GOMORRA (2008, Matteo Garrone)

I watched this at a local movie theater earlier tonight. Watching a film like this on the big screen is a unique experience as its not your typical CGI-fest or stupid comedy. It is a gripping piece of cinema, for sure. Very realistic and disturbing at the same time. The crowd seemed to be interested in pop corn and coke and willing to make fun of the situation but, thankfully, GOMORRA managed to shut them all up with its brutality.

You won't see any slick, well-dressed gangsters here- forget that kind of cliches. GOMORRA is not your typical mafia movie- although one of the kid characters seems to idolize Tony Montana. The members of the Camorra are dressed casually, often in short pants and t-shirts but they are scarier than any "polished" gangster you have seen in film. The hand-held camera work is really powerful and brings the film as close to reality as possible. It should be mentioned that GOMORRA has some of the most shocking and realistic kills you will see in modern cinema. Not gory stuff, just pure realism, the way it is done in real life. The final act of the film "reeks of death" as a couple of viewers admitted.

Forget polished filmmaking, Garrone's approach is as gritty as it could get. The hand-held camera work is effective to say the least and its obvious that the director loves close-ups and non-conventional camera angles. There are also some beautiful long shots that display the decay of the locations. The director uses the cinema language in a gripping and disturbing way and avoids trying to impress with crane shots, steadicam shots and such stuff. The absence of music also contributes the maximum to the GOMORRA's realism. Needless to say, this will probably appeal more to the arthouse/"foreign cinema" crowd than the average moviegoers.



Grips the viewer by the balls with its bloody intro, then slows down a bit and gets more complicated as there are 5 different stories running at the same time. The finale is simply crushing, closing the film in a perfect way, showing how ruthless the Camorra really is. With a simpler plot structure, this film would have been a masterpiece- its often a bit chaotic. Hopefully, mother Italy will bring us more similar films.

WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOUR DAUGHTERS? (1974, Massimo Dallamano)

Second entry in the infamous "schoolgirls in peril" trilogy. Massimo Dallamano's giallo deals with a series of murders that takes place after the discovery of a 15 year old girl's dead body. Inspector Silvestri's (the late Claudio Cassinelli) investigation leads to a teenage prostitution racket. In the meanwhile a leather-clad, motorcycle-riding, maniac is on the loose, killing the witnesses one by one.

A fine film from every point of view, WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOUR DAUGHTERS? is incredibly fast-moving for the giallo standards. This is certainly a strong point as most gialli tend to be slow. This is intense and dramatic stuff but also sleazy and packed with action! Everything that a European exploitation cinema fan could possibly ask for is present here. For the above reasons, Dallamano's film is often described as "a blend of giallo and poliziotesco".

It should be mentioned that there are some unforgettable lines of dialogue such as: "there were traces of sperm in the stomach, anus and vagina, no prophylactic was used, and also she was pregnant" or something along these lines.

Claudio Cassinelli may not be the finest actor but delivers a solid performance here. Mario Adorf is always a pleasure to watch. Here, he plays another "tragic father" character, similar to his Luca Canali of MANHUNT. Massimo Dallamano is a maestro, no doubt about that. His work is very inspired, standing way above the zoom-abuse that some of the genre's filmmakers are known for. Also, the film is tightly edited and beautifully photographed. Not to mention Stelvio Cipriani's dramatic and suspenseful music score- quality stuff.

Sleazy gialli are often badly-made, see GIALLO A VENEZIA or THE FRENCH SEX MURDERS (you can't help but love them both though). This is not the case with WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOUR DAUGHTERS? It was followed by RED RINGS OF FEAR which is the third addition in the "schoolgirls in peril" trilogy. Sadly, it wasn't directed by Dallamano and as a result it is nowhere as good as DAUGHTERS. But still, its good sleazy fun starring Fabio Testi and even "borrows" the main theme from Dallamano's 1973 crime film SUPERBITCH!



DAUGHTERS is one of the finest films the giallo genre could possibly offer. The German DVD edition on the Koch Media label is essential. Its 2:35:1 anamorphic widescreen, uncut and the transfer quality is top notch. There are English, Italian and German audio options.

THE CRIMES OF THE BLACK CAT (1972, Sergio Pastore)

This giallo thriller by Sergio Pastore is set in Copenhagen and deals with a blind pianist (late spaghetti western star Anthony Steffen) who investigates a series of truly bizarre murders. As it appears, the murder weapon is a black cat with claws dipped in poison! Pianist Peter Oliver decides to investigate when his girlfriend Paola gets killed. It turns out that she also had an affair with Victor (Giacomo-Rossi Stuart), the husband of Francoise who runs a fashion house. A photographer has pictures of Victor and Paola in bed and decides to blackmail him but he soon ends up dead as well.

CRIMES OF THE BLACK CAT was always regarded as a guilty pleasure, rather than a fine giallo. It has been a favorite of mine way before the DVD release and I never felt guilty! It should be mentioned that it has always been an obscurity- English-speaking prints were only available in Greece and Venezuela. The Italian DVD by Dagored Records was a huge disappointment as it was sourced from VHS and slightly cut. It was hardly an upgrade to the Greek video. Another Italian DVD followed: It looks way better than the first one, being remastered and anamorphic widescreen. But there is a problem: credits are in scope, the rest is cropped to 1:85:1. Still, it is the finest-looking version we are likely to see. English-speaking fans are also able to enjoy a fandub/sub of this release, created by Profondo Blogger and sold at Trash-Online (some shameless self-promotion never hurt anybody).


The plot is ridiculous but that can hardly be used against the film. Remember the giallo was never about conventional stories. By the way, who could possibly forget the murdering monkey in Dario Argento's PHENOMENA? Genre fans will certainly notice that Sergio Pastore's film borrows elements from landmarks such as CAT O' NINE TAILS (blind man solving murders) and BLOOD AND BLACK LACE (fashion house setting). The cast consists of familiar faces that deliver passable performances. Anthony Steffen wasn't a bad actor but for some reason, he never managed to shine. Director Pastore and editor Vincenzo Tomassi do a trashy job with fast, repetitive zoom shots in some of the murder sequences. However, the movie certainly has style: the cinematography is often excellent and the 2 last sequences manage to generate some suspense. The ultra-gory shower murder is really extreme stuff, making the similar scene in PSYCHO look tame.

Its a shame that Sergio Pastore never made another giallo thriller. Well, he supervised (whatever that means) his wife's DELITTI, 14 years after CRIMES OF THE BLACK CAT. For the record, his wife, Giovana Lenzi, stars in CRIMES and DELITTI is considered to be one of the worst entries in the whole genre. It must be hard to be a female director in such a misogynistic genre!

ASSASSINATION (1987, Peter R. Hunt)

Charles Bronson is Jay Killian, an agent who is assigned to protect the first lady of the USA. Light-hearted non-sense with a silly plot. The mean-spirited tone of Cannon and Bronson's other collaborations is nowhere to be found in this PG-13 rated romance/adventure. The political incorrectness of KINJITE FORBIDDEN SUBJECTS, the mayhem of DEATH WISH 4: THE CRACKDOWN, the cheesy fun of MURPHY'S LAW- all that is missing from ASSASSINATION. Not even daring to compare this to earlier sleaze-fests such as DEATH WISH 2 or 10 TO MIDNINGHT.

You can tell ASSASSINATION is going to be a let-down from the very first moment when the main theme from INVASION USA (a Cannon-produced Chuck Norris actioner made 2 years earlier) is heard in the clumsy opening credits scene- they didn't even bother to compose an original one. As if all that isn't enough, the film is slow-moving and there is hardly any action in the first 35 minutes. There is a decent action scene involving rocket launchers and motorbikes but even in that, the use of stunt double for Charles is obvious.

It is predictable as well- the revelation of the ending hardly comes as a surprise. Routine stuff.

Sadly, the film relies too much on the romance subplot and fails to deliver the explosive action that the poster promises (it depicts Bronson holding a rocket launcher). Visually, this is nowhere as well-made as the J. Lee Thompson-directed Cannon/Bronson films. The flat direction and unattractive locations make it look like some cheap TV movie. ASSASSINATION is not unwatchable but it is forgettable to say the least- this coming from a huge Bronson/Cannon fan.

ANITA- SWEDISH NYMPHET (1973, Torgny Wickman)

Anita is suffering from psychological problems because of her uncaring parents. She is a 17-year old nymphomaniac who will go to bed with just about anyone. She picks up random men from some of the trashiest places and fucks or sucks them (in her own words). She meets Erik, a student of psychology who offers to help with her problem (is there any straight male who wouldn't?) but it appears that she must have an orgasm in order to recover.


Just from the above summary, you can tell this is exploitation film gold, can't you? Perhaps it sounds kind of cliched by today's standards but it is nowhere as cheesy or naive as it could have been. It would have been way cheesier if it was an Italian production of the same era, directed by one of the usual suspects. The film is quite fast-moving although it occasionally slows down- specially right after the first half and before the ending. Its not exactly a character piece or a thought-provoking movie although it attempts to give an inside look to Anita's problem. That only happens between the sex scenes though. And there are quite a few. (you horndogs out there make sure to buy a pack of tissues along with this disc!) Anita's character is not exactly the typical slut that enjoys what she does- she suffers every time she has sex with some random guy. Personally I would have liked a sad finale to the story in order to get more involved with the film.

Christina Lindberg does a good job portraying Anita- like somebody wrote she was born for that role. Actresses that rely on their looks are often bad but Christina is something else- she's got a deadly body, a beautiful, innocent face and she can act. Even if you think she can't, you have to admit she is trying hard! Co-star Stellan Skarsgard is mostly known for PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END and its interesting to see the first steps of an actor that later went mainstream.


Technically, the film is a bit sloppy but it is often realistic and has a gritty feel to it that works just fine. The way it looks and feels has lots in common with THRILLER: A CRUEL PICTURE. Some of the sex scenes are cruel and cold, attempting to shock the viewer and display Anita's suffering. Her sex scene with the student is actually erotic and sexy though- keep in mind I will rarely say that for a film! Must have been improvised, can't be explained otherwise. ANITA often reminds of CHRISTIANE F. although its nowhere as well-made, shocking or depressing.

I watched this as part of the SWEDISH EROTICA 3-disc set that came out recently in the UK. ANITA seems to be uncut but the quality of the transfer is nothing to write home about. It doesn't look much better than your average VHS. This is a good movie that needs a proper digital treatment.

PAPAYA DEI CARAIBI (1978, Joe D'Amato)

PAPAYA DEI CARAIBI is an early entry in Joe D'Amato's "Carribean series", followed by films such as ORGASMO NERO, EROTIC NIGHTS OF THE LIVING DEAD and PORNO HOLOCAUST.

Well-known Euro-Cult actor Maurice Poli (Mario Bava's RABID DOGS, BLACK COBRA) is Vincent, a scientist who arrives at a Carribean island to install a nuclear reactor. While attending a cock-fight (!) he meets Sarrah (Sirpa Lane), a reporter friend of his who is at the island for vacation. Without wasting any time, the film cuts to a shower scene of the couple where Maurice Poli seems to be enjoying a bit too much as he obviously has a hard-on. Later on, they meet a native girl called Papaya who takes them to an ancient ritual.

PAPAYA's basic problem is the pacing. The film, although packed with almost non-stop sex, moves slower than a half-dead turtle. The opening is intense but it takes like half an hour for the next intense sequence to come. There is a painfully long scene of Vincent and Sarrah walking around the island, searching. Needless to say, it is more likely to put the viewer to sleep than generate any kind of suspense. The conversation scenes are poor and its obvious they are nothing more than fillers between the countless sex scenes. There is little plot and it could have been developed in an interesting way if nudity wasn't D'Amato's priority. Let's not forget this is the maker of hundreds of hardcore porn films!

Don't mean to sound racist but Sirpa Lane's sex scenes with the black "actor" are tasteless and I would be surprised if anybody found them sexy or erotic. To make things worse, Vincenzo Tomassi's editing is overkill, making some of the sex scenes look like music videos. Joe D'Amato's work makes it obvious that this film was a rushed job. Despite his mixed output, he certainly had some talent as a director and cinematographer and had done a lot better in films such as BUIO OMEGA/BEYOND THE DARKNESS. The only sequence that actually works for me is the much-discussed "disco orgy" that PAPAYA is (in)famous for. That scene along with Stelvio Cipriani's funky music score are the only positive things about the movie, as far as I am concerned.

The animal cruetly is out of place here. The only purpose of that shocking moment is to prevent the viewer from falling asleep. The graphic slaughter of two dead pigs could have been avoided- Ruggero Deodato did it for a reason in CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST. Here it is just gratuitous, just like everything else in the movie. The title PAPAYA LOVE GODDESS OF THE CANNIBALS is totally misleading- there is hardly any cannibalism here- just that horrible animal slaughter that follows the Italian cannibal genre tradition. The title on the actual print is CARRIBEAN PAPAYA.

Hats off to Severin for doing a great job on this title and specially for unearthing the English audio of PAPAYA for the first time ever. Now let's hope that from now on they will give their treatment to films that deserve it!

WOOO--HOOOO!!!!!!!!

For all those of you who kept asking about Bruno Mattei's last 2 movies!

You can now pre-order them from Amazon.de:

ISLAND OF THE LIVING DEAD
ZOMBIES THE BEGINNING





ISLAND OF THE LIVING DEAD and ZOMBIES THE BEGINNING are also being released in Czech Republic, on English-speaking DVD's. Problem is that you have to understand Czech language to order those online. I have been to Czech Rep. once but I am afraid my Czech is a bit...uhm.. rusty.

Until the release date, you can enjoy some behind the scenes footage here.

LONG LIVE BRUNO MATTEI!

2020: TEXAS GLADIATORS on DVD!!

Don't get too excited! Good news is that Joe D'Amato's post-apocalyptic gem finally hits DVD. Bad news is that the forthcoming DVD by NEW is going to be 4:3 fullscreen. However, I cannot be so sure about this film's aspect ratio as I never found a widescreen print of it anywhere and the imdb has no technical details for it. Same goes for its "twin brother" ENDGAME. Even the Japanese VHS of ENDGAME is fullscreen while most of the Japanese releases of Italian actioners of the 80s are letterboxed.

The Italian post-apocalypse genre is under-represented on DVD, that's for sure. Only Enzo Castellari's "trilogy" (1990: THE BRONX WARRIORS, ESCAPE FROM THE BRONX, THE NEW BARBARIANS) and Sergio Martino's classic 2019: AFTER THE FALL OF NEW YORK have been released on DVD so far. Let's hope that somebody will unearth underground classics such as RAIDERS OF ATLANTIS, THE FINAL EXECUTIONER and EXTERMINATORS OF THE YEAR 3000 and give them the digital treatment they deserve! Specially Ruggero Deodato's film is SCREAMING for a DVD release! Too bad Media Blasters' "post-apocalyptic collection" only brought us 3 titles!

Well, at least the forthcoming disc by Germany's NEW will certainly be an upgrade to the VHS releases the film had so far. And the cover art is nice! You can now pre-prder the disc at DTM.

EDGE OF THE AXE (1988, Jose Ramon Larraz)

US/Spanish co-production of this cool little slasher film, directed by exploitation veteran Jose Ramon Larraz and written by Javier Elorieta (director of the excellent BLOOD HUNT- also reviewed here). The colourful career of Jose Larraz includes horror/sleaze classics such as the Laura Gemser vehicle MALIZIA EROTICA/AND GIVE OUR DAILY SEX, VIOLATION OF THE BITCH, DEVIATION, SCREAM… AND DIE, REST IN PIECES, just to name a few.

The story deals with a series of brutal axe murders that terrify a small New Orleans village. Quite a few suspects emerge but the police seem unable to deal with the situation.

Visually, this is a typical slasher film with its US locations and a killer that looks a lot like Michael Myers. Even the video cover artwork looks purely American. Plot wise, the film owes a lot to the giallo. It cuts pretty fast from one murder to the other without wasting too much time on pointless stuff. There is lots of cheesy dialogue of course, but it hardly hurts the movie as fans of the genre are used to that. The younger members of the cast don’t do very well but at least they seem to be trying hard. So you can’t really blame them. Blame it on the low budget.

The scene where blood drips from the ceiling looks like its borrowed from Lucio Fulci’s masterpiece CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD. The kills here are kind of tame compared to ,let's say, Juan Piquer Simon’s PIECES which is way gorier and way more OTT! EDGE OF THE AXE tries hard to be a good stalk & slash film and benefits from the tight editing and fast pacing. It is a decent film and a good way for the Euro-horror fan to spend 90 minutes, but not a film that deserves repeated viewings. I’ll definitely dig more of Jose Larraz’ works though!

7 MURDERS FOR SCOTLAND YARD (1971, Jose Luis Madrid)

A psychopath goes around slaying prostitutes. His methods echo the work of Jack The Ripper. The main suspect is Peter Dockerman (Spanish horror legend Paul Naschy), a trapeze artist, whose girlfriend gets killed along with the prostitutes.

This obscure giallo thriller was brought to my attention like 8 years ago, thanks to the excellent “Blood And Black Lace Book” (needs no introduction). The artwork for 7 MURDERS FOR SCOTLAND YARD aka JACK THE RIPPER OF LONDON made the film look like the ultimate giallo. What a shame its exactly the opposite. I love the genre and so far, I have been able to seat through some painfully bad films- IN THE FOLDS OF THE FLESH (some will disagree here), Mario Siciliano’s EVIL EYE, FATAL FRAMES you name it. I don’t mind visually stylish films that make no sense at all. I don’t mind entertaining films that look trashy either. Unfortunately, 7 MURDERS is poor from every point of view and can only satisfy Paul Naschy die-hards (I am not such a huge fan, sorry, but I love WEREWOLF SHADOW). Even that is doubtful since there isn’t enough Nachy in the film and whenever he is on screen he looks confused himself.

Gialli are all about visuals. Your plot can be full of holes, that’s fine, but there is no excuse if the film looks bad. Even some of the cheapest entries in the genre are visually attractive- see Maurizio Pradeaux’ DEATH STEPS IN THE DARK or even CRIMES OF THE BLACK CAT. This one looks terrible. The cinematography makes it hard to watch as there is tons of pointless, hand-held camera work and horrible lighting. The direction is almost non-existent and to make things worse, the HG Lewis-quality “gore” FX are so bad they aren’t even funny. OK, I understand the limitations of low budget filmmaking but its hard for me to believe they couldn’t even afford a decent stabwound effect! Damn, I am starting to feel guilty- like one of those bitter critics that have nothing positive to write in their reviews. I wanted to like this film! I am not the type who likes to trash other people's efforts (I’d rather do something creative), I even love some incredibly bad movies (as if you didn't know that already).

Sadly, 7 MURDERS FOR SCOTLAND YARD has nothing going for it. It is a tame and bloodless affair. It is a film about a killer of prostitutes that even fails to be sleazy! Italian director Ferdinando Merighi approached the same subject way more effectively in his FRENCH SEX MURDERS which was made the following year! 7 MURDERS will probably appeal to British people (because of the locations) and fans of Naschy may dig it but that’s about it. Right after this, I watched Enzo Milioni’s THE SISTER OF URSULA which is considered a bottom-of-the-barrel-entry by many fans. Compared to “7 MURDERS…”, it almost felt like a Fellini film.

The widescreen disc by Televista is no Criterion work but, for such a piece of rubbish, it does the job just fine. It is sourced from a 35mm print and features the English audio which surfaces for the first time (only official release of the movie prior to this…uhm… semi-official DVD was an Italian VHS if I am not mistaken. I own that by the way). Problem is this is the “clothed version” of the movie so you get no nudity. Not that it would make a big difference anyway, but still. Fuck whoever invented clothed versions! Make an exploitation film and go all the way, otherwise forget about it!

ESCAPE FROM THE BRONX (1983, Enzo G Castellari)

Its been quite a while since I last posted anything but I am finally back to post some thoughts on Enzo Castellari's post apocalyptic classic! If you know me, you know how I feel about Castellari's 1990: THE BRONX WARRIORS. I used to watch it at the tender age of 5 and needless to say it had a huge impact one me. It is probably the film that is responsible for my ongoing addiction to exploitation cinema. It took me a very long time to even discover there was a sequel. I first watched ESCAPE FROM THE BRONX (via wretched VHS) at the age of 19. By that time, I already knew what the term "Italian exploitation" meant and knew I was hooked.

Plotwise, this is pretty similar to the original with the its familiar theme of the ruthless corporation trying to exterminate Bronx residents for profit. The characters of Vic Morrow and Fred Williamson died in the original (just like most of the characters) and here they are replaced by similar characters, played by (the mighty) Henry Silva and Antonio Sabato. Sabato was't exactly the most capable lead of the Italian crime and giallo cinema of the 1970's. However, he is more than welcome here: older, wiser, bigger and cast as a Mexican! Marco De Gregorio (Mark Gregory) returns as "Trash" of course- there couldn't be a sequel without him. Add Paolo Malco (of HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY fame) and infamous Italian pornstar Moana Pozzi to the menu and you got an Italian exploitation classic. You can tell its a classic from the beginning where Trash blows up a helicopter using a handgun to the sounds of Francesco De Masi. The action never really slows down until the explosive finale. Speaking of explosions, there are MANY: miniature buildings, miniature cars, exploding dummies, bodies flying in slo-mo. Castellari makes frequent use of his trademark slow motion and some bizarre camera angles and cuts are used to highlight the dangerous situations and mean characters (see flamethrower sequence). The producers obviously wanted the action to be bigger in the sequel and the result is often hilarious- see exploding Porsce scene (that effect almost reached Turkish cult film standards). The action would become even trashier in the following year's THE NEW BARBARIANS/WARRIORS OF THE WASTELAND.

The film itself is great fun and one of Castellari's finest. It doesn't top the original (not many sequels do anyway) but comes damn close. The DVD by Vipco looks OK considering it is non-anamorphic- at least its a huge improvement over the VHS I had seen and it can be bought at a low price. Too bad Shriek Show never picked this film up along with the original and THE NEW BARBARIANS.

Sorry Dario...

OK, I just watched a downloaded version of MOTHER OF TEARS aka THE THIRD MOTHER. For the record, I don't download stuff, I don't even know how you do it. I had a friend make me a copy of his downloaded version because I was anxious to watch it. Don't know what the aspect ratio of the movie is. The one I watched was looked very nice and was anamorphic widescreen but looked a bit compromised.

The wait had been extremely long and I was so tired of reading stuff about the movie, I just needed to watch it. And what a pile of shit that was- this coming from a FAN. I consider BIRD, DEEP RED, SUSPIRIA, INFERNO, TENEBRE, PHENOMENA, OPERA and STENDHAL masterpieces to say the least. The rest of his works, I like a lot, except for that pile of shit titled DO YOU LIKE HITCHCOCK?

I couldn't seat through the whole movie. I can tell from the first 10 minutes if I am going to like a film or not. I knew from the beginning this was going to be bad as nothing looked right. Story, dialog, acting, cinematography- nothing was right. It was bad from the beginning to the middle but when those goth transvestites appeared the film turned into a total disaster. Dario has obviously lost his touch and just tries to impress with extreme gore and sleaze. Nothing wrong with these elements. If this was a Bruno Mattei film it would be fine but I expect more from the person who made so many horror and giallo mastepieces. A few of the gore scenes are quite strong and its obvious that Dario tries too hard to be "extreme". The visual extremity combined with the metal music score and the goth characters (witches or whatever they were) is probably supposed to make this appealing to the darker side of today's youth but MOTHER OF TEARS still flopped badly.

Visually, there is nothing really impressive about the film and it looks like it could have been directed by anybody. It lacks the special visual touch of Dario Argento. Even SLEEPLESS and THE CARD PLAYER had some interesting visuals. The cinematography here isn't special at all and the locations aren't that great either. Unlike SUSPIRIA and INFERNO this film lacks FEELING.

I like Asia Argento and I am always happy to see her on screen. In this film she looks worse than she ever did. She IS beautiful and i takes effort to make a beautiful woman look bad on screen but they did it. She looks bad and probably thinks "what the fuck am I doing here". Philippe Leroy and Udo Kier are wasted in such a poor effort. I mean they are always welcome but the movie is so bad that after a while you just stop caring about what is going on and who appears on screen.



It takes more than Asia walking around, cheap gore and cheap nudity in order to make a good Italian horror film. I am sorry to say Dario is getting old and has lost his touch. He should really go home and retire. This movie is an insult to his glorious early days and to anyone who loves the first two movies of the 3 mothers trilogy. It is the only Argento film I attempted to watch and couldn't seat through. There are bad films that make me fall asleep, this one made me angry. Because the wait was long and because it is over-hyped. Fuck this shit, really. I'd rather watch that piece of shit titled FATAL FRAMES again- at least that one is funny.

RAMBO.... coming!

RAMBO is coming in a few days so I have been warming up by viewing the first three classics of the series. Needless to say the new film will be totally different in many ways: an older Stallone who is also directing, modern cinematography, tons of gore. It looks like a product of its era, not like a rehash of what has been done already.

FIRST BLOOD is an all-time masterpiece. It features the finest Stallone performance ever, beautiful locations, the music score is unforgettable and the action is intense to say the least. And that police station scene is one of the greatest I have ever seen. This film also has character development (something nowhere to be found in the sequels)- it contains important information about the Rambo character so that the viewers know his background and his motive for what he does. In the sequels, he just appears and starts killing- not that I have a problem with that :D



RAMBO FIRST BLOOD PART II is a masterpiece as well- it will be remembered as a landmark action film. Cosmatos did a great job directing this one and I believe RAMBO III would have been a lot better if he had directed that too, or at least if Stallone had. Part II also has a great Goldsmith score. The movie is American propaganda but so what? The action here is unbelievable and the explosions are beautiful. Its obvious they just wanted to make a "bigger" film in terms of action. I always thought the existence of Russians in Vietnam was kind of funny. RAMBO II, COBRA and ROCKY IV have a very special place in my heart.

RAMBO III was kind of a failure if you ask me and it doesn't surprise me that did poorly in the box office. It certainly has its moments but the Afghanistan location just doesn't seem right to me. I like Rambo's long hair and Richard Crenna taking part in the action. The explosions here are big and beautiful as expected. I think Stallone changed his muscleman image a lot after this film, trying to exorcise RAMBO III, probably because it didn't do too well and people started making fun of Rambo and Stallone as an actor. He put on those glasses you see him wear in TANGO & CASH and tried convincing audiences that apart from firing machine guns and blowing things up, he can also act. He can (up to a certain extent) but that early 90s image of his wasn't really right anyway.

Times change though and he is back, complete with bow and headband, in RAMBO 4! Who could possibly predict this a few years back?

Xmas viewings

Happy new year to all readers! Here is what I have been watching on my 5-day vacation:

THE BIRD WITH CRYSTAL PLUMAGE (Dario Argento, 1970)

What more could I possibly write about this one that hasn't already been writen by somebody else? Mario Bava's BLOOD AND BLACK LACE set a trend but Argento's film was responsible for the explosion of the genre. Just watch the scene where the killer picks his weapon or a couple of the murder scenes and you will understand why this became such a classic. A definitive giallo masterpiece. Very effectively directed, beautifully photographed and featuring a terrifying music score by Morricone, nobody could possibly ask for more. I wasn't so crazy about this one until I bought Medusa's DVD which features a 2:35:1 anamorphic presentation of the film.

CRUISING (William Friedkin, 1980)

I had previously watched this sleazy gem via a fullscreen VHS so the widescreen DVD was more than welcome and made me warm up to the film a bit more. Its harsh depiction of homosexuality and the world of leather bars caused a storm of controversy back in the day, while Al Pacino's career was nearly ruined after it. Needless to say he still refuses to talk about it and its not a surprise he is nowhere to be found in the DVD bonus features. He is not at his finest moment but still a fine lead. Also appearing is Joe Spinnel, better known as the title character in MANIAC or the mobster in the original ROCKY. The main music theme is sad and decadent and suits the film perfectly. Too bad its not out on CD anywhere. The movie is totally mean-spirited, sleazy and disturbing. Such a movie would never be made in the politically-correct era we live in. CRUISING is not a masterpiece from any point of view but deserves to be seen as a fine example of an exploitation film produced by a major studio. Available DVD versions are missing aprox. 40 minutes and director William Friedkin (THE EXORCIST) claims that footage is "lost". A director's cut seems almost impossible considering the nature of the footage and Pacino's feelings for the film. He has stated that "the finished film was not what he had signed for".

DEATH GAME (Menahem Golan, 2001)

Legendary producer Golan attempts a return to his former glories of the DEATH WISH sequels with this abomination. There were talks of a DEATH WISH 6 but thankfully that was never realized. Problem is the budget here is non-existent (thus no Bronson) and Golan has totally lost it, being unable to direct. That's too bad because he hadn't done bad at all with his DELTA FORCE. He even attempts to copy the infamous DEATH WISH 2 rape scene with atrocious results. The look of the movie is unbelievably cheap and amateurish and its hard to believe the man behind the camera is the same person that once produced action classics such as DEATH WISH 3 and INVASION USA. The story and the plot are so idiotic I won't even bother writing a plot summary. Action scenes are incredibly poor. The music score is very bad as well. Cannon fans may want to take a look at it for Billy Drago and Richard Lynch- both are great character actors but fail miserably in this one. DEATH GAME even manages to outdo THE VERSACE MURDER (also directed by Golan in 1997) in terms of bad filmmaking. Bad, bad, bad!!!

MANHUNT IN THE CITY (1975, Umberto Lenzi)

Just like Fernando Di Leo's MANHUNT, this one features Henry Silva and Luciana Paluzzi, not to mention the similar title and similar plot. Silva is a father who becomes vigilante and goes after the killers of his daughter. Smells like DEATH WISH but sadly, this is nowhere as good as Michael Winner's classic or even Di Leo's gem. Umberto Lenzi is one of the better directors of the genre so I wonder how this movie can be so weak and generic. I believed that you can't go wrong with Lenzi, Silva and a vigilante story but... you can. Its no wonder this one is probably the lesser-known of Lenzi's crime films. Some well-known faces (like Claudio Nicastro and Luciano Catenacci) and locations don't add much to this disappointing film. I love the genre and the director and really wanted to like this but fell asleep halfway.

MURDER OBSESSION- FOLLIA OMICIDA (Riccardo Fredda, 1980)

Fredda returns to the gialo genre almost a decade after his IGUANA WITH THE TONGUE OF FIRE- which is much better by the way. Stefano Patrizi (of ROME ARMED TO THE TEETH and ROMA L'ALTRA FACCIA DELLA VIOLENZA) stars as a disturbed actor who is hunted by horrifying visions while the cast is enriched by names such as Anita Strindberg, Silvia Dionisio and Laura Gemser. This is hardly what anybody would call a well-made film and is probably a low point in Fredda's career. Very trashy with frequent sex and nudity plus gory chainsaw murders and very cheap special FX! The music score and the locations make this a quite creepy viewing experience though. Go for the recently-released DVD on Italy's Raro Video.

OUT FOR JUSTICE (John Flynn, 1991)

Steven Seagal plays a cop who is out to avenge the murder of his partner. Yes this sounds too generic, but the AWESOME OVER THE TOP violent action makes this special! Yes, it may lack character development but who needs that in such a brainless action film? This moves really fast and never gets boring! Seagal is in top form here, not only he kicks ass but also proves he can act. No he wasn't nominated for an academy award but he certainly does the job just fine. The villain here (played by William Forsythe) is one of the nastiest of all times, not even hesitating to whack random women in the middle of the street. Plus there is some gory action involving a meat cleaver and some kitchen tools! No action fan should miss this! From the maker of ROLLING THUNDER and LOCK UP.

RAW DEAL (John Irvin, 1986)

To be honest, I haven't seen too many of Arnold's films but I have a feeling this one is the trashiest of them all. I believe it is kind of pointless to talk about plot here- I didn't even bother watching these pointless scenes and fast forwarded to the action! The cover shows Arnold with a machine gun and the movie pretty much delivers what the cover makes you expect so that is what matters. Plenty of bad acting, explosions, over the top action and cheesy music numbers. Not a bad way to spend 90 minutes but still nowhere as good as George Cosmatos' COBRA that came out in the same year.

ROCKY V (John Avildsen, 1990)

The maker of the original ROCKY returns to the director's chair for this cheesy sequel which is arguably the weakest link in the series. That still doesn't mean its not enjoyable though. More drama and total lack of training sequences in this one. The final street fight between Rocky and Tommy Gunn is a highlight although its unusual to see Rocky fighting outside the ring- this seems to be one of the reasons this film is hated by many fans. This film is nowhere as bad as its reputation suggests but I guess it will only appeal to hardcore fans of Stallone and the series. Thankfully Stallone returned 16 years later with the 6th installment in the series. Look out for Stallone's son Sage as Rocky's son Robert! Who would imagine that lovely kid would go on to release films such as CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST on US DVD?? Go For It!

ROMANZO CRIMINALE (Michele Placido, 2005)

Modern-day, big budget Italian crime masterpiece directed by Michele Placido, an experienced man who was there when the genre reached its peak, back in the mid-70s. A few fans may remember him starring in the sleazy crime film LA ORCA aka THE SNATCH directed by Eriprando Visconti. This kicks off as a tribute to the Italian police films of the 70s with the story taking place at that era, then takes us to a later point in time where the protagonists have grown up and intend to rule the city of Rome. As the gangster films of Scorsese and De Palma have shown us, stories like these never end happily and this is also the case here. Placido directs in a realistic manner and masterfully blends the violence and graphic action with the brilliant drama. Italian cinema needs more films like this in order to rise again!

NAPOLI...SERENATA CALIBRO 9 (1978, Alfonso Brescia)

Film kicks off with a rather extended and pointless sequence of Neapolitan smuggler Salvatore Savastano (the late, great Mario Merola) singing a serenade at a restaurant- when you see a 5-minute musical sequence in a film it's usually nothing more than a filler! The comical tone of the film becomes obvious from the very first minute, not to mention there are many bizarre WTF? moments.

Only until a bunch of hooded scums enter and rob the customers and kill Salvatore's family. One of them threatens the clients and jumps off the window instead going down the stairs. That is after he lets his machine gun fall down. Openings credits roll at the 12th minute of running time, just when you are about to start thinking the film doesn't have any. NAPOLI... SERENATA CALIBRO 9 (which is part of a long series of Neapolitan crime films produced by Ciro Ippolito- also director of ALIEN 2 ON EARTH- directed by Alfonso Brescia and starring Mario Merola) is partly comedy and partly crime and that is a combination that never works for me. In fact I fell asleep for a while, before the second half of the feature.

While watching it, I though it was so weird to see a movie like this subtitled in English- most of Brescia's Neapolitan crime films never had English dubs, apart from the excellent THE NEW GODFATHERS which was the only one of the bunch that got worldwide distribution- at least on video. Films such as NAPOLI... SERENATA and MAFIA TRIANGLE (1981) never made it outside of Italy and that probably means they were nothing more than quickies made for the Italian market. Not to mention their sense of humor was strictly Italian and you'd have to be an Italian to get into them. On the contrary, THE NEW GODFATHERS, while trashy, attempted to be more serious and straightforward crime action, plus it had an international appeal.

Like NAPOLI VIOLENTA and NAPOLI SPARA/WEAPONS OF DEATH, this film has a child character named Genarino- although it's not clear if it is the same kid or not. Probably not. Seems that a Genarino kid is essential for every Neapolitan crime movie. This also leads us to suspect that Brescia's series of crime films was spawned thanks to the success of Umberto Lenzi's film starring Maurizio Merli. There is also a fair amount of comical and dramatic scenes involving Genarino and Stella, his supposed fiance. NAPOLI... SERENATA is nowhere as violent and sleazy as Lenzi's movie though and it seems like the producers wanted this to appeal to children as well as adults. This is also bloodless- watch for the execution scene where Merola fires like 3 dozens of bullets at the hoods. There is no sight of blood or bullet wounds.

NAPOLI... SERENATA started to pick up in the second half- exactly when I was starting to regret buying the DVD! Trashy highlights include the explosion of a hut where Mario Merola is held and the scene where a Neapolitan serenade is heard right before he executes the killers of his family- brilliant stuff! Not mention a quite slow car chase and a boat chase which leads to the explosion of a miniature boat and a couple of dummies. It must be mentioned that Alfonso Brescia shot a similar boat chase/explosion sequence 10 years later for his ultra-cheesy MIAMI COPS. The dramatic ending where Salvatore is arrested is a bit weird since you'd expect him to either get killed or kill them all and leave.

Eduardo Alfieri (who scored all the Brescia/Merola crime films) provides an excellent Neapolitan music score which is undeniably one of the greatest things about the film. You got to love that mandolin theme of the opening credits!

The Raro Video disc is a welcome addition to the Italo-crime fan's collection, at a time when nobody releases these movies on DVD anymore. May be non-anamorphic but still looks quite good and it certainly is a huge improvement over the old Italian VHS on the CVR label. Let's be serious here- would you ever expect this movie to come out on DVD? The fact its out on a widescreen, English-subtitled DVD is already more than enough for me and since its no masterpiece it doesn't really have to be anamorphic does it??

CVR VHS

Raro Video DVD

Overall, this is certainly no masterpiece of the genre. During the first half it just makes you wonder if it is actually a comedy disguised as a crime movie. Thankfully, the second half pays off. Next time I watch this I will skip the first half, that's for sure. Nothing worse than Franco/Ciccio-style comedy that fails to be funny- that was also the problem with the later Brescia/Merola effort MAFIA TRIANGLE (1981). However, the DVD is worth buying for the highlight scenes alone- that exploding boat scene is unforgettable. This may be no NAPOLI VIOLENTA but still a nice addition to your Euro-Crime collection- plus its good to support the few heroic companies that keep releasing these obscurities on DVD!