Posts Tagged ‘Italian cinema’
The Whip and the Body Blu-ray Review: Colorful Kink from Mario Bava
The Whip and The Body is a fascinating glimpse at a director at a crossroads.
Read MoreThe Golden Coach Blu-ray Review: Jean Renoir’s Tribute to Theater
When a traveling theater company rolls into a rich Peruvian town, the star actress quickly attracts the attention of three local suitors.
Read MoreLoaded Guns Blu-ray Review: Firing Blanks
If you’re looking for a gritty and insightful Di Leo film, move along. The film is best suited for Andress completionists, or fans of ‘70s Euro trash.
Read MoreThe Facts of Murder Blu-ray Review: A Blending of Italian Genres
It is something of a blending of genres and styles.
Read MoreCity of the Living Dead 4K UHD Review: Where Zombies Are Ghosts
A new 4K release of Lucio Fulci’s incomprehensible but atmospheric and gory supernatural zombie thriller.
Read MoreCosa Nostra: Franco Nero in Three Mafia Tales by Damiano Damiani Blu-ray Review
Cosa Nostra is the box set I didn’t know I needed, offering three riveting dramas anchored by Nero’s searing performances and Damiani’s polished direction.
Read MoreCaliber 9 Blu-ray Review: Action-Packed Poliziotteschi with a Message
So much of Caliber 9 is about how the old way of doing things continually bumps into the new ways.
Read MoreThe Sunday Woman Blu-ray Review: A Strange Little Movie That Defies Expectations and Genre Delineations
The Sunday Woman is a bit of an oddity. But it is an enjoyable one.
Read MoreLet’s Hope It’s a Girl Blu-ray Review: Italian Film, Continental Cast
The film is best for fans of Deneuve and Ullmann, as its paper-thin, meandering plot only serves as grist for its girl-power mill.
Read MoreBlood & Diamonds Blu-ray Review: Dull & Boring
If you are a fan of this film, this release from 88 Films goes out of its way to make it worth your money.
Read MoreContraband (1980) Blu-ray Review: Explosively Violent Crime Action
Lucio Fulci’s drama about cigarette smugglers tells its crime story with horror movie levels of violence and gore.
Read MoreThe Nun and the Devil Blu-ray Review: Which Mother Will Prove Superior?
A power struggle in a convent reveals hypocritical structure of the church in this beautifully shot if unengaging historical drama.
Read MoreGothic Fantastico: Four Italian Tales of Terror Blu-ray Review
This set reveals how the genre allows plenty of room for filmmakers to create something new and unique.
Read MoreGiallo Essentials [Black Edition] Blu-ray Box Set Review: Back in Black
Arrow Video is to be commended for continuing to spotlight the giallo genre in this handsome new box set.
Read MoreRogue Cops and Racketeers: Two Crime Thrillers by Enzo G. Castellari Blu-ray Review: Quintessential Italian Crime Dramas
A pretty excellent double feature of poliziotteschi.
Read MoreShock (1977) Blu-ray Review: Bava’s Final Film
The final film by Mario Bava is a departure from his stereotypical style, but still has some interest and flair.
Read MoreGiallo Essentials [Yellow Edition] Blu-ray Review: Masked Killers, Disrobed Victims
Arrow Video’s second box set collection of giallo classics is now available, arriving less than a month after the first collection. Unlike the first set, all three of the films presented here are more what one would consider true gialli, with seedy crime plots stuffed with sex and gore. All three films are presented in…
Read MoreGiallo Essentials [Red Edition] Blu-ray Box Set Review: Mixed Bag, Solid Box
The set is the first of a planned multi-volume collection of giallo essentials, intended to provide neophytes and connoisseurs with a treasury of classics.
Read MoreDeep Red (1975) 4K Ultra HD Review: Argento’s Giallo Swan Song
Argento finally perfect his stylish cinematic approach, and pretty much abandons storytelling, in this beautiful baffling murder mystery.
Read MoreThe Sergio Martino Collection Blu-ray Review: A Giallo Giant Gets His Due
With this release, Arrow (true to form) has done itself proud yet again.
Read MoreVengeance Trails: 4 Classic Westerns Blu-ray Review: Proving There’s More to Spaghetti Westerns than Sergio Leone
I don’t know that I’d call them truly classic, but they are all quite good and worth the purchase.
Read MoreThe Bird with the Crystal Plumage 4K Ultra HD Review: Dario Argento’s Debut Giallo
Dario Argento’s stylish and assured directorial debut about a black-clad murderer stalking Rome comes to 4K.
Read MoreYears of Lead Limited Edition Blu-ray Box Set Review: Transforms Lead into Gold
Arrow Video’s new box set aims to shine a light on poliziotescchi, police action films that generally took a more serious, realistic approach to their mayhem.
Read MoreYears of Lead: Five Classic Italian Crime Thrillers (1973-1977) Blu-ray Review: A Great Overview of the Poliziotteschi Genre
The films included in this set run the gamut of straight-ahead crime dramas to no-plot Euro sleaze.
Read MoreChrist Stopped at Eboli Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Emotionally Captivating
A beautiful film about living in exile and discovering an unknown way of life.
Read MoreRoberto Rossellini’s War Trilogy Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Intro to Italian Neorealism 101
Criterion presents a crash course on the post-war movement with these classics: Rome Open City, Paisan, and Germany Year Zero.
Read MoreTeorema Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Pasolini’s Most Accessible Work
This puzzlingly fascinating masterwork from 1968 gets new life.
Read MoreHercules in the Haunted World Blu-ray Review: Sword & Sandals Meets Horror
Mario Bava infuses the tired Hercules film with his own sense of style, creating something unique and really fun.
Read MoreWho Saw Her Die? Blu-ray Review: Bond Does Giallo
George Lazenby should have been a star.
Read MoreDouble Face Blu-ray Review: Could Have Used a Face Lift
A subdued Klaus Kinski stars in this krimi/giallo mashup that is never thrilling but often quite dull.
Read MorePasolini Movie Review: An Ambitious Biopic with a Brilliantly Refined Willem Dafoe Performance
An exemplary biopic that features a rather understated gusto.
Read MoreThe Iguana with the Tongue of Fire Blu-ray Review: Confusing and Dull
This giallo/poliziotteschi has too much confusing plot and not enough style to be interesting to anyone but fans of the genres.
Read MoreStrip Nude for Your Killer Blu-ray Review: Keep Your Clothes On
Salacious 1970s giallo is quite dull despite being packed full of sex and violence.
Read MoreKeoma Blu-ray Review: The Spaghetti Western’s Last Breath
Franco Nero stars in this later-period spaghetti western that’s got a lot of style, and little else.
Read MoreThe Possessed / The Fifth Cord Blu-rays Review: Giallo Before and After Argento
Two films from Luigi Bazzoni illustrate both what a great director he was and what seismic shifts Dario Argento created on Italian cinema.
Read MoreThe Forbidden Photos of a Lady Beyond Suspicion Blu-ray Review: Proto-Giallo
More psycho-sexual thriller than giallo, this film nevertheless delivers the goods.
Read MoreBlood and Black Lace Blu-ray Review: The Origins of Giallo
Mario Bava’s horror masterpiece is a feast for the eyes and the beginning of a whole new genre.
Read MoreThe Pyjama Girl Case Blu-ray Review: Fact Is More Interesting Than Fiction
Put your PJs on, this giallo will put you to sleep.
Read MoreWhat Have They Done to Your Daughters? Blu-ray Review: I Hope They’re Not with Solange
The second part of Massimo Dallamano’s “schoolgirl’s in peril” trilogy gets an excellent release from Arrow Video.
Read MoreThe Case of the Scorpion’s Tail Blu-ray Review: Stereotypical Giallo
Sergio Martino’s horror film ticks off all the giallo boxes but never rises above them.
Read MoreThe Mercenary (1968) Blu-ray Review: This Fun for Hire
Franco Nero, Tony Musante, and a flamboyant Jack Palance highlight this Sergio Corbucci western, now available from Kino Lorber.
Read MoreDeath Rides a Horse (1967) Blu-ray Review: Lee Van Cleef’s Finest Hour
Lee Van Cleef and John Phillip Law each set out for revenge in this above-average Spaghetti Western classic, now available from Kino Lorber.
Read MoreWeb of the Spider (1971) Blu-ray Review: Get Caught in This One
Garagehouse Pictures ups the ante of awesomeness by bringing us a fresh HD print of a classic cult Italian horror flick.
Read MoreThe Suspicious Death of a Minor Blu-ray Review: Two Genres, One Film
An oddball mix of crime drama and horror (with heavy doses of slapsstick thrown in) make for an interesting mix.
Read MorePhenomena (1985) Blu-ray Review: Argento at His Most Bewildering
Synapse Films releases Il Maestro’s bizarre cult classic in three different forms, including the rare U.S. “Creepers” cut.
Read MoreThe Suspicious Death of a Minor (1975) Blu-ray Review: Deep Red Something
Sergio Martino’s wild giallo/poliziotteschi/comedy hybrid is just as jaw-droppingly amazing as it sounds.
Read MoreErik the Conqueror (1961) Blu-ray Review: Bava Gets Epical
Arrow Video brings us Mario Bava’s unique Italian take on American ‘Vikings’ in this stellar BD/DVD combo release.
Read MoreBeyond the Darkness (Buio Omega) Blu-ray Review: She’s a Real Doll
Get stuffed as Severin Films proves a dynamic HD master can make even Joe D’Amato’s most notorious schlocker look sharp and polished.
Read MoreThe Bird with the Crystal Plumage Blu-ray Review: Brought Italian Horror to the World
This Arrow Video set is the Blu-ray with excellent packaging.
Read MoreRoma Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Rome, I Love You
Federico Fellini’s fever dream exploration of Rome gets the Criterion Collection treatment, and it’s lovely.
Read MoreThe Climber (1975) Blu-ray Review: The Stuff Scarfaces Are Made Of
An all-growed-up Joe Dallesandro stars in this nifty (and violent) little Italian crime drama, recently rescued from obscurity by Arrow Video.
Read MoreLudwig (1973) Blu-ray Review: The Historical Epic Wherein Nothing Really Happens
Love it or hate it, Arrow Academy has unveiled an undeniably beautiful box set for one of Luchino Visconti’s final films.
Read MoreL’assassino (The Assassin) Blu-ray Review: The Lady-Killer of Rome Returns
Elio Petri’s forgotten, strange, and very dark satire makes a long-overdue debut in the U.S. from the newly launched Arrow Academy.
Read MoreThe Girl and the General (1967) DVD Review: All Give Some, None Give All
A shockingly subdued Rod Steiger stars in this Italian-made WWI dramedy from Pasquale Festa Campanile.
Read MoreProperty Is No Longer a Theft Blu-ray Review: More Political Treatise than Film
It will steal your valuable time.
Read MoreThe Other Hell (1981) / Dark Waters (1994) Blu-rays Review: Breaking Bad Habits
Cursed convents? Possessed prioresses? Severin Films is having nun of that now!
Read MoreLudwig (1973) Blu-ray Review: Lots of Castles, Little Story
Visconti’s biography of Ludwig II has access to amazing locations, some good acting, and no momentum.
Read MoreDjango, Prepare a Coffin (1968) Blu-ray Review: Can You Dig It?
Terence Hill digs a name for himself in the only legitimate unofficial prequel to the Sergio Corbucci cult classic.
Read MoreProperty Is No Longer a Theft (1973) Blu-ray Review: Undeniably Italian
Elio Petri’s forgotten, strange, and very dark satire makes a long-overdue debut in the US from the newly launched Arrow Academy.
Read MoreWax Mask (1997) Blu-ray Review: The Steampunk Phantom Terminator of the Wax Museum
Lucio Fulci’s last credited feature feels more like a dry run for Dario Argento’s career slump. And is just as appealing.
Read MoreCinema Paradiso (Arrow Academy) Blu-ray Review: A Love Letter to the Cinema
A beautiful, loving tribute to the magic of movies.
Read MoreCinema Paradiso (Arrow Academy) Blu-ray Review: A Timeless Classic
An extremely moving and lyrical tribute to the power of Cinema.
Read MoreMondo Bastardo: Odds and Ends from the International World of Exploitation
From Brazilian horrors to 3D European westerns, this assortment of weird and unusual films knows its target audiences quite well.
Read MoreTwilight Time Presents: All for the Glory of Love
From Peckinpah to Price and from Scott to Sinatra, this assortment of classics from Twilight Time doesn’t mess around.
Read MoreBurial Ground (1981) Blu-ray Review: Still Smelling of Death After All These Years
Severin Films unburies one of the most notorious titles from the Italian zombie apocalypse of the ’80s, fully restored and just as empty-headed as ever.
Read MoreTwilight Time Presents: Something I Can Never Have
From the unconditional (or unwanted) affection of one’s parental unit, to the ever-classic pursuit of maximum financial units, these five flicks have more to offer than just a nude Ornella Muti (although that’s just fine on its own!).
Read MoreThe Horrible Dr. Hichcock (1962) Blu-ray Review: Truth in Advertising?
Twenty-three years after my first attempt at watching it, this Riccardo Freda/Barbara Steele gothic horror movie about a necrophiliac surgeon still can’t raise the dead to save its life.
Read MoreHaunted Honeymoon (1940) / A Fine Pair / Brotherly Love (1970) DVDs Review: Reverse Power Flux Couplings
Three uniquely different looks at the fine art of bad romances arrive on DVD courtesy the Warner Archive Collection.
Read MoreThe Bloodstained Butterfly Blu-ray Review: The Unconventional Courtroom Giallo
Duccio Tessari’s bizarre giallo/poliziotteschi/krimi hybrid hatches once again thanks to the diligent efforts of Arrow Video.
Read MoreDoctor Butcher M.D. Blu-ray Review: Ready to Make House Calls Once Again
Severin Films presents a spectacular two-disc, two-movie version of one of 42nd Street’s most legendarily notorious offerings.
Read MoreBlood and Black Lace Blu-ray Review: Astonishingly Beautiful Depiction of Ugliness
Mario Bava’s seminal Giallo film couples a gleeful disregard for good taste with incredibly artful imagery.
Read MoreLe Amiche Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Antonioni Drains the Passion from Melodrama
This middle-period entry from the Italian master hints at what’s to come, but stands on its own as an interesting work.
Read MoreKiller Dames: Two Gothic Chillers by Emilio P. Miraglia Blu-ray Review: Killer Queens?
Arrow Video places two more (partly) forgotten gialli on the map in a box set that some folks will kill for.
Read MoreKiller Dames: Two Gothic Chillers by Emilio Miraglia Blu-ray Review
Arrow Video creates another fantastic set featuring two Italian giallo films.
Read MoreKiller Dames: Two Gothic Chillers is the Pick of the Week
This week brings us a couple of Italian horrors, Jesus, a midwife, and Scott Baio using magic to look up girls skirts.
Read MoreDeath Walks Twice: Two Films by Luciano Ercoli Blu-ray Review: Arrow Strikes Giallo Gold
From deadly strolls about in High Heels to casual executions committed at Midnight, this two-fer from Arrow Video USA is sure to make a killing among fans of classic Italian thrillers.
Read MoreDeath Walks Twice Blu-ray Review: Two Times the Horror, Two Times the Fun
Two Italian giallos get the Arrow treatment.
Read MoreBitter Rice Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: The Beauty of the Downtrodden
This 1949 Italian film marries social commentary about the lower class with rewarding drama and romance.
Read MoreWake Up and Kill Blu-ray Review: Gritty but Unengaging Criminal Bio-pic
This true crime story has a lot on its mind, but it doesn’t translate into arresting storytelling.
Read MoreWhat Have You Done To Solange? Blu-ray Review: Giallo at Its Finest
Sex, violence, and style, or everything you want in an Italian horror film.
Read MoreRequiescant Blu-ray Review: Massacred Mexican Communist Revenge
Offbeat scenes and a determined Communist undertone offset this otherwise standard tale of Western revenge.
Read MoreEdgar Allan Poe’s Black Cats Blu-ray Review: Same Story, Massively Different Films
Two Italian horror masters tackle the Edgar Allan Poe tale.
Read MoreA Special Day Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Special Performances from Italian Screen Legends
Italian stars Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni play against type in this beguiling drama.
Read MoreLa Grande Bouffe Blu-ray Review: A Feast for the Senses That Leaves One Overstuffed
Marco Ferreri’s controversial film gets a grand treatment from Arrow Video, but leaves one filling a bit sick to the stomach.
Read MoreCannibal Ferox Blu-ray Review: Umberto Lenzi’s Unforgiving Subgenre Swan Song
The notorious cash-in of a craze beget by the cash-in of a cash-in makes its much-needed (?) High-Definition debut courtesy the finely deranged folks at Grindhouse Releasing.
Read MoreContamination (1980) Blu-ray Review: On Earth, Everyone Can Hear You Scream ‘Rip-Off!’
The cycloptic grandpappy of ALIEN clones makes its chest-bursting, worldwide High-Definition Blu-ray debut courtesy Arrow Video.
Read MoreThe Stranger Collection DVD Review: The Man with No Shame Trilogy
The Warner Archive Collection dusts off a trio of strange spaghetti westerns starring the even stranger Tony Anthony.
Read MoreDay of Anger Blu-ray Review: The Rules of the Game
Fans of spaghetti westerns and Lee Van Cleef shouldn’t experience any anger if they add this to their collection.
Read MorePanic Button (1964) DVD Review: When Mannix Met Mansfield
The Warner Archive Collection releases the rarely-seen comedy that may have inspired a famous Mel Brooks movie.
Read MoreNosferatu in Venice (Prince of the Night) DVD Review: When Art Becomes Trash
A rarely seen bad movie becomes even worse thanks to a marred English audio track.
Read MoreFernando Di Leo – The Italian Crime Collection, Vol. 2 DVD Review: Violenza all’Italiana
Raro Films issues another set of gritty crime flicks from the late Italian maestro.
Read MoreIl Sorpasso Criterion Collection Review: An Endearing, Incisive Road Movie
Risi’s film is simultaneously breezily fun and slyly satiric, a film full of immediate pleasures and more thought-provoking asides.
Read MoreCorruption (1968) / The Big Gundown (1966) Blu-rays Review: Two Points for Grindhouse
Grindhouse Releasing gets their hands on two cult epics from the Columbia Pictures vaults – and the results are nothing short of fabulous.
Read MoreLa Notte Criterion Collection DVD Review: They Don’t Make ‘Em Like This Anymore
A slow-burn Italian relationship drama that leaves you hanging.
Read More3 Films by Roberto Rossellini Starring Ingrid Bergman Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: On the Verge of a New Cinematic World
One of the most fruitful collaborations in cinema is enshrined in Criterion’s outstanding box set.
Read MoreUmberto D. Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: An Old Man and His Dog
A classic of world cinema I highly recommend.
Read MorePier Paolo Pasolni’s Trilogy of Life Criterion Collection DVD Review: Make Mine Bunuel
Picaresque neorealism, or artsy-fartsy stuff from a bipolar loon? You decide.
Read MoreNight of the Devils (1972) Blu-ray Review: Sexually-Charged Psychosomatic Italian Horror at its Finest
All this and full frontal nudity, too, guys and gals. Definitely a keeper in my book.
Read MoreThe Night of the Devils (1972) Blu-ray Review: Still Good, 40 Years Later
Serves as an example of what a horror movie can be if you replace gore and fancy effects with tension and storytelling.
Read MoreTrilogy of Life Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Three Films, Countless Tales
A wonderful set from Criterion Collection, encapsulating some of Pasolini’s most personal works.
Read MoreSalo, or the 120 Days of Sodom Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: 116 Minutes of Vileness
The most repulsive film I have ever seen.
Read MoreHercules, Samson and Ulysses [Ercole sfida Sansone] DVD Review: Sea Monsters! Lion Strangling! Hamstrings!
The last major peplum flick from the director of the original Hercules.
Read MoreThe Organizer Is the Pick of the Week
When in doubt, go with Criterion.
Read MoreThe Organizer Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Relevant in Today’s Political Climate
A worthwhile addition to any film lover’s collection.
Read MoreYoung, Violent, Dangerous DVD Review: A Healthy Dose of Italian Cheese
Shootings galore, nudity en masse, and common sense in short supply.
Read MoreConversation Piece DVD Review: A Probing Penultimate Film from an Italian Master
Luchino Visconti re-teams with Burt Lancaster for an excellent character-driven chamber piece.
Read MoreThe Visitor (1963) DVD Review: A Nuanced Look at Romance
Raro Video releases another from the overlooked Antonio Pietrangeli, although the transfer leaves something to be desired.
Read MoreThe Moment of Truth Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Heady Symphony of Sound and Image
Francesco Rosi’s bullfighting film is an intimate and immediate experience.
Read MoreThe Overcoat (1952) DVD Review: A Genre-Bending Satire from the Age of Neorealism
Alberto Lattuada’s overlooked The Overcoat is a smart blend of bureaucratic satire, tragicomic character piece and surrealist fantasy.
Read MoreCome Have Coffee With Us DVD Review: Italian Sex Comedy Subverted
Alberto Lattuada’s 1970 film is a slyly satiric jab at the inflamed male libido.
Read MoreMurder Obsession (Follia Omicida) DVD Review: Hey, Logic is for Losers!
Riccardo Freda’s final outing is a wonderfully wacky mess of mayhem.
Read MoreIdentification of a Woman Criterion Collection DVD Review: Searching for a Way out of the Fog
The story of a man trying to find himself while lost in love.
Read MoreIdentification of a Woman Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Futile Search for Romantic Fulfillment
An exploration of modern love, Antonioni’s late-period film is a worthy effort if not as obviously masterful as some of his earlier work.
Read MoreAngel of Evil DVD Review: The Italian Mesrine
So similar to Mesrine in content and execution that there’s little to distinguish it.
Read MoreA Fistful of Dollars / For A Few Dollars More Blu-rays Review: The Man with No Name Looks Better Than Ever
After nearly half a century, Clint Eastwood can still rock a poncho.
Read MoreLa Rabbia DVD Review: A Politically-Charged Italian Oddity
Pier Paolo Pasolini and Giovannino Guareschi square off.
Read MoreLive Like a Cop, Die Like a Man DVD Review: A Truly Mind-Blowing Experience
Harry Callahan gets split into Starsky & Hutch and injected with every Italian stereotype in the book.
Read MoreAdua and Her Friends DVD Review: A Moving Italian Drama
Adua and Her Friends reveals why director Antonio Pietrangeli should be more well known in the United States.
Read MoreCriterion Collection Eclipse Series #27 DVD Review: Raffaello Matarazzo’s Runaway Melodramas
Raffaello Matarazzo (1909 – 1966) was an Italian director who specialized in some of the most melodramatic pictures to ever grace the silver screen. In the post-war period of the late forties and early fifties, Matarazzo enjoyed enormous success with tales of star-crossed lovers and the villains intent on keeping them apart. While these movies…
Read MoreAmarcord Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Parade of Unforgettable Characters
An ode to Fellini’s childhood in a quaint Italian town in the 1930s.
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