Giallo Films That I Own & Have Seen

Inspired by the Movie Matters Podcast #8 - Giallo Special, I decided to get all the giallo films from my personal collection together for a photo op.


Just look at all those lurid covers!
Yep, a whole kitchen table full (almost) o' giallo-y goodness.

Here's the rundown:

26 titles
14 released by Blue Underground
4 released by NoShame (R.I.P)
4 released by Anchor Bay
2 released by Shriek Show (Media Blasters)
1 released by Severin
1 released by Mya

1. The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1963)
2. Perversion Story (1969)
3. The Bird With The Crystal Plumage (1970) [Responsible for the popularity of the giallo film]
4. Five Dolls For An August Moon (1970)
5. The Forbidden Photos Of A Lady Above Suspicion (1970)
6. A Lizard In A Woman's Skin (1971) [2 DVD releases] [There is another, supposedly superior, DVD release available, but I can't see buying a third version when a Blu-ray seems inevitable (Pleeeease?)]
7. The Fifth Cord (1971) [I dig this one]
8. The Strange Vice Of Mrs. Wardh (1971) [A goody]
9. The Case Of The Scorpion's Tail (1971)
10. The Black Belly Of The Tarantula (1971) [Lots of babes]
11. Four Flies On Grey Velvet (1971)
12. (A) Bay Of Blood (1971) [The first proto slasher film?]
13. Death Walks On High Heels (1971) [This and the following film are part of The Luciano Ercoli Death Box Set]
14. Death Walks At Midnight (1972)
15. The Case Of The Bloody Iris (1972)
16. Don't Torture A Duckling (1972) [Well crafted & highly re-watchable]
17. Who Saw Her Die? (1972) [Strong entry]
18. Your Vice Is A Locked Room And Only I Have The Key (1972) [Best giallo title ever? One of my favorites - Edwige Fenech & Anita Strindberg in the same film - yum!]
19. Seven Deaths In The Cat's Eye (1973) [Slow, more gothic, average]
20. Autopsy (1975) [An atypical giallo]
21. Deep Red (1975) [2 Blu-ray releases] [Can't be beat]
22. Strip Nude For Your Killer (1975) [Trashy and awesome]
23. The Pyjama Girl Case (1977) [I like this one, it's a bit different]
24. The New York Ripper (1982) [Ultra trashy and nasty]
25. Opera (1987)
26. The Stendahl Syndrome (1996) [This one grows on me with each viewing; I used to not think much of it; it's really strong, but flawed]

Note #1: My reference was the Wikipedia page. I didn't include giallo-like or giallo inspired films, such as Santa Sangre (1989) or Se7en (1995). Though if I may recommend a film clearly inspired by Bava and gialli: Amer (2009).

The titles on the Wiki page that I have seen, but do not own are as follows:

1. Blood And Black Lace (1964) [Classic; needs a BD!]
2. (The) Short Night Of (The) Glass Dolls (1971)
3. The French Sex Murders (1972) [This is a weird one]
4. What Have You Done To Solange? (1972) [This is one that I ought to own, but I'd rather wait for a Blu-ray at this point]
5. All The Colors Of The Dark (1972) [Another great, psychedelic one]
6. The Killer Must Kill Again (1975)
7. The Psychic (1977)
8. Killer Nun (1979)
9. The Black Cat (1981) [Listed on the Wiki page and I own it, but I don't really consider it a giallo.]
10. The Scorpion With The Two Tails (1982) [To be 100% honest, I actually fast forwarded through most of this; it's terrible]
11. Murder Rock (1984) [Cheeeese; love it]
12. Stage Fright (1987) [Very enjoyable]
13. Giallo (2009) [Not terrible, but a shame it's not as good as it could have been]

Note #2: These titles are arranged chronologically by year, in the order listed on the Wiki page, but not specifically by month released (I don't feel like being that anal). The release years that I listed above are according to IMDb, which is probably more accurate than the Wiki page (not all release years correspond between the two pages).

Note #3: Interestingly enough, you may notice that there is room on my kitchen table for 3 more titles.

There are 3 giallo films (all listed on the Wiki page) which I previously owned on DVD that have upcoming/current Blu-ray releases, which I plan to pick up:

The Cat o' Nine Tails (1971[Blue Underground BD available] [waiting to compare this to Arrow BD due 9/2/11 before purchase]
Torso (1973) [Blue Underground BD due 7/26/11]
Tenebr(a)e (1982) [A great, great giallo] [Arrow BD due 6/27/11]

My Top 3 Gialli (requested by Michael to be used for the voting of the titles chosen to be discussed on the podcast):

1. Deep Red
2. The Bird With The Crystal Plumage
3. A Lizard In A Woman's Skin

P.S. - The only reason that Opera wasn't my #3 was because I didn't want my list that was submitted to Movie Matters to be Argento exclusive. Also, I love a lot of the "trashier" gialli, but I chose to go the "classier" route.

P.P.S. - The House With Laughing Windows (1976) ranked fairly high on Michael's poll, and I haven't seen it yet, so I added it to my Netflix queue.

P.P.P.S. - Whew! This post took a lot longer than I expected, soooo... listen to the podcast, click all those links, watch some gialli, leave comments and have fun!!!

Comments

  1. Nice line-up. I do have all of these, although my AUTOPSY, BLOODY IRIS, DUCKLING and WHO SAW HER DIE? are the old Anchor Bay editions (exact same encodes, though). I see you're missing two of the four films from the old AB Giallo Collection box, SHORT NIGHT OF THE GLASS DOLLS and THE BLOODSTAINED SHADOW. The former is excellent and well worth tracking down; the latter feels a bit like an Argento giallo minus the style but is still worth a look.

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  2. Hey Michael!

    Nice icon!

    I have seen Glass Dolls and I did enjoy it.
    I have yet to see Shadow and I noticed the Wiki list is lacking it. I've added it to my Netflix queue.

    Do you know a good site with a more complete giallo filmography list? I'm more interested in true gialli, not offshoots so much.

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  3. Correction: Wiki list is NOT lacking Shadow - I just passed it.

    Somewhat related: I'm dying for an US Amer BD! I have scenes from that film stuck in my head.

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  4. I don't think I've ever come across a comprehensive list on a web site. I do however have a handy "giallo checklist" spreadsheet that someone put together a few years back:

    http://www.landofwhimsy.com/funbag/gialli.xls

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  5. Well, shit.
    Awesome, thanks!
    Just the sort of nerdy thing I would do.

    ReplyDelete

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