Suggested Gialli for Beginners
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Thrillers/Suspense
Unguentine Jones — 2 years ago(May 07, 2023 12:42 AM)
Suggested Gialli for Beginners
Blood and Black Lace
(1964), director: Mario Bava
One on Top of the Other
(1969) (AKA
Perversion Story
), director: Lucio Fulci
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage
(1970), director: Dario Argento
Black Belly of the Tarantula
(1971), director: Paolo Cavara
The Case of the Bloody Iris
(1972), director: Anthony Ascott
The Red Queen Kills Seven Times
(1972), director: Emilio Miraglia
What Have You Done to Solange
? (1972), director; Massimo Dallmano
Who Saw Her Die?
(1972), director: Aldo Lado
Don't Look Now
(1973), director: Nicolas Roeg
Torso
(1973), director: Sergio Martino
Puzzle
(1974), director: Duccio Tessari
Deep Red
(1975), director: Dario Argento
Recommended Streaming Services for Gialli
The free streaming service
Tubi
has dozens of gialli. Subscription service
Arrow
offers thirty "Giallo essentials"
ad-free
.
Recommended Reading for Giallo Fans
So Deadly, So Perverse: 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films, Volume 2 1963-1973
So Deadly, So Perverse 50 Years of Italian Giallo Films, Volume 2 1974-2013
So Deadly, So Perverse, Volume 3: Giallo-Style Films From Around the World -
Loki — 2 years ago(May 08, 2023 07:59 AM)
I have a soft spot for it all, really. Favourites tend to be a little fluid in order between the Argentos, Fulcis and Bavas, which are always on there as well as Torso, Black Belly of the Tarantula, Stage Fright, etc.
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FreeHugs — 2 years ago(May 07, 2023 08:45 PM)
Some of my favourites:
What Have You Done to Solange? (1972)
Paranoia (1970)
Paranoia/Orgasmo (1969)
Torso (1973)
Black Sabbath (1963)
What Have They Done to Your Daughters? (1974)
The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh (1971)
Strip Nude for Your Killer (1975)
Don't Torture a Duckling (1972) -
Unguentine Jones — 2 years ago(May 07, 2023 09:05 PM)
Allaby
,
Eccellente
list! Interesting entry,
Black Sabbath
. To me, it's strictly a horror film.
I've seen all of your selections except
Strip Nude for Your Killer
. "Sleazy" seems to be the popular description of this
giallo
. But, it stars Edwige Fenech - an attraction that in and of itself makes the flick, for me, required viewing. -
Unguentine Jones — 2 years ago(May 10, 2023 01:51 AM)
I checked out
Strip Nude for Your Killer
(on ARROW, the "cult film" streaming service) and found it better than I expected it to be.
"Sleazy" is the popular, overused adjective applied to this 1975
giallo
co-written and directed by Andrea Bianchi. I guess it is considered "sleazy" because of the filmmakers' "male gaze" at the nude female body - an attraction that is faithfully featured in abundance
*
. Whatever criticisms and brickbats may be rained on the film's producers, they cannot be accused of false advertising. If full-frontal nudity appeals to you, then
Strip Nude for Your Killer
might be your cup of
tè
.
The routine, cookie-cutter, by-the-numbers plot is straightforwardly uncomplicated: a lot of beautiful, naked women (and a few men) are being murdered by a serial killer.
If you are an aficionado of
gialli
, you might not be surprised by the revelation of the slender killer, clad in black leather and masked by a motorcycle helmet. I did not suss out the killer's identity before the revelation. But, I did correctly guess the "surprise" about the killer's identity.
Although the story and script are conventional, the filmmakers nimble execution of the material propels the plot at a brisk, lively pace, making
Strip Nude for Your Killer
exciting (in more ways than one) entertainment. Composer Berto Pisano's musical score - which has a "Blaxploitation" vibe that is a satisfying melange of lush, symphonic strings and throbbing Jazz-Funk rhythms - suitably drives the action and significantly enhances the production.
The cast competently performed their roles. The one wrong note, IMO, is the male "hero" Carlo (
Nino Castelnuovo
), an (IMO) unappealing brute who inexcusably abuses his girlfriend Magda (
Edwige Fenech
), angrily strangling her and "playfully" forcing himself on her, doggy-style.
I put off watching
Strip Nude for Your Killer
because of its porn-ish title. I was pleasantly surprised that it failed to live up to my low expectations and negative preconception.- Women's bodies have captivated and obsessed the male mind and libido since The Dawn of Man. The physical appeal of The Opposite Sex is entirely natural and cinematic presentations of coitus is, IMO, not "sleazy." I find critical condemnations of nudity and sex in movies odd, neurotic, puritanical, and - when particularly damned in violent, bloody
gialli
- ridiculous and disturbing . . . as are misguided prudes who are incensed by the sight of naked tits but who blithely watch "entertaining" acts of graphic, explicit, bloody violence without objection.
- Women's bodies have captivated and obsessed the male mind and libido since The Dawn of Man. The physical appeal of The Opposite Sex is entirely natural and cinematic presentations of coitus is, IMO, not "sleazy." I find critical condemnations of nudity and sex in movies odd, neurotic, puritanical, and - when particularly damned in violent, bloody
