:00:33,950 --> 00:00:36,452
started releasing a
series of crime novels
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00:00:36,827 --> 00:00:39,205
and detective stories.
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00:00:39,539 --> 00:00:41,874
These books had very
recognizable covers,
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they were colored
in yellow
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00:00:43,626 --> 00:00:46,796
with a circle in the middle
that featured a drawing
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00:00:47,129 --> 00:00:49,173
related to the plot or
the tone of the story
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00:00:49,507 --> 00:00:52,677
that people were
about to read.
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00:00:52,969 --> 00:00:57,390
This is to explain that the
usage of the term "giallo"
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00:00:57,682 --> 00:00:59,141
originates from literature.
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00:00:59,433 --> 00:01:01,269
It's not like it was
used all of a sudden.
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00:01:01,561 --> 00:01:04,981
The Italian public started
using it in the late 1920s,
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00:01:05,273 --> 00:01:07,149
when the country was still
under the Fascist regime,
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00:01:07,441 --> 00:01:08,818
and since then
they've gotten used to
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00:01:09,110 --> 00:01:10,903
calling every crime story
a "giallo",
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00:01:11,195 --> 00:01:13,197
every mystery,
or detective tale.
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00:01:13,489 --> 00:01:16,325
A giallois like a
puzzle or a gamble.
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00:01:16,617 --> 00:01:21,747
Its plot has to
intrigue the reader,
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00:01:22,039 --> 00:01:25,042
and make him busy trying to
figure out
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00:01:25,334 --> 00:01:27,837
the identity of the culprit
before the writer
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00:01:28,129 --> 00:01:30,715
tells him at the end of
the book or film.
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00:01:31,132 --> 00:01:34,218
Of course, the writer
isn't allowed to cheat.
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00:01:34,552 --> 00:01:37,722
Otherwise, the story won't be
a giallo anymore,
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00:01:38,055 --> 00:01:41,017
but instead a tale
of suspense.
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00:01:41,684 --> 00:01:43,769
To call it a giallo, the
story must be logical.
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00:01:44,061 --> 00:01:46,772
No cheap solutions.
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00:01:47,315 --> 00:01:50,151
It's got to be made in a
certain way,
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00:01:50,443 --> 00:01:55,239
so anyone who goes through
it a second time
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00:01:55,531 --> 00:01:58,492
can notice all the clues
they missed the first time.
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00:01:59,035 --> 00:02:02,830
To solve the case
or find the culprit.
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00:02:03,122 --> 00:02:06,917
My artistic education began with
American films of the 50s.
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00:02:07,376 --> 00:02:09,545
I was a college student
back then,
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00:02:09,879 --> 00:02:12,465
before I attended the
National Film School.
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00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:15,676
I must have seen all the
masterpieces made by Fox,
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00:02:15,968 --> 00:02:18,346
Warner Brothers, and RKO.
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00:02:18,638 --> 00:02:22,016
Even now, I still buy
those films on DVD.
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00:02:22,475 --> 00:02:26,604
Back then, I saw all of Elia
Kazan's early pictures
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00:02:26,937 --> 00:02:28,689
and Don Siegel's
early ones.
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00:02:29,023 --> 00:02:31,859
Or, let me think,
there were so many.
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00:02:32,151 --> 00:02:35,613
Raoul Walsh's and William
Dieterle's films too.
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00:02:35,905 --> 00:02:37,114
All those directors
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00:02:37,406 --> 00:02:38,949
who started out
in the 30s,
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00:02:39,241 --> 00:02:41,494
and made their best
films in the 40s.
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00:02:42,119 --> 00:02:44,747
They used black and white
in such a wonderful way.
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00:02:45,039 --> 00:02:46,832
The cinematographers back
then were people
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00:02:47,124 --> 00:02:49,585
like Harry Stradling
or Nicholas Musuraca.
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00:02:49,877 --> 00:02:52,755
Their use of black and white
cinematography was amazing.
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00:02:53,422 --> 00:03:00,429
I was really impressed by those
giallos set in big cities
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00:03:00,805 --> 00:03:04,600
that were made
between 1945 and 1950.
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00:03:04,892 --> 00:03:08,187
Robert Siodmak was the
best at making those.
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00:03:08,479 --> 00:03:10,314
He directed
THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE.
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00:03:10,606 --> 00:03:12,274
And the one with
the twins
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00:03:12,608 --> 00:03:14,819
that was called
THE DARK MIRROR.
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00:03:15,152 --> 00:03:17,863
It's the one where Olivia de
Havilland plays two characters.
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00:03:18,155 --> 00:03:22,076
A giallo must have a
precise mechanism.
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00:03:22,493 --> 00:03:25,162
The worst mistake a writer or
a director can make
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00:03:25,454 --> 00:03:27,289
is to cheat with
the plot.
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00:03:27,832 --> 00:03:29,709
Maybe I'm exaggerating
a little,
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00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:31,168
but my favorite example
of this is
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00:03:31,460 --> 00:03:34,714
in THE BIRD WITH THE
CRYSTAL PLUMAGE,
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00:03:35,047 --> 00:03:37,007
when the lead can't
remember a detail.
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00:03:37,299 --> 00:03:39,343
That detail then becomes the
key to revealing
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00:03:39,635 --> 00:03:41,429
the identity of
the killer.
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00:03:41,804 --> 00:03:45,057
It creates suspense,
you see.
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00:03:45,391 --> 00:03:49,061
And to create it you
don't need logic.
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00:03:49,353 --> 00:03:51,355
Suspense can start
from anything.
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00:03:53,315 --> 00:03:55,818
Sometimes even Agatha
Christie wasn't logical.
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00:03:56,152 --> 00:03:59,739
Take TEN LITTLE INDIANS. It's a
classic, but at some point
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00:04:00,030 --> 00:04:02,908
there's a character who fakes
his death, and that's illogical.
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00:04:03,242 --> 00:04:06,579
No one could have been
totally sure
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00:04:06,954 --> 00:04:08,873
the others wouldn't
find out.
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00:04:09,331 --> 00:04:12,209
This means that the
writer is cheating,
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00:04:12,501 --> 00:04:14,920
deciding what's logical
and what's not.
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00:04:15,212 --> 00:04:17,047
I don't have a problem with
that,
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00:04:17,339 --> 00:04:18,883
but then it's just
not a true giallo.
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00:04:19,175 --> 00:04:21,302
A true giallo shouldn't
use this kind of trick.
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00:04:21,594 --> 00:04:28,350
In reality, it would be hard
to fake your death like that
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00:04:28,726 --> 00:04:31,937
without being found out by
any of the other characters.
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00:04:32,313 --> 00:04:36,484
That's some suspension of
disbelief right there.
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00:04:36,859 --> 00:04:39,445
Even a classic like TEN LITTLE
INDIANS has it,
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00:04:39,737 --> 00:04:41,363
and we're talking
about a book
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00:04:41,781 --> 00:04:43,824
that's considered a
masterpiece of the genre.
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00:04:44,325 --> 00:04:49,455
One of the biggest influences
on Italian giallos
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was the German
krimi films.
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00:04:52,291 --> 00:04:55,586
Most krimis were adaptations of
Edgar Wallace stories.
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00:04:55,878 --> 00:05:02,426
Germany began producing them
in the early 60s.
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00:05:02,843 --> 00:05:06,722
These even predate
Mario Bava's early thrillers.
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00:05:07,014 --> 00:05:11,310
When Mario Bava made his first
contemporary thriller in 1963,
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00:05:11,727 --> 00:05:14,772
and I'm referring to THE
GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH.
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00:05:15,147 --> 00:05:18,442
Krimis had already been
around for a few years,
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00:05:18,859 --> 00:05:21,028
predating Italian thrillers.
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00:05:21,320 --> 00:05:26,575
Like their early Italian
counterparts, krimis balanced
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00:05:26,867 --> 00:05:34,124
very dramatic sequences,
and bursts of graphic violence,
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00:05:34,416 --> 00:05:37,503
with lighter comedic scenes.
For instance, think about
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00:05:37,837 --> 00:05:39,713
the parts Eddi Arent
played,
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00:05:40,005 --> 00:05:42,007
and their function within
the plot.
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00:05:42,299 --> 00:05:44,844
He provided comic relief that
allowed the audience
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00:05:45,135 --> 00:05:47,137
to relax a little
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00:05:47,429 --> 00:05:51,100
until the next
explosion of violence.
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00:05:51,392 --> 00:05:54,311
German krimis play
a huge role
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00:05:54,687 --> 00:05:56,981
in the history of
Italian giallo.
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00:05:57,273 --> 00:06:00,359
Firstly, because those films
were distributed in Italy.
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00:06:00,651 --> 00:06:04,738
We could say that they were
preparing the public
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00:06:05,030 --> 00:06:10,327
for our own crime
films and thrillers.
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00:06:10,786 --> 00:06:14,123
When it comes to the
narrative structure,
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00:06:14,415 --> 00:06:19,670
krimis influenced basic
characteristics of giallos.
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00:06:20,045 --> 00:06:24,258
Krimis too had killers
whose faces we don't see.
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00:06:24,550 --> 00:06:28,012
The focus is mostly on their
hands and other details.
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00:06:28,304 --> 00:06:30,639
Krimis too had black-gloved
killers,
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00:06:30,931 --> 00:06:34,518
another essential element
of giallos.
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00:06:34,894 --> 00:06:40,316
The same goes for the peculiar
weapons used for the killings.
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00:06:40,608 --> 00:06:43,360
Unconventional ones,
at least compared
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00:06:43,694 --> 00:06:46,447
to those used in classic
crime films.
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00:06:46,739 --> 00:06:50,242
Krimis featured weapons
such as knives,
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00:06:50,618 --> 00:06:53,913
or even arrows, like in a
film titled THE GREEN ARCHER.
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00:06:54,204 --> 00:06:57,333
And so killers were depicted
in a new, unique way,
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00:06:57,625 --> 00:07:01,128
which was another important
element of Italian thrillers.
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00:07:01,420 --> 00:07:03,714
Murder was being shown
in a new way,
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00:07:04,006 --> 00:07:06,634
starting with the weapons
used to commit it.
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00:07:06,926 --> 00:07:12,139
This is one of the things that
giallos borrowed from krimis.
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00:07:12,431 --> 00:07:18,270
And, as I said, krimis were
born from crime literature,
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00:07:18,604 --> 00:07:22,524
since most of them were
Edgar Wallace adaptations.
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00:07:22,816 --> 00:07:27,488
Edgar Wallace was also the
man who created King Kong.
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00:07:27,905 --> 00:07:33,118
Curiously, the early Italian
giallo writers were authors
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00:07:33,410 --> 00:07:36,372
like Francesco Mastriani or
Carolina Invernizio,
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00:07:36,664 --> 00:07:38,540
who were well known for
their serial fiction,
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00:07:38,832 --> 00:07:41,251
or stories published
in installments.
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00:07:41,543 --> 00:07:43,087
These works were sold
at newsstands,
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00:07:43,379 --> 00:07:45,714
or their equivalent
at the time.
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00:07:46,006 --> 00:07:51,345
This kind of literature
was extremely popular,
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00:07:51,637 --> 00:07:55,140
even amongst
the lower classes.
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00:07:55,432 --> 00:08:04,233
This shows how popular Italian
giallos were back then.
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00:08:04,566 --> 00:08:08,028
Of course, we also had
some authors who
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00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:09,989
specialized in writing
giallos.
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00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:13,701
One of those was Augusto De
Angelis, in the 30s.
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00:08:13,993 --> 00:08:22,001
His stories were set in Italy
and were often tales of murder.
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00:08:22,292 --> 00:08:26,880
This defied convention, of
the squeaky clean image
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00:08:27,339 --> 00:08:33,554
the regime imposed on
every story set in Italy.
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00:08:33,887 --> 00:08:36,724
Augusto De Angelis
himself was a victim
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00:08:37,016 --> 00:08:39,810
of the regime's
violence.
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00:08:40,185 --> 00:08:43,063
He was beaten to death
by a Fascist activist.
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00:08:43,355 --> 00:08:47,484
De Angelis was the first to
write murder tales set in Italy,
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00:08:47,776 --> 00:08:49,361
and he did it
under that regime.
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00:08:49,653 --> 00:08:54,283
His stories were never
adapted for the screen
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00:08:54,700 --> 00:08:57,536
because he was an
inconvenience to the regime.
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00:08:57,828 --> 00:09:02,583
After the war, another writer
continued De Angelis' legacy.
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00:09:02,916 --> 00:09:07,046
His name was
Giorgio Scerbanenco,
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00:09:07,337 --> 00:09:09,673
another great crime and
giallo author.
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00:09:09,965 --> 00:09:13,719
Some of his novels have been
adapted for the screen.
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00:09:14,011 --> 00:09:16,430
I'm going to go out on a limb
and say that Scerbanenco
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00:09:16,722 --> 00:09:21,727
was the greatest Italian
writer of mystery stories,
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00:09:22,019 --> 00:09:24,146
or giallos, if you prefer.
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00:09:24,730 --> 00:09:30,861
Genres aside, I must add that
he was quite a good writer.
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00:09:31,236 --> 00:09:34,573
I read some of his
non-crime stuff,
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00:09:34,865 --> 00:09:36,700
he did a lot of
different things.
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00:09:36,992 --> 00:09:40,245
Personally, I don't care much
about his romance novels.
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00:09:40,621 --> 00:09:44,208
That's because I don't
like the genre.
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00:09:44,625 --> 00:09:51,048
I love his five novels with the
character of Duca Lamberti.
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00:09:51,423 --> 00:09:55,844
I also like his short stories,
some of them are great.
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00:09:56,136 --> 00:10:01,683
In particular, IL CENTODELITTI,
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00:10:02,059 --> 00:10:05,104
Italy only discovered, or
rediscovered him,
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00:10:05,395 --> 00:10:08,148
after he became famous
in France.
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00:10:08,899 --> 00:10:13,153
Mario Bava is considered the
first Italian giallo director.
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00:10:13,445 --> 00:10:18,826
Bava used different
approaches to his giallos.
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00:10:19,243 --> 00:10:23,831
A film like THE WHIP AND THE
BODY can be considered a giallo.
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00:10:24,123 --> 00:10:26,542
An atypical one, perhaps,
for its setting
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00:10:26,834 --> 00:10:28,961
and also because it is full
of the same gothic elements
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00:10:29,253 --> 00:10:33,006
that were present in Bava's
previous film, BLACK SUNDAY.
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00:10:33,298 --> 00:10:37,886
THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH is
the first Italian giallo
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00:10:38,178 --> 00:10:40,389
in the "classic" sense.
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00:10:40,681 --> 00:10:45,477
The film was an inspiration for
Dario Argento when making
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00:10:45,769 --> 00:10:49,606
THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL
PLUMAGE.
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00:10:49,898 --> 00:10:54,611
Mario Bava's inspiration was
to set the story in Italy.
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00:10:54,903 --> 00:10:58,198
THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH is
still a black and white film.
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00:10:58,574 --> 00:11:01,994
The colors that characterized
the genre were yet to come.
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00:11:02,494 --> 00:11:06,165
That's why one of Bava's next
films is considered to be
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00:11:06,456 --> 00:11:09,168
an even better example
of giallo cinema.
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00:11:09,459 --> 00:11:13,672
The film is BLOOD AND BLACK
LACE, and it features a killer
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00:11:13,964 --> 00:11:20,137
whose methodology set a
standard for every
185
00:11:20,429 --> 00:11:23,015
Italian giallo that
followed.
186
00:11:23,307 --> 00:11:27,603
The killer emerges from the
shadows, dressed in black.
187
00:11:27,895 --> 00:11:30,731
His gloves are black, too,
and he mostly uses blades.
188
00:11:31,023 --> 00:11:33,901
These elements were copied
by many giallos.
189
00:11:34,193 --> 00:11:38,614
My father, and myself too, even
after all these years
190
00:11:38,947 --> 00:11:42,409
have a deep love for
BLOOD AND BLACK LACE.
191
00:11:42,868 --> 00:11:46,205
I believe it is a
genuine classic.
192
00:11:46,496 --> 00:11:52,920
Only a few moments aren't as
strong as the rest, I must say.
193
00:11:54,004 --> 00:11:58,467
It took me twenty or thirty
years to rewatch A BAY OF BLOOD.
194
00:11:58,759 --> 00:12:03,430
I stumbled upon it a few years
ago, I don't remember where.
195
00:12:03,722 --> 00:12:05,849
You know how it is, sometimes
you stumble upon
196
00:12:06,141 --> 00:12:07,559
a good copy being
screened.
197
00:12:08,018 --> 00:12:14,524
This cinema was showing the
film to a young audience.
198
00:12:14,858 --> 00:12:18,070
When the film ended, we all
agreed it felt so fresh,
199
00:12:18,362 --> 00:12:20,197
like it just came out.
200
00:12:20,489 --> 00:12:23,075
Compared to some other
films of the time,
201
00:12:23,367 --> 00:12:26,703
it's still incredibly modern.
202
00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:31,291
And we also noticed what a
ruthless film it still is.
203
00:12:31,792 --> 00:12:37,089
It even inspired a subgenre of the
American horror film.
204
00:12:37,589 --> 00:12:41,510
While FRIDAY THE 13th became
a worldwide phenomenon
205
00:12:41,802 --> 00:12:45,931
A BAY OF BLOOD
remained a cult film.
206
00:12:46,265 --> 00:12:49,768
My father had never been
that successful with films.
207
00:12:50,060 --> 00:12:54,439
With A BAY OF BLOOD, also
known as ECOLOGY OF CRIME,
208
00:12:54,731 --> 00:12:58,735
Bava approached the genre
in a totally different way.
209
00:12:59,069 --> 00:13:04,241
The film could be considered
the beginning of slasher cinema.
210
00:13:04,533 --> 00:13:08,495
It's a giallo, where the
violence is graphic, excessive.
211
00:13:08,787 --> 00:13:13,250
There's an overabundance of it,
especially compared to the plot.
212
00:13:13,625 --> 00:13:17,421
That's how Bava reinvigorated
the genre yet again.
213
00:13:17,754 --> 00:13:21,550
He did it in the 70s after
doing it in the 60s.
214
00:13:21,842 --> 00:13:25,929
Then, towards the end of his
career, he did a noir,
215
00:13:26,221 --> 00:13:27,264
RABID DOGS.
216
00:13:27,556 --> 00:13:30,517
The film had issues
with censorship.
217
00:13:30,809 --> 00:13:33,770
As it often is with
great innovators,
218
00:13:34,104 --> 00:13:39,693
Bava challenged the
convention of his time.
219
00:13:40,027 --> 00:13:45,073
You cannot think of
Italian giallos
220
00:13:45,365 --> 00:13:47,075
without considering
censorship.
221
00:13:47,367 --> 00:13:49,202
It had an influence on
the genre,
222
00:13:49,494 --> 00:13:51,288
at least until the early 60s.
223
00:13:51,580 --> 00:13:56,084
The situation improved
during the early 70s.
224
00:13:56,376 --> 00:13:58,086
All thanks to Pasolini.
225
00:13:58,378 --> 00:13:59,796
After the censors dealt
with the films
226
00:14:00,088 --> 00:14:05,093
he made in the 70s they were
more lenient towards giallos.
227
00:14:05,427 --> 00:14:09,806
He challenged the relentless
censorship of the time.
228
00:14:10,098 --> 00:14:15,479
As so his efforts helped other
directors work more freely,
229
00:14:15,979 --> 00:14:19,941
especially when it came
to showing violence or sex,
230
00:14:20,233 --> 00:14:22,152
unlike what had been the
norm before then.
231
00:14:22,444 --> 00:14:26,823
Therefore, we can say that Bava
Is one of the originators
232
00:14:27,699 --> 00:14:29,076
of Italian giallo films.
233
00:14:29,368 --> 00:14:32,662
Bava had the aesthetic
understanding of a painter.
234
00:14:32,954 --> 00:14:35,791
He started out
as a cinematographer.
235
00:14:36,083 --> 00:14:41,630
That's why he was so invested
in visual structure.
236
00:14:41,922 --> 00:14:45,092
Before Argento, Bava was
perhaps the first director
237
00:14:45,384 --> 00:14:47,052
to favor visuals over plot.
238
00:14:47,386 --> 00:14:49,471
Bava's main goal was to
find the best visual way
239
00:14:49,763 --> 00:14:51,223
to show the murders.
240
00:14:51,515 --> 00:14:54,684
He found an aesthetic
for murder.
241
00:14:55,310 --> 00:14:59,981
That was more important to him
than having a tight plot
242
00:15:00,273 --> 00:15:02,651
like in a British giallo novel.
243
00:15:03,068 --> 00:15:05,112
Naturally, Bava's films were
crafted with
244
00:15:05,404 --> 00:15:07,989
a foreign audience in mind.
245
00:15:08,281 --> 00:15:12,494
His films were made for an
international audience.
246
00:15:12,786 --> 00:15:18,125
Right from the start,
Italian giallo directors
247
00:15:18,417 --> 00:15:23,630
hired well-known foreign
actors.
248
00:15:23,922 --> 00:15:27,968
Think about John Saxon in
THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH.
249
00:15:28,260 --> 00:15:30,220
Saxon acted in several
giallos, including
250
00:15:30,512 --> 00:15:33,014
a late entry in
the genre.
251
00:15:33,306 --> 00:15:35,976
I'm referring to Dario Argento's
TENEBRAE, made in 1983.
252
00:15:36,268 --> 00:15:40,647
Giallos were past their prime, but
Argento kept making them
253
00:15:40,939 --> 00:15:42,858
well into the 80s
and 90s.
254
00:15:43,150 --> 00:15:46,570
2000s, too. He kept making them
well after the genre
255
00:15:46,862 --> 00:15:50,282
stopped being popular.
256
00:15:50,574 --> 00:15:55,579
The genre was past its
prime, after reaching
257
00:15:56,371 --> 00:16:00,125
its peak of popularity in the
early 70s, thanks to Mario Bava.
258
00:16:00,417 --> 00:16:03,795
Bava was, without a doubt, the
originator
259
00:16:04,087 --> 00:16:06,214
of the Italian giallo genre.
260
00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:09,384
Chronologically
speaking, after Bava,
261
00:16:09,676 --> 00:16:14,347
Dario Argento is the most
important giallo director.
262
00:16:14,639 --> 00:16:17,809
With THE BIRD WITH THE
CRYSTAL PLUMAGE,
263
00:16:18,101 --> 00:16:21,813
Argento introduced the
golden age of giallos.
264
00:16:22,105 --> 00:16:26,735
Bava can be considered
Argento's precursor,
265
00:16:27,235 --> 00:16:30,280
but his films, mainly
THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
266
00:16:30,614 --> 00:16:32,657
and BLOOD AND
BLACK LACE,
267
00:16:32,949 --> 00:16:35,869
didn't generate momentum
within the genre.
268
00:16:36,286 --> 00:16:43,793
That happened with THE BIRD
WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE,
269
00:16:44,127 --> 00:16:46,713
Argento followed in Bava's
footsteps,
270
00:16:47,005 --> 00:16:49,257
setting the film in Italy.
271
00:16:49,591 --> 00:16:52,636
He also staged unique murders,
with the body count
272
00:16:52,928 --> 00:16:56,348
growing throughout
the film.
273
00:16:56,640 --> 00:17:02,145
He orchestrated the murders
in a dreamlike way.
274
00:17:02,437 --> 00:17:04,814
That broke with convention,
with the established
275
00:17:05,106 --> 00:17:07,651
rules of the genre,
276
00:17:08,068 --> 00:17:10,362
both narrative and
visual rules.
277
00:17:10,654 --> 00:17:14,449
It initiated a change
within the genre,
278
00:17:14,741 --> 00:17:16,868
and that's the reason so many
giallos were produced in Italy
279
00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:18,703
after Argento's first film.
280
00:17:19,204 --> 00:17:24,960
We screened the movie at
Titanus after wrapping it.
281
00:17:25,335 --> 00:17:29,965
Lombardo, the boss, was
there with his staff.
282
00:17:30,257 --> 00:17:31,383
My father was there, too.
283
00:17:31,675 --> 00:17:36,638
I didn't go, I was afraid it
would end badly.
284
00:17:37,389 --> 00:17:39,641
And that's just what
happened.
285
00:17:40,892 --> 00:17:45,647
They watched the film and really
disliked it,
286
00:17:45,939 --> 00:17:48,984
especially Lombardo.
287
00:17:49,859 --> 00:17:51,194
He just didn't like it.
288
00:17:51,486 --> 00:17:55,407
He declared the film was
neither giallo nor thriller.
289
00:17:55,907 --> 00:17:58,743
He said he didn't know
what genre it was.
290
00:17:59,369 --> 00:18:01,413
Lombardo kept saying that.
291
00:18:01,997 --> 00:18:06,751
I think he wasn't ready to watch
something as modern as my film.
292
00:18:07,043 --> 00:18:09,337
Especially given that
it was a giallo,
293
00:18:09,671 --> 00:18:15,969
my film had a new approach,
294
00:18:16,261 --> 00:18:21,391
both in terms of the visual
style. and in the storytelling.
295
00:18:21,766 --> 00:18:28,023
How it presented the
characters and the twists,
296
00:18:28,690 --> 00:18:30,317
and how it depicted
violence, too.
297
00:18:30,650 --> 00:18:32,652
It was a new approach.
298
00:18:33,486 --> 00:18:35,447
That's why Lombardo
didn't like it.
299
00:18:35,739 --> 00:18:37,907
He was even upset
with my father.
300
00:18:38,533 --> 00:18:40,619
They all stepped out of
the screening room,
301
00:18:40,910 --> 00:18:44,831
and Lombardo locked himself
and his staff in an office.
302
00:18:45,915 --> 00:18:50,545
My father waited outside the
room with Cesarina,
303
00:18:51,171 --> 00:18:53,798
Lombardo's longtime
secretary.
304
00:18:56,301 --> 00:19:01,097
It was around breakfast, and
she was eating a sandwich.
305
00:19:01,556 --> 00:19:06,019
She had watched the film, and
her hands were shaking
306
00:19:06,645 --> 00:19:09,481
as she held the sandwich.
307
00:19:09,773 --> 00:19:12,525
My father asked her if
something was wrong.
308
00:19:13,026 --> 00:19:16,696
She replied that the
film really scared her.
309
00:19:17,364 --> 00:19:21,076
She said she was still shocked.
310
00:19:21,826 --> 00:19:24,245
My father told Lombardo
to ask Cesarina,
311
00:19:24,537 --> 00:19:27,082
because she was part of
the audience.
312
00:19:28,541 --> 00:19:31,002
So he talked to her and,
313
00:19:31,628 --> 00:19:34,631
for a moment, it seemed
he might change his opinion.
314
00:19:34,964 --> 00:19:37,842
That didn't last long,
because he later said
315
00:19:38,134 --> 00:19:39,969
that he didn't
believe her.
316
00:19:40,929 --> 00:19:42,681
He said he didn't know what
could be done,
317
00:19:42,972 --> 00:19:44,933
as the film had been
already completed.
318
00:19:45,350 --> 00:19:49,020
He hoped that it would at least
appeal to a small audience.
319
00:19:50,146 --> 00:19:54,943
I must say that, at
least initially,
320
00:19:55,485 --> 00:20:01,783
the public didn't
like the film that much.
321
00:20:03,076 --> 00:20:07,831
I mean, it was my first film,
nobody knew my name.
322
00:20:08,123 --> 00:20:11,042
Musante was barely
more famous.
323
00:20:11,876 --> 00:20:17,340
It wasn't seen as a film that
could be successful.
324
00:20:17,632 --> 00:20:24,347
We had the first showings
in Milan and Turin,
325
00:20:24,806 --> 00:20:27,350
big and important
Italian cities.
326
00:20:27,809 --> 00:20:29,936
It went horribly.
327
00:20:30,395 --> 00:20:35,066
They started to pull
it out of theaters.
328
00:20:35,692 --> 00:20:38,528
My father stamped his feet
and asked
329
00:20:38,820 --> 00:20:41,573
to keep trying in
different cities.
330
00:20:42,157 --> 00:20:45,285
Cities such as
Florence or Naples.
331
00:20:45,952 --> 00:20:49,414
Those new cinemas started
showing it.
332
00:20:49,748 --> 00:20:52,000
Meanwhile, Lombardo wasn't
in Italy,
333
00:20:52,417 --> 00:20:53,710
he was on a business
trip.
334
00:20:54,252 --> 00:21:01,634
So, the film was being shown
in Florence and Naples.
335
00:21:02,302 --> 00:21:06,347
We went to Florence.
It was my last hope.
336
00:21:06,848 --> 00:21:09,934
Otherwise, I'd have gone
back to being a screenwriter.
337
00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:14,022
As we got closer to
the theater,
338
00:21:14,564 --> 00:21:16,858
we saw a lot of people
walking in the same direction.
339
00:21:17,150 --> 00:21:18,985
We asked ourselves what
was going on.
340
00:21:19,360 --> 00:21:21,571
They were all going to
see the film.
341
00:21:21,988 --> 00:21:26,326
Apparently, people
liked it
342
00:21:26,785 --> 00:21:29,621
and started spreading the
news around.
343
00:21:29,913 --> 00:21:31,831
Florence isn't that
big of a city.
344
00:21:32,373 --> 00:21:35,043
That last showing was
packed full of people.
345
00:21:35,335 --> 00:21:37,670
They even applauded
at the end.
346
00:21:38,505 --> 00:21:41,549
That filled our hearts
with joy.
347
00:21:41,841 --> 00:21:43,259
It didn't happen by chance.
348
00:21:43,551 --> 00:21:46,012
They didn't like the film in
the other cities
349
00:21:46,513 --> 00:21:50,225
because they didn't
understand it.
350
00:21:50,934 --> 00:21:54,646
The next day we went to
Naples and we learned that
351
00:21:54,938 --> 00:21:58,608
the same thing happened
there. The cinema was packed.
352
00:21:59,067 --> 00:22:03,154
The audience loved the
film and clapped.
353
00:22:03,780 --> 00:22:05,949
That's how the film
found its own way.
354
00:22:06,241 --> 00:22:09,828
It started to be a hit
everywhere, even in Rome.
355
00:22:11,287 --> 00:22:14,582
That's when I got a
call from Lombardo.
356
00:22:15,041 --> 00:22:20,713
He complimented me, said that
we hung in there, and in the end
357
00:22:21,214 --> 00:22:23,132
we had made a hit, and I was
getting the success I deserved.
358
00:22:23,424 --> 00:22:26,928
Then he asked me to start
working on the next film
359
00:22:27,220 --> 00:22:28,471
immediately.
360
00:22:29,222 --> 00:22:31,432
I guess there was some
hypocrisy on his part.
361
00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:35,311
“I'm starting to
fear that Italian."
362
00:22:36,229 --> 00:22:39,065
That's what Alfred Hitchcock,
the Master of Suspense,
363
00:22:39,357 --> 00:22:42,610
said after watching
Dario Argento's debut.
364
00:22:43,778 --> 00:22:45,572
And that masterpiece
was...
365
00:22:45,905 --> 00:22:48,575
THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL
PLUMAGE.
366
00:22:49,033 --> 00:22:51,286
A film made by Dario
Argento, the director
367
00:22:51,578 --> 00:22:55,623
who opened a new and
shocking dimension of fear.
368
00:22:55,915 --> 00:23:00,753
What new elements did Argento
add to the Italian giallo genre?
369
00:23:01,045 --> 00:23:03,214
Why do we say that his first
film was the model
370
00:23:03,506 --> 00:23:06,009
for every Italian giallo
that followed?
371
00:23:06,342 --> 00:23:09,637
In my opinion, we can say so
because Argento
372
00:23:09,929 --> 00:23:13,808
basically created a list
of elements
373
00:23:14,100 --> 00:23:19,397
and tropes that would define
the genre from that point on.
374
00:23:19,689 --> 00:23:21,649
As well as recreating
the giallo, he created
375
00:23:21,941 --> 00:23:24,611
a code for the others
to follow.
376
00:23:24,944 --> 00:23:27,196
Naturally, he also kept using
some of the elements
377
00:23:27,488 --> 00:23:29,073
established by Bava.
378
00:23:29,365 --> 00:23:33,661
There's a series of elements
that Argento
379
00:23:33,953 --> 00:23:36,372
started using in
his first film.
380
00:23:36,706 --> 00:23:38,791
First of all, the
look of the killer.
381
00:23:39,083 --> 00:23:40,168
The killer is dressed
in all black:
382
00:23:40,627 --> 00:23:43,588
hat, trenchcoat and
gloves.
383
00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:45,548
He mostly uses blades
to kill his victims.
384
00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:47,634
Having a mysterious,
black-clad killer
385
00:23:47,926 --> 00:23:49,344
that moves in the shadows would
become one of the most
386
00:23:49,636 --> 00:23:53,222
recognizable traits of
Italian giallos.
387
00:23:53,514 --> 00:23:56,142
That can also be said
for another element,
388
00:23:56,434 --> 00:24:00,146
which is the attention to
the staging of the murders.
389
00:24:00,438 --> 00:24:03,650
From that point on, all
Italian giallo murders
390
00:24:03,942 --> 00:24:05,443
would be choreographed.
Literally.
391
00:24:05,735 --> 00:24:08,196
Great care was devoted
to staging them.
392
00:24:08,529 --> 00:24:12,367
These murder scenes have
become pure visual elements.
393
00:24:12,659 --> 00:24:17,330
Beautiful artistic displays
detached from a realistic plot.
394
00:24:17,622 --> 00:24:20,583
Each one is an expressionistic
display of its own.
395
00:24:20,875 --> 00:24:25,046
Not only was the visual
aesthetic
396
00:24:25,546 --> 00:24:29,801
of the murders
changed,
397
00:24:30,510 --> 00:24:34,389
but they increased
in number as well.
398
00:24:34,681 --> 00:24:39,936
From that point on, Italian
giallos would always feature
399
00:24:40,353 --> 00:24:43,481
a substantial number of
killings committed
400
00:24:43,898 --> 00:24:44,983
by the culprits.
401
00:24:45,274 --> 00:24:47,527
That's a departure from
what happens
402
00:24:47,819 --> 00:24:49,779
in more traditional
films or books.
403
00:24:50,071 --> 00:24:51,364
The guilty parties are
often revealed to be the ones
404
00:24:51,656 --> 00:24:53,074
that the audience doesn't
expect.
405
00:24:53,366 --> 00:24:55,201
In THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL
PLUMAGE, for instance,
406
00:24:55,493 --> 00:24:57,620
the killer is a woman.
407
00:24:57,912 --> 00:25:01,582
This is one of the elements that
made the film so original
408
00:25:01,874 --> 00:25:05,753
IN comparison to more
traditional genre pictures.
409
00:25:06,546 --> 00:25:10,883
Another element that was
introduced in the genre
410
00:25:11,175 --> 00:25:19,600
by Dario Argento's film is
showing the killer's P.O.V.
411
00:25:20,101 --> 00:25:24,772
It forces the viewer to see
what the killer sees.
412
00:25:25,106 --> 00:25:32,030
Before that, the technique
wasn't widely used in giallos.
413
00:25:32,405 --> 00:25:38,745
Argento introduced it
in order to show
414
00:25:39,078 --> 00:25:43,833
the story from more
angles.
415
00:25:44,417 --> 00:25:46,544
He also "fakes" some points
of view,
416
00:25:46,836 --> 00:25:48,921
in order to keep viewers on
their toes,
417
00:25:49,297 --> 00:25:50,882
and make them fear
that the killer
418
00:25:51,174 --> 00:25:54,010
will pop out from
anywhere.
419
00:25:54,302 --> 00:26:00,767
It's one of the hallmarks of
Argento's and other giallos.
420
00:26:01,059 --> 00:26:04,437
The killer jumps out when
you least expect it.
421
00:26:04,771 --> 00:26:09,025
You could say for this reason
Argento's and other giallos
422
00:26:09,317 --> 00:26:11,944
aren't as rational
in terms of plot.
423
00:26:12,236 --> 00:26:14,489
But we're less interested in
plot holes than strong visuals
424
00:26:14,781 --> 00:26:17,158
when we watch Italian
giallos,
425
00:26:17,450 --> 00:26:19,952
especially in regards
to violence.
426
00:26:20,244 --> 00:26:25,833
This aesthetic of violence can
be seen in the murder scenes.
427
00:26:26,167 --> 00:26:29,212
Another important element
found in Italian giallos,
428
00:26:29,504 --> 00:26:32,840
one that was introduced
in Dario Argento's
429
00:26:33,216 --> 00:26:36,636
THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL
PLUMAGE, is the soundtrack.
430
00:26:36,928 --> 00:26:41,682
The soundtrack is no longer
just traditional film music,
431
00:26:42,058 --> 00:26:46,646
it becomes more than just
incidental,
432
00:26:46,938 --> 00:26:49,982
more than just accompaniment.
433
00:26:50,358 --> 00:26:55,196
It somehow makes silence
expressive.
434
00:26:55,571 --> 00:27:00,159
This new musical style also
makes innovative use of noise.
435
00:27:00,451 --> 00:27:04,247
Master composers like Morricone,
or Bruno Nicolai,
436
00:27:04,539 --> 00:27:09,836
exploited noises to
intensify the effect
437
00:27:10,128 --> 00:27:16,467
of their music to
create suspense.
438
00:27:16,968 --> 00:27:19,846
The music builds to
a crescendo of terror,
439
00:27:20,138 --> 00:27:22,515
which is essential to any
Italian giallo
440
00:27:22,807 --> 00:27:24,934
regardless of
whom the director is.
441
00:27:25,226 --> 00:27:28,604
And, in his first film,
Dario Argento managed
442
00:27:28,896 --> 00:27:34,277
to make the soundtrack yet
another expressive element,
443
00:27:34,569 --> 00:27:38,614
where even silence
speaks volumes.
444
00:27:38,906 --> 00:27:43,744
It was a radical break from
traditional scores.
445
00:27:44,036 --> 00:27:45,663
Another element
introduced in
446
00:27:45,955 --> 00:27:47,832
THE BIRD WITH THE
CRYSTAL PLUMAGE,
447
00:27:48,124 --> 00:27:50,084
this is something
Argento adopted
448
00:27:50,376 --> 00:27:53,588
from German krimis, is a bit
of comic relief.
449
00:27:54,130 --> 00:27:59,886
The presence of comedic or
light-hearted moments appear
450
00:28:00,219 --> 00:28:03,472
to make the violence seem
even more explosive.
451
00:28:03,764 --> 00:28:06,434
In THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL
PLUMAGE we have characters
452
00:28:06,767 --> 00:28:09,937
like Addio, the pimp,
played by Gildo Di Marco,
453
00:28:10,229 --> 00:28:14,317
or Berto Consalvi, the
painter, played by Mario Adorf,
454
00:28:14,609 --> 00:28:19,906
who add comedic elements
to the giallo.
455
00:28:20,198 --> 00:28:23,534
These elements lighten the
plot a bit,
456
00:28:23,910 --> 00:28:26,370
and are typical of
Italian cinema.
457
00:28:26,746 --> 00:28:30,583
It has been said that all our
films have comedy in them,
458
00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:33,461
even neorealist ones.
459
00:28:33,753 --> 00:28:36,631
Even a very dramatic film like
ROME, OPEN CITY
460
00:28:36,923 --> 00:28:38,841
has some lighter bits.
461
00:28:39,133 --> 00:28:42,887
As when Aldo Fabrizi hits a
bedridden old man
462
00:28:43,179 --> 00:28:46,474
on the head with
a pan
463
00:28:47,266 --> 00:28:49,393
because the fascists are
about to storm
464
00:28:49,685 --> 00:28:51,604
into the room they're in.
465
00:28:51,896 --> 00:28:56,984
So, the comedic moments
introduced in Argento's debut
466
00:28:57,276 --> 00:29:00,738
reappeared in many later
Italian thrillers.
467
00:29:01,030 --> 00:29:05,159
The other important element
introduced by Dario Argento
468
00:29:05,451 --> 00:29:08,829
IS a nonlinear
narrative plot.
469
00:29:09,121 --> 00:29:13,376
Cause-and-effect relationships
aren't essential in giallos,
470
00:29:13,668 --> 00:29:16,545
at least compared
to traditional ones.
471
00:29:16,837 --> 00:29:23,135
Even the murders happen
in a nonlinear way.
472
00:29:23,427 --> 00:29:28,557
Ever since Argento's debut, when
we watch an Italian giallo
473
00:29:28,849 --> 00:29:33,604
we see a film where the
killer could come from anywhere.
474
00:29:33,896 --> 00:29:38,359
Even when we think that all is
safe and locked up tight.
475
00:29:38,651 --> 00:29:42,321
Even then, the killer
could appear from anywhere!
476
00:29:42,613 --> 00:29:46,242
There's a constant feeling
of unease,
477
00:29:46,534 --> 00:29:50,037
a constant feeling
of helplessness.
478
00:29:50,329 --> 00:29:53,708
That is very typical
of Italian giallos.
479
00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:58,504
In an Italian giallo, you don't
feel safe even in your own home.
480
00:29:58,879 --> 00:30:02,508
The viewer knows that, and
that the killer
481
00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:05,177
might appear anytime.
482
00:30:05,636 --> 00:30:10,516
In the two films that followed,
Argento remained faithful to
483
00:30:10,850 --> 00:30:14,937
the conventions he
introduced in his debut.
484
00:30:15,271 --> 00:30:18,733
THE CAT O' NINE TAILS and
FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET.
485
00:30:19,025 --> 00:30:22,236
We could say that the former
has a more "classic" feel
486
00:30:22,528 --> 00:30:23,821
than Argento's debut.
487
00:30:24,113 --> 00:30:29,994
Whereas the latter is the
start of Argento's
488
00:30:30,286 --> 00:30:34,332
visionary horror phase.
489
00:30:34,623 --> 00:30:38,711
DEEP RED partially inaugurated
this new phase,
490
00:30:39,003 --> 00:30:40,755
which came to fruition
with SUSPIRIA.
491
00:30:41,047 --> 00:30:43,299
FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET has
an element of precognition
492
00:30:43,591 --> 00:30:45,426
which is typical of the
cinema of the fantastic.
493
00:30:45,718 --> 00:30:51,307
I'm talking about
foresight, or even
494
00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:56,228
the metamorphosis
of reality.
495
00:30:56,562 --> 00:30:59,065
After this first trilogy
of giallos,
496
00:30:59,357 --> 00:31:02,068
and we can call it a trilogy
497
00:31:02,360 --> 00:31:06,489
due to the use of animals
in the titles:
498
00:31:06,864 --> 00:31:09,992
the bird, the cat,
and the flies,
499
00:31:10,326 --> 00:31:12,119
after this trilogy.
I was saying,
500
00:31:12,411 --> 00:31:15,748
Argento transitioned to
horror films
501
00:31:16,040 --> 00:31:18,459
to films with more
fantastical elements,
502
00:31:18,793 --> 00:31:19,668
starting with DEEP RED.
503
00:31:19,960 --> 00:31:22,046
DEEP RED is an important
film
504
00:31:22,338 --> 00:31:23,923
in the history of Italian
cinema.
505
00:31:24,215 --> 00:31:27,635
It seems to encompass
our whole film tradition.
506
00:31:27,927 --> 00:31:32,014
It's no coincidence that it was
written by Bernardino Zapponi,
507
00:31:32,306 --> 00:31:37,269
who worked on
some Fellini films.
508
00:31:37,561 --> 00:31:41,107
Zapponi added his own layer of
the fantastic
509
00:31:41,399 --> 00:31:43,359
to Argento's films.
510
00:31:43,651 --> 00:31:47,113
DEEP RED, of course, is
still a thriller.
511
00:31:47,446 --> 00:31:51,617
And so the murders must have
a logical explanation,
512
00:31:51,909 --> 00:31:54,036
despite the plot being
nonlinear compared
513
00:31:54,328 --> 00:31:56,205
to standard crime films.
514
00:31:56,497 --> 00:31:58,290
It was the perfect
screenplay.
515
00:31:58,582 --> 00:32:03,212
It had no downtime, and the
characters were fleshed out.
516
00:32:03,504 --> 00:32:10,010
That's not something you
find in every giallo.
517
00:32:10,302 --> 00:32:12,638
Giallo characters can
often be two-dimensional.
518
00:32:12,930 --> 00:32:14,306
In DEEP RED, they
were all developed.
519
00:32:14,598 --> 00:32:16,684
David Hemmings' character had
his own temperament,
520
00:32:16,976 --> 00:32:18,269
mine had another, and so on.
521
00:32:18,561 --> 00:32:23,399
At the time, when I
played a character,
522
00:32:23,816 --> 00:32:26,819
I took inspiration
from the director.
523
00:32:27,111 --> 00:32:31,490
I took inspiration
from Elio Petri
524
00:32:31,782 --> 00:32:36,162
when I made PROPERTY IS
NO LONGER A THEFT.
525
00:32:36,454 --> 00:32:38,456
Dario had me playing
a journalist,
526
00:32:38,747 --> 00:32:41,250
so he drew upon a time
when he was one himself.
527
00:32:41,542 --> 00:32:44,795
He kept waving his hands
frantically, like an elf,
528
00:32:45,087 --> 00:32:46,714
an inspiration for my
character from
529
00:32:47,006 --> 00:32:48,632
.an existing woman
journalist,
530
00:32:48,924 --> 00:32:51,093
and also from Dario, who
moved like a neurotic.
531
00:33:01,479 --> 00:33:05,900
I created something like
complicity with my audience.
532
00:33:07,985 --> 00:33:14,366
I basically told them, right
from the start
533
00:33:15,242 --> 00:33:17,411
that they were about
to witness a series of
534
00:33:17,703 --> 00:33:21,165
scenes and situations
that are highly unlikely.
535
00:33:22,625 --> 00:33:28,923
Unlikely, because I was
channeling my nightmares
536
00:33:29,256 --> 00:33:31,759
and my imagination.
537
00:33:33,135 --> 00:33:34,845
The viewer was required to
enter my nightmares.
538
00:33:35,387 --> 00:33:37,515
That's what I told
my audience.
539
00:33:37,806 --> 00:33:41,977
And I also assured them
that they would like it.
540
00:33:51,320 --> 00:33:53,280
Everyone hated the
idea of the puppet.
541
00:33:53,822 --> 00:33:56,492
My father, my brother, and my
production designer
542
00:33:56,784 --> 00:33:57,993
all hated it.
543
00:33:58,452 --> 00:34:02,289
They all begged me to not
shoot the puppet scene.
544
00:34:03,123 --> 00:34:05,793
They said that the film
was good,
545
00:34:06,418 --> 00:34:07,836
that it was powerful stuff,
546
00:34:08,295 --> 00:34:12,132
but kept begging and begging
me to forget the puppet.
547
00:34:13,842 --> 00:34:20,015
But I persisted, and asked
the great Carlo Rambaldi.
548
00:34:20,391 --> 00:34:24,895
He won two Oscars later
on, working in the US.
549
00:34:25,187 --> 00:34:27,690
We're talking about the man
who created E.T.
550
00:34:28,816 --> 00:34:33,070
I asked him to create a puppet
capable of walking
551
00:34:33,362 --> 00:34:35,155
and moving its head.
552
00:34:35,447 --> 00:34:38,284
A sort of automaton.
553
00:34:38,867 --> 00:34:42,037
Rambaldi was a very talented
engineer and
554
00:34:42,705 --> 00:34:44,415
quite a cultured man.
He said "yes", and succeeded
555
00:34:44,873 --> 00:34:46,834
in building
this walking puppet
556
00:34:47,126 --> 00:34:49,628
that could move
its head.
557
00:35:02,766 --> 00:35:05,561
I always found great pleasure
in cinematic violence.
558
00:35:05,853 --> 00:35:06,729
It's a cathartic feeling.
559
00:35:07,021 --> 00:35:10,858
Compared to the horrible things
that happen in real life,
560
00:35:11,191 --> 00:35:13,736
or what you see
on the news,
561
00:35:14,570 --> 00:35:17,781
the aesthetic of murder
can give you great pleasure.
562
00:35:18,073 --> 00:35:19,908
Look at the fake blood.
563
00:35:20,200 --> 00:35:22,369
Everyone knows it's fake,
although not as obvious
564
00:35:22,661 --> 00:35:23,829
as tomato sauce.
565
00:35:24,121 --> 00:35:25,873
But it's a very expensive
nail polish
566
00:35:26,165 --> 00:35:29,668
made by Max Factor, that
you have to use according to
567
00:35:30,002 --> 00:35:32,921
the lights in order to
grade the tones of red.
568
00:35:33,547 --> 00:35:38,177
It creates a great,
interesting feeling.
569
00:35:38,636 --> 00:35:42,389
There must be something
special in my films.
570
00:35:43,057 --> 00:35:48,646
I guess my films have
nine lives, like cats.
571
00:35:49,647 --> 00:35:54,526
There must be something that
makes them unforgettable.
572
00:35:54,985 --> 00:35:59,531
And something too that
attracts new viewers.
573
00:36:00,074 --> 00:36:06,163
There have been some recent
screenings around the world.
574
00:36:06,830 --> 00:36:13,712
I went to Pisa, Italy, and the
theater was packed with people.
575
00:36:14,254 --> 00:36:17,341
So many people...
576
00:36:18,008 --> 00:36:20,052
And in America as well.
577
00:36:20,344 --> 00:36:26,308
And also some screenings
in other countries.
578
00:36:26,892 --> 00:36:29,853
The audience is very young.
579
00:36:30,979 --> 00:36:33,065
Some have watched my
films on DVD.
580
00:36:33,357 --> 00:36:36,402
For others it's the first time,
but they've heard of them.
581
00:36:36,819 --> 00:36:42,658
This new, younger audience
IS an interesting lot.
582
00:36:43,283 --> 00:36:44,827
Very interesting...
583
00:36:45,244 --> 00:36:47,621
I don't know why my films
are still liked,
584
00:36:47,913 --> 00:36:49,373
like SUSPIRIA or OPERA.
585
00:36:49,915 --> 00:36:53,502
The audience continues to like
my films
586
00:36:53,794 --> 00:36:58,006
and find interest
in them.
587
00:36:58,882 --> 00:37:02,928
I mean, tastes change,
so I wonder what it is.
588
00:37:03,220 --> 00:37:10,853
Maybe because I tell stories
that come from deep inside me.
589
00:37:11,562 --> 00:37:15,607
I don't tell stories that
come from other sources,
590
00:37:16,108 --> 00:37:21,780
except for the occasional
homage to certain directors,
591
00:37:22,156 --> 00:37:26,160
or to certain old
films that I like, but
592
00:37:27,035 --> 00:37:31,957
I take inspiration
from within,
593
00:37:32,416 --> 00:37:35,002
from my subconscious,
594
00:37:35,377 --> 00:37:38,380
which guides me in what to
say and what story to tell.
595
00:37:38,797 --> 00:37:43,844
When it happens, I don't know if
there's a meaning or symbolism.
596
00:37:44,136 --> 00:37:46,889
I don't immediately understand,
but
597
00:37:47,181 --> 00:37:49,850
it comes to me
gradually, in time.
598
00:37:50,601 --> 00:37:54,521
With SUSPIRIA and INFERNO,
Argento focused
599
00:37:54,813 --> 00:37:56,482
on fantastical themes.
600
00:37:56,774 --> 00:38:02,529
In 1983, with TENEBRAE, he
returned to the thriller genre.
601
00:38:02,821 --> 00:38:05,574
More recently, he directed
another thriller, GIALLO.
602
00:38:05,866 --> 00:38:10,954
Given that title, GIALLO,
it clearly follows in the steps
603
00:38:11,371 --> 00:38:14,875
of classic giallos
and thrillers.
604
00:38:15,167 --> 00:38:18,003
Naturally, over the years,
both Italian
605
00:38:18,295 --> 00:38:20,130
and international
cinema
606
00:38:20,422 --> 00:38:22,007
have undergone
profound changes,
607
00:38:22,299 --> 00:38:24,384
as has Dario Argento
himself.
608
00:38:24,760 --> 00:38:27,471
Therefore, the new,
revolutionary driving force
609
00:38:27,763 --> 00:38:32,059
behind his first films
has been inevitably lost.
610
00:38:32,392 --> 00:38:35,312
The Argento of today is a
very different director
611
00:38:35,687 --> 00:38:38,273
than the one he once was.
612
00:38:38,565 --> 00:38:42,986
He's still a great director,
and one still able to draw on
613
00:38:43,362 --> 00:38:47,241
with an extraordinary visionary
gift, and an ability
614
00:38:47,533 --> 00:38:51,745
to make a film in which
aesthetics prevail over
615
00:38:52,037 --> 00:38:54,081
traditional narrative
structure.
616
00:38:54,373 --> 00:38:57,584
He remains among the greats
of international cinema.
617
00:38:58,335 --> 00:39:01,630
Well, Argento doesn't like me,
though I don't understand why.
618
00:39:01,922 --> 00:39:03,340
It's an odd thing.
619
00:39:03,966 --> 00:39:06,552
Why doesn't he like me? I mean,
if he thinks I'm nothing
620
00:39:06,844 --> 00:39:08,470
then he shouldn't even
be talking about me.
621
00:39:08,762 --> 00:39:10,138
Instead, he hates my guts.
622
00:39:10,430 --> 00:39:11,765
Okay, he doesn't really
hate me.
623
00:39:12,057 --> 00:39:14,184
Argento doesn't hate anyone,
he just loves himself.
624
00:39:14,476 --> 00:39:18,564
I think that Argento is a
great craftsman,
625
00:39:18,856 --> 00:39:21,066
who believes he's
an artist.
626
00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:23,485
Hitchcock, on the other hand,
was an artist who believed
627
00:39:23,777 --> 00:39:24,987
he was a craftsman.
628
00:39:25,487 --> 00:39:28,574
That's why I think Argento will
do the same things forever.
629
00:39:28,866 --> 00:39:30,701
He's very good with
public relations.
630
00:39:30,993 --> 00:39:32,703
The young people like him.
631
00:39:33,203 --> 00:39:34,955
He also uses a certain kind of
music in his films
632
00:39:35,330 --> 00:39:36,915
that other horror
directors,
633
00:39:37,207 --> 00:39:40,210
including American
ones, would never use.
634
00:39:40,627 --> 00:39:46,341
I like modern music, I have
young kids,
635
00:39:46,633 --> 00:39:49,761
Argento's children are
younger than mine,
636
00:39:50,220 --> 00:39:53,098
but I believe that his use
of music is fake.
637
00:39:53,390 --> 00:39:55,309
He's the same with
other things.
638
00:39:55,642 --> 00:39:59,229
I think that he is a good
director and a terrible writer.
639
00:39:59,521 --> 00:40:01,398
People often say the opposite,
but I think
640
00:40:01,690 --> 00:40:03,442
he's a terrible writer.
641
00:40:03,859 --> 00:40:07,779
Among the most important Italian
directors that made giallo,
642
00:40:08,071 --> 00:40:09,531
we must remember
Lucio Fulci.
643
00:40:09,823 --> 00:40:13,327
He approached the genre before
Argento, with a film called
644
00:40:13,619 --> 00:40:15,203
ONE ON TOP OF THE OTHER.
645
00:40:15,495 --> 00:40:18,040
Fulci realized his original
vision without
646
00:40:18,332 --> 00:40:20,792
being influenced by Argento.
647
00:40:21,209 --> 00:40:23,837
Argento's success with his
first film aided
648
00:40:24,129 --> 00:40:26,048
Fulci's subsequent films,
because
649
00:40:26,340 --> 00:40:28,592
after Argento's debut
was a hit,
650
00:40:28,884 --> 00:40:30,844
the genre became very
lucrative.
651
00:40:31,136 --> 00:40:34,014
The public demanded more
giallos, and wanted them
652
00:40:34,306 --> 00:40:36,141
to be set in our country.
653
00:40:36,433 --> 00:40:38,977
My first giallo was
ONE ON TOP OF THE OTHER.
654
00:40:39,269 --> 00:40:41,188
The Producer chose
the title.
655
00:40:41,480 --> 00:40:44,066
Edmondo Amati was a good
producer,
656
00:40:44,358 --> 00:40:45,984
though he didn't know what
a giallo was.
657
00:40:46,276 --> 00:40:49,071
I consider mine to be the second
Italian giallo. The first was
658
00:40:49,363 --> 00:40:51,698
THE SWEET BODY OF DEBORAH,
directed by Romolo Guerrieri
659
00:40:52,074 --> 00:40:55,911
and produced by my
friend, Luciano Martino.
660
00:40:56,286 --> 00:40:59,790
He's always said we need to
do more giallos in Italy.
661
00:41:00,082 --> 00:41:02,709
He stopped making them, at
some point, but now he's back.
662
00:41:03,168 --> 00:41:06,755
ONE ON TOP OF THE OTHER, also
known as PERVERSION STORY,
663
00:41:07,798 --> 00:41:12,511
is perhaps the first Italian
giallo with a studied mechanism.
664
00:41:13,261 --> 00:41:16,515
When the film came out,
everyone was scared
665
00:41:16,807 --> 00:41:21,186
of what would happen,
Amati included.
666
00:41:21,561 --> 00:41:26,400
They were scared because of the
way the film was constructed.
667
00:41:26,900 --> 00:41:28,402
Personally, I love
the script,
668
00:41:28,694 --> 00:41:29,987
which took eight months
to write.
669
00:41:30,278 --> 00:41:32,364
Originally, we had a deal to do
a comedy for this producer,
670
00:41:32,656 --> 00:41:33,949
but when our actor,
Ugo Tognazzi, backed out,
671
00:41:34,241 --> 00:41:35,575
we decided to do
a giallo instead.
672
00:41:35,867 --> 00:41:37,577
A lighter giallo, something
similar to
673
00:41:37,869 --> 00:41:39,329
THE SWEET BODY
OF DEBORAH.
674
00:41:39,621 --> 00:41:41,039
I never would have imagined
it would become
675
00:41:41,373 --> 00:41:44,126
an example of
screenwriting technique.
676
00:41:44,793 --> 00:41:47,754
We worked as hard as we could,
and we often made mistakes.
677
00:41:48,046 --> 00:41:49,840
I believe you could remake
the movie now,
678
00:41:50,132 --> 00:41:51,341
and avoid the mistakes
we made.
679
00:41:51,633 --> 00:41:53,385
The narrative mechanism
is still solid.
680
00:41:53,760 --> 00:41:59,099
For the first time, the police
aren't involved in the plot.
681
00:42:00,350 --> 00:42:03,061
Cops aren't that capable
in my films, they never
682
00:42:03,353 --> 00:42:05,647
manage to catch anyone.
683
00:42:06,273 --> 00:42:13,030
They always make bad mistakes,
like the Carabinieri policemen
684
00:42:13,321 --> 00:42:15,365
in DON'T TORTURE A
DUCKLING.
685
00:42:15,949 --> 00:42:18,660
In EROS PERVERSION, the real
enigma is within
686
00:42:18,952 --> 00:42:23,040
the protagonists and we
see it by what they do,
687
00:42:23,415 --> 00:42:28,545
by their attitudes and
their psychological gestures.
688
00:42:29,087 --> 00:42:31,006
Some of Argento's films
follow these rules, too.
689
00:42:31,465 --> 00:42:33,884
After ONE ON TOP OF THE OTHER,
Lucio Fulci made
690
00:42:34,217 --> 00:42:37,220
a series of films that were
very different from each other.
691
00:42:37,512 --> 00:42:41,058
His giallos were, indeed, quite
different from each other.
692
00:42:41,349 --> 00:42:46,438
For instance, A LIZARD IN A
WOMAN'S SKIN was very dreamlike.
693
00:42:46,730 --> 00:42:51,193
Whereas, DON'T TORTURE A
DUCKLING was very realistic.
694
00:42:51,485 --> 00:42:54,863
Starting with the setting,
deep in southern Italy.
695
00:42:55,155 --> 00:42:57,449
These two films couldn't
be more different.
696
00:42:57,741 --> 00:43:02,579
In A LIZARD IN A WOMAN'S SKIN
we have a female lead,
697
00:43:02,913 --> 00:43:05,373
played by Florinda Bolkan.
698
00:43:05,707 --> 00:43:07,876
We often have a number of
important female characters
699
00:43:08,168 --> 00:43:10,253
in Fulci's giallo films.
700
00:43:10,587 --> 00:43:13,173
Naturally, female characters
in giallos are often
701
00:43:13,465 --> 00:43:16,426
even more "exposed"
than their male counterparts
702
00:43:16,718 --> 00:43:19,888
to the violence
inflicted by the killers.
703
00:43:20,430 --> 00:43:23,642
The success of my previous
giallo allowed me
704
00:43:24,017 --> 00:43:26,228
to do A LIZARD IN
A WOMAN'S SKIN.
705
00:43:26,520 --> 00:43:29,523
Amati trusted me to
do the film.
706
00:43:30,398 --> 00:43:37,114
Argento had already done what
were perhaps his best giallos
707
00:43:37,864 --> 00:43:39,574
THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL
PLUMAGE
708
00:43:39,866 --> 00:43:40,992
and THE CAT O' NINE TAILS.
709
00:43:41,284 --> 00:43:44,079
LIZARD and CAT were released
around the same time.
710
00:43:44,371 --> 00:43:46,206
People loved animal titles.
711
00:43:46,581 --> 00:43:48,750
LIZARD wasn't a hit. If I made
eight million in a theater,
712
00:43:49,042 --> 00:43:50,794
he made 12 in another.
713
00:43:51,711 --> 00:43:54,005
It was still good and, back
then the industry
714
00:43:54,297 --> 00:43:55,715
was a happier place.
715
00:43:56,007 --> 00:43:57,968
His film made more
because it was gorier.
716
00:43:58,260 --> 00:43:59,427
My film had only a couple
of strong scenes.
717
00:43:59,719 --> 00:44:01,596
Again, I preferred to focus
on the mechanism.
718
00:44:01,888 --> 00:44:03,473
It's one of my fixations.
719
00:44:03,974 --> 00:44:09,980
DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING is
more of a psychoanalytic film.
720
00:44:10,272 --> 00:44:11,565
There's a theme of repression.
721
00:44:11,857 --> 00:44:14,776
After all, the murderer
repressing his guilt
722
00:44:15,068 --> 00:44:19,156
Is one of the pivotal
elements of Italian giallos.
723
00:44:19,447 --> 00:44:22,033
DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING
was a huge hit.
724
00:44:22,409 --> 00:44:24,369
It even won an important
award.
725
00:44:24,786 --> 00:44:30,458
It was an attempt to create a
giallo in a rural setting.
726
00:44:30,959 --> 00:44:34,504
I told a similar theme in
my best film,
727
00:44:34,880 --> 00:44:36,715
THE CONSPIRACY OF TORTURE.
728
00:44:37,090 --> 00:44:40,969
Nobody remembers it, it's
not even on VHS.
729
00:44:41,261 --> 00:44:43,346
I'd pay you if you could
find me a copy.
730
00:44:43,972 --> 00:44:46,641
Anyway, in THE CONSPIRACY OF
TORTURE, I showed
731
00:44:46,933 --> 00:44:53,106
how papal power condemned a man to both
death and eternal damnation.
732
00:44:53,690 --> 00:44:56,276
In DUCKLING, the priest kills
the kids because
733
00:44:57,027 --> 00:44:59,112
he wants them to go
to heaven.
734
00:44:59,404 --> 00:45:01,489
That's the theme that got me
the award I mentioned.
735
00:45:02,032 --> 00:45:03,658
I really love the film.
736
00:45:03,950 --> 00:45:05,285
There are many subtleties.
737
00:45:05,744 --> 00:45:07,329
At some point, I even reveal
the identity of the killer.
738
00:45:07,621 --> 00:45:09,080
It's when the priest walks
with Milian,
739
00:45:09,372 --> 00:45:10,749
I might not remember
the exact scene.
740
00:45:11,291 --> 00:45:13,376
Anyway, the priest tells him
that he doesn't allow
741
00:45:13,668 --> 00:45:15,045
the sale of porn magazines,
and that he doesn't want
742
00:45:15,337 --> 00:45:16,421
the children to grow up.
743
00:45:17,088 --> 00:45:20,133
He wants them to remain pure
and innocent forever.
744
00:45:20,425 --> 00:45:23,637
That's why the film begins
with the bells ringing,
745
00:45:23,929 --> 00:45:25,805
the children at confession,
746
00:45:26,097 --> 00:45:31,728
and the modern highway that
divides this unreal land in two.
747
00:45:32,437 --> 00:45:35,941
Concerning the character of the
local witch, believe it or not,
748
00:45:36,233 --> 00:45:38,610
I wanted to set
the film in Turin,
749
00:45:38,944 --> 00:45:42,656
where these southern
superstitions still exist.
750
00:45:43,240 --> 00:45:45,492
They still exist as
a matter of fact,
751
00:45:45,784 --> 00:45:47,911
in the big cities of the north,
among southern immigrants,
752
00:45:48,495 --> 00:45:51,456
I personally saw little
ceremonies of Italian voodoo
753
00:45:51,748 --> 00:45:52,457
taking place.
754
00:45:52,749 --> 00:45:53,792
They did them in grungy
courtyards and buildings,
755
00:45:54,084 --> 00:45:54,960
where the southern laborers
756
00:45:55,418 --> 00:45:56,670
that work for FIAT lived.
757
00:45:57,128 --> 00:46:03,218
It was the first film produced
by Medusa Film. They did well.
758
00:46:03,551 --> 00:46:05,512
It was my first thriller.
759
00:46:07,097 --> 00:46:14,187
I wanted to make something new
after so many comedies.
760
00:46:14,896 --> 00:46:19,859
I remember they made me
change the color of my hair.
761
00:46:20,151 --> 00:46:22,821
As you can see they dyed it
almost red,
762
00:46:23,196 --> 00:46:25,240
styled long and straight.
763
00:46:25,532 --> 00:46:32,664
So, this was my first
thriller and, thankfully,
764
00:46:33,832 --> 00:46:37,627
it became a big hit.
765
00:46:38,378 --> 00:46:41,089
Of course, DON'T TORTURE A
DUCKLING was
766
00:46:41,381 --> 00:46:43,008
very different from
a comedy.
767
00:46:44,259 --> 00:46:49,514
I was really trying to
diversify my range of roles,
768
00:46:49,806 --> 00:46:51,891
but it wasn't
always possible.
769
00:46:52,183 --> 00:46:55,603
DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING
was different,
770
00:46:55,895 --> 00:46:57,897
I also liked the cast.
771
00:46:58,189 --> 00:47:00,400
And I played the role.
772
00:47:09,743 --> 00:47:14,122
I liked the idea of working
with Tomas Milian,
773
00:47:14,456 --> 00:47:17,625
and with Irene Papas, who
I greatly admired.
774
00:47:18,126 --> 00:47:21,629
Also Florinda Bolkan, who
was at the top of her game then.
775
00:47:22,172 --> 00:47:25,842
I must say I didn't know
who Fulci was at first,
776
00:47:26,134 --> 00:47:28,887
I never knew who the
directors were.
777
00:47:29,179 --> 00:47:32,265
I was a foreigner working
in Italy.
778
00:47:33,850 --> 00:47:35,935
The only way I had to
determine if a project
779
00:47:36,311 --> 00:47:38,229
would be good was to look
at the script,
780
00:47:38,521 --> 00:47:39,814
or watch the directors'
previous films.
781
00:47:40,106 --> 00:47:41,441
Or trust my agent's word.
782
00:47:42,484 --> 00:47:44,319
Fulci was a little nutty.
783
00:47:47,072 --> 00:47:53,411
He was a bit grouchy.
784
00:47:54,746 --> 00:47:56,998
He had his moments of anger.
785
00:47:59,793 --> 00:48:03,046
I never had any problems
with him.
786
00:48:03,338 --> 00:48:06,966
He never got angry with me.
787
00:48:07,759 --> 00:48:11,012
I do remember my first few
days on the set.
788
00:48:11,304 --> 00:48:13,473
I got sick.
789
00:48:14,641 --> 00:48:19,187
I had to stay in bed. I'm about
to repeat some old gossip.
790
00:48:19,687 --> 00:48:23,108
A little film within the film.
791
00:48:25,402 --> 00:48:29,155
There was, I don't remember
well, I think
792
00:48:29,447 --> 00:48:31,908
it was the costume
designer who
793
00:48:32,200 --> 00:48:35,578
came into my room and
told me I had to
794
00:48:35,995 --> 00:48:38,998
to see something
outside.
795
00:48:41,000 --> 00:48:43,962
I was so weak, I said I would
see it the next day.
796
00:48:44,379 --> 00:48:47,882
She insisted that I had
to get up and go see.
797
00:48:49,008 --> 00:48:55,140
So I did, I got up out of bed.
Outside, by the pool,
798
00:48:55,432 --> 00:49:00,145
I saw this big,
muscular man.
799
00:49:00,478 --> 00:49:01,938
So handsome and tall.
800
00:49:02,313 --> 00:49:04,983
"Nice view," I said.
801
00:49:05,442 --> 00:49:09,362
"He came with Irene Papas,"
she told me.
802
00:49:09,654 --> 00:49:11,990
"Not bad," I said, and
that was it.
803
00:49:12,866 --> 00:49:19,664
A short time later, however,
I found out that Irene
804
00:49:20,331 --> 00:49:25,211
had developed a crush
on Tomas.
805
00:49:27,130 --> 00:49:29,424
Yes, Tomas...
806
00:49:29,924 --> 00:49:32,051
He had his wife with him.
807
00:49:32,635 --> 00:49:35,805
Irene had such a big crush
on him, that
808
00:49:36,222 --> 00:49:38,516
she dumped the
beefcake.
809
00:49:39,309 --> 00:49:41,728
So I stepped in and took
him for myself.
810
00:49:42,353 --> 00:49:47,275
He was free, she was busy with
Tomas. Finders keepers.
811
00:49:48,526 --> 00:49:51,279
I won that battle.
812
00:49:52,030 --> 00:49:56,493
Eventually, there were these
huge fights between
813
00:49:57,035 --> 00:50:01,247
Irene, Tomas, and his wife.
814
00:50:02,415 --> 00:50:08,004
So many fights, at the
hotel, at night...
815
00:50:08,796 --> 00:50:10,131
We kept ourselves busy.
816
00:50:10,423 --> 00:50:12,091
You said you've seen one of
my best, and.
817
00:50:12,383 --> 00:50:13,843
Least successful films,
SETTE NOTE IN NERO.
818
00:50:14,135 --> 00:50:15,678
Ilts American title is
THE PSYCHIC.
819
00:50:16,387 --> 00:50:18,806
The French title is
L'EMMURE'E VIVANTE.
820
00:50:19,516 --> 00:50:23,061
It was such a painful
production for all of us.
821
00:50:23,353 --> 00:50:25,563
I even had some personal
troubles.
822
00:50:25,855 --> 00:50:27,649
It happened because I made a
film about challenging fate.
823
00:50:27,941 --> 00:50:28,816
You should never do that.
824
00:50:29,108 --> 00:50:31,528
Polanski once told me that,
while I challenged fate,
825
00:50:31,819 --> 00:50:34,531
he made a film that
challenged the Devil,
826
00:50:34,906 --> 00:50:37,825
another thing you should
never do.
827
00:50:38,201 --> 00:50:43,998
I'd shoot it again tomorrow.
I love a solid structure.
828
00:50:44,457 --> 00:50:49,254
The film came out, but
nobody cared.
829
00:50:50,213 --> 00:50:52,966
It was a great disappointment
for us all because,
830
00:50:53,258 --> 00:50:56,261
let's be honest... THE PSYCHIC
Is a little gem of a giallo.
831
00:50:57,011 --> 00:51:00,181
I'm always thinking remake
potential,
832
00:51:00,473 --> 00:51:03,351
and I think you could build
some incredible films on
833
00:51:03,726 --> 00:51:05,770
that narrative framework.
834
00:51:06,062 --> 00:51:07,939
Because, really, the film is
essentially a modern take
835
00:51:08,231 --> 00:51:10,984
on Edgar Allan Poe"s
THE TELL-TALE HEART.
836
00:51:11,401 --> 00:51:16,573
It uses a music box instead
of a heart,
837
00:51:16,864 --> 00:51:19,033
but the spirit of Poe
remains
838
00:51:19,325 --> 00:51:22,829
in the use of something
unusual to help uncover a crime.
839
00:51:23,162 --> 00:51:25,456
It's a classic device.
840
00:51:25,832 --> 00:51:31,129
It works because that device
is both simple,
841
00:51:31,421 --> 00:51:32,589
yet loaded with meaning.
842
00:51:32,880 --> 00:51:35,592
I love this film, it's probably
the best one I did with Lucio.
843
00:51:36,092 --> 00:51:39,846
That's what I think. Others
might beg to differ.
844
00:51:40,555 --> 00:51:45,852
I did 8 films with him, and
I think this is the only
845
00:51:46,311 --> 00:51:49,772
"round" one. It works
perfectly.
846
00:51:50,064 --> 00:51:51,858
The only one where it
all makes sense.
847
00:51:52,150 --> 00:51:53,901
The others aren't as perfect.
848
00:51:54,193 --> 00:51:56,821
They might have been more
successful or more exciting,
849
00:51:57,155 --> 00:51:58,865
but they're not
as "round".
850
00:51:59,240 --> 00:52:04,078
This film has also
something I really love,
851
00:52:04,912 --> 00:52:08,666
and it's a trace
of the supernatural.
852
00:52:09,751 --> 00:52:13,171
The movie starts off as a
traditional giallo,
853
00:52:13,463 --> 00:52:14,672
with a murder.
854
00:52:14,964 --> 00:52:20,094
There's nothing unusual, it's a
story just like any other.
855
00:52:20,637 --> 00:52:24,724
If anything, like many stories,
it might seem a bit prosaic,
856
00:52:25,350 --> 00:52:30,438
because, ultimately, it's
a meditation on human misery.
857
00:52:31,064 --> 00:52:37,570
Yet, the film has this
supernatural vibe, and it
858
00:52:37,945 --> 00:52:40,948
revolves around fate,
destiny, and so on.
859
00:52:41,240 --> 00:52:42,492
Different stuff than usual.
860
00:52:43,201 --> 00:52:45,495
This allows the plot to
transcend the limitations
861
00:52:45,787 --> 00:52:47,580
of common criminality.
862
00:52:47,914 --> 00:52:54,170
It also evokes a different set
of feelings about the murders.
863
00:52:54,462 --> 00:52:57,548
You know you're looking at
something different.
864
00:52:58,091 --> 00:53:01,928
I just loved that,
and Lucio knew it.
865
00:53:02,553 --> 00:53:06,849
THE PSYCHIC, which can
genuinely be defined as
866
00:53:07,183 --> 00:53:09,018
a truly great film.
867
00:53:09,310 --> 00:53:12,689
It marks an important
transition in Fulci's career.
868
00:53:12,980 --> 00:53:17,235
Sort of a rite of passage,
separating the realism
869
00:53:17,527 --> 00:53:24,951
of the giallos, from a cinema
that is more overtly horrific.
870
00:53:25,243 --> 00:53:29,247
As you know, after shooting
THE PSYCHIC in 1977,
871
00:53:29,539 --> 00:53:32,875
Fulci shifted to films
like ZOMBIE,
872
00:53:33,167 --> 00:53:36,129
CITY OF THE LIVING
DEAD, and THE BEYOND.
873
00:53:36,421 --> 00:53:41,008
THE PSYCHIC, despite
the giallo elements
874
00:53:41,384 --> 00:53:45,096
in the script written by
Gianviti and Sacchetti,
875
00:53:45,388 --> 00:53:48,850
was a sort of bridge
to more fantastical films.
876
00:53:49,142 --> 00:53:54,355
There's a female protagonist
in THE PSYCHIC,
877
00:53:54,814 --> 00:53:56,816
played by Jennifer O'Neill.
878
00:53:57,108 --> 00:53:59,110
She experiences visions of a
future that might
879
00:53:59,402 --> 00:54:02,113
actually be the past, or
both at the same time.
880
00:54:02,405 --> 00:54:06,826
Therefore, this intentionally
confusing narrative timeframe
881
00:54:07,118 --> 00:54:10,747
could be defined as one of
the key elements of the film.
882
00:54:11,038 --> 00:54:14,292
The film explores more
fantastical territory,
883
00:54:14,584 --> 00:54:19,464
but it's still a giallo, even
if it's not as realistic
884
00:54:19,922 --> 00:54:22,842
as Fulci's previous work,
such as ONE ON TOP OF ANOTHER,
885
00:54:23,134 --> 00:54:27,180
A LIZARD IN A WOMAN'S SKIN, and
DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING.
886
00:54:27,472 --> 00:54:30,725
Those films are examples of
Fulci's incredible
887
00:54:31,017 --> 00:54:32,518
visionary talent.
888
00:54:32,810 --> 00:54:35,229
As well as his willingness
to show the cruelty of
889
00:54:35,521 --> 00:54:38,649
the murders, which was
another key element
890
00:54:38,941 --> 00:54:44,071
of the whole Italian
giallo genre.
891
00:54:44,489 --> 00:54:48,576
Moreover, he retained certain
elements from previous films.
892
00:54:48,868 --> 00:54:51,746
Let's not forget that Fulci
worked in almost every genre,
893
00:54:52,038 --> 00:54:53,498
very much like
Sergio Martino
894
00:54:53,790 --> 00:54:55,208
and many Italian
genre directors,
895
00:54:55,500 --> 00:54:58,753
with the exception
of Dario Argento.
896
00:54:59,253 --> 00:55:06,677
Fulci started doing thrillers
after directing many comedies
897
00:55:07,053 --> 00:55:10,765
starring Italian comedians
Franco and Ciccio.
898
00:55:11,057 --> 00:55:14,018
We can say that he was
a mainstream director who,
899
00:55:14,310 --> 00:55:17,313
thanks to his unique vision,
created giallos
900
00:55:17,605 --> 00:55:20,566
that captivated
audiences by merging
901
00:55:20,858 --> 00:55:23,110
elements of genre with
those of mainstream cinema.
902
00:55:23,402 --> 00:55:28,825
Following these films, Fulci
refined his vision
903
00:55:29,116 --> 00:55:32,119
to create his
horror masterpieces,
904
00:55:32,411 --> 00:55:34,747
made in the late 70s
and 80s.
905
00:55:35,456 --> 00:55:37,917
There's something my daughter
says about MURDER-ROCK...
906
00:55:38,209 --> 00:55:40,253
I mean my older one, not the
one who works with me,
907
00:55:40,545 --> 00:55:43,840
and will probably become
a director soon.
908
00:55:45,132 --> 00:55:49,053
Anyway, she says that it feels
like a good American TV series.
909
00:55:49,345 --> 00:55:50,179
She's right.
910
00:55:50,471 --> 00:55:54,225
Yes, it feels like the end of
an era, and I knew I had
911
00:55:54,517 --> 00:55:58,729
to reinvent myself and
the things I was doing.
912
00:55:59,188 --> 00:56:02,525
I mean, times were changing.
913
00:56:03,693 --> 00:56:05,820
Like my daughter said, with
MURDER-ROCK I did something
914
00:56:06,112 --> 00:56:08,447
that looked like it was
an episode out of a
915
00:56:08,739 --> 00:56:10,616
good American crime series.
916
00:56:11,075 --> 00:56:13,077
She felt it was no more
than that,
917
00:56:13,369 --> 00:56:15,788
but I was trying to do
something different.
918
00:56:25,590 --> 00:56:28,843
There are some directors who
only made a few giallos.
919
00:56:29,135 --> 00:56:32,138
One of the most important
was Duccio Tessari.
920
00:56:32,513 --> 00:56:35,516
He made a film based on a novel
by Giorgio Scerbanenco,
921
00:56:35,808 --> 00:56:37,685
DEATH OCCURED LAST NIGHT.
922
00:56:43,065 --> 00:56:45,568
The novel was very
well-known.
923
00:56:45,985 --> 00:56:51,574
Its Italian title is I MILANESI
AMMAZZANO AL SABATO.
924
00:56:51,866 --> 00:56:54,535
Lombardo, who distributed the
film, feared that mentioning
925
00:56:54,827 --> 00:56:58,039
the Milanese people might
put off potential viewers
926
00:56:58,331 --> 00:57:00,333
from other regions.
927
00:57:01,292 --> 00:57:05,755
That's why the title was changed
to DEATH OCCURRED LAST NIGHT.
928
00:57:06,505 --> 00:57:08,925
Tessari and I suggested it,
because it's
929
00:57:09,216 --> 00:57:11,427
a quote from the film.
930
00:57:11,969 --> 00:57:14,221
Given that we had to change
the title,
931
00:57:14,513 --> 00:57:17,099
it was the best possible choice.
932
00:57:17,850 --> 00:57:23,272
I'm happy that, in recent years,
most film critics and viewers
933
00:57:23,564 --> 00:57:27,985
have started to consider it
the best film adaptation
934
00:57:29,236 --> 00:57:32,323
from Scerbanenco's novels
with Duca Lamberti.
935
00:57:32,615 --> 00:57:37,870
Out of all the Italian
giallo directors,
936
00:57:38,371 --> 00:57:39,914
Luciano Ercoli was one
of the first.
937
00:57:40,206 --> 00:57:41,040
He was also a producer, and
when he started
938
00:57:41,332 --> 00:57:45,461
directing he had already
produced some interesting
939
00:57:45,753 --> 00:57:52,218
Italian Westerns directed
by Duccio Tessari.
940
00:57:52,510 --> 00:57:54,762
The films Ercoli directed are
elegant,
941
00:57:55,137 --> 00:57:57,807
and quite Hitchcockian in style.
942
00:57:58,265 --> 00:58:01,477
His style was refined and
his choice of music
943
00:58:01,894 --> 00:58:05,147
was equally sophisticated.
944
00:58:05,439 --> 00:58:10,695
We could say that his films
are "deluxe packages."
945
00:58:11,487 --> 00:58:13,364
Spanish actress Nieves Navarro was
the mainstay of these films.
946
00:58:13,656 --> 00:58:15,199
She usually adopted an
anglicized pseudonym,
947
00:58:15,491 --> 00:58:16,742
Susan Scott.
948
00:58:17,076 --> 00:58:18,327
Ercoli's films, DEATH WALKS AT
MIDNIGHT,
949
00:58:18,786 --> 00:58:20,371
DEATH WALKS ON HIGH
HEELS, and
950
00:58:20,663 --> 00:58:24,417
FORBIDDEN PHOTOS OF A LADY
ABOVE SUSPICION,
951
00:58:24,834 --> 00:58:29,005
are very sophisticated
works.
952
00:58:29,338 --> 00:58:32,717
We could say that, as
a director,
953
00:58:33,009 --> 00:58:37,179
Ercoli marries Argento's
innovations
954
00:58:37,513 --> 00:58:42,268
with his own elegant and
stylized mise-en-scene.
955
00:58:42,560 --> 00:58:46,313
These films were also
quite successful.
956
00:58:46,605 --> 00:58:49,025
I always liked doing
thrillers.
957
00:58:49,316 --> 00:58:54,572
Crime films too, but I did
those after the thrillers.
958
00:58:55,031 --> 00:58:58,159
Thrillers were the
trend in those years.
959
00:58:58,492 --> 00:59:03,748
Especially after Dario
Argento's ascension.
960
00:59:04,206 --> 00:59:07,251
Many of us directors tried
to follow in his footsteps.
961
00:59:07,626 --> 00:59:15,342
That's how I started doing
thrillers, in my own little way.
962
00:59:20,723 --> 00:59:26,145
I found it a bit difficult.
It was my directorial debut.
963
00:59:26,562 --> 00:59:30,357
The script wasn't much help, and
the dialogue was very spare.
964
00:59:30,733 --> 00:59:34,487
I had to turn that into
an hour and forty minute film,
965
00:59:34,779 --> 00:59:39,492
so I wound up with
a lot of slow parts.
966
00:59:40,034 --> 00:59:43,162
I didn't have that problem
In my next film.
967
00:59:43,621 --> 00:59:46,540
I always liked noir films.
I really love them.
968
00:59:47,041 --> 00:59:51,128
From the old ones with Richard
Widmark and Orson Welles,
969
00:59:51,420 --> 00:59:52,922
to the new ones.
970
00:59:53,255 --> 00:59:58,177
Luciano gave me the script, I
read it, and loved my character.
971
00:59:59,011 --> 01:00:01,013
I found it funny, and really
interesting.
972
01:00:11,273 --> 01:00:13,818
I had already acted in some of
the films Luciano produced,
973
01:00:14,110 --> 01:00:16,821
but it was the first time I
worked in a film he directed.
974
01:00:18,280 --> 01:00:20,783
He was a very demanding
director, you know.
975
01:00:21,826 --> 01:00:26,956
Maybe he thought I was Ingrid
Bergman or someone like that.
976
01:00:27,331 --> 01:00:33,379
Even if I wasn't Ingrid Bergman,
he was still very demanding
977
01:00:33,671 --> 01:00:35,589
with me and
Dagmar Lassander.
978
01:00:36,132 --> 01:00:37,550
We didn't pay too much
attention to him,
979
01:00:37,842 --> 01:00:38,968
and just did the best
that we could.
980
01:00:39,260 --> 01:00:43,389
I had a good relationship with
Ernesto Gastaldi,
981
01:00:43,848 --> 01:00:45,266
the screenwriter.
982
01:00:45,641 --> 01:00:49,311
We had already worked together,
and I felt I could trust him.
983
01:00:49,603 --> 01:00:58,279
He wasn't a great writer, but
he had some good,
984
01:00:58,571 --> 01:01:02,950
even very good ideas when it
came to giallos or thrillers.
985
01:01:03,534 --> 01:01:08,831
The development wasn't
always as good.
986
01:01:09,373 --> 01:01:14,044
Yet, you could still see they
were proper giallos
987
01:01:14,336 --> 01:01:15,045
or thrillers.
988
01:01:15,421 --> 01:01:19,133
In addition to Ercoli, we
could mention Aldo Lado.
989
01:01:19,425 --> 01:01:21,385
Among other giallo
directors,
990
01:01:21,677 --> 01:01:24,513
Lado directed an atypical
giallo,
991
01:01:24,805 --> 01:01:26,807
SHORT NIGHT OF GLASS DOLLS.
992
01:01:27,183 --> 01:01:29,476
The film is set in Prague,
a great location
993
01:01:29,768 --> 01:01:30,936
with an eerie, magical feeling.
994
01:01:31,228 --> 01:01:32,521
The lead character is
played by Jean Sorel.
995
01:01:32,813 --> 01:01:34,523
The film feels like a waking
nightmare.
996
01:01:34,815 --> 01:01:36,525
Its twist ending is somewhat
similar to
997
01:01:36,817 --> 01:01:39,153
the ending of Wilder's
Sunset Boulevard.
998
01:01:39,486 --> 01:01:42,948
And, maybe its beginning too,
an homage to Sunset Boulevard.
999
01:01:43,240 --> 01:01:48,787
Another giallo directed by
I ado is WHO SAW HER DIE?
1000
01:01:49,121 --> 01:01:58,505
That film is set in Venice,
which is an ideal location
1001
01:01:58,839 --> 01:02:04,720
for that kind of thriller,
a city on water, one that feels
1002
01:02:05,221 --> 01:02:09,600
almost apart from the
rest of the world.
1003
01:02:09,892 --> 01:02:13,520
That film has such rich
atmosphere.
1004
01:02:13,812 --> 01:02:17,650
Its protagonist, George
Lazenby, had played 007 once,
1005
01:02:17,942 --> 01:02:20,319
although without great
success.
1006
01:02:20,736 --> 01:02:24,531
It's a film that shows Lado's
understanding
1007
01:02:24,823 --> 01:02:26,742
of the schematics of
the genre.
1008
01:02:27,034 --> 01:02:31,497
Giuliano Carnimeo was among
the one-time giallo directors.
1009
01:02:31,789 --> 01:02:34,416
He is best known for his
enjoyable westerns,
1010
01:02:34,708 --> 01:02:38,045
mostly starring
George Hilton.
1011
01:02:38,545 --> 01:02:42,007
Despite directing only one
giallo, Carnimeo's film
1012
01:02:42,466 --> 01:02:44,885
is considered to be one
of the best examples of
1013
01:02:45,177 --> 01:02:47,137
Italian giallo.
1014
01:02:47,429 --> 01:02:51,558
THE CASE OF THE BLOODY IRIS
stars Edwige Fenech,
1015
01:02:51,850 --> 01:02:56,438
and it's a film where the
schematics of the
1016
01:02:56,730 --> 01:02:59,566
Italian giallo are
well-calibrated.
1017
01:02:59,858 --> 01:03:03,404
The soundtrack is
incredible, too.
1018
01:03:03,696 --> 01:03:09,618
The film unifies all the
elements of Italian giallos.
1019
01:03:09,910 --> 01:03:14,081
Being a mainstream director,
Carnimeo is particularly adept
1020
01:03:14,373 --> 01:03:18,585
at tying all of those
elements together.
1021
01:03:18,877 --> 01:03:22,423
The orchestration of the murders
within that mise-en-scene,
1022
01:03:22,715 --> 01:03:25,843
makes this among the
most representative
1023
01:03:26,135 --> 01:03:29,638
examples of 70s
Italian giallo.
1024
01:04:08,844 --> 01:04:12,681
Sergio Martino was among the
first to attain success
1025
01:04:12,973 --> 01:04:15,684
by making giallos.
1026
01:04:15,976 --> 01:04:19,063
Martino's importance can be
attributed to many factors.
1027
01:04:19,355 --> 01:04:22,816
First of all, he's one of
Italian cinema's
1028
01:04:23,192 --> 01:04:25,069
most versatile
craftsmen.
1029
01:04:25,361 --> 01:04:28,906
His first film was a western,
and then between
1030
01:04:29,198 --> 01:04:30,491
the 70s and the 80s
1031
01:04:30,783 --> 01:04:32,159
he was one of the
preeminent
1032
01:04:32,451 --> 01:04:35,287
Italian comedy directors at
least in terms of box office.
1033
01:04:35,579 --> 01:04:37,581
He made films like SUGAR, HONEY,
AND PEPPER,
1034
01:04:37,873 --> 01:04:39,708
and DON'T PLAY WITH TIGERS.
1035
01:04:40,042 --> 01:04:43,629
With his film, THE STRANGE VICE
OF MRS. WARDH,
1036
01:04:43,921 --> 01:04:47,591
Martino created a successful
niche with giallos,
1037
01:04:47,883 --> 01:04:49,802
to which he brought
originality.
1038
01:04:50,094 --> 01:04:53,305
It didn't hurt that the film
was produced by his brother,
1039
01:04:53,597 --> 01:04:57,726
Luciano Martino, who only a few
years earlier had produced
1040
01:04:58,060 --> 01:05:01,271
Romolo Guerrieri's THE
SWEET BODY OF DEBORAH.
1041
01:05:01,563 --> 01:05:06,652
We could say that the Martino
“family tradition"
1042
01:05:06,944 --> 01:05:10,406
of making giallos predates
Argento's taking on the genre.
1043
01:05:10,697 --> 01:05:15,285
THE SWEET BODY OF DEBORAH
was the first giallo
1044
01:05:15,577 --> 01:05:17,454
produced by Luciano
Martino after LIBIDO.
1045
01:05:17,746 --> 01:05:22,543
LIBIDO was a gamble made by
Mino Loy and Luciano Martino.
1046
01:05:23,168 --> 01:05:24,920
They each put five
million lire into it.
1047
01:05:25,212 --> 01:05:27,131
A small investment to
make the film.
1048
01:05:27,589 --> 01:05:30,676
One half of the film was
mine and Vittorio Salerno's.
1049
01:05:30,968 --> 01:05:34,346
By that I mean that
we worked for free.
1050
01:05:34,847 --> 01:05:37,599
My wife Mara acted for free,
and we
1051
01:05:37,975 --> 01:05:39,810
only paid Giancarlo Giannini
1052
01:05:40,144 --> 01:05:41,937
Actually, 1 still owe him 20K.
1053
01:05:42,396 --> 01:05:45,315
If I remember correctly,
Dominique Boschero
1054
01:05:45,607 --> 01:05:48,652
got one million. She
was our lead actress.
1055
01:05:49,069 --> 01:05:51,864
Again, the film was a gamble.
1056
01:05:52,156 --> 01:05:54,908
There was no guarantee we
would make a profit.
1057
01:05:55,200 --> 01:06:00,038
In Italy, we only earned 123
or 153 million.
1058
01:06:00,539 --> 01:06:03,959
The budget was 26 million.
1059
01:06:04,501 --> 01:06:06,837
So it wasn't bad, but
it wasn't much.
1060
01:06:07,129 --> 01:06:09,631
Then, suddenly, on the
foreign market,
1061
01:06:09,923 --> 01:06:13,177
and I don't know how, but the
distributors managed
1062
01:06:13,510 --> 01:06:16,638
to sell LIBIDO everywhere.
1063
01:06:17,264 --> 01:06:18,974
They sold it for big money,
too.
1064
01:06:19,266 --> 01:06:24,938
At that point, Loy and Martino
made an English-dubbed version.
1065
01:06:25,314 --> 01:06:29,026
When they sold it to the
US market for
1066
01:06:29,318 --> 01:06:31,236
35 or 40 thousand dollars,
1067
01:06:31,528 --> 01:06:36,617
it wasn't much at the time, but
more than the film's budget,
1068
01:06:36,909 --> 01:06:40,704
the Americans didn't
want the dubbed version.
1069
01:06:41,163 --> 01:06:43,707
They said that it sounded like a
character was
1070
01:06:43,999 --> 01:06:45,417
dubbed in Sicilian.
1071
01:06:45,709 --> 01:06:48,253
And the character's child in
Milanese.
1072
01:06:48,545 --> 01:06:51,131
We didn't understand that you
can't have a guy from Alabama
1073
01:06:51,423 --> 01:06:53,342
dubbing a character whose
child is dubbed
1074
01:06:53,634 --> 01:06:54,843
by someone from Boston.
1075
01:06:55,135 --> 01:06:58,680
The film had to be redubbed,
but this time the Americans
1076
01:06:58,972 --> 01:07:00,516
did it themselves.
1077
01:07:00,807 --> 01:07:03,352
It was one of the few times
they dubbed a foreign film.
1078
01:07:03,644 --> 01:07:05,229
They tend to use subtitles.
The film did great and
1079
01:07:05,521 --> 01:07:06,813
they sold it worldwide.
1080
01:07:07,105 --> 01:07:08,690
The bottom line is, out of
a 26 million lire budget,
1081
01:07:08,982 --> 01:07:10,400
this little film
earned 400 million.
1082
01:07:11,443 --> 01:07:14,655
And then Luciano, who wasn't a
stupid man at all,
1083
01:07:15,072 --> 01:07:16,698
had a bright idea.
1084
01:07:17,115 --> 01:07:21,245
"Giallo is the way", he said,
"let's do more of them, pronto"...
1085
01:07:21,537 --> 01:07:25,290
So THE SWEET BODY OF DEBORAH
was the first giallo
1086
01:07:25,582 --> 01:07:27,876
of the long-running series
produced by Luciano.
1087
01:07:28,168 --> 01:07:30,420
Ernesto Gastaldi can be
considered the top
1088
01:07:30,712 --> 01:07:33,382
screenwriter of giallo
cinema.
1089
01:07:33,674 --> 01:07:35,342
He wrote several solid
screenplays
1090
01:07:35,634 --> 01:07:37,386
for the giallos made in
those years.
1091
01:07:37,678 --> 01:07:39,179
The various directors turned
those stories into
1092
01:07:39,513 --> 01:07:40,764
more elaborate films.
1093
01:07:41,056 --> 01:07:43,809
Nevertheless, all
those scripts written
1094
01:07:44,101 --> 01:07:47,020
by Gastaldi were strong.
1095
01:07:47,312 --> 01:07:50,983
Those films were often full of
visual inventions,
1096
01:07:51,275 --> 01:07:56,697
and that's why they always
needed good scripts,
1097
01:07:57,030 --> 01:08:02,995
like the ones Ernesto
Gastaldi wrote.
1098
01:08:03,620 --> 01:08:05,747
"We're all descendants of
an uninterrupted
1099
01:08:06,039 --> 01:08:08,792
chain of murderers,
whose love to Kill
1100
01:08:09,084 --> 01:08:10,502
was instilled in their
blood, just as it could
1101
01:08:10,794 --> 01:08:12,838
be within us too."
- Sigmund Freud
1102
01:08:13,130 --> 01:08:16,842
From its very start, THE
STRANGE VICE OF MRS. WARDH
1103
01:08:17,301 --> 01:08:22,973
differs from Argento's films
In its emphasis on the sexual,
1104
01:08:23,265 --> 01:08:28,854
psychological, and dreamlike
elements.
1105
01:08:29,146 --> 01:08:32,190
These elements recur throughout
the films of Sergio Martino.
1106
01:08:32,482 --> 01:08:34,943
In those years, the director
frequently worked with
1107
01:08:35,235 --> 01:08:39,323
Edwige Fenech, an actress
whose strong physicality
1108
01:08:39,615 --> 01:08:45,495
defined the difference
between Martino's
1109
01:08:45,787 --> 01:08:47,331
and Argento's films in
those days.
1110
01:08:47,664 --> 01:08:52,586
I was the first to meet Edwige
when she came into our office,
1111
01:08:52,878 --> 01:08:57,674
which was also used as a
dubbing studio.
1112
01:08:58,175 --> 01:09:02,763
She was gorgeous, in black
leather pants that were
1113
01:09:03,055 --> 01:09:04,931
unusual back then.
1114
01:09:05,223 --> 01:09:08,185
I told my brother about this
gorgeous girl,
1115
01:09:08,477 --> 01:09:11,563
and he hired her to do a
film called
1116
01:09:11,855 --> 01:09:15,692
THE SINS OF MADAME BOVARY,
which was a collaboration
1117
01:09:15,984 --> 01:09:18,904
between Luciano and another
producer, Alabiso.
1118
01:09:19,279 --> 01:09:22,866
After this film, I believe
she felt grateful
1119
01:09:23,158 --> 01:09:26,495
to Luciano and eventually
got to know him better,
1120
01:09:26,995 --> 01:09:30,374
in the biblical sense.
1121
01:09:30,749 --> 01:09:35,587
She became his partner, and she
became more and more successful.
1122
01:09:35,879 --> 01:09:43,720
Edwige was a buxom,full-figured
girl, and she was working
1123
01:09:44,012 --> 01:09:47,808
in Italy at a time when...
Let me digress a little,
1124
01:09:48,100 --> 01:09:52,646
even seeing a girl showing her
bosoms was almost an event.
1125
01:09:52,979 --> 01:09:55,357
I remember that every time we
went to Paris for a film,
1126
01:09:55,649 --> 01:09:57,734
the first thing the crew did
was buy a copy of Playboy.
1127
01:09:58,110 --> 01:10:02,531
You have to think in the
context of the time.
1128
01:10:02,823 --> 01:10:06,326
In those days, censorship was
finally slightly less
1129
01:10:06,660 --> 01:10:09,371
vicious than it had been.
1130
01:10:09,663 --> 01:10:13,583
Edwige became successful, and
I think she was
1131
01:10:13,875 --> 01:10:18,004
a very good actress in my films,
even if she didn't have
1132
01:10:18,296 --> 01:10:21,550
the physique du role, like the
French say, to play
1133
01:10:21,842 --> 01:10:24,970
the part of a frail-looking,
emaciated girl.
1134
01:10:25,262 --> 01:10:27,723
Maybe I need to escape
from myself.
1135
01:10:28,014 --> 01:10:33,103
These thrillers were often
very interesting films.
1136
01:10:33,603 --> 01:10:39,025
Made with not much money,
but a lot of good will.
1137
01:10:39,484 --> 01:10:43,113
And what came out
was our love for them.
1138
01:10:43,947 --> 01:10:49,703
In the end, they were very
good films that had
1139
01:10:50,078 --> 01:10:57,085
great success, not just
in Italy, but abroad too.
1140
01:10:57,669 --> 01:11:01,548
We were always greatly
surprised by that, because
1141
01:11:01,840 --> 01:11:05,635
we didn't have the means
of big budget films.
1142
01:11:05,927 --> 01:11:11,683
We knew we weren't
actors with big names,
1143
01:11:12,058 --> 01:11:18,398
but our films were seen
both in and outside of Italy.
1144
01:11:18,815 --> 01:11:24,571
I first met Edwige Fenech,
when we were in Tirrenia.
1145
01:11:24,905 --> 01:11:27,157
She was doing a film with
Rosalba Neri,
1146
01:11:27,449 --> 01:11:30,744
and we were staying at
the same hotel.
1147
01:11:31,077 --> 01:11:35,791
I was doing IL BACO DA SETA,
a film with Nadja Tiller.
1148
01:11:36,708 --> 01:11:41,838
We met in the hotel lobby.
1149
01:11:42,589 --> 01:11:45,675
She greeted me and
introduced herself.
1150
01:11:46,259 --> 01:11:51,389
In talking, we learned that we
lived near one another in Rome.
1151
01:11:52,474 --> 01:11:56,478
We became friends, and started
to hang out together.
1152
01:11:57,229 --> 01:12:00,565
I met her family, she met mine.
1153
01:12:03,193 --> 01:12:08,949
Then, one day, Luciano Martino
told me he was crazy about her.
1154
01:12:09,908 --> 01:12:12,869
He begged me to introduce
him to her in exchange
1155
01:12:13,328 --> 01:12:14,454
for doing a film together.
1156
01:12:14,746 --> 01:12:16,832
He promised I'd have had carte
blanche to do a film
1157
01:12:17,123 --> 01:12:18,250
with her in it.
1158
01:12:18,667 --> 01:12:21,378
And that promise became THE
STRANGE VICE OF MRS. WARDH.
1159
01:12:21,795 --> 01:12:24,381
I was in charge of hiring her,
but I had to introduce them.
1160
01:12:24,881 --> 01:12:28,051
So I had them meet during a
dinner and we all read
1161
01:12:28,969 --> 01:12:32,514
the script that he brought.
1162
01:12:33,139 --> 01:12:35,976
And that's how they
started working together.
1163
01:12:36,643 --> 01:12:38,395
I think she was great
in those films.
1164
01:12:38,687 --> 01:12:41,273
I made several
films with Hilton.
1165
01:12:42,065 --> 01:12:52,075
And I became friends
with him, his family.
1166
01:12:52,534 --> 01:12:59,124
His wife came with him,
and then his children.
1167
01:12:59,583 --> 01:13:03,003
We were all a big
family, all together.
1168
01:13:03,336 --> 01:13:05,881
I have fond memories of George.
1169
01:13:06,256 --> 01:13:08,383
He's a funny man.
1170
01:13:08,675 --> 01:13:13,972
Edwige Fenech was
every man's dream.
1171
01:13:14,264 --> 01:13:16,850
I had people stopping me in the
streets, telling me how lucky
1172
01:13:17,142 --> 01:13:19,686
I was to do all those
love scenes with her.
1173
01:13:20,061 --> 01:13:25,275
She drove men crazy. Her beauty
was in a class of its own.
1174
01:13:25,775 --> 01:13:28,320
She was fantastic, and
SO Sexy.
1175
01:13:29,029 --> 01:13:31,197
I remember her as an amazing
woman to which
1176
01:13:31,489 --> 01:13:32,908
I had this great friendship.
1177
01:13:33,909 --> 01:13:40,415
I think Edwige was able to not
feel "naked" when she was
1178
01:13:40,707 --> 01:13:42,792
doing nude scenes.
1179
01:13:43,376 --> 01:13:48,256
I must add that, despite
being a gorgeous woman,
1180
01:13:48,924 --> 01:13:50,842
and no matter how many
people asked me
1181
01:13:51,134 --> 01:13:53,178
what she looked like naked,
1182
01:13:53,803 --> 01:13:55,221
I always saw her as a
sister, perhaps because
1183
01:13:55,513 --> 01:13:56,640
she was my brother's
partner.
1184
01:13:56,932 --> 01:13:59,434
Therefore, I never got a sexual
charge from anything she did.
1185
01:13:59,726 --> 01:14:05,398
A few times, when we were
making a film,
1186
01:14:06,191 --> 01:14:10,695
in order to give the censors
something
1187
01:14:11,112 --> 01:14:16,034
they could cut, without
hurting our picture,
1188
01:14:16,326 --> 01:14:21,623
we shot some more
explicit erotic scenes.
1189
01:14:21,915 --> 01:14:24,376
But this is another matter.
1190
01:14:24,834 --> 01:14:30,340
I always asked to have as few
nude scenes as possible.
1191
01:14:30,966 --> 01:14:33,802
But it seemed as though we
couldn't sell my films
1192
01:14:34,094 --> 01:14:36,012
without a scene of me
taking a shower.
1193
01:14:36,972 --> 01:14:42,644
Most of all, I wanted to
avoid doing love scenes,
1194
01:14:42,936 --> 01:14:47,148
they were what worried
me the most.
1195
01:14:47,440 --> 01:14:50,276
She never had that sort
of problem,
1196
01:14:50,610 --> 01:14:53,113
at least in the films we
made together.
1197
01:14:53,530 --> 01:15:01,121
Her body was so beautiful, and
she showed it on film.
1198
01:15:01,413 --> 01:15:03,415
Everyone knew that people
flocked to
1199
01:15:03,748 --> 01:15:05,375
the theaters to see
her movies.
1200
01:15:05,667 --> 01:15:07,168
They always gave her
a shower scene.
1201
01:15:07,460 --> 01:15:10,422
Love scenes, too.
That's how it was.
1202
01:15:10,714 --> 01:15:13,967
She was and still is a
gorgeous woman.
1203
01:15:14,592 --> 01:15:18,638
It's hard to do a love scene
with a friend.
1204
01:15:19,222 --> 01:15:23,018
We were actually naked
when we did our scenes.
1205
01:15:26,438 --> 01:15:31,443
We always covered our
private parts, of course.
1206
01:15:32,485 --> 01:15:34,904
They put some tape on them.
1207
01:15:35,947 --> 01:15:37,907
Those were good scenes.
1208
01:15:38,199 --> 01:15:43,788
When you act, you think you're
really making love.
1209
01:15:44,080 --> 01:15:48,043
But it was just acting, they
weren't real love scenes.
1210
01:15:48,752 --> 01:15:53,298
Yet, we did our best to make
it look as real as possible.
1211
01:15:53,882 --> 01:15:58,887
THE STRANGE VICE OF MRS.
WARDH was my first giallo.
1212
01:15:59,929 --> 01:16:04,976
The plot was, for the most part,
similar to other giallos.
1213
01:16:05,393 --> 01:16:09,105
Perhaps, not many people
realize it,
1214
01:16:09,397 --> 01:16:12,400
but with his film
LES DIABOLIQUES,
1215
01:16:12,692 --> 01:16:15,153
Henri-Georges Clouzot became
a great source of inspiration.
1216
01:16:15,445 --> 01:16:18,990
I foolishly didn't co-sign
the screenplay of my film.
1217
01:16:19,282 --> 01:16:24,829
This happened a lot in my career
and consequently, I lost money.
1218
01:16:26,956 --> 01:16:32,462
I tried to give it a unique
introduction to make it feel
1219
01:16:32,754 --> 01:16:35,548
less like a TV film, and to
infuse it with more energy.
1220
01:16:35,965 --> 01:16:39,969
To do so, I made up a
parallel story about
1221
01:16:40,261 --> 01:16:47,102
a maniac on the loose
in Vienna killing women.
1222
01:16:47,602 --> 01:16:51,689
Using this tactic to boost
the tension by showing
1223
01:16:51,981 --> 01:16:57,153
murders more frequently
allowed us to avoid
1224
01:16:57,445 --> 01:17:02,075
involving the police
trying to find the killer.
1225
01:17:02,492 --> 01:17:06,412
Writing a book on giallos,
I discovered that
1226
01:17:06,704 --> 01:17:10,333
at least 2000 articles, and
books have been written about
1227
01:17:10,625 --> 01:17:14,087
how to commit a murder
inside a locked room.
1228
01:17:17,048 --> 01:17:19,384
In THE STRANGE VICE OF MRS.
WARDH, I created
1229
01:17:19,759 --> 01:17:22,053
the perfect murder in a
locked room
1230
01:17:22,345 --> 01:17:24,472
using an iced cube!
1231
01:17:24,764 --> 01:17:27,809
It melts, the door locks
itself, and appears
1232
01:17:28,101 --> 01:17:30,311
to have been locked
from the inside.
1233
01:17:30,603 --> 01:17:32,147
The water dries and that's that.
1234
01:17:32,438 --> 01:17:35,733
I've read quite a few murder
scenarios dreamed up
1235
01:17:36,109 --> 01:17:37,235
by other writers.
1236
01:17:37,527 --> 01:17:40,321
Hidden snakes and other
crazy ideas.
1237
01:17:40,947 --> 01:17:44,159
Anyway, that's what giallo is.
1238
01:17:44,701 --> 01:17:49,164
It's about creating a mystery
that people can solve
1239
01:17:49,455 --> 01:17:51,374
if they pay attention.
1240
01:17:51,749 --> 01:17:52,959
Without cheating, of course.
1241
01:17:53,251 --> 01:17:55,044
Sergio Martino directed a
series of very
1242
01:17:55,336 --> 01:17:57,630
successful and stylish
giallos, such as
1243
01:17:57,922 --> 01:18:00,175
THE STRANGE VICE OF MRS.
WARDH, his first, and
1244
01:18:00,550 --> 01:18:03,469
ALL THE COLORS OF
THE DARK.
1245
01:18:03,761 --> 01:18:06,181
As well as YOUR VICE IS
A LOCKED ROOM
1246
01:18:06,598 --> 01:18:10,059
AND ONLY I HAVE
THE KEY before 1973,
1247
01:18:10,351 --> 01:18:14,939
when he directed what he
calls his giallo masterpiece.
1248
01:18:15,273 --> 01:18:20,236
We're talking about an extremely
violent film that even compared
1249
01:18:20,528 --> 01:18:22,113
to today's standards
represents a watershed
1250
01:18:22,405 --> 01:18:23,406
for Italian cinema.
1251
01:18:23,698 --> 01:18:27,911
In 1973, never before had an
Italian film been so violent,
1252
01:18:28,203 --> 01:18:34,375
and then came Sergio
Martino's TORSO.
1253
01:18:34,667 --> 01:18:38,588
TORSO has all the elements of
the Sergio Martino style.
1254
01:18:38,880 --> 01:18:41,507
His cinema speaks a universal
language and appeals
1255
01:18:41,841 --> 01:18:45,220
to an international
audience.
1256
01:18:45,511 --> 01:18:47,931
Martino's films have no borders,
and his specialty
1257
01:18:48,223 --> 01:18:50,600
is to create a world in
which it isn't important to
1258
01:18:50,892 --> 01:18:52,977
pinpoint the exact location.
1259
01:18:53,269 --> 01:18:56,898
His films are mostly
set in Italy.
1260
01:18:57,315 --> 01:18:59,901
TORSO is set in the town
of Perugia.
1261
01:19:00,235 --> 01:19:03,154
Which is an international
environment,
1262
01:19:03,446 --> 01:19:05,031
the University for
Foreigners,
1263
01:19:05,323 --> 01:19:07,825
which is perhaps the most
important cultural
1264
01:19:08,117 --> 01:19:09,702
institution in town.
1265
01:19:09,994 --> 01:19:12,872
In this film, all the elements
that define
1266
01:19:13,164 --> 01:19:20,171
Martino's filmmaking style
are present and very explicit.
1267
01:19:20,546 --> 01:19:25,218
Explicit as the sexuality we
see throughout the film,
1268
01:19:25,510 --> 01:19:29,138
and its emphasis on
graphic violence.
1269
01:19:29,430 --> 01:19:32,517
These elements are filtered
through Martino's
1270
01:19:32,809 --> 01:19:35,603
signature cinematic style.
1271
01:19:35,895 --> 01:19:39,274
As usual in his films, Martino
makes use of a hand-held camera,
1272
01:19:39,565 --> 01:19:40,858
in order to simulate the
frenzied movements
1273
01:19:41,150 --> 01:19:41,859
of the killer.
1274
01:19:42,151 --> 01:19:43,861
In addition to his hand-held
camera,
1275
01:19:44,153 --> 01:19:49,075
we know it's a Martino film
by the visuals, and
1276
01:19:49,409 --> 01:19:54,205
that specific mise-en
scene that defines his style.
1277
01:19:54,497 --> 01:19:58,543
This framing allows his
giallo audience
1278
01:19:58,835 --> 01:20:04,841
to feel a different physical
sensation in every set piece.
1279
01:20:05,216 --> 01:20:09,262
Martino, like Dario Argento,
doesn't offer his viewers
1280
01:20:09,554 --> 01:20:10,513
any guarantees.
1281
01:20:10,805 --> 01:20:12,181
In his films, as with
Guerrieri's
1282
01:20:12,473 --> 01:20:14,142
THE SWEET BODY OF DEBORAH,
1283
01:20:14,434 --> 01:20:18,646
we experience several
twists, and follow false trails,
1284
01:20:19,147 --> 01:20:24,444
the latter a recurring element
common to giallos back then.
1285
01:20:24,736 --> 01:20:27,697
It's like saying that anyone
could be the killer,
1286
01:20:28,156 --> 01:20:31,075
Is the person you least expect.
1287
01:20:31,367 --> 01:20:32,702
A university professor
or a woman are
1288
01:20:32,994 --> 01:20:36,205
another element that
characterizes all
1289
01:20:36,497 --> 01:20:39,584
Italian giallos, not
just Martino's films.
1290
01:20:39,876 --> 01:20:44,672
These elements tear at the
fabric of social convention.
1291
01:20:44,964 --> 01:20:49,302
There's not an anthropological
or sociological
1292
01:20:49,594 --> 01:20:51,137
explanation for murder.
1293
01:20:51,429 --> 01:20:53,806
These giallos are detached from
reality, and detached
1294
01:20:54,140 --> 01:20:58,686
also because they never
gave the viewer
1295
01:20:59,020 --> 01:21:02,607
any certainty over how the
identity of the killer
1296
01:21:02,899 --> 01:21:04,192
will be revealed.
1297
01:21:04,525 --> 01:21:06,235
A killer who may be the least
likely suspect.
1298
01:21:13,618 --> 01:21:16,913
One of the most important
Italian giallo directors
1299
01:21:17,205 --> 01:21:19,290
Is undoubtedly Umberto Lenzi.
1300
01:21:19,707 --> 01:21:25,671
His first films were aimed at
an international audience,
1301
01:21:25,963 --> 01:21:27,715
and he was one of the
few directors,
1302
01:21:28,007 --> 01:21:32,220
in the 60s, who made Italian
films palatable, you could say
1303
01:21:32,512 --> 01:21:35,139
to a foreign audience.
1304
01:21:35,431 --> 01:21:39,685
Lenzi's actors were often
real international stars
1305
01:21:39,977 --> 01:21:45,024
such as Carroll Baker, who
made Elia Kazan's BABY DOLL,
1306
01:21:45,316 --> 01:21:48,069
or Jean-Louis Trintignant,
one of the most important
1307
01:21:48,361 --> 01:21:49,445
French actors.
1308
01:21:49,737 --> 01:21:53,157
With SO SWEET... SO PERVERSE,
Lenzi created
1309
01:21:53,449 --> 01:21:56,411
what he called his
"uptown giallos".
1310
01:21:56,702 --> 01:22:02,125
These were giallos that were
set in the milieu
1311
01:22:02,417 --> 01:22:05,503
of the upper class.
1312
01:22:05,795 --> 01:22:09,132
These films are often
characterized by a certain
1313
01:22:09,507 --> 01:22:12,051
morbid quality that was
more suggested than shown.
1314
01:22:12,343 --> 01:22:17,557
An obvious example is the way
that Carroll Baker played
1315
01:22:17,849 --> 01:22:19,142
her characters.
1316
01:22:19,434 --> 01:22:23,646
After SO SWEET... SO PERVERSE,
Lenzi made a series
1317
01:22:23,938 --> 01:22:27,692
of similar giallos, such as
PARANOIA, A QUIET PLACE TO KILL,
1318
01:22:27,984 --> 01:22:30,903
SPASMO, and KNIFE OF ICE,
which is
1319
01:22:31,195 --> 01:22:34,073
more Hitchcockian in style
than those other films.
1320
01:22:34,365 --> 01:22:39,370
Then Lenzi made a more
Argentian giallo with EYEBALL.
1321
01:22:39,662 --> 01:22:43,958
He was a great director, who was
never afraid to experiment
1322
01:22:44,250 --> 01:22:46,627
with different kinds
of giallos.
1323
01:22:46,919 --> 01:22:50,047
I've always been an avid
reader of giallo literature.
1324
01:22:50,465 --> 01:22:51,966
Take a look at my library, and
you'll see it's almost
1325
01:22:52,258 --> 01:22:53,092
all giallos.
1326
01:22:53,384 --> 01:22:57,638
I particularly love
Georges Simenon,
1327
01:22:57,972 --> 01:23:00,224
and American hard boiled
writers.
1328
01:23:00,516 --> 01:23:03,394
I mean Raymond Chandler,
and the other famous one.
1329
01:23:03,936 --> 01:23:06,522
I took inspiration from this
style, and used it to
1330
01:23:06,814 --> 01:23:08,524
write my own stuff.
1331
01:23:08,900 --> 01:23:16,866
Naturally, the giallos I made
reflect my stylistic taste.
1332
01:23:17,450 --> 01:23:22,121
My giallos are set in the world
of VIPs, very important persons.
1333
01:23:22,455 --> 01:23:24,332
The upper crust.
1334
01:23:24,749 --> 01:23:28,085
It's a world rife with feelings
of hatred and perverted
1335
01:23:28,377 --> 01:23:29,921
sexual practices.
1336
01:23:30,213 --> 01:23:35,218
Therefore, my "trilogy of VIPs,"
consisting of PARANOIA
1337
01:23:35,635 --> 01:23:37,470
SO SWEET... SO PERVERSE,
1338
01:23:37,929 --> 01:23:39,722
and A QUIET PLACE TO KILL
comes with a very potent
1339
01:23:40,014 --> 01:23:42,225
social message. One that
I've emphasized.
1340
01:23:53,861 --> 01:23:57,240
I wrote the original story for
PARANOIA and adapted
1341
01:23:57,740 --> 01:24:01,452
it as a script with help from
Ugo Moretti,
1342
01:24:01,744 --> 01:24:04,413
a great screenwriter and
novelist.
1343
01:24:04,830 --> 01:24:07,333
Being a co-production, I also
worked with a French writer,
1344
01:24:07,625 --> 01:24:09,126
Marie Claire Solleville.
1345
01:24:09,919 --> 01:24:14,090
We wrote the script and I shot
the film as PARANOIA,
1346
01:24:14,382 --> 01:24:18,052
which was my original title.
1347
01:24:19,011 --> 01:24:23,558
The leading lady was
Carroll Baker,
1348
01:24:23,849 --> 01:24:26,644
a great Hollywood star who was
a very good and professional
1349
01:24:26,936 --> 01:24:29,647
actress and a friend with
whom I kept in touch
1350
01:24:29,939 --> 01:24:30,856
until a few years ago.
1351
01:24:31,148 --> 01:24:33,568
The male lead was a foreign
actor working in Italy,
1352
01:24:33,859 --> 01:24:35,528
Lou Castel.
1353
01:24:35,861 --> 01:24:38,739
The two leads were excellent,
but the supporting cast
1354
01:24:39,073 --> 01:24:43,786
was no less strong with
names like Lilla Brignone
1355
01:24:44,287 --> 01:24:46,038
and Tino Carraro.
1356
01:24:46,455 --> 01:24:51,627
We also had a young French
actress I discovered,
1357
01:24:51,919 --> 01:24:54,005
Colette Descombes.
1358
01:24:54,338 --> 01:24:59,552
She was the plot's pivotal
character.
1359
01:25:00,052 --> 01:25:02,138
Pretending to be Castel's
sister,
1360
01:25:02,430 --> 01:25:05,600
with the two staging these
sexual encounters
1361
01:25:05,933 --> 01:25:08,811
in order to degrade Baker's
character and eventually
1362
01:25:09,103 --> 01:25:11,647
drive her to suicide.
1363
01:25:12,565 --> 01:25:16,068
When the film was screened in
New York and other
1364
01:25:16,402 --> 01:25:20,448
American cities in the
summer of 1969,
1365
01:25:20,865 --> 01:25:22,700
it became a roaring
success.
1366
01:25:23,159 --> 01:25:27,538
The American major who bought
the rights was about to go bust,
1367
01:25:27,955 --> 01:25:31,834
but they made a handsome profit
from my picture and
1368
01:25:32,418 --> 01:25:34,211
subsequentially produced
my war film,
1369
01:25:34,503 --> 01:25:38,215
BATTLE OF THE COMMANDOS
starring Jack Palance.
1370
01:25:40,217 --> 01:25:42,511
When the film was about to be
released here,
1371
01:25:42,803 --> 01:25:46,932
the distributors, who are often
dimwits, said that the title
1372
01:25:47,558 --> 01:25:50,144
"PARANOIA" made them think
of "noia", Italian for "boredom",
1373
01:25:50,436 --> 01:25:53,356
and that a new title was
necessary to attract
1374
01:25:53,648 --> 01:25:55,149
viewers to see the film.
1375
01:25:55,566 --> 01:25:57,943
Sexy films were all the rage
back then, so
1376
01:25:58,277 --> 01:26:00,863
the producer said to
rename it ORGASMO
1377
01:26:01,238 --> 01:26:03,324
as a reflection of the
sexual tension in the film.
1378
01:26:03,616 --> 01:26:05,743
I didn't like it, but
they did it anyway.
1379
01:26:06,327 --> 01:26:08,913
Basically, this act
mutilated the film.
1380
01:26:09,330 --> 01:26:11,832
When it was revived at the
Fiamma Cinema in Rome,
1381
01:26:12,291 --> 01:26:14,210
I think in February...
1382
01:26:14,585 --> 01:26:17,088
It was a huge success. The
people gave us
1383
01:26:17,380 --> 01:26:21,509
a standing ovation during
the last scene.
1384
01:26:21,801 --> 01:26:24,720
A standing ovation. I'm
telling the truth.
1385
01:26:25,054 --> 01:26:27,765
All due to a final twist, no
one saw coming.
1386
01:26:28,057 --> 01:26:32,770
The same happened when it was
shown at the
1387
01:26:33,396 --> 01:26:36,899
Venice Film Festival.
1388
01:26:37,566 --> 01:26:39,235
This was 27 years after the film
was made and nobody
1389
01:26:39,527 --> 01:26:42,154
in the audience guessed the
unthinkable twist that happened.
1390
01:26:42,863 --> 01:26:46,200
The film's success in Italy
drove Paramount
1391
01:26:46,492 --> 01:26:47,993
to buy the rights.
1392
01:26:48,327 --> 01:26:50,996
Not Paramount, sorry, I meant
Commonwealth United.
1393
01:26:51,288 --> 01:26:54,500
Anyway, the film became very
successful in America, too.
1394
01:26:54,792 --> 01:26:56,669
But the Americans released it
under its original title,
1395
01:26:56,961 --> 01:27:00,089
PARANOIA, because when it comes
to cinema they're more
1396
01:27:00,423 --> 01:27:02,133
cunning than we are.
1397
01:27:02,800 --> 01:27:06,095
PARANOIA, they just
loved that film.
1398
01:27:06,637 --> 01:27:09,890
That's when Italian producers
decided to make a film
1399
01:27:10,182 --> 01:27:12,476
with the same title.
1400
01:27:13,144 --> 01:27:16,981
They asked me to write a new
film, starring Carroll Baker,
1401
01:27:17,273 --> 01:27:18,315
to be called PARANOIA.
1402
01:27:18,607 --> 01:27:20,735
That's why I made a film titled
ORGASMO that's also known as
1403
01:27:21,026 --> 01:27:22,862
PARANOIA, and a film titled
PARANOIA that was released
1404
01:27:23,154 --> 01:27:25,406
as A QUIET PLACE TO KILL in
the US
1405
01:27:25,781 --> 01:27:28,951
because they couldn't call
it PARANOIA like the other one.
1406
01:27:29,326 --> 01:27:32,747
Carroll Baker gets so confused
about this every time
1407
01:27:33,038 --> 01:27:36,125
they interviewed her about the
films that we made together.
1408
01:27:36,459 --> 01:27:38,544
She can't remember which is
which.
1409
01:27:39,128 --> 01:27:43,132
After directing some of the
most important Italian giallos,
1410
01:27:43,424 --> 01:27:46,844
Umberto Lenzi started to write
more and more.
1411
01:27:47,136 --> 01:27:49,305
Especially in the last few
years,
1412
01:27:49,597 --> 01:27:51,640
with the crisis of Italian
genre cinema, and
1413
01:27:51,932 --> 01:27:55,186
fewer and fewer valid
examples of it.
1414
01:27:55,603 --> 01:27:57,563
Lenzi decided
to become a writer.
1415
01:27:57,855 --> 01:28:01,358
He wrote successful giallos )
such as DELITTI A CINECITTA,
1416
01:28:01,650 --> 01:28:03,652
and TERRORE AD HARLEM,
1417
01:28:03,944 --> 01:28:07,031
even if these stories are
not meant to be watched
1418
01:28:07,406 --> 01:28:10,618
onscreen, but to be read on
paper, they still have
1419
01:28:10,910 --> 01:28:14,622
Lenzi's uncanny ability as a
storyteller.
1419
01:28:15,305 --> 01:29:15,464
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