Yankee

Yankee

Genre: Spaghetti Western

Director: Tinto Brass

Year: 1966

A man referred to only as "Yankee" rides into a dying, desolate town in frontier New Mexico which is completely controlled by a man called the "Grande Concho." Almost immediately, a battle for dominance ensues.

This, like many other Spaghetti Westerns released in 1966, owes a great deal to Sergio Leone's first two spaghetti's, A Fistful Of Dollars & For A Few Dollars More. From its simple plot to its anti-hero, Yankee never strays far from what was then a successful formula.

Here the notorious Italian director Tinto Brass delivered his one & only Spaghetti Western which unfortunately is a very much floored attempt. As far as direction goes Tinto's use of visuals are pretty impressive with his quick flashy edits, unusual camera angles & close ups. He certainly showed he had the eye to present a visually enjoyable western.

Despite Tinto's noble attempt, where Yankee fails most is its cast. French actor Philippe Leroy plays the part of our anti-hero. His character, which is clearly in the style of Clint Eastwood's Man With No Name simply doesn't work. Leroy is unfortunately miscast & lacks the charisma needed to pull off this type of character, he's also not helped by the clunky dialogue he has to unconvincingly deliver throughout. 

The rest of the cast is also very forgettable except for Adolfo Celi, best known to the world as the villain, Largo, from the mid 60s Bond flick, Thunderball. Celi is also recognisable to fans of Italian cult cinema from films such as Danger: Diabolik & The Italian Connection. Here he plays the films villain, Grande Concho, a man who has taken over a small town in New Mexico & is obsessed with fire. Yankee kills a bunch of Concho's bandits & abducts his girl to which Concho responds by setting the town on alight & murdering the sheriff, telling the townspeople that they will die one by one unless they deliver yankee to him. It's the films best performance & Celi handles this larger than life, hellbent bandit with a huge ego to boot, perfectly.

The film plays out in a mildly entertaining way but unfortunately remains largely forgettable. Nothing stands out here from the other bucket load of early Leone inspired westerns. Tinto Brass disowned the film due to outside interference from the producers so you have to wonder how much of the films mediocrity came from the producers wanting another Dollars inspired picture. For that reason It is a real shame that Brass never made another western as I feel with his creative visual flair, a decent script, and a strong cast he'd of been more than capable of delivering a great Spaghetti. Unfortunately, this remains his one and only attempt at the genre & is one which is probably better best forgotten. 

Rating: ★★½

Hatchet for the Honeymoon

Hatchet for the Honeymoon

Genre: Giallo, Horror, Thriller, Psychological Horror

Original title: Il rosso segno della follia

AKA: Blood Brides / Red Wedding Night / The Red Mark of Madnes

Director: Mario Bava

Year: 1970

A bridal design shop owner kills various young brides-to-be in an attempt to unlock a repressed childhood trauma that's causing him to commit murder.

I was underwhelmed with this Mario Bava picture. For a giallo it's different as there is no real Who-Done-It, instead we spend the film with the character of John (an unconvincing Stephen Forsyth) as we see him struggle with his own sanity more and more as the film progresses, killing off women along the way. This kind of thing has been done brilliantly in films such as Psycho, Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer & Maniac, where the writers choose present us with more of a character study, whilst still offering kills, thrills & spills along the way. Here though, the plot is more geared toward what has caused John to behave this way & is delivered in a drawn out manor which is never as interesting as it should be. 

Mario Bava is an outstanding visual director, the kind that can make a bog standard scene feel alive, unfortunately my major problem with many of his pictures is that I've rarely found him to be a great story-teller. That element of his work always seems to be secondary behind the visuals & this kind of plot suffers in a big way because of it. 

The film does have it's moments though, there's a fantastic scene where John has just killed a women on the top of the stairs & two suspicious investigators come in & start questioning him about some screaming they've heard. Blood begins to slowly drip down the dead womens arm, through her fingers, then slowly drops down the stairs making a gentle splashing sound, this happening closely to where the police are questioning John. The tension built here is really fantastic. That added with a really fantastic score by Sante Maria Romitelli that is used to great effect in the film from the beautiful piece on the opening credits to the briliant loud electric guitar when John's character makes a turn for the worse, it's almost reminiscent of Harmonica's theme in Once Upon A Time In The West how it hits you out of nowhere.

Overall, quite an average Bava picture that I'd only recommend to Gialli obsessives or Bava completests.

Rating: ★★½

Sweden: Heaven and Hell

Sweden: Heaven and Hell

Genre: Mondo Film

Original title: Svezia, inferno e paradiso

Director: Luigi Scattini

Year: 1968

Sweden... where the facts of life are stranger than fiction!

Sweden: Heaven and Hell is a pseudo-documentary that focuses mostly on sexuality in sweden. I was expecting some kind of ultra sleazy documentary that veered into almost soft-core porn territory but apart from a bit of nudity scattered throughout this Mondo film never decides to go in that direction. 

The documentary begins with a credit screen that states that "All the scenes of the film were filmed live, and inspired and referred to real life. All references to facts and people are NOT coincidences". So there we have it, crystal clear proof that everything we are about to see is the gospel truth, and of course not staged! 

So heres what I learnt from the documentary..,,

- Swedish students spent their weekends on boats taking drugs and sleeping with multiple partners

- Biker gangs run the out streets of Stockholm gang-raping women they find wondering nearby 

- Swedish women love black men for "how primitive and straight to the point they are"

-  In Sweden, all-female R&B bands perform in clubs, with their breasts out

- Parking attendants are all beautiful blonde women

- On a daily basis, teenagers that try to rob cars are caught by the cars owners and beaten, resulting in the car owner being arrested for assault. 

- Westerns & James Bond films are prohibited whilst sex films are allowed as they "spread the message of love which will mean there can be no war"

- Swedish people love to go deep sea diving!

- Swedish swingers clubs look like bingo halls

- Alcoholics are refused in alcohol stores so drink shoe polish and sniff petrol instead

- Drink drivers who are caught are sentenced to three months in the countryside where they will cut wood and drink milk

It's narrated by Edmund Purdom who actually appeared in a few Italian genre films back in the day. As well as showing us the more sensational aspects of Swedish life he comments on issues such as the concept of day care & the fact that "75% of Swedish women have jobs" as if it is some kind of alien concept.

The films highlight is the score by Piero Umiliani, who composed scores for films such as 5 Dolls for an August Moon, Massacre Time & Orgasmo. It's a mixture of lounge music & your typical late 60s psychedelic rock that helps to keep some of the duller scenes (such as a lengthy crack-house scene) from becoming tiresome. 

Sweden: Heaven & Hell is the sort of film which I guess could be considered offensive with its portrayal of Swedish culture. Yet looking back on it 40+ years later you can't help but watch it with a smile on your face & wonder if people really did view Sweden as this kind of sex crazed, drug taking, deep sea diving(!) country. Also, I wonder how many people visited the country shortly after seeing the film only to return home in utter disappointment? The fact that films like this even existed fascinates me & its bizarre nature led me to view this more as a comedy. Whilst this was clearly unintentional on behalf of the film-makers, a film like this sums up what I consider a cult movie to be. What was supposed to once shock and astound you now plays as a film which will have you burst out in laughter on plenty of occasions. 

Rating: ★★★

Zombie

Zombie

Genre: Zombie, Horror

Original title: Zombi 2

AKA: Zombie Flesh Eaters

Director: Lucio Fulci

Year: 1979

Strangers looking for a woman's father arrive at a tropical island where a doctor desperately searches for the cause and cure of a recent epidemic of the undead.

Zombie, known as Zombi 2 in Italy isn't a sequel to anything. When George Romero's classic Dawn Of The Dead was released in Italy simply as Zombi, the Italians decided they'd name a new film that was being produced, Zombi 2, this to fool people into believing it was a sequel to Romero's smash hit. With this in mind it would be easy to assume that this is some kind of cheap nasty knock off but thankfully this is the complete opposite.

Directed by one of Italian Horror's most bankable names, Lucio Fulci begins this film in New York City where an abandoned sail boat is found floating by police after it nearly collides with other passing boats. They climb on to investigate only to find a Zombie on board who uses them for lunch. It is a fantastic intro with some expertly shot cinematography from Sergio Salvati who shot so many of Fulci's best known horror pictures.

A reporter & a women who is looking for her father travel to the tropical island where the boat had came from to investigate what exactly is going on & the film begins to unfold. On their way there we get the infamous underwater zombie vs shark scene where a women goes for a dive only to find a shark coming after her, she hides down in the seabed only to be grabbed by a Zombie! As she escapes the Zombie arrises and attacks the shark. It's bizarre as hell, yet somehow strangely effective with its well delivered make-up effects from Giannetto De Rossi & then the eerie score which dominates the picture by Fabio Frizzi. It really is one of horrors great scores.

When we reach the island the picture really does benefit from its slow pace, instead of hitting you over the head with thrills & kills it hangs about & sucks you into the films atmospheric tendencies which stem largely from the islands abandonment. Around the half way mark we get one of the most talked about kill scenes in the history of horror movies, THAT eyeball scene. It is beautifully staged with a slow build up & a brutal conclusion which will creep the shit out of anybody who has a problem with eyeball trauma. From here on in you know that the film won't be pulling any punches.

Eventually the inevitable happens & the dead all rise from their burial grounds & the film climaxes with the remaining humans of the island trying to escape whilst being outnumbered by the walking dead. It is a thrilling & action packed final 15 minutes with Zombies being blown to pieces & burnt alive. The films final scene of a huge pack of Zombies walking across the Brooklyn bridge as the credits roll is such a fantastic finish to a really atmospheric ride from start to finish.

For me personally, the zombies in this picture are the best looking & most intimidating zombies that I've ever seen, yes even more-so than Romero's breed of zombie. Whilst Night Of The Living Dead & Dawn Of The Dead remain my two favourite Zombie pictures this quite wonderful effort from Lucio Fulci I'd rate only slightly behind the pair. Considering how many Zombie films there has been made over the year this is quite some achievement. Zombie remains one of Fulci's greatest moments and one as far as Italian horror goes, this is top tier material.

Rating: ★★★★

Giannetto De Rossi's wonderful make-up effects, one of the films many highlights

The great Silence

The Great Silence

Genre: Spaghetti Western

Original title: Il grande silenzio

Director: Sergio Corbucci

Year: 1968

A mute gunslinger faces off against a gang of bounty hunters in the great blizzard of 1899, and a grim, tense struggle unfolds.

In 1968 Sergio Corbucci, best known for the cult classic Django, gave us an unforgettable western that was like no other.  It stars the well respected French actor Jean-Louis Trintignant as the character of Silence. Silence is an appropriate name given that his character cannot speak after having his throat savagely cut as a child, this coming moments after witnessing his parents being murdered at their home. Silence seeks revenge but abides to the rules of the west by never shooting unless somebody draws first, this also prevents him from being arrested. Klaus Kinksi delivers his most iconic performance in a Spaghetti as Loco the bounty hunter. He is ruthless in his pursuit for financial gain & has no problem with shooting a defenseless person to collect the bounty on their head. Elsewhere you have Frank Wolff as the sheriff, Luigi Pistilli & Vonetta McGee. 

The cast are all wonderful but it's the setting that Corbucci decides to use as a backdrop that is the real star of this picture. Having already used an unusual and visually striking backdrop for Django (with the filthy muddy sets), Corbucci sets The Great Silence in the blizzard of 1899 meaning that the entire set & surroundings are covered in snow. This creates the doomed setting for these characters to live in. Even the superb Ennio Morricone score composed by Bruno Nicolai remains restrained when in comparison to most of Morricone's other Spaghetti's. Instead of a score that runs throughout, most of the film is soundtracked only by the sound of the harsh wind as the snow becomes as big of a part of the film as any of the characters.  The characters constantly struggle against their harsh surroundings with guns that have frozen up & they even resort to eating a horse to stay alive. Also any bloodshed inevitably falls onto the snow which for some reason the combination of the two creates such a brutally striking visual.

"They call him silence because wherever he goes, the silence of death follows"

The film is less political than some of Corbucci's other westerns, though there were some obvious themes that appear to be against capitalism, against what is seen as 'good' in the name of the law & even boasts an interracial relationship which I can't imagine had been done in a Western prior to this. As for the cinematography, Corbucci's usual close ups and use of shaky cam are all present but it's the unpleasant stench of inevitable doom that The Great Silence is soaked in that really makes this film so special.

There are some unforgettable scenes spread throughout. Of course there is the classic trait of the genre seeing our hero show off his accurate gun skills & my personal favourite where Kinksi's character is being transported after being arrested by the sheriff. Kinksi asks to stop to go to the toilet, squats over & the second the sheriff turns his back he pulls out a gun from under the snow that he'd planted their previously. 

The film builds up and we expect a showdown with Silence vs Loco. It is made clear throughout that Silence will not draw first, Loco also abides to these rules though it appears to be more through pride than to honour the "rules" of the west as he has no problem murdering defenseless people throughout the film.

However what really sets The Great Silence apart from other westerns is its unforgettable ending. If you've never seen the film I'd highly recommend that you stop reading now.

The film builds up to its climax with Silence being terribly injured with the majority films sympathetic being held at gunpoint by Loco & the other bounty hunters. Its made clear that they will all be executed unless Silence comes & faces Loco so of course our badly wounded hero enters the scene & we expect him, against all the odds, to save the day. However the doom & gloom of the surroundings throughout the film does not ever let up & we are treated to an unexpected & devastating ending where Silence is shot to death by the bounty hunters followed by a massacre of every single one of the films sympathetic characters. It is the kind of ending that will make your draw hit the ground & the type that will remain with you long after the picture has finished. 

The Great Silence saw Sergio Corbucci deliver not only his own masterpiece, but one of the great Spaghetti Westerns of all-time & one of the all-time great pieces of Italian cinema history. It remains about as essential as they come.

Rating: ★★★★½

Klaus Kinksi, unforgettable as Loco

Attraction

Attraction

Genre: Experimental / Art-House / Avant-garde

Original title: Nerosubianco

AKA: Black On White / The Artful Penetration of Barbara

Director: Tinto Brass

Year: 1969

A motion picture for the stoned age

This bizarre piece of pop-art surrealism is an early work of Tinto Brass, best known for two infamous films in Caligula & Salon Kitty. It stars Anita Sanders (the 10th victim) as a married women who is followed around London by a black man who she has sexual fantasies about played by Terry Carter, best known for blaxploitation pictures such as Abby & Foxy Brown. That there is pretty much the plot (& I use that term loosely) for this 80 minute attack on the senses.

Attraction is the sort of film you could project on a screen at a night club and it would create a great atmosphere with its weird trippy nonsensical nature and strange scenes which are ever changing with its fast editing. The film is absolutely loaded with subtext of the big themes of the late 60s such as sex, drugs, freedom, the hippy movement, racism & paranoia. You get an almost commentary at times from what I'd guess was the previous generation looking down on these young adults with their fresh ideals. The mere thought of a women having sex with a black men in 69 would probably of upset many people.

For a man who once famously stated "I put two balls and a big cock between the legs of the Italian cinema!" the nudity shown during this film for the most part is always shown in a very un-erotic way which came as a surprise. Tinto's own political beliefs are on show when a love making scene is stopped by a man with a prohibited sign. We are then treated to nasty & gruesome war footage of people being slaughtered & tortured. It is a clear attack on the very idea of censorship & how the joy of love making is completely inoffensive, especially when compared to the brutality that we see on the news on a daily basis. 

The soundtrack is provided by organ heavy psychedelic rock band, Freedom, who were made up of two  ex-Procol Harum. The bands sound falls somewhere between early Pink Floyd & The Small Faces with their music soundtracking a large portion of this picture. These groovy tunes really helped me stay onboard with the picture. At times it felt like I was watching a psychedelic video made for their music rather than their music soundtracking an art-house flick. The band follow Anita Sanders around London as she fantasises about the black stranger. Because of this the band perform in all kinds of locations from shop windows, on top of buses, massage houses & even in trees. 

Despite its short 80 minute running time the pictures whimsical nature and insanely fast editing means that it begins to overload the senses and the films ideals begin to drag a little. I feel something like this would of benefited from being shortened to around the hour mark to keep its ideas constantly fresh.

A film like his could easily (& maybe should) be a pretentious mess, but looking back as someone fascinated by every aspect of the 60s from its music, to its fashion & its political themes it remained engaging for the most part & visually it was a treat for the senses throughout. 

Rating: ★★★½

Ricco the Mean Machine

Ricco the Mean Machine 

Genre: Crime, Poliziottesco, Gangster Film

Original title: Ricco

AKA: Cauldron of Death / Gangland / The Dirty Mob 

Director: Tulio Demicheli

Year: 1973

After serving time in prison Ricco Aversi is released & seeking revenge on the gang that murdered his father

Ricco The Mean Machine begins with a bloody shootout which shows a man being blown away at point blank range. It soon becomes clear that this is Rico's rather that has been killed & rico is hellbent on making his fathers killers pay. The character of Rico is played by Christopher Mitchum, the son of legendary 50s actor Robert Mitchum. With his blonde fringe he has an air of casual coolness about him though he does come across as emotionless with his big droopy eyes & then there's a scene where he shows off some martial arts skills that leaves a lot to be desired. He is serviceable to a point & likable enough to get behind but I couldn't help but think the film would of been so much better with somebody such as Tomás Milián, or even Ray Lovelock as the films leading man. 

Christopher Mitchum, forever in his fathers shadow & for good reason.

We're introduced to the character of Scilla (played by Italian genre film regular Barbara Bouchet)  as she's conning people by asking if they have any change for her counterfeit bank notes that her uncle is making at home, this whilst in a skimpy outfit to help seal the deal. She soon becomes Rico's girl & also partner in crime which leads to a fantastic scene where she distracts a car which is delivering a large shipment of money by giving us a fantastic striptease in the middle of the road, Rico throws both men over a bridge as they exit the car. Whilst I don't usually admire Barbara Bouchet compared to some of the other sexbombs of Italian cinema I can't deny that she looks fantastic as a redhead here in Ricco.

The star of the film is without a doubt Arthur Kennedy as the unimaginatively named Don Veto. An experienced actor who had played a big part in Lawrence of Arabia but to fans of Cult Italia he's also the Sergeant in Let Sleeping Corpses Lie. His portrayal as the gang mob leader who is feared for his ruthlessness really gives the film its best moments. Anybody who betrays him or dares step in his way will end up tossed into a chemical pit where they'll melt do death. In one scene his right hand man is caught sleeping with the Don's girl (the beautiful Malisa Longo) & is held down whilst they remove his penis with a flick-knife before disposing him in the chemical pit. It's brutal & graphic in its horrific nature, in fact so horrific that in some places the film was released as Cauldron of Death with a poster which boasted a tag-line that read 'tender flesh, burning acid' which surely must be conned people into thinking they were about to see a horror film.

Despite any shortcomings Mitchum may have as a leading man it doesn't hurt the film too much as its so brilliantly written with strong characters, memorable scenes & a solid Nando De Luca score. Director Tulio Demicheli who is a lesser known figure in Italian genre cinema with films such as The Two Faces of Fear & Sabata The Killer does a terrific job here balancing a well scripted revenge story with some harsh violence & keeps it moving at a pace that'll keep you gripped throughout. 

Rating: ★★★★

"Got any change?"

Terror Express

Terror Express

Genre: Exploitation

Original title: La ragazza del vagone letto

Director: Ferdinando Baldi

Year: 1979

Three thugs commandeer a couple of cars on a moving train and spread terror among the passengers.

Terror Express is a film often overlooked by Italian film fans in the Last House On The Left style of film, which for a few years almost became a genre of its own. Aldo Lado's brilliant Late Night Trains had came four years prior to this with its setting being largely on a train, though that film only used the train as a set-up for the revenge that came after. Terror Express (minus a couple of short scenes) is based completely on the train & it manages to sustain its nasty thrills by constantly moving, never taking a second to reflect & cramming in as much sleazy nastiness that it can in its short 80 minute running time. 

It's directed by Ferdinando Baldi who mostly had success with Spaghetti Westerns such as Viva, Django, he clearly understood what type of film was making with so much attention being geared towards the sex & violence that the film contains. 

The cast is one full of many faces that Italian genre fans will recognise even if they are unfamiliar with their names. Silvia Dionisio (once married to Ruggero Deodato) plays a hooker who works on the night train. The trio of well spoken thugs that take over the train contain Austrian actor Werner Pochath (The Cat o' Nine Tails, Ratman) & Carlo De Mejo (City of the Living Dead, The House by the Cemetery). Elsewhere on the train we have Venantino Venantini (Cannibal Ferox) & Czech actress Zora Kerova (The New York Ripper, Cannibal Ferox). I spent half the film thinking 'I know you from somewhere' whilst looking at various characters faces.

The film is written by a legendary figure here on Cult Italia, George Eastman. As well as acting, Eastman was a screen-writer that gave us films of such bad taste as Porno Holocaust & Bestialità so it is no surprise that Terror Express contains many ultra-sleazy scenes. First of all you have the three villains who at first appear to be more of a nuisance rather than a threat. They arrive for dinner with their loud music & are rude & obnoxious. Though things soon spiral out of control when they end up taking a gun from a police-man who is escorting a prisoner on the overnight train. From then on the characters become sadistic in their nature, taking over the train with violence and sexual abuse. 

In one scene, after Silvia Dionisio's character has been raped 3 or 4 times the prisoner is sent in to continue the rape. He turns out to be a sympathetic character and tries to fight back but is beaten by the thugs so the raped women decides to have sex with him after. There's also a man on the train with his family who sleeps with said prostitute and makes her wear his own daughters nightgown as he has incestuous feelings about his daughter. It is that kind of movie & I guess no surprise that it came from the insane mind of George Eastman!

In the UK the film was caught up in the video nasty scare of the early 80s when the Fletcher label release was seized by a number of police forces during raids. Though most probably the film was mistaken for Late Night Trains which was on their hit-list at the time.

Late Night Trains is still the go-to film if you want a exploitation film set on a train but Terror Express isn't far behind. The inevitable revenge in the final few minutes doesn't deliver the payback that these type of films perhaps should, but that aside this is sleazy, nasty, fast paced, fun & entertaining slice of exploitation cinema which deserves to be seen by more fans of this type of cinema

Rating: ★★★½

Phantom Of Death

Phantom of Death

Genre: Giallo, Horror, Psychological Thriller

Original title: Un delitto poco comune

Director: Ruggero Deodato

Year: 1988

Police Comissioner Datti is investigating the murder of a female doctor whose murderer seems to be a thirty-fivish year old man. Soon another murder follows: Pianist Robert Dominici's girlfriend is found killed. The killer also challenges Datti on the phone and says he can't be caught since he has a secret which makes him invulnerable. In the meantime the clues seems to point in strange directions

As you can see from the plot summary, Phantom Of Death is a convoluted film with moves into different directions as it goes along. It stars Michael York (Logan's Run, Austin Powers) as Robert Dominici who's girlfriend is murdered early on. He is a suspect & for a while it feels like the classic Gialli setup of a man under suspicion who has to do the investigating himself to find out the killer. The film up this point is pretty gripping, however they make the mistake of moving into a new direction far too early as the killer is revealed and the film progresses into more of a psychological thriller.

Also starring is the queen of Gialli, Edwige Fenech. She plays a fashion designer who is having an affair with Michael York's character and becomes pregnant (even in her early 40s Edwige is still looking fantastic). Then there's Donald Pleasence who is typically (& unsurprisingly) playing the ageing inspector who's doing his best to hunt down the killer. A partner of his is killed later in the picture and he runs around the town center screaming "WHERE ARE YOU, I'LL KILL YOU BASTARD!" which was just classic Pleasence.

The killings are pretty damn gory which is no surprise considering it was directed by Ruggero Deodato who's films rarely ever shy away from the brutal nature of violence. Though make sure you get the version that was originally released in Europe as there's a TV version which removed any said bloodshed leaving the film a much tamer affair.

I think I'd of preferred Phantom Of Death to of remained a more "whodunnit" kind of giallo as the first 40 minutes are pretty gripping and felt like it could of been one of the better late entries to the genre. Once the reveal of the killer is made the film begins to have pacing issues & despite the talent involved, the film slowly fizzles out to an anti-climatic finish. A mixed overall, yet one which has just enough going for it that I'd recommend it cautiously.

Rating: ★★★

Dario Argento's World of Horror

Dario Argento's World of Horror 

Genre: Documentary

Original title: Il mondo dell'orrore di Dario Argento

Director: Michele Soavi

Year: 1985

Documentary on horror/mystery film maker Dario Argento. Features an in-depth interview with Argento and covers his work from 1969 to 1985.

Having acted on a number of Argento related pictures and worked as second assistant director on Tenebre Michele Soavi was called upon to direct this mid 80s straight to VHS documentary about the great Dario Argento. Back then in the days the vast amounts of information we now take for granted on the internet this must of been a very welcome release for fans of Dario Argento. Even to this day there are barely any feature length documentaries that cover aspects of Italian cult cinema so for that reason, I'm glad it exists.

It looks at his entire career up to that point, largely focusing on Phenomena, Tenebre & Demons.  Unfortunately though, this is a very poor documentary. Running at 71 minutes I'd confidently estimate that over 50% of its running time is used up with clips from Dario's movies, including films which he worked on but didn't direct such as Dawn Of The Dead & Demons. Dario is a director that boasts so many unforgettable scenes from each of his films, though if I wanted to see them I'd of watched the actual films instead.

There are a few short interviews with Dario where he talks about why he makes movies "I want to be loved" & the sexuality of murder, but there simply isn't enough depth on show to wet anybody's appetite for knowledge. However, the documentary does have a look into the filming of a number of pictures which is pretty interesting in places. Seeing how much effort they put in to pull off many of the bug effects on Phenomena is pretty impressive today when it'd be created so easily with CGI. There's also a look into the practical effects & animatronics of Demons though the docs highlight, a look at how they shot the wonderful tracking shot ( the one that goes from one side of the building to the other & through the window) in Tenebre, remains fascinating.  

The biggest disappointment without a doubt is the lack of depth concerning what makes Argento the man & the film-maker that he is. There are mentions of the themes he uses but they are only just scratching the surface. The film feels a waste of a good opportunity to get get to know a bit more about the man that has given us so many unique pieces of cinema. 

Nowadays this documentary has been thrown in as a DVD extra on the Anchor Bay release of Suspiria, a bonus feature I guess you can have no complaints. but judging this as a stand alone documentary that was released on VHS for full price I can't imagine many being too pleased with what they got.

Rating: ★★

The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire

The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire 

Genre: Giallo

Original title: L' iguana dalla lingua di fuoco

Director: Riccardo Freda

Year: 1971

In Dublin, a young woman is brutally murdered in her home by a maniac that throws acid in her face and then slits her throat with a razor. Her mangled body is later discovered in the boot of a limousine owned by the Swiss Ambassador

A giallo, set in Dublin? An interesting concept & I do enjoy seeing different cities from back in the day unfortunately the following piece of information tells you all you need to know about this picture.

"When the German Co-Producer Artur Brauner saw the finished film, he decided to skip a theatrical release in Germany, just due to the quality of the film which he wasn't satisfied with." 

This sums the entire film up in a nutshell. 

Director Riccardo Freda, who had made a couple of semi-successful gothic horrors in the late 50s to early 60s (The Horrible Dr. Hichcock, The Vampires) really failed to ignite any kind of spark with The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire, its poorly put together with shoddy editing, a terrible script & remains completely uninteresting throughout. 

In its defense I did see a pretty shoddy print of the film which was terribly dubbed but I can't imagine a pristine copy of this film being able to prevent pure boredom.

There were a few positives, the Stelvio Cipriani score was pretty solid & the amount of gore was surprisingly high (even for a giallo) but then you could argue that it was only inserted to try and cover up the fact the film has zero suspense. Then there was enough talent in the cast from Dagmar Lassander to Werner Pochath & Luigi Pistilli (playing an Irishman!) that it perhaps should of been a decent film but everything is so poorly executed that all their performances feel redundant. 

It's not very often I really struggle to finish a film, even the bad ones I usually find some sort of enjoyment value from but this is a case where the film drags on for what feels like an eternity & you ask yourself afterwards why you even bothered to finish it. 

Rating: ★½

Paddy Pistilli

Ironmaster

Ironmaster

Genre:  Action, Adventure  

Original title: La Guerra del Ferro

Director: Umberto Lenzi

Year: 1983

A tale that takes place at the dawn of history. The movie tells the story of a tribe that discovers how to fashion weapons out of iron and use them for their own survival. However, the creation of iron also causes the tribe to battle for possession of the new weapons.

With Conan The Barbarian being such a smash in 1982 it was no surprise that the Italians would want a piece of the action & make their own action adventure picture, of course on a much smaller budget. Ironmaster is a noble attempt at the genre but unfortunately, a very forgettable one. 

Director Umberto Lenzi (who must of had a go at every popular genre back in the day) doesn't really bring much to the table here, I often find his work very hit or miss & unfortunately this is one of the misses. The special effects are decent enough for this kind of picture. Sure monkey men in suits and lightning effects that appear to of been drawn on don't do the film any favours but for the most part the majority of ideas pass as at least serviceable. 

Sam Pasco stars as our macho hero here in his only acting credit. Well I say only acting credit, he also had a career as a bodybuilder & a a gay porn-star under the name of Big Max! Physically he is an impressive specimen but charisma-wise, leaves a lot to be desired & is unfortunately a million miles away from being Arnold Schwarzenegger, epecially with his emotionless acting and horrible delivery of dialogue. 

Sam Pasco, AKA "Big Max".

However, fear not! The big selling point for this film (you could argue it's the only selling point) is we have George Eastman playing the evil character of Vood who will kill everybody in his way to rule the land! 

Eastman is an actor that always gives his all in every film he appears in however bad a picture it is or however ridiculous his character may be you can always be sure to get Eastman bringing his A-game. As always he delivers the character of Vood with so much charisma that he really helps bring this otherwise dull film to life each time he appears on screen. His performance sees him kill off the leader of his tribe, escape from the angry tribe, witness a volcano erupt & accidentally create an iron weapon, thus essentially becoming the father of the Iron Age! Not done there we have Eastman vs boars, lions & men in ape costumes. All this backed up with classic dialogue such as "When warriors stop showing their power, it is the beginning of the end'. It is a classic Eastman performance even if the film is pretty much trash. 

If you dig George Eastman i'd say it's well worth a watch for him alone, if not, stay well clear as there is barely anything else to warrant its existence. 

Rating: ★★

George Eastman, creator of the Iron Age.

The Italian Connection

The Italian Connection 

Genre: Poliziottesco, Crime

Original title: La mala ordina

AKA: Hired to Kill / Manhunt / Black Kingpin

Director: Fernando Di Leo

Year: 1972

When a shipment of heroin disappears between Italy and New York, a small-time pimp in Milan is framed for the theft. Two professional hitmen are dispatched from New York to find him, but the real thieves want to get rid of him before the New York killers get to him to eliminate any chance of them finding out he's the wrong man.

The Italian Connection is the second part of Fernando Di Leo's "Milieu Trilogy", it's another fantastic crime thriller that is fast paced with violence that is harsh, bordering on brutal & there's plenty of unforgettable moments throughout.

The cast reads like a who's who of Italian cinema. You have the films star, Mario Adorf who plays the pimp framed for the theft of a shipment of heroin. He's hunted down by two professional hit-men played by none other than Woody Strode & the legendary Henry Silva, a pairing which Tarantino without a doubt took inspiration from for the characters of Jules & Vincent in Pulp Fiction. The supporting cast is also incredibly strong with Adolfo Celi, Luciana Paluzzi, Peter Berling, Femi Benussi & Giuseppe Castellano to name just a few!

Despite being a loose trilogy where neither film continues on or shares the same characters it was still surprising to see Adorf play our protagonist after playing such a bastard in Milano calibro 9, though of course he is still no saint! I was expecting the American duo of Silva & Strode to be the "heroes" of the picture so it refreshing to see the film not make obvious choices with its cast. The films sense of moral ambiguity really is one of its great strong points. 

There films highlight without a shadow of a doubt happens when key characters are murdered (no spoilers on Cult Italia!) & Adorf gets involved in a chase with the murderer in an absolutely outrageous chase/action sequence which goes on for what must be near ten minutes! Now first of all, Mario Adorf is a pretty hefty guy that definitely packs a couple of extra pounds. So to see him chase this guy by foot, by car, through a theme park & then into a brutal fight to the death must of taken a lot out of the guy. To any fans of Family Guy I'd compare it to when Peter fights the chicken & it goes on & on & on, getting more violent and more outlandish as it progresses. Well imagine that but with real actors! Some of the stunts are insane with Adorf hanging onto a van for dear life and head-butting his way through the window-screen. His anger in this film is like nothing I've ever seen before & is fightingly realistic. There was no CGI in those days, I don't know if a professional stunt-man was used in any of those scenes but either way some crazy son of a bitch really did put his body on the line for this picture & god bless him for doing so.

Henry Silva is always such a joy to watch, each time he appears the film springs to life that little bit more. In some ways it is a shame that the film wasn't more about he and Strode's characters as I'd liked them to both receive more screen-time. Having said that, one of the films real strengths is how it balances the plot & characters keeping everything so tight, a lot goes down in its 90'odd minute running time but it always remains easy to follow & each characters actions are clear to the viewer. 

The Italian Connection remains one of the absolute essential releases not only of the Poliziottesco genre, but of cult Italian cinema in general. It is a film where pretty much everything is in place from the great direction of  Fernando Di Leo, to the superb cast to the funky soundtrack from Armando Trovajoli. Its grittiness, shocks & thrills entertains throughout delivering an unforgettable piece of cult cinema. Simply put, one of the greats.

Rating: ★★★★½

Henry Silva & his wonderful dressing gown. 

Killer Crocodile

Killer Crocodile

Genre: Horror, Giant Monster, Adventure

Original title: Killer crocodile - Coccodrillo assassino

Director: Fabrizio De Angelis

Year: 1989

A group of environmentalists arrives at a faraway tropical delta where toxic waste is being dumped. However the water also hides a giant crocodile. The corrupt local officials don't help much either.

This creature-feature is directed by Fabrizio De Angelis who's best known for being producer on some of Lucio Fulci's most famous films such as Zombie, The Boyond & The New York Ripper. Under the pseudonym of Larry Ludman he'd direct a string of mostly forgotten about genre films around the mid 80s such as Karate Warrior & Thunder. 

So here we have another Jaws style cash-in done with little money & little talent. yet Killer Crocodile still manages to generate a certain amount of charm to make things worthwhile. The acting & editing are pretty terrible at the best of times but the Crocodile effects are actually pretty damn solid. They do make the big mistake of revealing too much of their giant prop by not cutting away fast enough which gives away any faults, but for a picture like this it was actually impressive.

The plot, whilst predictable moves along at a decent pace & remains semi entertaining. The cast lack personality and mostly just act as fodder for our big croc with exception of Ennio Girolami who plays this complete badass who lives near the swamp so understands the terrain & most importantly, looks like Lee Van Cleef! The environmentalists seek help & turn to him so Girolami casually jumps off his boat & lands on top of the Croc and begins to attack the beast, it's hilarious in its outrageousness & easily the best scene in the entire picture.  Sadly Girolami passed away earlier this year.  Ennio made a number of appearances in cult Italian films from Light Blast, to Tenebre & also was in all three films of the Bronx Warriors trilogy which were directed by his younger brother Enzo G. Castellari.  

You know what you are getting yourself into with these type of pictures, most of them are pretty atrocious & whilst this picture suffers from some terrible writing, bad acting & a complete lack of originality it remains mildly entertaining throughout & lovers of creature-features will no doubt get their kicks out of it.

Rating: ★★½

Ennio Girolami 1935-2013. R.I.P

Knife Of Ice

Knife Of Ice

Genre: Giallo

Original title: Il coltello di ghiaccio

Director: Umberto Lenzi

Year: 1972

Martha Caldwell is a mute traumatized by her parents death in a railway accident. Whilst staying at her uncles home somebody begins killing people she knows off one by one.

This really is an unmemorable Giallo in almost every way. Director Umberto Lenzi who usually delivers nasty, gruesome & sleazy flicks plays this one surprisingly tame from start to finish. Any kills are pretty much shown off camera which wouldn't be a problem if the story was captivating & engaging, but it's far from that. It's the sort of film which may of got a pass from me had it made up for its shortcomings in its predictable plot by piling on the violence & nudity but it remains frustratingly uneventful throughout. 

It stars Carroll Baker who has appeared in hugely successful pictures such as How The West Was Won & Kindergarten Cop though she also appeared in a handful of Gialli such as Orgasmo & A Quiet Place To Kill so is not stranger to the genre. She spends most the film struggling to communicate with people as the murders are happening. It is a serviceable performance, though she benefits from having her character be a mute so she doesn't have to work with the horrible dialogue that the rest of the cast were doomed to deliver. 

I did enjoy the use of weather throughout. There are some nice scenes of fog & thunderstorms that create the little atmosphere that the picture generates but with its sluggish pace nothing in this picture ever feels like it really gets going. 

One of Lenzi's poorer attempts & one that is so forgettable that an hour into the film I began to realise that I'd seen the film only two years previously.

Rating: ★★

It can't be much fun talking to Carroll Baker on the phone