'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 always do some research when encountering a new genre or style. For Junesploitation, I am already familiar with most of the categories from all that have seen over the years. There is a long watch list in my head to choose titles from, and I am always on the lookout for new things to add to the list.
"The Beyond" was my first Fulci back in '97 (in a crowded theater no less), just a year after l moved to NYC. I've been chasing the high of that tall dragon ever since, and Junesploitation! helps out every June since 2013. 😇😃
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"...
I’ve read about it so many times, including in this very spot, that I thought I knew what to expect - but nothing can prepare you for the moment you hear the infamous duck voice for the first time. It’s really something else. Outside of that, what an absolute sleazefest that was. I think Fulci’s sensitivities and the seedy early-80’s New York are a great match - he really knows how to shoot it like the creepiest place on earth.
A Lizard in a Woman's Skin (1971, dir. Lucio Fulci)
Carol Hammond, a member of an influential family, lives next door to a woman who regularly hosts drug-fueled orgies at her apartment. Carol has increasingly vivid dreams where she's a part of those parties, until one night she dreams of murdering her neighbor, only to wake up to learn she has really been killed.
The premise could make for a pretty standard giallo, but Fulci injects it with style and weirdness in his inimitable way. Includes the biggest WTF!? moment of the month.
Disturbing on so many levels. It’s a legitimately good story about bad people. And the music played during the lynching of the bruja is horrifically beautiful. I haven’t seen a ton, but this is may be my favorite Fulci so far.
New Gladiators(1984) To win the network wars Your Friend Sam comes up with the idea of combining the gladiatorial games of Romes past with Convicts and the modern tools of 2070. The star of the hottest show on TV Deathbike is framed for murder and joins Fred Williamson and the other felons as they train. Lots of flashing lights and sirens abound. Seriously if you have problem with flashing lights and medical issues avoid this one. If you're a fan of good action movies with sci fi premises you should probably skip this one too. ITs got the the sci fi premise down but the action is rare and mostly this just plays like a bad prison movie with a bit of corporate espionage thrown in. I would watch the hell out of Deathbike though That show looked awesome.
Some punks try to rob a mansion, but there's something spooky going on and the house is filled with clocks that all stop at the same time and a nightmare ensues. Filled with the classic Fulci trademarks: Strange lighting, nightmare logic, insane gore, and some genuinely scary moments. This was intended to be a TV movie but Fulci had to Fulci and due to the extreme gore it was dumped to video. This is a good one, but hey, they're all good!
TOUCH OF DEATH (1988) A lonely creep seduces equally lonely women and lures them to their deaths. The gimmick is that we spend the whole time with the killer as our protagonist, never cutting away from him. This is very much a dark comedy, juxtaposing ordinary day-to-day life with the violence. It’s clearly a miniscule budget as well, but some of the gore gags were nonetheless effective. This was an interesting little experiment, but hardly Fulci at his best.
30 days of Georges Melies, day 17: TUNNELING THE ENGLISH CHANNEL (1907) In this prequel to the first Mission Impossible, a man dreams of accomplishing the impossible by constructing a tunnel to France beneath the English Channel – A “Chunnel,” as it were. Yes, it’s amusing to see a fantasy version of what later became real, only Melies’ version is way more steampunk. I especially like the animation of the first train to go through the tunnel, looking a lot like those old Monty Python animated bits.
MURDEROCK. I've seen this one a couple times before. I cracked the seal on my Vinegar Syndrome 4K: lo & behold, still enjoyed this at about 8/10. There's no saxophone scene. No one gets covered in snails. There are no Egyptian curses. But DANCING DEATH has got to rank high among Fulci's wackiest films. No small part of that due to the above-discussed, atmosphere demolishing Emerson-stings. And I'm an ELP fan. Some of the faves are in attendance: Olga Karlatos, Ray Lovelock, Geretta Geretta, Claudio Cassinelli, Edmund Purdom's voice, Al Cliver, a character named Bob. Fulci decided something about the lights in this picture that is pretty off-the-wall. But I like it. Like I like spandexploitation. Like I like cold New York streets outside of Italian apartments. Like I like the sound of MurdeRock.
The Psychic 1977 ‘Sette note in nero’ Directed by The Birthday Boy
Different from any other Fulci movie I've seen, and still satisfying in its own right. Almost a standard mystery story, just with some supernatural elements (see the English title). I like the flourishes that inject splashes of style, no matter the genre. Everything in the psychic's visions feels bespoke and purposeful, even to the colors of the objects and the rooms. That's one of my favorite things about these movies.
PS: It's an extra layer of fun to start recognizing a couple of familiar faces from within Italian movies now!
I am not sure what to think about this one. The Fulci vibe of the Gates of Hell trilogy is certainly present throughout Manhattan Baby. Fabio Frizzi composed the score, the atmospheric photography creates a mood, and the phantasmagorical imagery overrides any attempt at a coherent story. In Egypt, the young daughter of an American archaeologist has a mysterious encounter with a blind woman who hands her an amulet. No one realizes that the amulet possesses an evil spirit that takes hold of the girl. When they return to New York City, strange things start to happen. There were parts of Manhattan Baby that felt like Fulci at his best, and there was a lot that left me frustrated.
With Manhattan Baby on Amazon Prime at the moment, I am surprised to see that nobody here or on Blue Sky mentioned this today.
_(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.
Sounds like an option for tomorrow.
DeleteThis 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!
DeleteHaha! Thanks for reading it!
DeleteI always do some research when encountering a new genre or style. For Junesploitation, I am already familiar with most of the categories from all that have seen over the years. There is a long watch list in my head to choose titles from, and I am always on the lookout for new things to add to the list.
Delete"The Beyond" was my first Fulci back in '97 (in a crowded theater no less), just a year after l moved to NYC. I've been chasing the high of that tall dragon ever since, and Junesploitation! helps out every June since 2013. 😇😃
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"...
ReplyDeleteNew York Ripper (1982)
ReplyDeleteI’ve read about it so many times, including in this very spot, that I thought I knew what to expect - but nothing can prepare you for the moment you hear the infamous duck voice for the first time. It’s really something else. Outside of that, what an absolute sleazefest that was. I think Fulci’s sensitivities and the seedy early-80’s New York are a great match - he really knows how to shoot it like the creepiest place on earth.
Because it WAS the creepiest place on Earth! 😦😱
DeleteA Lizard in a Woman's Skin (1971, dir. Lucio Fulci)
ReplyDeleteCarol Hammond, a member of an influential family, lives next door to a woman who regularly hosts drug-fueled orgies at her apartment. Carol has increasingly vivid dreams where she's a part of those parties, until one night she dreams of murdering her neighbor, only to wake up to learn she has really been killed.
The premise could make for a pretty standard giallo, but Fulci injects it with style and weirdness in his inimitable way. Includes the biggest WTF!? moment of the month.
#JUneSPLOItaTION Day 17: Fulci!
ReplyDeleteDON’T TORTURE A DUCKLING - 1972
Disturbing on so many levels. It’s a legitimately good story about bad people. And the music played during the lynching of the bruja is horrifically beautiful. I haven’t seen a ton, but this is may be my favorite Fulci so far.
Probably his best film. I dig all 3 of his 70s gialli!
DeleteNew Gladiators(1984)
ReplyDeleteTo win the network wars Your Friend Sam comes up with the idea of combining the gladiatorial games of Romes past with Convicts and the modern tools of 2070. The star of the hottest show on TV Deathbike is framed for murder and joins Fred Williamson and the other felons as they train. Lots of flashing lights and sirens abound. Seriously if you have problem with flashing lights and medical issues avoid this one. If you're a fan of good action movies with sci fi premises you should probably skip this one too. ITs got the the sci fi premise down but the action is rare and mostly this just plays like a bad prison movie with a bit of corporate espionage thrown in. I would watch the hell out of Deathbike though That show looked awesome.
The House of Clocks (1989, dir. by The Maestro)
ReplyDeleteSome punks try to rob a mansion, but there's something spooky going on and the house is filled with clocks that all stop at the same time and a nightmare ensues. Filled with the classic Fulci trademarks: Strange lighting, nightmare logic, insane gore, and some genuinely scary moments. This was intended to be a TV movie but Fulci had to Fulci and due to the extreme gore it was dumped to video. This is a good one, but hey, they're all good!
TOUCH OF DEATH (1988)
ReplyDeleteA lonely creep seduces equally lonely women and lures them to their deaths. The gimmick is that we spend the whole time with the killer as our protagonist, never cutting away from him. This is very much a dark comedy, juxtaposing ordinary day-to-day life with the violence. It’s clearly a miniscule budget as well, but some of the gore gags were nonetheless effective. This was an interesting little experiment, but hardly Fulci at his best.
30 days of Georges Melies, day 17: TUNNELING THE ENGLISH CHANNEL (1907)
In this prequel to the first Mission Impossible, a man dreams of accomplishing the impossible by constructing a tunnel to France beneath the English Channel – A “Chunnel,” as it were. Yes, it’s amusing to see a fantasy version of what later became real, only Melies’ version is way more steampunk. I especially like the animation of the first train to go through the tunnel, looking a lot like those old Monty Python animated bits.
MURDEROCK.
ReplyDeleteI've seen this one a couple times before. I cracked the seal on my Vinegar Syndrome 4K: lo & behold, still enjoyed this at about 8/10.
There's no saxophone scene. No one gets covered in snails. There are no Egyptian curses. But DANCING DEATH has got to rank high among Fulci's wackiest films. No small part of that due to the above-discussed, atmosphere demolishing Emerson-stings. And I'm an ELP fan. Some of the faves are in attendance: Olga Karlatos, Ray Lovelock, Geretta Geretta, Claudio Cassinelli, Edmund Purdom's voice, Al Cliver, a character named Bob. Fulci decided something about the lights in this picture that is pretty off-the-wall. But I like it. Like I like spandexploitation. Like I like cold New York streets outside of Italian apartments. Like I like the sound of MurdeRock.
"You've got to grit your teeth and keep on dancing, even when someone dies!" Spandexploitation hahahaha!
DeleteAmen.
DeleteThe Psychic 1977 ‘Sette note in nero’
ReplyDeleteDirected by The Birthday Boy
Different from any other Fulci movie I've seen, and still satisfying in its own right. Almost a standard mystery story, just with some supernatural elements (see the English title). I like the flourishes that inject splashes of style, no matter the genre. Everything in the psychic's visions feels bespoke and purposeful, even to the colors of the objects and the rooms. That's one of my favorite things about these movies.
PS: It's an extra layer of fun to start recognizing a couple of familiar faces from within Italian movies now!
Don't Torture a Duckling (1972)
ReplyDeleteA twisty murder mystery with plenty of misdirection. Excellent.
MANHATTAN BABY (1984)
ReplyDeleteI am not sure what to think about this one. The Fulci vibe of the Gates of Hell trilogy is certainly present throughout Manhattan Baby. Fabio Frizzi composed the score, the atmospheric photography creates a mood, and the phantasmagorical imagery overrides any attempt at a coherent story. In Egypt, the young daughter of an American archaeologist has a mysterious encounter with a blind woman who hands her an amulet. No one realizes that the amulet possesses an evil spirit that takes hold of the girl. When they return to New York City, strange things start to happen. There were parts of Manhattan Baby that felt like Fulci at his best, and there was a lot that left me frustrated.
With Manhattan Baby on Amazon Prime at the moment, I am surprised to see that nobody here or on Blue Sky mentioned this today.
This year TUBI is Fulci central. Most of his heavy hitters are streaming there. 😎🥵
DeleteThe Beyond (1981, dir. Lucio Fulci)
ReplyDeleteWinner and still champion.
Four of the Apocalypse (1975)
ReplyDeleteTypical Fulci mixed bag-- some sequences are mind-blowing, other sequences... less so. Fabrio Testi is very handsome.