Review of 'Luciano Ercoli Death Box Set', from NoShame on R1 USA 2-Disc DVD (and Audio CD) Released
Luciano Ercoli, a Director with only very few films to his name, sits at the helm of two very unusual examples of the Giallo genre. In 'Death Walks on High Heels' we have a series of characters causing the viewer to switch allegiances and remain uncertain of the murderer until the final moments, a pretty traditional murder mystery on the surface with its own originality too, and in 'Death Walks at Midnight' there's more substantial characters and Giallo's elements - but both rarely use the familiar strange lighting, obscured visuals, or first-person shots. Both are great, dynamic films - full of interesting ideas and odd behaviour - both very memorable films to have seen, but challenging to watch.
This relatively early in the life of the Giallo genre, at a time when it is possible to say there are clearer references to other genres than to other Giallos, there's less surreal visuals, less sadistic lingering in the deaths and exploitation of the obvious elements. Potentially these aren't Giallo's, or such unusual examples that it's hard to see. The films are another couple of examples of Italian genre cinema which expand what we have been able to tell about relatively unseen movies, and a genre we've perhaps seen less of than we imagine. Again, NoShame has picked out two great choices and presented them nicely, this time with a CD of music by the composer Stelvio Cipriani entitled 'The Sound of Love and Death'.
'Death Walks in High Heels' (aka 'La Morte cammina con i tacchi alti') by Luciano Ercoli (1971).
Not really a Giallo movie as such, although there are some of the hallmarks, but they're in such small doses that the right buttons aren't entirely pressed, and we end up with what becomes a largely daylight-based murder mystery. It also becomes a crime film set mostly within a small English village and the coastal house in which (and around which) much of the action is located, with short snippets in London and Paris. Characters in such films tend to be more like entities between whom the narrative bounces through brief lines of dialogue, so character development is often an issue if you're used to expecting it or you demand that's a standard element. If, however, the viewer manages to accept that character development is not one of the aims of the film (or any such film necessarily) you can enter into the game of following the twists, misleading red herrings, divisive happenings and the attempts to pull the viewer in all possible directions for as long as possible. Therefore the film is leaving us unsure of the story to the final moments.
Although characters are secondary, often they stand out for different reasons than we might expect or imagine, with there being an off chance that one or more might connect with our train of thought as we see the narrative from a personal perspective. They need to be identifiable and the story needs cause and effect to keep flowing. It's a challenge to grasp any Giallo or thriller plot completely within a film like this, and that is entirely intended to cause the unease and mystery to continue, and this is a result of the bouncing events and snappy dialogue. It's not as keen to be light or as prone to feeding viewers rewards as TV movies or series with any similarity you might watch today, more risque and sexy, more explicit than implicit, more opportunity to be honest and complete with which emotions it triggers.
The plot of 'Death Walks in High Heels' revolves around the daughter (Nichole Rochard - sexy dancer) of a diamond robber (referred to as simply 'Rochard'), her long-term lover Michel Aumont, an older admirer and middle-aged new love Dr.Robert Mathews, a couple of murders and a whole heap of surrounding characters and events. Starting in nightclubs, transferring to coastal locations in England - Giallos and Italian movies of the time often filmed in England it seems - the story makes good use of the remoteness and sense of related danger without taking the visuals into the usual surreal styles, and the gossip-driven population, the cursory way in which characters are introduced and used, the unfamiliar feeling of being in a foreign location too, all add to the film greatly.
Locations are quite broad and open yet not as dramatically broad as I would expect, and it's almost the opposite of the claustrophobic use of buildings and the obscured views in first-person perspective, the use of shadows and other objects or atmospherics is minimal too. The Direction from Ercoli is confident and pretty dynamic, not excessively so and not obviously so either considering the heavy use of daylight-lit location. All the performances work pretty well, the key characters being particularly strong and lifting what could be bog-standard story into something quite special and unusual, familiar enough to make it easy viewing with perhaps a little issue with how slow it can often feel these movies get as they try to generate odd atmospheres.
It could easily get a little unsatisfactory and the genre itself can work well within the illogical and disjointed areas it often drifts into (sometimes the more illogical the better in fact) and this has to balance with the need for a mystery to be logically concluded, but as a form of film-making that has pretty much come and gone in the form it survived within during the late 60s - late 70s period of the majority of its history, it works pretty well as a film. It's here that the thriller as it was back within this time and place falls into its most dangerous to master territory, where viewers either click with a directors work or they don't; it's such an odd balance that it can simply fall apart. Within a film containing more desire to follow the traditions of most film-making, the characters would need to be more carefully explained, realistic, human - here they can quite happily be paper-thin without it being detrimental, and we benefit from what can often be seen as problems, as they potentially add to the odd atmosphere of it all.
'Death Walks in High Heels' is not a classic Giallo by any means, certainly a much better film than can often be found based within such simple elements. For me on this initial viewing it worked pretty well. I would imagine those finding most enjoyment from the film being those familiar with the genre, but looking for another, potentially very different and worthwhile example of the elements being played-out in Ercoli's individual style. Not a film for fans of gore, stylish colored sets and typically fashionable furniture of the period, one for those that love sexy women and mysterious plots.
'Death Walks at Midnight' aka 'La Morte accarezza a mezzanotte' by Luciano Ercoli (1972).
Again, not so typical of the Giallo genre, again largely filmed in daylight or artificial light. A much more traditional, coherent thriller - a murder mystery embroiled in the world of drugs. Susan Scott returns, as do much of the cast of 'Death Walks in High Heels', for a sequel connected in no obvious manner. Interesting to see such a thing happen as it adds to the playful way in which the characters are used, can make things feel secure as well as more unpredictable, misleading. All the main performances in the films are very solid and professional, never getting into a truly real feel but not looking amateurish. Sure, the usual limitations are there in every possible way, but they're as understandable as ever without making too large a compromise.
Valentina, volunteering to undergo an anonymous test of a new hallucinogenic drug called HDS, experiences positive feelings of happiness and colorful visuals which rapidly turn to scenes of a horrific murder. This sets up the basic premise for the movie, is the death real, is she to be trusted, how did this situation begin and where will it end? Boyfriend and journalist Gio misleads Valentina into this world where she faces being chased by the killer, tempting her by paying her for the stories behind the spiraling troubles. Here starts the uncertainty of her daily life, her questioning by the Police, the fear of not being believed and her relationships falling apart around her. Artist friend Stefano acts as another character for Valentina to turn to and be turned away from, as does Inspector Seripa, the man intrigued by the memories of a death he reads about.
Into the mix also comes Verushka Wuttenberg, the sister of the woman known to have died in the same manner as the woman police have investigated and prosecuted for as a result. There's a different woman in Valentina's memory, a whole series of oddball characters involved in this labyrinthine plot that plays like a traditional murder mystery in daylight for the first half, then becomes even more frenetic and difficult to pin down as we progress into the second half. It's a much more graspable traditional story than 'Death Walks in High Heels', but it's no less difficult to follow, the characters more fully developed and fleshed than previously and it seems to follow a less unreal plotline as a result. Again, Ercoli shows great experience of the dynamic visuals of Italian cinema, using broad and tight shots to cause feelings of uncertainty and anticipation or fear.
A different experience, this film certainly is, in comparison to the genre and its predecessor. My biggest issue with such films is that they're obviously dated, yet better for it. People sitting down to take in a film like this for the first time might feel it has easily been surpassed, yet the mix of bizarre visual style, deceptive stories, subject matter and so on make it something which firmly burns into the memory. As memories, or as memories of films, there's little to beat watching something from another time and place that has been told so boldly. Stunning to remember, sometimes difficult to get through for ways in which in which I am sure I will spend many hours trying to work out. Superb stuff, limitations and issues with the consistency of the transfers over the two films, some slight subtitle errors, but overall they're something special if you're a fan, and have potential if you feel they might make you a fan.
'The Sound of Love and Death : The Very Best of Stelvio Cipriani' : Anyone going to volunteer to say they're particularly familiar with Stelvio Cipriani? Pretty unlikely isn't it? He has done some 200 or so scores for movies and TV, and like any Italian film Director he has jumped from genre to genre as the work appears, has likely done numerous styles, with varying qualities - and for some of the best known Directors out of Italy that we know of - for Bava, Dallamano, D'Amato, Fulci, Lenzi and so on.
I don't know what position I or anyone else is in the position to say they can call any one of the tracks good or bad beyond how catchy it is, beyond those who've watch dozens of Italian genre movies, and although that may be a prime element of appreciation for most if not all music, can't help but feel a Soundtrack CD, a collection of movie music, stands a better chance if familiar, and if I am reminded of the film which plays a part in how well any piece of soundtrack works. The tracks here on this disc aren't from either of the films, though Cipriani did the scores for 'Death Walks on High Heels', and instead we get a disc that essentially has either novelty value or becomes strangely disappointing because the connection isn't quite the same if it's intended as accompaniment to a film, or memories of having seen a film.
Odd choice, and yes I would have like the actual movie score on CD for these two films, and would love companies to try to find a way to do that often, this being one of the major elements of films that pass us by, something which becomes hard to track down but which is often a large part of the enjoyment too. Shame, interesting disc, of little obvious benefit. Great familiar sounds and so on, the usual 70's styles and instruments from genre movies, you can't help but think 'If only I got to see the movie itself - this would mean something to me'. Oh well, nice idea, nice thought.
The only useful info on Cirpriani (in English) I managed to find online tells us, "Born in 1937 in Rome (Italy). He studied piano and harmony at the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia in Rome. In 1957 he started playing light music, becoming the pianist of many important singers such as Rita Pavone and Tony Renis. In the United States he studied jazz with Dave Brubeck. In 1966 he composed his first soundtrack for the film “The Bounty Killer”. He is known all over the world as the composer of the soundtrack for the film “Anonymous Venetian” (1970) by director Enrico Maria Salerno, which is still considered one of the most famous Italian cinema film scores." [Source : Manikomio].
