Bassi Istinti aka Private Detective is erotic noir-giallo from year 1991. The plot of the movie is basic giallo plot seasoned with indifferent dialogue, bearable acting and travel guide scenery. The camera work is however suprisingly atmospheric. What makes this movie unique is that it's pure hardcore porn starring such names as Rocco Siffredi (Then known as Rocco Tano), voluptuous Raven and former Playboy Playmate Teri Weigel at one of the first hardcore scenes of her life. There is also half hour shorter softcore version available, but only in vhs format.


Silvio Bandinelli, the director of the movie has his own publishing company called Showtime that has published the hardcore version under the name of Private Detective. There is also dvd from publisher called Colmax, but it doesn't have english options and has already gone out of print anyway. Showtime version has english audio and the picture quality is pretty all right.

Quick peek at Deborah's sweet body

I just received Sweet Body of Deborah dvd, and had a brief look at it. Yes, the aspect ratio is wide, spoken in English and you have to select one of the Scandinavian subtitles. Brief test on my PC didn't reveal any problems in sound. The source print has some wear and speckles and is somewhat soft, but I didn't spot any digital artifacts. All in all, the transfer seems very film-like but the age shows. I will post more comments after viewing the complete film. Here's a random screen capture (compressed). Thanks Fin de Siecle Media for bringing this film from 1968 available on dvd!

Sweet Body of Deborah

Great news! Dvd debut! Sweet Body of Deborah, directed by Romolo Guerrieri, will be released by Fin de Siecle media. Unfortunate news for those living outside Scandinavia is that subtitles will be forced. Read more from their website: Fin de Siecle media

The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh from MYA

Yes, The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh already released by No Shame in USA, will be re-released by MYA. The name will however be Blade of the Ripper.

The Weekend Murders

Great to break the silence with good news. Code Red will release The Weekend Murders directed by Michele Lupo. It should be out on August 11th. The film has not been released on dvd before, and according to Code Red this will be the first time ever in widescreen as well.

I have forgot to mention that sometime ago Cult Epics released Tinto Brass' Col cuore in gola. It has been available in Italy before, but this time it has English subtitles as well. The release carries the name Deadly Sweet.

Bazzoni's Footprints coming?

Play.com lists interesting title, Luigi Bazzoni's Le Orme aka Footprints, for pre-order. No details available yet, but let's see.

Iguana with the Tongue of Fire

Another quality report, this time on Riccardo Freda's Iguana with the Tongue of Fire. This is another German release, from the company called New Entertainment World. English option is available, but the picture quality is pretty bad. Avoid, unless you're a completist, and spend your money on better releases and wait if this one gets a better release. Especially since the movie isn't good either. It has some brief gore moments and in unintentional comedy department there's more to enjoy as well. Score by Stelvio Cipriani is top notch though. The German name of the film is Die Bestie mit dem feurigen Atem, and the ugly cover image reminds of those early vhs days.

Death Carries a Cane & Bloodstained Butterfly

Death Carries a Cane by Maurizio Pradeux and Bloodstained Butterfly by Duccio Tessari both have a German release. Death Carries a Cane, which is so by-the-book it almost feels like parody, is released by X-rated and is available with several different cover designs. The German release carries the name Die Nacht der rollenden Köpfe. The release is decent, and the biggest flaw is the mandatory German subtitles when watched in English.

Bloodstained Butterfly on the other hand is very atypical combination of court drama, police procedural and melancholic giallo. The release by Eyecatcher Movies is nice package, offering both the English dub as well as Italian dub accompanied by English subtitles. The extras include bunch of trailers and more importantly full soundtrack (not cd, but playable via dvd menu). The German name is Blutspur im Park.

Both releases have this book-like dvd-case, which resembles old vhs-cases and are typical to German releases by marginal distributors.

Suspected Death of a Minor

Earlier this week it was time for this year's first giallo, or at least so I thought, Sergio Martino's Suspected Death of a Minor aka Morte sospetta di una minorenne. As Martino says in the interview included on Sazuma's dvd that the movie is "poliziesco", not a giallo. According to Martino it was originally supposed to be titled Milano Violenta which sort of closes the case. And I agree, even though it has giallo elements such as murders performed with straight razor. The film however is definitely recommended even if it was little bit slow occasionally. Claudio Cassinelli is good in the main role, and despite the dark subject the film has plenty of humour which actually works. Some political commentary is included, and there are several car chases. Suspected Death of a Minor is not of course the only film where the genre definitions are not that clear. I'd say this one is not a giallo, while I'd call Blazing Magnum (the name of course is sheer police stuff inspired by Dirty Harry) one even though that's e.g. left out of the book Blood and Black Lace.

Sazuma's dvd of Martino's film is recommended as well. The picture quality (naturally anamorphic, 2,35:1) is very good, and it comes with the Italian soundtrack supported by English subtitles. It includes some extras as well; featurette Crime Scene Milan including director Martino as the main one. I only watched the first 2 minutes of the featurette, but I'll get back to that later if needed. It also has audio commentary by film critics but I'm not sure whether I'll ever have time for that (I haven't actually checked whether it is in English in the first place), as well as trailer and poster gallery. "Jewel case" type of packaging is nice looking, and comes with a short essay (in English and in German) by Christian Kessler who is the other one of the critics on the commentary track.