So let's talk about the picture I am using for my background. It is a screenshot from Sergio Martino's 1971 giallo classic The Strange Vice Of Mrs. Wardh. It has a couple of different titles but that is the one I go with as opposed to Blade of The Ripper or Next! Anyway I figured with a blog titled Yellow Razor I should at least start with a picture of a razor.
 |
| Ladies and Gentlemen, The King and Queen |
I was listening to the great Gentlemen's Guide To Midnight Cinema a while back when The Samurai mentioned that when he went for a giallo it was rarely an Argento but a Martino giallo. I thought that was crazy at first but the more I thought about it I realized that I agreed with him. As much as I love Deep Red or The Bird With The Crystal Plumage (or Tenebre or The Cat 'O' Nine Tails) when I usually am in a giallo mood I reach for a Martino giallo (or one that is Martinoish, like The Case Of The Bloody Iris.)
 |
| It doesn't get any cooler than this |
What do you think? Do you reach for Tenebre? The Case Of The Scorpion's Tail? A Lenziani thriller with Carroll Baker? It amazes me that within the giallo subgenre there are many sub subgenres. I love all of them. It depends on the mood I am in. Am I down for an inheritance scheme? A case of mistaken identity? An art induced crime? A psychosexual pervert madman/woman on the loose? What say you?
 |
| Sometimes I pretend she is calling me |
I only know so few giallo movies, basically just the Argentos and a handful of others. Torso is the only one by Martino that I know. I liked it VERY much and definitely gonna get his others, but it takes time. My favorite giallo by Argento would probably be Four Flies On Grey Velvet for the earlier ones, but in general it's got to be Tenebrae.
ReplyDeleteI've been meaning to get more familiar with giallo movies for quite some time and your new blog is a very good reason for me to get serious about it. I'm sure it'll be a lot of fun for all of us!
Cheers,
MLP
You have picked a great time to get into gialli. There's a ton out there and a lot of great places to read about them. Cinemasomnambulist.com of course you know but also check out nessuntimore.blogspot.com. You can never go wrong with Tenebrae or Four Flies. As far as Martino goes I love ALL of his gialli. Thanks very much for your comment and I hope we do indeed have a lot of fun ahead of us!
ReplyDelete