Four Flies On Grey Velvet (1971) ***1/2
I've flip-flopped over the years as to whether I like Four Flies On Grey Velvet (1971) more or less than The Cat O' Nine Tails (1971) (review) (whereas I've always liked 1970's The Bird With The Crystal Plumage the most of Dario Argento's first three films). After this latest viewing of the former, I'm going to give the edge to the latter.
The final film in Argento's unofficial "Animal Trilogy," FFOGV is undoubtedly the most stylish and experimental of the three. It features innovative and indelible opening and closing scenes, and an excellent Ennio Morricone score (perhaps his best one for Argento). Due to a disagreement during scoring this would be the last time that the prolific composer—who scored all three of Dario's Animal Trilogy films—would work with the director until 25 years later with The Stendhal Syndrome (review).
Four Flies paved the way for many themes and trademarks that would carry over to Argento's best and most famous giallo, Deep Red (1975) (review). I think part of the reason that it's my least favorite (as of this writing) of the Animal Trilogy may have something to do with Michael Brandon being the least engaging protagonist of the three—he just kind of coasts through the film. On the other hand, Mimsy Farmer gives a great performance. Jean-Pierre Marielle's flamboyantly gay detective, despite being dated by today's standards (though not egregiously offensive), is also a highlight.
All in all, I'm just psyched to finally have a release befitting the quality of FF, now that all three of the Animal Trilogy films are available on 4K UHD, thanks to Severin Films' release (Arrow Video released Bird and Cat to the format in 2021).
Comments
Post a Comment