Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings

[ITALIANO]

Thanks for those recommendations Italiano.

I have heard of Don't Torture a Duckling but have never seen it. I'll add them all the my 'want to see list'.

Dario Argento & Mario Bava are well known internationally and have rather large fan bases abroad (outside Italy). Dario Argento's golden period started with his first film in 1970 The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and ended in 1982 with Tenebre. All the films (with the exception of Le Cinque Giornate) in this period are by far his best known and respected works, particularly Deep Red & Suspiria. His fils post Tenebre are a very mixed bag and I think the only standout is Sleepless (2001) starring Max von Sydow. Argento also attracted lots of international stars to his pictures over the years including Karl Malden, Jessica Harper, Joan Bennett, David Hemmings, Jennifer Connelly, Piper Laurie, Max von Sydow, Adrian Brody, Ian Charleson, William McNamarra, James Russo, Brad Dourif, Frederic Forrest, Thomas Kretschmann, Udo Kier, Julian Sands, Donal Pleasence, John Saxon, Leigh McCloskey & Irene Miracle (she was Brad Davis' girlfriend in Midnight Express). Legend Alida Valli also appeared in a couple of Argento's films. My favourites are Deep Reed, Suspiria & Tenebre. Soundtracks to these films in particular are outstanding and Tenebre was considered quite daring in it's day for showing murders committed graphically in broad daylight or under bright lighting at night. It bucked the conventions of filming murder scenes which were darkly lit.

I think the breakout of home video in the early 1980's had a negative effect on Argento's career. The last film of his released in cinemas in Ausrtralia was Tenebre (which I still remember seeing at a theatre called 'The Barclay' on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in October 1983 after spending the morning soaking up the sun at the beach). After that his films were regulated to home video and his more recent films haven't been released in any format that I am aware of. I have had to import his most recent ones.

Mario Bava was a staple of repertory cinemas and late night TV. Home video and the 1980's also filled in some gaps for me. Funnily enough my 2 favourite Bava films were seen at repertory cinemas - Black Sunday (1960) & Planet of the Vampires (1965) which many people believe was a direct influence on Ridley Scott's Alien (1979). The best version of Black Sunday to buy is the UK Blu-Ray which has two versions of the film.

I found this link to Wikipdea of Giallo films: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giallo

A couple I can recommend are The Pajama Girl Case (1977) directed by Flavio Mogherini based on a real life murder mystery that happened in Australia. It was filmed in Sydney and Italian and starred Ray Milliand, Mel Ferrer, Australian actor Rod Mullinar & a young Michele Placido. The film also features an original song sung by Amanda Lear called 'Your Yellow Pyjama'. Funnily enough the film was never released in cinemas in Australia and I first saw it as part of the retrospective strand of the 2013 Melbourne Film Festival. The audience reaction was very positive.

Another recommendation (and not included on the Wikepdia list) is La Donna della Domenica (The Sunday Woman) (1975) directed by Luigi Comencini with the stellar cast of Marcello Mastroianni, Jacqueline Bisset & Jean-Louis Trintignant. It's a murder/mystery who-done-it with comedy undertones.

Giallo films is a sub genre I hope to get up to speed on in coming years. A number of labels in the U.K. are releasing various titles so I'll keep an eye out for the goodies.

I can only agree with you on Dario Argento. Despite his reputation, sadly he stopped being a truly interesting director after Tenebrae. But the movies he made before are all at least interesting (Le Cinque Giornate, of course, isn't a giallo and was a big flop). I can understand why he's so famous abroad even today, and considered a master, though it's a bit sad that other great director of the same period and genre - Fulci and Lenzi especially - are only known by real aficionados. They weren't less good, and they often had smaller budgets to work with.

And of course I know both The Pajama Girl Case (I even personally interviewed then-starlet Dalila Di Lazzaro on this one) and my personal favorite The Sunday Woman. But then as you said The Sunday Woman isn't really a giallo - it's a well-written whodunit with a very good cast and an appropriately surprising ending, with a real feeling for the city it is set in (Turin). Based on a famous (in Italy) novel, it is an important movie with international ambitions, while giallos - though very popular at the time, and not only in Italy - were considered by critics as minor, commercial efforts.

Sergio Martino is also a director who did good things in this genre - at least The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh (with that unforgettable music score composed by the pianist Nora Orlandi) and the famous - and much-imitated - Torso should be seen.

Giallos bring one back to a visceral era of filmmaking which seems to be over. They may be absurd, at times campy even - but the talent and the fantasy behind the best of them are undeniable.

[Precious Doll]

Thanks for those recommendations Italiano.

I have heard of Don't Torture a Duckling but have never seen it. I'll add them all the my 'want to see list'.

Dario Argento & Mario Bava are well known internationally and have rather large fan bases abroad (outside Italy). Dario Argento's golden period started with his first film in 1970 The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and ended in 1982 with Tenebre. All the films (with the exception of Le Cinque Giornate) in this period are by far his best known and respected works, particularly Deep Red & Suspiria. His fils post Tenebre are a very mixed bag and I think the only standout is Sleepless (2001) starring Max von Sydow. Argento also attracted lots of international stars to his pictures over the years including Karl Malden, Jessica Harper, Joan Bennett, David Hemmings, Jennifer Connelly, Piper Laurie, Max von Sydow, Adrian Brody, Ian Charleson, William McNamarra, James Russo, Brad Dourif, Frederic Forrest, Thomas Kretschmann, Udo Kier, Julian Sands, Donal Pleasence, John Saxon, Leigh McCloskey & Irene Miracle (she was Brad Davis' girlfriend in Midnight Express). Legend Alida Valli also appeared in a couple of Argento's films. My favourites are Deep Reed, Suspiria & Tenebre. Soundtracks to these films in particular are outstanding and Tenebre was considered quite daring in it's day for showing murders committed graphically in broad daylight or under bright lighting at night. It bucked the conventions of filming murder scenes which were darkly lit.

I think the breakout of home video in the early 1980's had a negative effect on Argento's career. The last film of his released in cinemas in Ausrtralia was Tenebre (which I still remember seeing at a theatre called 'The Barclay' on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in October 1983 after spending the morning soaking up the sun at the beach). After that his films were regulated to home video and his more recent films haven't been released in any format that I am aware of. I have had to import his most recent ones.

Mario Bava was a staple of repertory cinemas and late night TV. Home video and the 1980's also filled in some gaps for me. Funnily enough my 2 favourite Bava films were seen at repertory cinemas - Black Sunday (1960) & Planet of the Vampires (1965) which many people believe was a direct influence on Ridley Scott's Alien (1979). The best version of Black Sunday to buy is the UK Blu-Ray which has two versions of the film.

I found this link to Wikipdea of Giallo films: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giallo

A couple I can recommend are The Pajama Girl Case (1977) directed by Flavio Mogherini based on a real life murder mystery that happened in Australia. It was filmed in Sydney and Italian and starred Ray Milliand, Mel Ferrer, Australian actor Rod Mullinar & a young Michele Placido. The film also features an original song sung by Amanda Lear called 'Your Yellow Pyjama'. Funnily enough the film was never released in cinemas in Australia and I first saw it as part of the retrospective strand of the 2013 Melbourne Film Festival. The audience reaction was very positive.

Another recommendation (and not included on the Wikepdia list) is La Donna della Domenica (The Sunday Woman) (1975) directed by Luigi Comencini with the stellar cast of Marcello Mastroianni, Jacqueline Bisset & Jean-Louis Trintignant. It's a murder/mystery who-done-it with comedy undertones.

Giallo films is a sub genre I hope to get up to speed on in coming years. A number of labels in the U.K. are releasing various titles so I'll keep an eye out for the goodies.

[Reza]

A classic giallo, with a memorable ending. If you like giallos, I have at least three or four titles which you should absolutely see.

Yes please recommend.[/quote]


Check those I just recommended to Precious Doll. They are ery famous, so you may have already seen them, but who knows.[/quote]

Yes will do....just read your post.

[ITALIANO]

La corta notte delle bambole di vetro / Short Night of Glass Dolls (Aldo Lado, 1971) 7/10

Italian gialo invoking Sunset Blvd with the corpse of a journalist (Jean Sorel) in a morgue recalling the story of how he died. Is he really dead? Will he wake up before the doctors perform an autopsy on him? More important is the mystery of the disappearance of his girlfriend (Barbara Bach who is incredibly sexy in a short silver dress during the party sequence ), his relationship with his jealous and prickly colleague (Ingrid Thulin) and the satanic cult with scenes of a writhing orgy of geriatrics. Like all dubbed films there is a jarring quality to the film but the stars, with or without their clothes, and the overheated melodrama with bloody interludes make these gialos fun to watch. The atmospheric on location filming in Prague and Slovenia is a major plus along with the Ennio Morricone score which signals every horrific moment on screen.

A classic giallo, with a memorable ending. If you like giallos, I have at least three or four titles which you should absolutely see.

Yes please recommend.

Check those I just recommended to Precious Doll. They are ery famous, so you may have already seen them, but who knows.

[Reza]

La corta notte delle bambole di vetro / Short Night of Glass Dolls (Aldo Lado, 1971) 7/10

Italian gialo invoking Sunset Blvd with the corpse of a journalist (Jean Sorel) in a morgue recalling the story of how he died. Is he really dead? Will he wake up before the doctors perform an autopsy on him? More important is the mystery of the disappearance of his girlfriend (Barbara Bach who is incredibly sexy in a short silver dress during the party sequence ), his relationship with his jealous and prickly colleague (Ingrid Thulin) and the satanic cult with scenes of a writhing orgy of geriatrics. Like all dubbed films there is a jarring quality to the film but the stars, with or without their clothes, and the overheated melodrama with bloody interludes make these gialos fun to watch. The atmospheric on location filming in Prague and Slovenia is a major plus along with the Ennio Morricone score which signals every horrific moment on screen.

A classic giallo, with a memorable ending. If you like giallos, I have at least three or four titles which you should absolutely see.

Yes please recommend.

[ITALIANO]

La corta notte delle bambole di vetro / Short Night of Glass Dolls (Aldo Lado, 1971) 7/10

Italian gialo invoking Sunset Blvd with the corpse of a journalist (Jean Sorel) in a morgue recalling the story of how he died. Is he really dead? Will he wake up before the doctors perform an autopsy on him? More important is the mystery of the disappearance of his girlfriend (Barbara Bach who is incredibly sexy in a short silver dress during the party sequence ), his relationship with his jealous and prickly colleague (Ingrid Thulin) and the satanic cult with scenes of a writhing orgy of geriatrics. Like all dubbed films there is a jarring quality to the film but the stars, with or without their clothes, and the overheated melodrama with bloody interludes make these gialos fun to watch. The atmospheric on location filming in Prague and Slovenia is a major plus along with the Ennio Morricone score which signals every horrific moment on screen.

A classic giallo, with a memorable ending. If you like giallos, I have at least three or four titles which you should absolutely see.

Italiano, I've just placed Short Night of Glass Dolls in my Amazon shopping cart and anything else you can recommend would much appreciated.

I think Short Night of Glass Dolls is especially interesting for its mood, its atmosphere (the Eastern-Europe locations are well-used and definitely help). While far from perfect (but then, which giallo is?), you feel that there's an interesting and creative personality behind the camera - though in the end Aldo Lado never did anything as good as this, his first movie.
I guess you have already seen Deep Red, generally considered the best giallo ever (before Dario Argento turned to horrors) - if you haven't, don't miss it: it's a unique baroque and visual experience, each sequence obviously suggesting a great director at work - and it has one of those absurdly twisty endings that giallos are rightly famous for.

Two others are on the same level though. One is Pupi Avati's The House of the Laughing Windows, a dark, morbid portrayal of Northern Italian provincial life, wth its secrets, its hidden mysteries and, even in this case, a great unpredictable ending. It's a cult movie here in Italy, and when you see it, you will understand why.

But my personal favorite is probably the much-imitated, much-copied (and once remade - in India) Seven Notes in Black (known in the US as The Psychic). This is the best giallo made by Lucio Fulci, a director who, while prolific in other genres too, is probably, with Argento, Umberto Lenzi and, of course, Mario Bava, one of the absolute masters of this type of thrillers. This movie was, for the times, even too surprising, too complex (and it wasn't a hit at the box-office), but its reputation has grown over the years, and I think the "big twist" here (while subsequently used a bit too often in films from other countries) is still quite effective today. It has a very good script, lots of intriguing hints (mostly visual ones), and it's an intelligent movie. Fulci is of course more famous for successful giallos like Don't Torture a Duckling or A Lizard in a Woman's Skin, both very watchable, but Seven Notes in Black is his chef d'oeuvre.

There are many other giallos which are at least enjoyable, and if you have already seen these I can tell you about those too. But these three are the ones which really stand out.

[Precious Doll]

La corta notte delle bambole di vetro / Short Night of Glass Dolls (Aldo Lado, 1971) 7/10

Italian gialo invoking Sunset Blvd with the corpse of a journalist (Jean Sorel) in a morgue recalling the story of how he died. Is he really dead? Will he wake up before the doctors perform an autopsy on him? More important is the mystery of the disappearance of his girlfriend (Barbara Bach who is incredibly sexy in a short silver dress during the party sequence ), his relationship with his jealous and prickly colleague (Ingrid Thulin) and the satanic cult with scenes of a writhing orgy of geriatrics. Like all dubbed films there is a jarring quality to the film but the stars, with or without their clothes, and the overheated melodrama with bloody interludes make these gialos fun to watch. The atmospheric on location filming in Prague and Slovenia is a major plus along with the Ennio Morricone score which signals every horrific moment on screen.

A classic giallo, with a memorable ending. If you like giallos, I have at least three or four titles which you should absolutely see.

Italiano, I've just placed Short Night of Glass Dolls in my Amazon shopping cart and anything else you can recommend would much appreciated.

[ITALIANO]

La corta notte delle bambole di vetro / Short Night of Glass Dolls (Aldo Lado, 1971) 7/10

Italian gialo invoking Sunset Blvd with the corpse of a journalist (Jean Sorel) in a morgue recalling the story of how he died. Is he really dead? Will he wake up before the doctors perform an autopsy on him? More important is the mystery of the disappearance of his girlfriend (Barbara Bach who is incredibly sexy in a short silver dress during the party sequence ), his relationship with his jealous and prickly colleague (Ingrid Thulin) and the satanic cult with scenes of a writhing orgy of geriatrics. Like all dubbed films there is a jarring quality to the film but the stars, with or without their clothes, and the overheated melodrama with bloody interludes make these gialos fun to watch. The atmospheric on location filming in Prague and Slovenia is a major plus along with the Ennio Morricone score which signals every horrific moment on screen.

A classic giallo, with a memorable ending. If you like giallos, I have at least three or four titles which you should absolutely see.

[Reza]

Chumee Chumee....Thaa Thaa / Kiss Kiss...Bang Bang (Duccio Tussari, 1966) 2/10

An ex secret agent (Giuliano Gemma) is sprung from prison by the government to go rescue a scientist who holds the key to a secret formula that can save millions.....or some such nonsense. Yet another spy caper in the wake of the Bond films goes on and on with corny slapstick comic elements mixed in with the action on display. Gemma has charisma but the excessive length of the film seriously hampers the plot. Pauline Kael chose the title of this film for one of her books.

[Reza]

Mr Dynamite / Spy Today, Die Tomorrow / Die Slowly, You'll Enjoy it More (Franz Josef Gottlieb, 1967) 3/10

Euro trash spy caper with a CIA agent (Lex Barker) trying to stop a megalomaniac (Amedeo Nazzari) from destroying or taking over the world - one couldn't tell from this badly dubbed film shot on exotic locations on a shoestring budget. Coming in the wake of the Bond films it has action, plenty of scantily clad babes (Maria Perschy the prominent one) wielding guns and gadgets galore. Nazzari, a famous Italian star in the Errol Flynn vein, makes a suave and very energetic villain.

[Reza]

The Big Cube (Tito Davison, 1969) 1/10

Trashy film about the 1960s drug culture and "groovy" teenagers that mixes melodrama from the 1940s to accomodate an ageing star from old Hollywood. A tycoon (Dan O'Herlihy) gets married to an actress (Lana Turner) which causes his spoilt daughter to take up with a drug pusher (George Chakiris) who is after her money. All the scenes set amongst the young cast appear terribly dated - the hideous clothes, the lingo and the LSD trips with psychedelic coloured lights flashing at parties. The old cast tries to bring some gravitas to the screenplay but you can't elevate trash. Lana Turner also gets to wear an ugly wardrobe while romancing O'Herlihy and Richard Egan, clashing with her step daughter and ending up in an asylum after consuming sugar cubes laced with LSD - a far cry from her heyday as a star at MGM. A curio at best, this was one of the star's last big screen films before she retired.

[Reza]

Collateral Beauty (David Frankel, 2016) 2/10

Extremely maudlin tale about a hotshot advertising executive (Will Smith) who goes into a spiral of depression after losing his child to cancer. Out of his mind with grief he tries to find solace by writing to "Death", "Love" and "Time" questioning them about life. His concerned colleagues at work (Kate Winslet, Michael Peña, Edward Norton) hire three actors (Helen Mirren, Keira Knightley, Jacob Latimore) to impersonate the three "recipients" of his letters to knock some sense into him. Matters get further sticky when it's discovered that the three colleagues have their own sad issues in life. The all-star cast flounder around trying to make some semblance of this trite material. Only Naomie Harris is convincing as a grief counsellor who unfortunately also and unexpectedly becomes part of the silly shenenigans. Skip this film like the plague.

[Reza]

Return From the Ashes (J. Lee Thompson, 1965) 8/10

Noirish thriller which liberally takes plot points (the film is based on a book) from Hollywood melodramas from the past - "A Woman's Face" & "Mildred Pierce", both with Joan Crawford. During the war a chess-playing cad and gigolo (Maximillian Schell) marries a rich jewish widow (Ingrid Thulin), a doctor, who gets carted off by the Nazis to Dachau. Believed dead she survives the camp and returns with a disfigured face which her old colleague (Herbert Lom) restores to look like her old self. She discovers her husband is now involved with her step daughter (Samantha Eggar) both of whom don't recognise her but use her resemblance to bilk her of her fortune. Thulin, as the besotted and naive older woman, gives a beautifully nuanced performance as a sad woman who finds no peace despite surviving the death camps. Eggar playing an unrepentant bitch who will resort to anything - even murder - to get her man is incredibly sensuous. A rare film which has been out of circulation for years is made memorable with it's scenes of Hitchcockian suspense.

[Reza]

Rangoon (Vishal Bhardwaj, 2017) 3/10

Bhardwaj's over ambitious WWII romantic adventure has a lot going for it. Unfortunately he crams in far too much and then made the mistake of cutting 40 minutes from the film just before it's release making the plot seem disjointed. A war film, a romantic triangle, an homage to 1930s Indian movie star Mary Ann Evans aka Fearless Nadia (an Australian who grew up in Peshawar and entered the Bombay film industry playing a masked action heroine riding horses, swinging from chandeliers and jumping off running trains while brandishing a whip) and a patriotic sub plot all create a mishmash of epic proportions. The story is set during the Burma campaign in 1943 with the British facing off the Japanese using Indian soldiers many of whom belonged to the Indian National Army who wanted to boot the British out of India. In Bombay stunt star-actress Miss Julia (Kangana Ranaut) is forced to go to Burma to entertain the troops at the war front with her director-lover (Saif Ali Khan) when film stock is hard to come by during the war and production on their latest film shuts down. A soldier (Shahid Kapoor) is assigned to guard her and in true Bollywood fashion they get separated from the army unit and get up to adventure in the jungle capturing a Japanese soldier, wallowing in mud and making out. Things get complicated when between performing a song and dance number for the troops (the best sequence in the film with the corny song "Bloody Hell" penned by Oscar winner Gulzar no less) the soldier is exposed as a traitor, the director-lover turns sadist and our plucky heroine grapples with the campy Major-General (Richard McCabe who insists on speaking most of his dialogue in Brit-accented Hindi and spouting poetry by Ghalib) for a be-jewelled sword that has to be delivered to the National army or some such nonsense ending with a climax on a rickety and swaying suspension bridge. The three stars are stiff and lack chemistry with each other - the steamy kissing scenes between Kapoor and Kanaut are a damp squib while Saif Ali Khan seems to have reverted back to his 1990s supporting stance. The film is especially disappointing coming in the wake of Bhardwaj's brilliant Shakespeare trilogy - "Omkara", "Maqbool" & "Haider". The only thing going for the film is the superb production design and the lush cinematography. And why is Kangana Ranaut given so much acclaim as an actor when she is always so lifeless, dull and a plain jane to boot? Give this film a miss. Or watch it to see Kareena Kapoor's former lover and present husband act opposite each other

[Reza]

La corta notte delle bambole di vetro / Short Night of Glass Dolls (Aldo Lado, 1971) 7/10

Italian gialo invoking Sunset Blvd with the corpse of a journalist (Jean Sorel) in a morgue recalling the story of how he died. Is he really dead? Will he wake up before the doctors perform an autopsy on him? More important is the mystery of the disappearance of his girlfriend (Barbara Bach who is incredibly sexy in a short silver dress during the party sequence ), his relationship with his jealous and prickly colleague (Ingrid Thulin) and the satanic cult with scenes of a writhing orgy of geriatrics. Like all dubbed films there is a jarring quality to the film but the stars, with or without their clothes, and the overheated melodrama with bloody interludes make these gialos fun to watch. The atmospheric on location filming in Prague and Slovenia is a major plus along with the Ennio Morricone score which signals every horrific moment on screen.