March 2015:
With a poll coming up on IMDbs classic Film board for the best titles of 2004,I decided to watch auteur film maker Dario Argento's 2004 Giallo. Despite having recently gotten a brand new DVD player,the machine kept jamming up 20 minutes into the flick,which eventually led to me giving up on Dario's poker,and instead watching Eros Puglielli's tense 2004 Giallo Eyes of Crystals (also reviewed.)
July 2015:
Since having recently picked up an cheap back-up DVD player, (which came with no remote,and only has a play/pause button!)I felt that it was the perfect time to go back to the table,to finally play a round with the card player.
View on the film:
Originally planned as a sequel to The Stendhal Syndrome (1996-also reviewed), (which got stopped when Asia Argento decided to leave Italy for Hollywood)the screenplay by co-writer/(along with Jay Benedict/Phoebe Scholfield & Franco Ferrini) directing auteur Dario Argento got dealt a number of bad hands which led to the ending being changed 3 times,and the cast largely improvising the dialogue.
Despite everything being stacked against it,the writers are still able to deliver a gripping Giallo,with the dial-up internet (aww..the bad old days!) poker games create a tense atmosphere,as each turn of the cards switches the advantage between Mari & the killer.
Whilst the more improvise nature sadly leads to the clues to the identity of the murderer mostly feeling like a last minute addition,the writers deliver aces high set pieces which strike an excellent techno-Giallo mood,which goes from the main clue allowing Argento to return to the theme of people being connected to nature,to a delightfully bonkers Silent movie-style railroad track final.
Interestingly keeping lush colours solely shown in the garden of the killers secret location,Argento & cinematographer Benoît Debie attack the Giallo with a brittle Film Noir hue,by completely draining any colours and covering the title in a decaying grunge of grays and browns,which perfectly expresses the bleak disconnection that the cops have to the on-screen victims.
Contrasting the tar-pit look of the movie,Argento slides across the poker table with rapid tracking shots kept in to the beat of Claudio Simonetti's electronic score,which along with allowing Argento to show ever corner of the burnt out city,also allows Dario to deliver ever twist in the cards with a real precision,as Mari tries to find the killers royal flush.
With a poll coming up on IMDbs classic Film board for the best titles of 2004,I decided to watch auteur film maker Dario Argento's 2004 Giallo. Despite having recently gotten a brand new DVD player,the machine kept jamming up 20 minutes into the flick,which eventually led to me giving up on Dario's poker,and instead watching Eros Puglielli's tense 2004 Giallo Eyes of Crystals (also reviewed.)
July 2015:
Since having recently picked up an cheap back-up DVD player, (which came with no remote,and only has a play/pause button!)I felt that it was the perfect time to go back to the table,to finally play a round with the card player.
View on the film:
Originally planned as a sequel to The Stendhal Syndrome (1996-also reviewed), (which got stopped when Asia Argento decided to leave Italy for Hollywood)the screenplay by co-writer/(along with Jay Benedict/Phoebe Scholfield & Franco Ferrini) directing auteur Dario Argento got dealt a number of bad hands which led to the ending being changed 3 times,and the cast largely improvising the dialogue.
Despite everything being stacked against it,the writers are still able to deliver a gripping Giallo,with the dial-up internet (aww..the bad old days!) poker games create a tense atmosphere,as each turn of the cards switches the advantage between Mari & the killer.
Whilst the more improvise nature sadly leads to the clues to the identity of the murderer mostly feeling like a last minute addition,the writers deliver aces high set pieces which strike an excellent techno-Giallo mood,which goes from the main clue allowing Argento to return to the theme of people being connected to nature,to a delightfully bonkers Silent movie-style railroad track final.
Interestingly keeping lush colours solely shown in the garden of the killers secret location,Argento & cinematographer Benoît Debie attack the Giallo with a brittle Film Noir hue,by completely draining any colours and covering the title in a decaying grunge of grays and browns,which perfectly expresses the bleak disconnection that the cops have to the on-screen victims.
Contrasting the tar-pit look of the movie,Argento slides across the poker table with rapid tracking shots kept in to the beat of Claudio Simonetti's electronic score,which along with allowing Argento to show ever corner of the burnt out city,also allows Dario to deliver ever twist in the cards with a real precision,as Mari tries to find the killers royal flush.