Gioff's Giallo Giourney, aka There's Always Room for Giallo

Movies
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AKA Il mio foglio di calcolo porta le tracce del tocco carnale del tuo Giallo a mezzanotte (My spreadsheet bears the traces of your Giallo’s carnal touch at midnight)

Like all great adventures, it started with a sale at Arrow Video.

A three-film Giallo Essentials blu-ray box set, marked down from $99 to $35? And it’s a limited edition? And every film has a commentary track and oodles of other features? I’d be a fool not to! …it’d be such a shame to only buy the one when there are five; and those cases would look great together on my shelf. Oh, look! Vinegar Syndrome put out some Giallo sets as well. So did Severin!

And now, 22 films in, I seem to find myself on a quest to watch and rank every Giallo–or at least every one up through the 1970s that I can reasonably get my hands on. And it’s even got me learning Italian! Did you know that burro di arachadi means “peanut butter”, and not (as I would’ve assumed) “donkey of the spiders”? It’s true!

So, put on your black leather gloves, pour yourself a nice glass of J&B Scotch, and join me for Gioff’s Giallo Giourney (aka There’s Always Room for Giallo aka Il mio foglio di calcolo porta le tracce del tocco carnale del tuo Giallo a mezzanotte (My spreadsheet bears the traces of your Giallo’s carnal touch at midnight)), won’t you?

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This originally started as several posts in the What movie did you watch? thread, and I’ll be expanding upon those, along with a little primer/overview of the genre.

But until then, here are a couple of trailers to whet the appetite.

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What is Giallo?

At the risk of being gauche, Wikipedia sums it up quite well:

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But more basically, Giallo films are pulpy, sexy murder mysteries. Often violent, usually lurid, sometimes sleazy (or even scummy), but most importantly, they’re fun. They are cinematic page-turners, meant to keep you engaged and entertained until the final frame, and then like some horny, violent salmon who dies after spawning, it fades from your memory having served its purpose.

So it probably comes as no great surprise that the name and genre comes from the bright yellow cover found on the ubiquitous pulp paperback thrillers put out by Il Giallo Mondadori:

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But pulp origins and aspects aside, there’s often a lot of care and craft that goes into these films, with some incredible talent both in the scenes and behind them. Many are scored by Ennio Morricone, more than a few were shot by Vittorio Storaro, who would go on to win three Academy Awards for his work (Apocalypse Now, Reds, and The Last Emporer), just to name two examples. They may be working with a modest budget on material meant to fill seats, but these are real artists who are having a blast with their craft.

The Hallmarks of Giallo
Or, things you don’t want to play drinking games about when watching these films:

Often seen from the first-person as they kill, or prepare to kill. And frequently holding…

Seriously–don’t play a drinking game with this one. You’ll end up dead, fast.

A few other important points:

  • Plot twists. You should never guess who the killer is or their true motive until the very, very end.
  • No supernatural elements!! Even if a Giallo killer seems supernatural, it should be like Scooby Doo (the real ones–get out of here with that 13 Ghosts bullshit), where the mask is pulled off and jinkies! It was Old Man Garvey all along! This disqualifies Susperia, and Phenomena from my rankings. But–seriously–if you haven’t seen Susperia, go correct that ASAP.
  • An amateur/civilian protagonist. If there are cops involved, they should be assisting at best. If the protagonist is a cop, you’re really watching a Poliziotteschi.

Next Up:
I’ll begin recounting my Giourney thus far, in the rough order that I watched them. And I’ll post my rankings to date.

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Just how wonderful is Italian?

Just reading about your spreadsheet, wow!

And who knows, one day I’ll set up an oddly specific drinking party with one of these films haha.

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I was debating whether to own up to this, but here goes: following your posts in the other thread, I had assumed that “Giallo” was the name of the director who made them all… [/shamecube] So, uh, thanks for the informative post!

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I’m glad I could be informative! And there’s no shame to be found on this Giallo Giourney.

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Awesome thread, I’m all in. I am not strictly coloring within the lines with my giallo fandom but I’ve managed to collect quite a few Lucio Fulci and Dario Argento films as part of my fascination (and sometimes repulsion…but in a “still-have-to-see-it”, can’t look away-ness) with the weird and wild excesses of 1960s and 1970s pre-MPAA and post-MPAA anything-goes cinema. Especially for what was happening in Italy and Spain back then with giallo and giallo adjacents like Mario Bava, Jean Rollin…and yes, the wackadoodle antics of Jess Franco.

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Y’know, I’m going to go ahead and welcome discussion on Giallo-adjacent films as well. Got something to say about a 60s - 70s Italian (or even Spanish) exploitation film? Bring it on in!

I guess that means I will be writing about Susperia and Phenomena, after all. But they will still be excluded from my rankings.

Besides, it’ll give me an excuse to write about that Nasty Habits nunsploitation box set I picked up…

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And now, the first proper entry in Gioff’s Giallo Giourney (aka There’s Always Room for Giallo aka Il mio foglio di calcolo porta le tracce del tocco carnale del tuo Giallo a mezzanotte (My spreadsheet bears the traces of your Giallo’s carnal touch at midnight))

#1 - The Fifth Cord (Luigi Bazzoni, 1971)
(Known in Italy as Giornata nera per l’ariete, lit. “Black Day for Aries”)

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Franco Nero stars as a washed-up alcoholic reporter who finds himself investigating a string of murders involving people that all attended the same New Year’s Eve party.

As luck would have it, this was a fantastic entry point. It has everything you could want from a Giallo–first-person shots of a black-gloved killer, J&B Scotch guzzled practically by the gallon (including while driving), great sexy-but-not-scummy nudity, an exciting foot chase and fight, a funky banger of a score by Ennio Morricone, incredible early 70s fashion, and some really beautiful shot compositions by future Academy Award winner Vittorio Storaro.

And the story is quite engrossing, too! I particularly like how Nero’s alcohol-induced amnesia serves as a plot point, as he struggles to recall details of the fateful party, through the haze of J&B. At the most basic level, if a Giallo were a plate of nachos, the plot would be the tortilla chips. All it really needs to do is make sense moment-to-moment, and serve as a delivery vehicle for the sex, violence, and style. Anything above that is gravy. No, don’t put gravy on nachos. Salsa, maybe? I’m hungry. Anyway–the story here goes well above and beyond what it needed to.

If you only watch one Giallo film, make it…well, probably The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, to be honest. But if you have any intention on watching more than one, start here. It sits squarely in the middle of the spectrums for violence, sex, style, and sleaze.

This was the first Giallo I watched, so it was technically both the best and the worst, but it earned a spot at the top of my rankings.

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This is going to be my favorite thread on the forum. How do you feel about non-Italian giallo-lites? The Eyes of Laura Mars is great and has a strong giallo feel to it, and of course all those sleazy De Palma movies.

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I’d like to propose an amendment in that the killer can absolutely not be supernatural, but there can still be pseudo-scientific nonsense that had more credence in the 70:s. What’s key to the mystery in Four Flies on Grey Velvet is that the retina can record the last thing it saw before death. Deep Red, The Psychic/Seven Notes in Black and The Girl Who Knew Too Much all hinge on is psychic phenomena. And most people would agree that they’re all gialli, even if one one is at the tail end, and one is one of the Bava movies that laid the groundwork for the movement.

So yes, Suspiria is right out. Phenomena maybe would’ve qualified if it was made in the 70:s and had the aesthetics…but no.

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Just me mentioning that there’s now a 4k cut of Sergio Martino’s Torso from the fine folks at Arrow. It includes the original Italian version that got some edits done to allow it to be released in the UK back in the day.

Also, I’m assuming the resemblance of the Arrow logo to the classic Audubon Films logo (Radley Metzger’s production/distribution company) is intentional?

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Cheerfully accepted!

For my rankings, I’ll be including any film that comes in a Giallo box set, even if they stray outside the lines.

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Torso is excellent! Twenty two films into my Giourney and it’s still in the top five. Highly recommended for anyone coming into this with a fondness for 80s slashers.

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I actually have not seen The Eyes of Laura Mars, but it’s going on my to-watch list now!

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Oh hey, guess what starts tomorrow on the Criterion Channel (which has a 7-day free preview)

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Time for the second entry in Gioff’s Giallo Giourney (aka There’s Always Room for Giallo aka Il mio foglio di calcolo porta le tracce del tocco carnale del tuo Giallo a mezzanotte (My spreadsheet bears the traces of your Giallo’s carnal touch at midnight) ) (I swear, I won’t do the full title every time.)

#2 - The Possessed (Luigi Bazzoni and Franco Rossellini, 1965)
(Known in Italy as La donna del lago, lit. “The Lady of the Lake”. Shown on US TV under the name Love, Hate, and Dishonor)

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Peter Baldwin stars as a writer returns to a small, lakeside resort town for a winter vacation with the hope of reconnecting with a hotel maid he had developed a crush on, only to find that she had committed suicide shortly after his visit the year before. He becomes obsessed with investigating her death, which stirs up trouble and soon more deaths follow.

This was actually the first film in the Arrow Video Giallo Essentials Red set, but I went with The Fifth Cord because I thought perhaps this early black-and-white entry might not be as compelling.

But boy howdy was I wrong. Yes, it’s really a “proto-Giallo”, and I’m pretty sure there isn’t even a bottle of J&B Scotch. But I was glued to the screen from start to finish. It’s like Hitchcock distilled and amplified, with a score like Bernard Herman with a pair of thumbscrews (just check out the trailer above!) It’s just everything you want from a mystery thriller.

And a special shout-out to Salvo Randone as the hotel owner. A really fantastic performance, striking the right balance of kindly and affable, but with something hidden beneath.

As much as I liked The Fifth Cord, it just can’t compare to the pitch-perfect page-turner tension and pacing of The Possessed. If you have any affinity for Hitchcock, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

The Gioff’s Giallo Giourney aka There’s Always Room for Giallo standings, at this point:

  1. The Possessed (Luigi Bazzoni and Franco Rossellini, 1965)
  2. The Fifth Cord (Luigi Bazzoni, 1971)

A quick note on languages:

The frequently asked question is, should I watch a Giallo in English, or Italian? There’s no right answer here, but my rule of thumb: if the film is set in England, or otherwise outside of continental Europe (like The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire’s Dublin setting, or The Pyjama Girl Case in Australia), I go English. Otherwise, I choose Italian. But ultimately, it’s up to you.

Like Spaghetti Westerns, all Gialli are filmed with actors speaking their native languages and entirely dubbed over, only sometimes by the original actors. Though contrary to popular belief, they are recorded with sound. But it’s just used for reference purposes in post-production.

So, no matter which one you go with, you’re most likely not listening to the actual actor speak.

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#3 - The Pyjama Girl Case (Flavio Mogherini, 1978)
(aka La ragazza dal pigiama giallo, or “The Girl in the Yellow Pajamas”)

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The body of a young woman is found on an Australian beach, shot in the neck, face burned beyond recognition, and dressed in a pair of yellow pajamas. Or pyjamas, whatever. And Ray Milland plays a retired detective who takes up the case when the police come up empty. We also follow the plot of a young woman caught in several unhappy relationships, whose relevance to the central mystery seems a lot more obvious now writing this than it did while watching.

Easily my least favorite entry so far. While set in Australia, no one on the English dub even attempts an Australian accent. And Ray Milland just seems tired and there for the check. Then there’s the grating disco score:

But it’s also just not very fun. The central mystery is just sad and really damn dark, and made worse because it’s based on a real case. And it gives a real unpleasant, grimy vibe to the sex and nudity. The highlight/lowlight is a scene (based in fact) where the victim’s nude body was displayed publicly in an attempt to identify/catch the killer.

To be fair, it’s not a bad movie–just a bad Giallo. Re-dub the movie with at least cursory respect to accents, and give it a more somber score, and you could have a pretty solid, serious thriller. Maybe even some solid emotional beats, too. Giallos should be a guilty pleasure, and this just left me feeling guilty.

The Gioff’s Giallo Giourney aka There’s Always Room for Giallo standings, after three entries:

  1. The Possessed (Luigi Bazzoni and Franco Rossellini, 1965)
  2. The Fifth Cord (Luigi Bazzoni, 1971)
  3. The Pyjama Girl Case (Flavio Mogherini, 1978)

And that wraps up the Giallo Essentials Red set, by Arrow Video. Next time, we’ll take a look at perhaps the iconic Giallo.

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Okay, so I have to ask for some opinions/feedback: at the time I started this thread, I’d already watched 22 gialli. The question I’m faced with is, do I continue posting about/ranking them in the order I watch them, saving new watches until I get to them in order, or do I write about new viewings now, order be damned?

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I say whatever keeps you writing - and shaming into stepping up my giallo game, because you make me feel like I’m slacking off.

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Yeah, write whatever you feel you have to say (uh, that’s interesting?), I don’t think anyone is particularly invested in the order and structure of the thread.

I don’t speak Italian, but the quality of the English dialog can vary dramatically, both in terms of writing and voice. City of the Living Dead for instance was much better with the English subtitles for the Italian Voice track.