Remembering giallos

[damek]

Or 'gialli' as one could say. I have a really hard time with that. The ones that made some impression were "Don't torture a duckling," "The house with laughing windows" (I suppose this isn't a giallo, but I like it nonetheless), and a few others. Anyone else have this 'problem'? And which titles were most memorable to you?

[sjconstable]

Gialli worth owning:

Argento:
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage
Cat O'Nine Tails
Four Flies on Grey Velvet
Deep Red
Tenebrae

Martino:
The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh
The Case of the Scorpion's Tail
All the Colors of the Dark
Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key

Fulci:
Lizard in a Woman's Skin
Don't Torture a Duckling
Seven Notes in Black

Misc:
The Black Belly of the Tarantula

I still need to see Solange and The Fifth Cord though, they're meant to be good.

[James Morton]

WHATEVER HAPPPENED TO SOLANGE is an excellent giallo - a very good Arrow release would be welcome!
didn't think much of THE FIFTH CORD though

[damek]

This wasnt really meant as a recommendation-thread. More a thread to talk about the giallos that stayed in your mind afterwards. The ones that you still remember today after seeing it years ago. As for 'the fifth cord', i didn't like it either, like the poster above. But then again, I don't like franco nero at all either.

[Daemonia]

It's alright, I get what you mean, Damek. I have the same problem. A few weeks after watching a Giallo, 9 times out of 10, I've completely forgotten what it was all about. It can sometimes take 2 or 3 viewings to properly absorb some of the more convoluted Gialli. In fact, some have taken a couple of goes to actually figure out what they're about.

The memorable ones stay with you, though. Films like Deep Red, Short Night of the Glass Dolls, House with Laughing Windows and Blood and Black Lace etc. But this is probably more because they're profoundly exceptional films or have a central premise that is unique and so makes an impression. That's not to say other Gialli aren't good, just less memorable for varying reasons. Many times, you can just say 'the priest did it' and you'd probably be right, even if you'd never seen the film.

So yeah, put me down as one who tends to forget what they're all about, if I can even figure them out in the first place. Maybe I'm just exceptionally dull.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Daemonia

It's alright, I get what you mean, Damek. I have the same problem. A few weeks after watching a Giallo, 9 times out of 10, I've completely forgotten what it was all about. It can sometimes take 2 or 3 viewings to properly absorb some of the more convoluted Giallos. In fact, some have taken a couple of goes to actually figure out what they're actually about.

The memorable ones stay with you, though. Films like Deep Red, Short Night of the Glass Dolls, Blood and Black lace. But this is probably more because they're profoundly exceptional films. That's not to say other Gialli aren't good, just less memorable for varying reasons.

So yeah, put me down as one who tends to forget what they're all about, if I can even figure them out in the first place. Maybe I'm just exceptionally dull.

I'm just the same, they can pass me by on first viewing. Thats why i like them, you need to see them four times minimum to pick up on all the plot strands.

[damek]

I never really hated any giallo that I've seen, in fact most of the times they were quite enjoyable, but my point was (well actually, i didnt try to make this point in the opening post) that so many giallos are so much alike.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by damek

I never really hated any giallo that I've seen, in fact most of the times they were quite enjoyable, but my point was (well actually, i didnt try to make this point in the opening post) that so many giallos are so much alike.

Giallo (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdʒallo], plural gialli) is an Italian 20th century genre of literature and film, which in Italian indicates crime fiction and mystery. In the English language it refers to a genre similar to the French fantastique genre and includes elements of horror fiction and eroticism. The word giallo is Italian for "yellow" and stems from the origin of the genre as a series of cheap paperback novels with trademark yellow covers.

Its natural they are going to be simillar as they are defined by the genre name.

[damek]

Originally Posted by Demdike

Giallo (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdʒallo], plural gialli) is an Italian 20th century genre of literature and film, which in Italian indicates crime fiction and mystery. In the English language it refers to a genre similar to the French fantastique genre and includes elements of horror fiction and eroticism. The word giallo is Italian for "yellow" and stems from the origin of the genre as a series of cheap paperback novels with trademark yellow covers.

Its natural they are going to be simillar as they are defined by the genre name.

You don't have to tell me what 'giallo' means, mate. And I have less difficulties telling apart/remembering movies from genres like zombie or spaghetti western, hence why I started this thread.

[sjconstable]

Originally Posted by damek

This wasnt really meant as a recommendation-thread. More a thread to talk about the giallos that stayed in your mind afterwards. The ones that you still remember today after seeing it years ago.

So the ones I listed then lol.