'STO FINENDO I TITOLI DA RECENSIRE MA TI AMO ANCORA, MAESTRO FULCI!' TWOFER.
BEATRICE CENCI, a.k.a. CONSPIRACY OF TORTURE (1969, TUBI) THE BRUTE AND THE BEAST, a.k.a. MASSACRE TIME (1966, TUBI)
Loosely inspired by real-life events/people in 16th Century Italy and presented with his usual 'religious institutions/elites are the worst' cynical perspective, Lucio Fulci's "Betrice Cenci" proves he could still create disturbing spectacle without eye-gouging or viscera decades before earning his reputation as a horror auteur. Told in lengthy out-of-sequence flashbacks as the deadline to the church-sanctioned execution of four condemned souls approaches, we watch how savage nobleman/landowner Francesco Cenci (Georges Wilson, playing one of the most hateful/nastiest creeps I've seen for Junesploitation!) t@rtures/@buses civilians, farmhands, church emissaries and even his own family. Church authorities made aware of Francesco's cruelties (like having his dogs maul a peasant to near-death) are willing to turn a blind eye for a steep monetary price. But a cabal of desperate family members (Adrienne Larussa's s$#ually-a$$aulted-by-father young daughter, Mavie Bardanzellu's frustrated wife) and their tormented helpers (top-billed Tomas Milian as Beatrice's lover, Ignazio Spalla's Catalano) conspire to end Francesco's life for the sake of saving their own. Big mistake, since the church big wigs eye a bigger payday from condemning the entire Cenci clan to confiscate its properties/wealth by making them confess with the Inquisition-sanctioned methods from the era.
"BC" is Fulci's "Salo" (a prestige period drama about a disturbing subject matter) except it shows a degree of self-censorship to make itself more mainstream palatable. Like Jess Franco's "Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun" earlier this June, the hypocrisy of religious people using their position of authority to inflict pain and end the lives of not-as-bad-as-presented innocent folks is a never-ending source of conflict/drama. Though closer to late '60's adult melodrama (lots of after-the-fact breathless speechifying, little on-screen t%rture or r**e) the injustice of how the Cencis were treated (first by despicable Francesco and then by the money/power-hungry religious magistrates) makes for a compelling, often harrowing cinematic tale. I haven't been this impressed by an outlier Fulci movie in a long time. 4 NUDE BATHS WITH PEASANT-THROWN WATER BUCKETS (out of five).
The first of only three westerns Fulci made before pivoting full time into horror, "Massacre Time" (its original Italian name) also happens to be the other spaghetti western star Franco Nero made in 1966. You may have heard of the first one, a little-known flick named "Django" directed by some hack named Corbucci. ;-P "MT's" story is simple but even after the first hour our hero Tom Corbett (along with us) is in the dark about some major plot points. Who sent a telegram asking for Tom's immediate return to his Texas hometown? Why are his wealthy mother and drunk brother Jeff (George Hilton) living in a shack? Who are the Scotts, father John (Giuseppe Addobbati) and psychopath son 'Junior' (Nino Castelnuovo), that are taking over Laramie Town? Neither Franco Nero nor the picture's cinematography/scale/pace stand out for the first two acts. Except for a comic relief Asian town mortuary/piano player/philosopher (Tchang Yu) and a brutal whipping Junior inflicts on Tom (one that leaves visible scars which miraculously heal overnight) it's pretty boring stuff. The final third of "MT" compensates in spades, with our unanswered questions cleared and one hell of an epic final shootout. Very uneven Fulci western (the one's he made in the '70's were better), but your patience will be rewarded if you stick through 'till the end. 2.85 RED BLOOD STAINS ON JUNIOR'S WHITE SUIT (out of five).
Surprised that this is consider lesser Fulci because it feels like he was really cooking on this one. Sure the trademark gore is non-existent but the style (get ready for strobing lights) definitely is Fulci.
The "Flashdance" inspired dance scenes definitely feel like trend-chasing but the song lyrics are delightfully Italian horror weird.
Try not to think how non-sensical the killer reveal is though.
This is 39 of 57 movies directed by Lucio Fulci, so I have made my way through all of his genre films and am now in the comedy and musical movies. Like 1960’s Urlatori alla Sbarra, The Jukebox Kids is a musicarello, and Fulci was the first director — with this movie — to make just such a movie.
I Ladri, the first movie Fulci made, flopped. His career was on the line, so this populist film is what emerged. Record company owner Commander Cesari (Mario Carotenuto) and his granddaughter Guilia Cesari (Elke Sommer) are at odds over what music to release. He likes the classics, she loves rock and roll. He goes to jail, she goes out to the nightclubs and starts to sign bands to release; it’s very similar to Urlatori alla Sbarra, but you know Italy. Fin che la barca va, lasciala andare.
You get to see and hear Adriano Celentano and the Modern Jazz Gang, I Campioni, Fred Buscaglione and his Asternovas, Betty Curtis, Tony Dallara, Gianni Meccia, Ornella Vanoni and more. Plus, Anthony Steffen years before he was an Italian Western star and Fulci himself showing up as a talent show boss.
Basically, Scopitones — a type of jukebox featuring a 16 mm film component; the Italian versions were called Cinebox — with a story between all the songs. It’s funny because the screamers, as these artists were called, were looked down on by adults and said to be so rebellious. Today, they seem quaint. So does the way Fulci shot them. No zooms. No throwing up entrails. Everyone’s eyes are safe.
Best line of dialog (and there were some howlers): “He’s not a psychopath, he’s an @sshole!”
Middling late-stage giallo that I screened because I’m running out of Fulci flicks I consider watchable (and regular readers aware of my proclivities will know this is saying something). A few of the vintage Fulci stylistic flourishes, Ray Lovelock, n!pples, and the aforementioned dreadful dialog -- strong evidence for favoring dubbed versions when watching sub-par cinema --made this passable. Keith Emerson’s atrocious score and some truly awful songs made a strong argument for the mute button, however, and the dancing… Jennifer Beals looks like Barishnokov compared to this crew. Overall, I award this film 2.15 COTTON/POLYESTER BLEND LEGWARMERS out of 5.
(As we are in the 2nd half of the month and ive picked too many stinkers, im gonna do a bit more research on topics that i dont have alot of experience with. In this case i looked at a lot of suggested rankings* before diving in)
The Beyond (1981)
This ranks high or at the top* of a lot of fan lists for Fulci. I can see why! Holy shit this movie is bonkers. My only quibble is the pacing is a bit slow-ish early on. Otherwise it is a winning bingo card of Junesploitation horror: Haunted Hotel, Soothsaying Blind Lady, Revenge story, Gateway to Hell, Zombies, you name it! Ive seen countless horror movies but this may top the list with regards to stylized gore. Also, Fulci gets alot of cred for Shark vs Zombie but i may vote for Dog vs Undead from this movie as topping it (said scene ends so ingeniously that im still smiling about it hours later). Also, Fulci has zero care for the "dont violently kill kids in movies" rule. Last but not least, the final scene in this movie may be an all time favorite ending....i will remain spoiler free but the ending ties to something that showed up during the movie occasionally and is absolutely terrifying in what it presents. brillliant. Fulci is a huge gap for me but now im gonna start watching more immediately.
(*the last ranking list i read prior to starting this movie was on Bloody Disgusting.com. this ranking listed the Beyond as #1. as i was about to close the browser and watch the film i saw the reviewer name and chuckled....Patrick Bromley.)
(PS: for fans of The Last Drive In, this movie was done in an earlier season and is fortunately still available on Shudder as stand alone or as a Last Drive-In ep. #The-Drive-In-Will-Never-Die #Mutant-fam)
I learned my first year of Junesploitation that it's important to mix quality movies in with the stinkers. I love a me some turkey, but it's easy to get stuffed!
I'm bouncing back & forth between a few 4Ks I haven't watched yet: NY RIPPER, PSYCHIC, ZOMBIE, MURDEROCK & BEYOND... I've seen & love all these films & only have time for one tonight, so I'm sure I'll erode most of that window "weighing options"...
_(Lucio_Fulci,_1990).png)
'STO FINENDO I TITOLI DA RECENSIRE MA TI AMO ANCORA, MAESTRO FULCI!' TWOFER.
ReplyDeleteBEATRICE CENCI, a.k.a. CONSPIRACY OF TORTURE (1969, TUBI)
THE BRUTE AND THE BEAST, a.k.a. MASSACRE TIME (1966, TUBI)
Loosely inspired by real-life events/people in 16th Century Italy and presented with his usual 'religious institutions/elites are the worst' cynical perspective, Lucio Fulci's "Betrice Cenci" proves he could still create disturbing spectacle without eye-gouging or viscera decades before earning his reputation as a horror auteur. Told in lengthy out-of-sequence flashbacks as the deadline to the church-sanctioned execution of four condemned souls approaches, we watch how savage nobleman/landowner Francesco Cenci (Georges Wilson, playing one of the most hateful/nastiest creeps I've seen for Junesploitation!) t@rtures/@buses civilians, farmhands, church emissaries and even his own family. Church authorities made aware of Francesco's cruelties (like having his dogs maul a peasant to near-death) are willing to turn a blind eye for a steep monetary price. But a cabal of desperate family members (Adrienne Larussa's s$#ually-a$$aulted-by-father young daughter, Mavie Bardanzellu's frustrated wife) and their tormented helpers (top-billed Tomas Milian as Beatrice's lover, Ignazio Spalla's Catalano) conspire to end Francesco's life for the sake of saving their own. Big mistake, since the church big wigs eye a bigger payday from condemning the entire Cenci clan to confiscate its properties/wealth by making them confess with the Inquisition-sanctioned methods from the era.
"BC" is Fulci's "Salo" (a prestige period drama about a disturbing subject matter) except it shows a degree of self-censorship to make itself more mainstream palatable. Like Jess Franco's "Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun" earlier this June, the hypocrisy of religious people using their position of authority to inflict pain and end the lives of not-as-bad-as-presented innocent folks is a never-ending source of conflict/drama. Though closer to late '60's adult melodrama (lots of after-the-fact breathless speechifying, little on-screen t%rture or r**e) the injustice of how the Cencis were treated (first by despicable Francesco and then by the money/power-hungry religious magistrates) makes for a compelling, often harrowing cinematic tale. I haven't been this impressed by an outlier Fulci movie in a long time. 4 NUDE BATHS WITH PEASANT-THROWN WATER BUCKETS (out of five).
The first of only three westerns Fulci made before pivoting full time into horror, "Massacre Time" (its original Italian name) also happens to be the other spaghetti western star Franco Nero made in 1966. You may have heard of the first one, a little-known flick named "Django" directed by some hack named Corbucci. ;-P "MT's" story is simple but even after the first hour our hero Tom Corbett (along with us) is in the dark about some major plot points. Who sent a telegram asking for Tom's immediate return to his Texas hometown? Why are his wealthy mother and drunk brother Jeff (George Hilton) living in a shack? Who are the Scotts, father John (Giuseppe Addobbati) and psychopath son 'Junior' (Nino Castelnuovo), that are taking over Laramie Town? Neither Franco Nero nor the picture's cinematography/scale/pace stand out for the first two acts. Except for a comic relief Asian town mortuary/piano player/philosopher (Tchang Yu) and a brutal whipping Junior inflicts on Tom (one that leaves visible scars which miraculously heal overnight) it's pretty boring stuff. The final third of "MT" compensates in spades, with our unanswered questions cleared and one hell of an epic final shootout. Very uneven Fulci western (the one's he made in the '70's were better), but your patience will be rewarded if you stick through 'till the end. 2.85 RED BLOOD STAINS ON JUNIOR'S WHITE SUIT (out of five).
Big fan of BC!
DeleteMurder-Rock: Dancing Death (1984)
ReplyDeleteSurprised that this is consider lesser Fulci because it feels like he was really cooking on this one. Sure the trademark gore is non-existent but the style (get ready for strobing lights) definitely is Fulci.
The "Flashdance" inspired dance scenes definitely feel like trend-chasing but the song lyrics are delightfully Italian horror weird.
Try not to think how non-sensical the killer reveal is though.
This was my Fulci flick, too! See comments below for my thoughts...
DeleteRagazzi del Juke-Box (1959)
ReplyDeleteThis is 39 of 57 movies directed by Lucio Fulci, so I have made my way through all of his genre films and am now in the comedy and musical movies. Like 1960’s Urlatori alla Sbarra, The Jukebox Kids is a musicarello, and Fulci was the first director — with this movie — to make just such a movie.
I Ladri, the first movie Fulci made, flopped. His career was on the line, so this populist film is what emerged. Record company owner Commander Cesari (Mario Carotenuto) and his granddaughter Guilia Cesari (Elke Sommer) are at odds over what music to release. He likes the classics, she loves rock and roll. He goes to jail, she goes out to the nightclubs and starts to sign bands to release; it’s very similar to Urlatori alla Sbarra, but you know Italy. Fin che la barca va, lasciala andare.
You get to see and hear Adriano Celentano and the Modern Jazz Gang, I Campioni, Fred Buscaglione and his Asternovas, Betty Curtis, Tony Dallara, Gianni Meccia, Ornella Vanoni and more. Plus, Anthony Steffen years before he was an Italian Western star and Fulci himself showing up as a talent show boss.
Basically, Scopitones — a type of jukebox featuring a 16 mm film component; the Italian versions were called Cinebox — with a story between all the songs. It’s funny because the screamers, as these artists were called, were looked down on by adults and said to be so rebellious. Today, they seem quaint. So does the way Fulci shot them. No zooms. No throwing up entrails. Everyone’s eyes are safe.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMURDER ROCK: DANCING DEATH (1984)
ReplyDeleteAlternative title: SLASHDANCE!
Best line of dialog (and there were some howlers): “He’s not a psychopath, he’s an @sshole!”
Middling late-stage giallo that I screened because I’m running out of Fulci flicks I consider watchable (and regular readers aware of my proclivities will know this is saying something). A few of the vintage Fulci stylistic flourishes, Ray Lovelock, n!pples, and the aforementioned dreadful dialog -- strong evidence for favoring dubbed versions when watching sub-par cinema --made this passable. Keith Emerson’s atrocious score and some truly awful songs made a strong argument for the mute button, however, and the dancing… Jennifer Beals looks like Barishnokov compared to this crew. Overall, I award this film 2.15 COTTON/POLYESTER BLEND LEGWARMERS out of 5.
Did Keith Emerson ever write a good score? I can't think of any.
DeleteNighthawks?
DeleteOh, good call.
Delete(As we are in the 2nd half of the month and ive picked too many stinkers, im gonna do a bit more research on topics that i dont have alot of experience with. In this case i looked at a lot of suggested rankings* before diving in)
ReplyDeleteThe Beyond (1981)
This ranks high or at the top* of a lot of fan lists for Fulci. I can see why! Holy shit this movie is bonkers. My only quibble is the pacing is a bit slow-ish early on. Otherwise it is a winning bingo card of Junesploitation horror: Haunted Hotel, Soothsaying Blind Lady, Revenge story, Gateway to Hell, Zombies, you name it! Ive seen countless horror movies but this may top the list with regards to stylized gore. Also, Fulci gets alot of cred for Shark vs Zombie but i may vote for Dog vs Undead from this movie as topping it (said scene ends so ingeniously that im still smiling about it hours later). Also, Fulci has zero care for the "dont violently kill kids in movies" rule. Last but not least, the final scene in this movie may be an all time favorite ending....i will remain spoiler free but the ending ties to something that showed up during the movie occasionally and is absolutely terrifying in what it presents. brillliant. Fulci is a huge gap for me but now im gonna start watching more immediately.
(*the last ranking list i read prior to starting this movie was on Bloody Disgusting.com. this ranking listed the Beyond as #1. as i was about to close the browser and watch the film i saw the reviewer name and chuckled....Patrick Bromley.)
(PS: for fans of The Last Drive In, this movie was done in an earlier season and is fortunately still available on Shudder as stand alone or as a Last Drive-In ep. #The-Drive-In-Will-Never-Die #Mutant-fam)
DeleteI learned my first year of Junesploitation that it's important to mix quality movies in with the stinkers. I love a me some turkey, but it's easy to get stuffed!
DeleteI'm bouncing back & forth between a few 4Ks I haven't watched yet: NY RIPPER, PSYCHIC, ZOMBIE, MURDEROCK & BEYOND... I've seen & love all these films & only have time for one tonight, so I'm sure I'll erode most of that window "weighing options"...
ReplyDelete