The Forbidden Photos of a Woman Above Suspicion (18.)
Directed by Luciano Ercoli. 1970
Starring Dagmar Lassander, Pier Paolo Capponi, Susan Scott, Simon Andreu and Osvaldo Genazzani. In Italian with subtitles. Out on Blu-ray January 14th from Arrow Video.
I believe that if you ever meet Ennio Morricone, he only answers to maestro. And I wouldn't want to address him in any other way. I'm not sure cinema is a form that has yet to be graced by genius but if you had to pick a genius of cinema his contribution surely outstrips that of any director, producer, writer or actor. Since 1960 he's banged out over 500 soundtracks and, though I'm sure there are a few duffers and half-arsed efforts in that little lot, the majority are exceptional. And the great thing about him is that he has spread his gifts far and wide, without pretension or airs and graces. He's provided scores for great directors and classic films but also for horror, pornos and exploitation. And he doesn't just save the good stuff for the classy, prestigious productions. Any old hack or chancer had a shot at immortality if the Maestro chose to devote a few of his precious notes to their little production. Last year I was browsing the Youtube and came across his score for a film called Vergogna Schifosi, a 1969 Italian thriller so obscure IMDB doesn't have a plot synopsis, but the music was remarkable. It is my new favourite.
So this rather grubby Italian giallo is getting reviewed here because of its majestic Morricone score. The Lady Above Suspicion (Lassander) is a contented housewife married to a successful industrialist (Capponi) who finds herself being menaced and blackmailed by a pervy stranger (Andreu) who has evidence that her husband killed a man he owed money to. Guess what he wants her to do.
The milieu is one of decadence, the promise is of something thoroughly tawdry but although the threats of sexual violence are enough for the BBFC to slap an 18 certificate on it, it's nowhere near as grubby and tawdry as you'd expect. Simon Andreu is a seedy looking fellow, who might have just turned up from a Pasolini film, but overall it's quite tame. Apart from some garish use of colour, it could probably have been an ITV drama from that time. It's surprisingly slow and the plot is ridiculous. The plot has more gaping holes than the clothes the ladies wear for a night out. It doesn't help that Susan Scott, who plays the wanton best friend, is so much more vivacious than Lassander in the lead role.
What it does have though is 70s accoutrements in abundance. Everybody puffs away on their fags and both the main actresses walk about in a selection of off-the-wall outfits that I imagine will thrill fans of the period. Morricone's score is kind of outlandish middle of the road, demented Burt Bacharach. (Apparently, there's a bossa nova influence but I wouldn't be knowing about that.) It's not his greatest but it is mighty fine. For me, the disc's main asset is an appreciation of the score by someone called Lovely Jon, who styles himself as a musician and soundtrack collector. Now I wouldn't normally give much credence to anyone calling themselves Lovely Jon, and he is a lot more sweary than your standard musicologist, but his insights into how the music works and how it was made are invaluable. Particularly in the way he aims to give some credit to the other members of what he calls the Big Three, collaborators Bruno Nicolai and Alessandro Alessandroni who worked with Morricone during the period. LJ contends that a lot of stuff credited to Morricone was as much their work as his. There's also mention of Edda Dell Orso, the singer who had been working with them since the Dollars trilogy and provides the magical vocals here.
Extras
Brand new 2K restoration from the original camera negative by Arrow Films
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
Original lossless mono Italian and English soundtracks
English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
New audio commentary by Kat Ellinger, author and editor-in-chief of Diabolique Magazine
Private Pictures, a newly-edited documentary featuring archival interviews with actress Nieves Navarro and director Luciano Ercoli, and new interview material with writer Ernesto Gastaldi
The Forbidden Soundtrack of the Big Three, a new appreciation of the music of Forbidden Photos and 70s Italian cult cinema by musician and soundtrack collector Lovely Jon
The Forbidden Lady, a Q&A with actress Dagmar Lassander at the 2016 Festival of Fantastic Films
Original Italian and English theatrical trailers
Image gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Twins of Evil
Directed by Luciano Ercoli. 1970
Starring Dagmar Lassander, Pier Paolo Capponi, Susan Scott, Simon Andreu and Osvaldo Genazzani. In Italian with subtitles. Out on Blu-ray January 14th from Arrow Video.
I believe that if you ever meet Ennio Morricone, he only answers to maestro. And I wouldn't want to address him in any other way. I'm not sure cinema is a form that has yet to be graced by genius but if you had to pick a genius of cinema his contribution surely outstrips that of any director, producer, writer or actor. Since 1960 he's banged out over 500 soundtracks and, though I'm sure there are a few duffers and half-arsed efforts in that little lot, the majority are exceptional. And the great thing about him is that he has spread his gifts far and wide, without pretension or airs and graces. He's provided scores for great directors and classic films but also for horror, pornos and exploitation. And he doesn't just save the good stuff for the classy, prestigious productions. Any old hack or chancer had a shot at immortality if the Maestro chose to devote a few of his precious notes to their little production. Last year I was browsing the Youtube and came across his score for a film called Vergogna Schifosi, a 1969 Italian thriller so obscure IMDB doesn't have a plot synopsis, but the music was remarkable. It is my new favourite.
So this rather grubby Italian giallo is getting reviewed here because of its majestic Morricone score. The Lady Above Suspicion (Lassander) is a contented housewife married to a successful industrialist (Capponi) who finds herself being menaced and blackmailed by a pervy stranger (Andreu) who has evidence that her husband killed a man he owed money to. Guess what he wants her to do.
The milieu is one of decadence, the promise is of something thoroughly tawdry but although the threats of sexual violence are enough for the BBFC to slap an 18 certificate on it, it's nowhere near as grubby and tawdry as you'd expect. Simon Andreu is a seedy looking fellow, who might have just turned up from a Pasolini film, but overall it's quite tame. Apart from some garish use of colour, it could probably have been an ITV drama from that time. It's surprisingly slow and the plot is ridiculous. The plot has more gaping holes than the clothes the ladies wear for a night out. It doesn't help that Susan Scott, who plays the wanton best friend, is so much more vivacious than Lassander in the lead role.
What it does have though is 70s accoutrements in abundance. Everybody puffs away on their fags and both the main actresses walk about in a selection of off-the-wall outfits that I imagine will thrill fans of the period. Morricone's score is kind of outlandish middle of the road, demented Burt Bacharach. (Apparently, there's a bossa nova influence but I wouldn't be knowing about that.) It's not his greatest but it is mighty fine. For me, the disc's main asset is an appreciation of the score by someone called Lovely Jon, who styles himself as a musician and soundtrack collector. Now I wouldn't normally give much credence to anyone calling themselves Lovely Jon, and he is a lot more sweary than your standard musicologist, but his insights into how the music works and how it was made are invaluable. Particularly in the way he aims to give some credit to the other members of what he calls the Big Three, collaborators Bruno Nicolai and Alessandro Alessandroni who worked with Morricone during the period. LJ contends that a lot of stuff credited to Morricone was as much their work as his. There's also mention of Edda Dell Orso, the singer who had been working with them since the Dollars trilogy and provides the magical vocals here.
Extras
Brand new 2K restoration from the original camera negative by Arrow Films
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
Original lossless mono Italian and English soundtracks
English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack
New audio commentary by Kat Ellinger, author and editor-in-chief of Diabolique Magazine
Private Pictures, a newly-edited documentary featuring archival interviews with actress Nieves Navarro and director Luciano Ercoli, and new interview material with writer Ernesto Gastaldi
The Forbidden Soundtrack of the Big Three, a new appreciation of the music of Forbidden Photos and 70s Italian cult cinema by musician and soundtrack collector Lovely Jon
The Forbidden Lady, a Q&A with actress Dagmar Lassander at the 2016 Festival of Fantastic Films
Original Italian and English theatrical trailers
Image gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Twins of Evil
