Cold Eyes of Fear / Desperate Moments (Enzo G. Castellari, 1970)

[Vaughan]

I am in a mood where I'm actually thankful that my collection has gotten large enough, and my backlog long enough, that sometimes I glance over it and find things I forgotten I'd picked up. It can turn a somewhat boring evening into an unexpected winner.

Last night I found "Cold Eyes of Fear" on the shelf, in totally the wrong place.

Anyway, this is a giallo from Redemption. I've no idea where I picked it up from, and reading the back copy, I probably only grabbed it because of the name of the actors and the time it was made, 70's.

It's a simple story of kidnapping, really. It does have its moments, though frankly the story is a little slight. On the plus side, there are some amazing shots of London and Soho (I used to hang out there a bit when I was in my mid-teens, and these shots brought back memories of how much fun that place really was). There are also some wonderful shots of a car speeding through London, and some inventive stuff, like shooting up through the bottom of a bowl of ice.

The highlight though - and it's a major one - was a jazz improvised score from Morricone. This thing is worth the price of admission alone, amazing amazing stuff.

The DVD has pluses and minuses. Forget extras, there are a couple, but unless my machine was malfunctioning, the disc has three art galleries, each with a single image? Perhaps, in the dark, I was pressing the wrong button (seriously). The soundtrack - and since the score was so good, this is a bit tragic - has quite a bit of hiss and almost no bass. The dialog is clear though, although when people scream, you can feel the glass in the windows straining - if you know what I mean.

The transfer, though non-anamorphic, is amazing. There is minor print damage, but I'm not complaining, since the colors were bright, and the image clear. You know how I go on about anamorphic this and that - this is an exception, Redemption did a brilliant job.

Oh, and the box claims it's in its original "1.55:1 aspect ratio", I thought it was odd - it's 1.85:1 actually.

If you guys see this around, and you enjoy giallos, avant garde jazz, or just the sights of 70's London, then don't hesitate. I put it on casually, with the idea of making sure my DVD's were filed properly, but within a couple of minutes was rooted to the seat. Which surely had nothing to do with the opening scenes including a woman getting naked - does it?

[MarcMorris]

Black, I supervised the telecines for those early Redemption titles over in Holland many moons ago, when I was working for Redemption full-time. The transfers were actually prepared for laserdisc, which explains the lack of anamorphic enhancement. DVD hadn't been launched at that time.

The hissy soundtrack is due to the fact that there was no magnetic track available, so I had to use the film's optical track, which is far from ideal.

It's not stricly a Giallo either, more a sort of crime thriller. I'm pleased you liked it though - you should also take a look at Polselli's 'The Reincarnation of Isabel' for a truly bizarre viewing experience.

[Vaughan]

Hey, there ya go! Good job, Mr. Morris. The hiss is there, but as I wrote earlier, it doesn't prevent you from hearing all the dialog. I enjoyed the score regardless, so it couldn't have been all that bad.

Was "The Reincarnation of Isabel" another Redemption release? I really must track down a list of what they put out, I have three of their titles, all great.

I did struggle with the "giallo" comment a bit. So what I did was, I cross referenced with "Blood and Black Lace" by Adrian Luther Smith. I figured, if he had it in there, then I'd go along with the giallo reference. Of course, it was in there, so...........

You're right though, it's not much of a giallo, but worthy none-the-less, imo.

[Paul D K]

I got COLD EYES OF FEAR on the double bill DVD with THE DEVIL'S NIGHTMARE. Funnily enough I still haven't watched the former while I have watched the latter - I must catch up!

THE REINCARNATION OF ISOBEL is great (but a little insane). Worth it for Rita Calderoni alone (she gives Edwige Fenech a run for her money) - I must admit that I prefer Polselli's DELERIUM. Ms. Calderoni (and Mickey Hargitay) present again but with an amazing soundtrack and a giallo plot.

PS: The UK Redemption release of THE REINCARNATION OF ISOBEL is actually entitled BLACK MAGIC RITES, so look for that in the shop!

[Vaughan]

Hey! No fair! What's THE DEVIL'S NIGHTMARE like?

I didn't know these titles were out on double bills. Nice catch!

[Paul D K]

I got it from FAB PRESS - It's a "Dark Side" release and only cost £14.

I bought it for THE DEVIL'S NIGHTMARE, that's why I still haven't watched COLD EYES OF FEAR yet. The film itself is okay - The cast represent the Seven Deadly Sins and are bumped off by Erica Blanc in odd make-up. It has a nice atmosphere and some imaginative deaths (nothing overly graphic), but the direction is a little flat (not that this really matters to us types!). I do like films set is gothic castles though.
Obvioulsy the set would have been a good buy, but if you all ready have CEOF then THE DEVILS NIGHTMARE isn't a "must buy".

[phil]

I've been meaning to pick this up for a while now, but does anyone know what the correct ratio for the movie is. The Image disk is 1:85 and the Dark Side disc is 2:35.

[MarcMorris]

It's 1.85:1. The DarkSide packing is incorrect.

[Jonny Rojo]

So what I did was, I cross referenced with "Blood and Black Lace" by Adrian Luther Smith. I figured, if he had it in there, then I'd go along with the giallo reference. Of course, it was in there, so...........

Black,
That's how I have been categorising a lot of my films over the past few years... If it's in the 'Blood & Black Lace' book then I've been putting it on my list as a Giallo. I have no other source to tell me otherwise. Of course there are definately films in that book that will strike up discussion with genre fans as to what is or isn't a Giallo, but I need a point of referance and Adrian's book is the only source I have at the moment, so I'm sticking with that for the time being.

[Mark Y]

Hey Black

Thanks for the pointer on this one. After your original post I managed to find a copy of the Dark Side disc on ebay for an absolute bargain price. I retrieved it from the Post Office yesterday and it looks pretty interesting. I love it when the London/Soho milieu crops up in films (and foreign movies especially - I was equally delighted with the wanderings of Naschy round Soho in Dr. Jekyll Vs. The Werewolf). Will sit down and give it a good watch when I get chance.

One curious note is that the opening scene features a woman being threatened with a flicknife and having her clothes gradually cut off and although it turns out to not to be what it seems (I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen it) it is the sort of thing one would expect to fall foul of the BBFC (as did a similar scene in Satan's Slave recently). Assuming the Dark Side and Redemption versions are the same how come the BBFC let this through?

Also, despite the 1.85:1 framing the film looked slightly cropped at the sides on my TV. Overscanning? Or is this inherent in the transfer?

[Rissos]

One curious note is that the opening scene features a woman being threatened with a flicknife and having her clothes gradually cut off and although it turns out to not to be what it seems (I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen it) it is the sort of thing one would expect to fall foul of the BBFC (as did a similar scene in Satan's Slave recently). Assuming the Dark Side and Redemption versions are the same how come the BBFC let this through?

Never let it be said that the BBFC are consistent when it comes to what they do and don't cut!
The BBFC are a group of people and what one review board might allow through, another would cut. While there are obvious rules and guidelines, as with most things in life there are grey areas and personal opinions, and some things just slip through. If it's half four on a friday evening and you're thinking about the pub, you won't be paying as much attention as you would first thing on a monday morning.

[harry2]

One version of this film is to be seen on THC regularly about midnight on a Saturday night.

[mrb]

'free' with this months THE DARKSIDE (real price £1.24).

i thought the framing on the previous THE DARKSIDE disc was some sort of mistake, but this is the same and, as Mark Y points out, it does look cropped.

good disc though, some fun trailers on it. way better than the freebies offered by certain other horror/sex monthlies.

maybe next issue we'll get ULTIMO SQUALLO.

[mark meakin]

The FREE declaration was indeed misleading on The Darkside considering the cover price had been raised but its still nice to have.I could have bought it years back when I bought the Bloody Judge so its saved me a few quid.

[WilsonBros]

It's the same bloody 1.85:1 (or thereabouts) print that the Darkside used for their double-bill with The Devil's Nightmare a couple of years back.

On the back of that edition, Bryce had the bloody cheek to put "it looks great in 2.35:1 cinemascope"

Regardless of the incorrect information about the aspect ratio, it's a really enjoyable thriller with a lovely look at "swinging" London.

THE WILSON BROS

[Dave Jay]

Yep, the film's a bit slow but the scenes in and around London are a real buzz. This is the film that, along with THE BIG RACKET, really turned me on to Castellari...

Couldn't stand BLACK MAGIC RITES, though... a few great trippy ritual scenes but the rest is slow, totally disjointed and filled with completely annoying characters... this is one DVD that got sold on only a week or so after I first bought it...

[WilsonBros]

It would be nice if there was a decent copy of Cold Eyes of Fear on DVD.

The only copy I have at the moment is the one that was issued by The DarkSide, which was double-billed with the awful Devil's Nightmare.

OK, so the DS copy is anamorphically-enhanced, but it's in a severely compromised ratio of around 1.78:1, rather than the 2.35:1 that it's supposed to be in. The print's good, but the audio is pretty duff, with long-running pops & crackles on the soundtrack.

If someone released a good copy of this (maybe also tinting the dubious "night" exterior shots that were plainly filmed during daylight hours), then I'd sure as hell put my hand in my pocket for it.

Kev W

[MarcMorris]

It wasn't filmed 2.35:1 - I sat in on the telecine and mastering of this one. It's in the correct ratio, although when the mastering was done anamorphic enhancement wasn't available. The Dark Side disc therefore has fake anamorphic enhancement.

Redemption have the rights to this one - when i was there we worked from the original negatives.

The UK release should be fine, although the English audio was from VHS.

Cold Eyes of Fear (UK)

[Clive Smith]

Holy crap! I'd forgotten just how BAD some of those Redemption covers were! That one's cheaptastic!!!!

[WilsonBros]

It wasn't filmed 2.35:1 - I sat in on the telecine and mastering of this one.

Guess that's pretty conclusive, then! The sleeve notes are incorrect - people shouldn't believe anything that Bryce says...

The credits look a little cramped, but maybe that was just the style they were going for - most of the movie takes place on one set and the credits probably aped the claustrophobic nature of the movie!

Are there any superior English language tracks out there? The one on the copy I have is pretty poor. The dubbing's pretty bad anyway, so getting an Italian language version with English subs would be cool.

Kev W