Perversion
Story
(1969) + A
Lizard In A Woman's Skin
(1971/Lucio Fulci/Umbrella Entertainment/PAL DVDs)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C/C+ Extras: C-/D Films: B-
PLEASE
NOTE:
These import DVDs can only be operated on machines capable of playing
back DVDs that can handle PAL format software and can be ordered from
our friends at Umbrella Entertainment at the website address provided
at the end of the review. Skin
has since arrived in an expanded Blu-ray reviewed on this site and
can be found at a link also below.
Lucio
Fulci's career can be split into three eras: the early films, the
thrillers in the middle and the decline that started when he made
Zombi.
At his best, he is a fine, original, risk-taking filmmaker and that
continues to be evident 40 years later in the two films that begin
his second era:Perversion
Story
(1969) and A
Lizard In A Woman's Skin
(1971). They have now been issued by Umbrella Entertainment in
decent DVD editions.
Perversion
Story
(aka Una
sull'altra)
is the more subtle of the two, offering truly Hitchcockian giallo
tale of a man (Jean Sorel) who is seeing two women besides his wife
and not knowing what will happen. One is a wild stripper who looks
like his wife and the other is his also-sexy mistress. The wife is
supposedly dead and that leads to her husband getting arrested. But
she is still alive. Has he been set up? Is it betrayal? Is it a
way to get the $1 Million insurance policy on her and run? As it
takes place in, the similarities to Hitchcock's Vertigo
(1958) are most intended. However, this is not one of the many mere
imitators, but a film with different ideas and one trying to be the
bold next step after the Hitchcock classic. It worked enough to
influence Brian De Palma. I liked it, but the justice is just too
swift here to be believed. Marisa Mell, Elsa Martinelli, John
Ireland and Faith Domergue also star.
A
Lizard In A Woman's Skin
even goes further in its sexuality explorations as a woman (Florinda
Bolkan) finds herself having vivid dreams of group sex and murder.
She is the daughter of a top politician and is trying to enjoy
herself, but the dreams are too vivid and something is very wrong
here. She too gets arrested for being a murderer, but the
investigator (Stanley Baker) releases her when someone else admits to
the murder. However, he believes something more is going on and will
have to delve further into a world he is not used to. Roman
Polanski's Repulsion
(1965, reviewed on Blu-ray elsewhere on this site) is an obvious
influence, yet the film has a look all of its own and continues
visually and thematically what the previous film explores. Again a
film that holds up better than expected, it shows a remarkable
filmmaker at the peak of his powers. Jean Sorel, Silvia Monti, Leo
Genn and an uncredited Basil Dignam also star.
The
anamorphically enhanced image on both films are labeled as 1.85 X 1
on the back of each case, but Story
is actually in 2.35 X 1 as shot in Techniscope. Both were also
issued in three-strip, dye-transfer Technicolor prints, but Skin
looks more like it than Story,
though Story
makes up for that in a little more detail. Alejandro Ullloa (Night
Of The Werewolf,
reviewed on Blu-ray elsewhere on the site) lensed Story
well, while Luigi Kuveiller (who has also worked with Dario Argento
and lensed the two Paul Morrissey horror classics Flesh
For Frankenstein
(in 3-D no less) and Blood
For Dracula)
once again shows his command of the scope frame. Add that these are
PAL DVDs and despite aged prints, look good considering.
The
lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono on both films are loaded with dubbing in
both their English and Italian versions, with both languages showing
up in each soundtrack. Riz Ortolani (Castle
of Blood
(1964), The
Valachi Papers)
delivers a fine score for Story,
while no less than Ennio Morricone supplies the great score for Skin,
which is also presented in an interesting lossy Dolby Digital 5.1
upgrade showing off stereo versions of his music. Story
only has a trailer.
You
can read about the new expanded and upgraded Skin
Blu-ray at...
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/14094/Code+46+(2003/United+Artists/MGM/Olive+Blu-ra
As
noted above, you can order these PAL DVD imports exclusively from
Umbrella at:
http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/
-
Nicholas Sheffo
