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.Precious Doll wrote: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.
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.