Giallo (Dario Argento, 2008)

[Someone Weird]

Personally I couldn't believe how good MoT was, not only was it as good as I had hoped - before the lovely fanboys started slagging it off for not being as good as Suspiria - but it was even better! It was a marvellous film but there's no accounting for taste.

This is Mother of Tears you are talking about, is it Cloudy old chap? Whilst I by no means consider myself an Argento fanboy (I believe he has only ever made a handful of good films between 1975 and 1984), MOT was laughable and dire.

[Mannfan]

Is there a DVD release date for Giallo yet? With all the negative reviews I'm guessing it'll go straight to DVD in most areas.

Argento is straight to dvd/vhs since "Trauma",i'd say (the last Argento films theatrically released in my country were,gasp,"Phantom of the opera" and "Sleepless",and both were limited releases,of course)

The brazilian dvd of "Giallo" will be available next month.

[Companero]

The brazilian dvd of "Giallo" will be available next month.

You got a link to where it can be bought from, mate?

[Mannfan]

As with MoT I'll approach Giallo with an open mind, I just hope it's more Sleepless than The Card Player!

i just hope "Giallo" is more "The Card Player" than "Sleepless".
At least Michael McKenzie and Keith Brown who didn't like too much "Sleepless" say that people who liked "The Card Player" will probably like "Giallo",so,good for me..

[Mannfan]

You got a link to where it can be bought from, mate?

no,i just know that:

"The movie will be released here direct in dvd, with the name "Giallo - O Assassino" (literally translated as "Giallo - The Killer").

It will be available for rental in October."

maybe on Ebay soon?

[Companero]

Thanks for that - I shall keep an eye out for it.

[cloud]

The Card Player was too TV for me, that usual stylish look was gone. It also felt too forced with no real inspiration. If Giallo is like that then it's not looking good at all.

This is Mother of Tears you are talking about, is it Cloudy old chap? Whilst I by no means consider myself an Argento fanboy (I believe he has only ever made a handful of good films between 1975 and 1984), MOT was laughable and dire.

Be off with you, MoT is a modern classic, it has all the usual goodies that Argento served up in the '70s and '80s plus a killer monkey. I posted a rather giddy review earlier this year right here.

[MarcMorris]

It's already on DVD in Poland (with a Polish dub), but If you really want that Brazilian DVD...

GIALLO - REFÉNS DO MEDO

You've been warned. It's truly dire.

ain't it cool: Dr. William Weir chuckles through Dario Argento's GIALLO

Don't forget that Brody is not only the lead actor, he's also the film's producer. How much of the film do you really think is Dario, or simply Brody telling Dario what he wants (or doesn't) as he's effectively the boss?

[Mannfan]

Argento said that he liked his experience with Brody (actor and producer) but not with the others US producers...



I went to Frightfest this past weekend, and would definitely like to chime in all the madness concerning Argento’s latest:

A few things before I get into the film. I spoke with Alan Jones throughout the entire festival and the following was stated by him:

1) He hates the film and feels its Argento’s worst film
2) Argento himself loathes the film
3) The film was taken off Argento’s hands and reedited three times

Ok, now on to the film. As the film began, for the first 20 minutes nobody neither laughed nor chuckled at GIALLO. It was proper horror filmmaking that was done quite well. The problem came however, when some very small comedic tones jumped into the picture about 30 minutes in. After that, the audience got the notion to laugh at anything and everything that they could remotely find. The audience soon found themselves thinking that they were better than the film, which really should not be the case. This actually became quite annoying, as every other scene was met with irritating laughter, pulling you out of the film each time. This is the problem sometimes with watching films with audiences. As many of you know, watching some Argento’s earlier classics with an audience has quite often been a very frustrating experience, with the audience receiving the film’s with needless laughter and snickering. This also was the case with Argento’s newest film, many people expected/wanted to laugh at it, so they found any moment in the film to do so.

Although some moments did indeed call for an enjoyable chuckle (some of the dialogue) , it was in no way as funny as the audience made it out to be. Point in example, the final shot of the film ends in a very dramatic freeze frame, an Argento motif you could say. Yet for some illogical reason the audience burst into laughter. Does this make any sense?

The film has been shown publicly only two times, Frightfest and Edinburgh. Both times have been with packed out audiences literally waiting to crucify the film. You should have heard some of the comments made prior to the screening, they were just waiting to bash it to pieces.

Interestingly enough, Alan Jones told me that both Tarantino and Eli Roth saw the film at Tarantino’s house and really liked it. It seems they were able watch the film by themselves, without a scathing crowd, probably why they really enjoyed it.

Some quick thoughts on the film itself:

All in all, the film itself is actually a well-made thriller. Although it’s not in the same realm of Argento’s previous masterpieces, GIALLO is nicely made minor Italian thriller that really should be seen. Hopefully, I'll be able to enjoy it more so once it arrives on DVD/Blu.

One of the real disappointments I did find with the film though, was the killer’s presentation. Although he had wicked back story concerning why he was called Yellow, visually he wasn’t presented very well. I was never really intrigued or scared by the killer’s presence.

I really don’t think Argento has suffered from a bad film here, just a bad audience.

Arif Khan (avmaniacs.net)

[MarcMorris]

I don't think you can blame the audience. The audience are for the most part huge Argento fans. It's the awful script and the diabolical dialogue that lets the film down. Perhaps (but I doubt it) Argento intended it to be a comedy.

I also saw Mother of Tears at the American Film Market. Even there the film buyers were laughing at the diabolical acting and scripting - those that were eft, that is.

What more can I say?

Frightfest forum

Total Film

Twitch Film

[Mannfan]

I also saw Mother of Tears at the American Film Market. Even there the film buyers were laughing at the diabolical acting and scripting - those that were eft, that is.

at the Cannes Market Film 2001,most people were laughing during the screening of SLEEPLESS,2/3 of the audience left the screening after the 30 first minutes...myself i don't like the film,but...
same case with the Cannes Market screening of THE CARD PLAYER...

Two years ago,i saw OPERA at the Paris Cinematheque and many people were laughing during the murders scenes and the ending...ok,some of the acting (CC Tassoni,Nicolodi...) and dialogues are really weak,but,it was really annoying (it was the first time i saw OPERA on the big screen)

[Mannfan]

It's already on DVD in Poland (with a Polish dub)

Opening credits are very generic,but i like the early shots,Torino at night.

I have low/moderate expectations for this,i'll see it of course,i hope that i won't be as disappointed as the first time i saw SLEEPLESS.

[Mannfan]

Perhaps (but I doubt it) Argento intended it to be a comedy.

the script was said to be "slightly tongue in cheek and satirical",before Argento directed the movie.

The co-screenwriter is talking about the film and his next projects with Carpenter and Kitamura:

http://www.horror.com/php/article-2496-1.html


We had some comedic scenes written in, an actually there is a fair bit of comedy in Giallo. And we wrote it to be funny, and we were hoping it would work and really kind of nervous about the translation. And apparently people are laughing their asses off and now they are saying it's unintentional laughs… and I know those are pretty *beep* intentional laughs! I mean, we wrote kind of a preposterous back story, because one of the great things about giallo cinema, is that they tend to be a bit ludicrous. And so we really wanted to be true to that instead of the story that was just kind of off-the-wall. And apparently when that part plays, people laugh. And a lot of detractors are saying, "oh it's unintentionally funny," and that such a crime. People are *beep* laughing at our film. It makes me very happy!
The people who are laughing their asses off aren't thinking about work. They aren't thinking about the fact that they don't have their rent, or anything else. They are having a good time at the cinema, and that's the best compliment we can have.

Frightfest forum

Total Film

Twitch Film

The twitchfilm review is interesting...i like the "damatotomato" comments on the FF forum,lol

[MarcMorris]

Giallo trailer:

[cloud]

Judging by the trailer it certainly looks promising.

[finishominis]

Well, I've seen it and I'd say it compares to The Card Player stylistically with a couple of shots that are right out of Tenebrae! The Giallo character is hilarious - he looks like a cross between John McEnroe and Argento himself! I think it's the same old problem with the dialogue going back to the earlier films - it comes across as awkward, and the tongue in cheek tone of his recent films has been seen as unintentional. But everything Dario has made post-Stendhal has had an element of self-parody. Either way, I found it really entertaining and will probably grab that Brazilian DVD when it comes out.

[Mannfan]

Either way, I found it really entertaining and will probably grab that Brazilian DVD when it comes out.

good.

I agree about the self-parody vibe of Argento's post-STENDHAL works.

Argento said himself that he was missing the light tone of his early gialli,so putting some light touches in "Phantom of the opera" was a kind of fresh air for him,after some very dark films ("Opera","Stendhal","Trauma",etc)

According to his editor Walter Fasano ("The Card Player","Mother of Tears","Do you like Hitchcock?"),Dario enjoys himself to add from time to time some offbeat,grotesque,funny bits in his films (at least the ones he made with Argento)!

[Mannfan]

Brazilian Blu Ray of GIALLO will be available the 15th of December:

http://dvdworld.com.br/dvdworld.hts?+CL25338+acha

[Mannfan]

Finally saw it.
Minor Argento,but still watchable and pretty entertaining.
The story is generic,the investigation quite routine and not so thrilling but i liked Brody,the killer,Marco Werba's score and some scenes.
There's a certain melancholy and coldness between the characters,which reminded me the desperate world of "Opera".
A flawed but interesting film.

6/10

[Companero]

I've seen this twice now and really can't see why people were so harsh on it. It's a very mediocre film but compared to his last film--and I know I've been quite vocal for my disliking of MOTHER OF TEARS on these and other boards--it's definitely a step up. Like Mannfann says, it's pretty routine and there are some unintentionally hilarious bits but it's certainly not the travesty I had been led to believe.

I'd give it 5/10.