"Dario Argento's" GIALLO

I am sure there are threads already devoted to this film but the search engine seems to be down at the moment so here goes. This movie is crap. And I say "Dario Argento's" GIALLO because there is NOTHING in this movie that suggests to me he made it. I thought MOTHER OF TEARS was a lazy, silly film, well it's Citizen Kane compared to this mess.
Now before I get into too much trouble here, let me say I am a HUGE admirer of much of Argento's work. Even his much derided MASTERS OF HORROR episodes are enjoyable to me.
GIALLO is a mess right from the beginning. The opening credit sequence seems to have been created by the same folks to who make advertisements for horror video games.
Adrien Brody gives a terribly wooden performance, and hearing him say the word 'beautiful' every ten minutes I wanted to throw myself out of the nearest window. The killer looks like a muppet from hell. I really can't write any more about this disaster other than Emmanuelle Segnier (I am sure I mangled her name but I don't care to go find out how to spell it correctly) sums up the movie when she says "He likes to take beautiful things and make them ugly." My summation for what this "film" has done to Argento's career.

I have no interest in watching this film, something that I never thought I'd say about an Argento movie.

Here is the earlier thread on the film with some links to reviews:

http://z8.invisionfree.com/MHVF/index.php?showtopic=10339

The thing that really is worrisome is I've read reviews where people call it the "funniest movie of the year" and it definitely wasn't intended that way (despite the head scratching stance some Argento purists have taken that it is a spoof).

I usually never miss a new Argento film, even if my expectations are low, but I'm considering giving this one a pass. It's just getting painful to see the work of one of my favorite horror directors go so far downhill in quality.

"Adrien Brody gives a terribly wooden performance"

Yes, dammit, if only Brody could have given a more charismatic performance; then we might have been able to feel a little sympathy for his character. Of course, that would have completely contradicted everything else in this remarkable film, in which both Brody's character and that ideal of masculinity (the heroic individual whose charismatic authority enables him to successfully restore the status quo) to which it refers are subjected to the most devastating critique imaginable. But what the hell - you can't have everything!

This post has been edited by Brad Stevens on Nov 3 2009, 06:23 PM

I'll be seeing it. I like to decide for myself.

Since writing my earlier post I've attempted to watch it again, and it's just boring. I don't want to spoil anything for those who want to watch it, but every single character is retarded in this movie. They do nonsensical things repeatedly, and the killer has the most chef boyardee accent this side of "Mama mia that's one spicy meat-a-ball!"
I'll get over it, it's just sad that one of my favorite film makers has slid so far downhill so fast.
I have faith that he will rebound and give us something great once again. Even his so-so movies are entertaining to me. But this...I don't see why he didn't try to have his name taken off of it if indeed he had very little creative control over it as many reports claim. Is there an equivalent to an Alan Smithee in Italy? Maybe he should have resurrected Bava's "John M. Old" which he used in THE WHIP AND THE BODY.

So is this out on general release, DVD or (cough) bit torrent of questionable provenance...?

Only at 5:30 am would 'questionable provenance' make me laugh. But yes, I think there are torrents floating around of this, or so I have heard.

He'd probably have more films credited to Old than Argento by now though! The chances of him rebounding and making anything even half-decent again seem pretty remote to me. I liked SLEEPLESS, which many folk don't, but in my eyes most of his current work has a sensibility so removed from what characterized his earlier films that you'd be hard pressed to identify them as being by the same director.

I realize now that my statement is flawed. Bava used the John M. Old pseudonym because AIP wanted to make the film more "English Friendly" and not because Bava wanted his name removed from the film.

I think the pseudonym had more to do with the Italians wanting their homegrown horror to appear to be imports than with any dictates by American distributors.

Now I want to see this.

Now, see - this is setting expectations too high.

Those at the vanguard must be more careful.

But he also used it for HOUSE OF EXORCISM.

Hmm...where is Tim Lucas when we need him? I know, I know blasphemy for not having read his book, although it's not for lack of desire.

And regarding Giallo, and my comment as to everyone being retarded in it, I am serious. I can't really think of any character motivations that make ANY sense outside of the flashback bit of violence that upon further scrutiny still doesn't work completely, but what can you do?

Oh and kudos to the casting of that teenager as a young Adrien Brody, it's passable. Too often you see young actors playing versions of people that just don't work physically. On a side note. I would have to say the best example of this where it works is on THE GOLDEN GIRLS, the actress who played Dorothy in her younger years was outstanding. She had her physicality, mannerisms, vocal inflections, EVERYTHING down. It was an amazing casting choice. From memory, I want to say her name was Lynn Greenwood or something like that?

Jeff is right about Bava (and other Italian directors/technicians/actors) using Anglicized names to sign their films because they wanted Italians to believe the films were imports. I'm guessing he signed HOUSE OF EXORCISM as John M. Old because he wasn't aware of the Alan Smithee option.

Well color me stupid! I thought it was the other way around that distributors wanted American audiences to think the movies were native, and not imports, or at least maybe British? It's a mentality that people even today have. I know quite a few people who refuse to watch anything foreign. Which is well, foreign to me.

I'd love to see a comprehensive history/survey of Italian pseudonymous practices. I can never keep straight which pseuds were used for which releases, domestic or international. There often seems no rhyme or reason or consistency: Antonio Margheriti is sometimes signed (the ridiculous) Anthony Daisies/Daises, sometimes (the more dignified) Anthony M. Dawson, sometimes plain old Antonio Margheriti. Who did he think he was fooling? Mario Bava may have passed himself off as John M. Old or John Foam (!another literal translation) but he was pretty famous among cinephiles (and eventually the wider public) as Mario Bava too.

Here's anecdotage that I can vouch for. Actors with credibly non-Italian or Spanish appearances featured in spaghetti westerns anglicized (or Germanized) their names to fool domestic audiences, that's true (though the director himself might keep his Italian name). Thus Ida Galli became Evelyn (or Ewelyn or several other variants) Stewart and passed herself off as indeterminately nordic and fair. Giulianno Gemma was briefly Montgomery Wood, and so forth. On the other hand, Nieves Navarro started acting under her own name (it suited her Mexican spitfire roles) only later becoming Susan Scott (when she played British femme fatales in gialli.. at least that's my impression)

One rule of thumb I'd propose putting to the test: directors and actors in genre movies emulating American, British or German product assumed foreign names as a rule...BUT if their films did stratospheric business the players were given the option of putting their masks away. Thus Bob Robertson immediately reverted to Sergio Leone once the necessary fistful of dollars was obtained and his star Volonte (already very famous under his own name as a theatrical actor) dropped the ridiculous Johnny Wells moniker after that single outing. Some, on the other hand, remained wedded to their assumed name: Terence Hill is one example....

I think it may have been producer Alfredo Leone who chose to credit the film to John M. Old after Bava requested his name not be on the film because, not surprisingly, he didn't agree with the idea filming and adding new scenes to the unreleased LISA AND THE DEVIL, to create a totally different film. Some of the new scenes Bava did shoot though, while others Leone shot (apparently Bava refused to even be in the room when Sommer is mouthing Regan-like profanites). At some point, after seeing the finished work, Bava supposedly had a change of heart and relented to his name being reinstated, and so his name is on some prints, probably Italian ones. This is all according to Leone, anyway. Someone may know better.