At Home With Dirk Bogarde

by Kimberly Lindbergs | March 29, 2007

Categories | Actors, British Cinema, Dirk Bogarde, Gay Interest

Dirk’s Bogarde’s nephew has just launched the Official Dirk Bogarde Website @ http://www.dirkbogarde.co.uk/ and I’ve spent all morning there exploring the site. It’s one of the most impressive websites I’ve ever come across and it does a terrific job of celebrating one of Britain’s greatest actors.

Dirk Bogarde has long been one of my favorite actors and his filmography is really astonishing. Bogarde worked with some of of the greatest filmmakers of the 1950s, 60s & 70s and he gave remarkable performances in numerous films. He was also incredibly good looking so I’m using this occasion as an excuse to post some photos of him.

The new website contains lots of great reading material about the actor, as well as photos and other information, but one of the many highlights is Dirk Bogarde’s home movie collection which you can view online. These home movies give fans of the actor an intimate look at Bogarde’s life with his partner and manager Anthony Forwood.

If you’re interested in Dirk Bogarde or just want to know more about this talented actor, I highly recommend giving the site a look. Just make sure you have a few hours to spare because if you’re anything like me, you’ll definitely want to spend a lot of time there.

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Perversion Story

by Kimberly Lindbergs | March 28, 2007

Categories | Movie Reviews, Giallo, Italian Cinema, Cinedelica, Lucio Fulci, Thrillers, Marisa Mell

I don’t know if I’ll get around to writing about all the Lucio Fulci films that have recently been released and re-released on DVD anytime soon, but I recently wrote about Fulci’s Perversion Story (Una sull’altra, 1969) for Cinedelica which was released by Severin Films late last month.

Perversion Story is a great erotic thriller and I wouldn’t necessarily refer to it as a “giallo film” because it’s so different from the typical gialli releases that have gotten released in the US but it’s been called a giallo by lots of other reviewers. It does seem like that term is getting tossed around a lot lately by critics and DVD companies that and use it to describe any Italian thriller.

But enough of my silly complaints… Perversion Story has become one of my favorite Fulci’s films and I’m so grateful that it’s been released on DVD. If you enjoy stylish Italian thrillers please stop by Cinedelica and give my review a look. The movie stars the lovely Marisa Mell who happens to be one of my favorite actresses and it also has a fantastic score by composer Riz Ortolani. Severin’s Perversion Story is easily one of the best DVD releases of the year so far. Can’t recommend it enough!

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Cinema Blog-A-Thons

by Kimberly Lindbergs | March 26, 2007

Categories | News, Blogathons

There’s lots of interesting Blog-A-Thons coming up in the next few weeks & months which I hope to participate in and I thought I’d mention them here and encourage other cinema junkies who like to write about their habit to join in the fun.

Trashy film enthusiasts should consider joining other trash loving fans for the Trashy Movie Celebration Blog-A-Thon being organized by Neil at The Bleeding Tree for the weekend of April 8-9th.

My contribution: Massimo Dallamano’s Dorian Gray

Believe it or not, this trashy girl is also rather fond of a British bard by the name of Shakespeare, so I’m also planning to participate in the William Shakespeare Blog-A-Thon taking place on April 23, which is being hosted by Peter over at Coffee, Coffee and More Coffee.

My contribution: Vincent Price in Theater of Blood

Last but certainly not least, I also hope to participate in the Film music Blog-A-Thon taking place June 21-25 at Windmills of My Mind. It’s a long way off, but I figured I’d mention it anyway. Anyone who’s spent any time at my blog has probably noticed that I have a deep love for film scores, so I’m also excited about this one.

My contribution: Contempt (1963)

If I get interested in any more Blog-A-Thons I’ll post updates about them here.

NEW BLOG-A-THON UPDATES:

Action Heroine Blog-a-Thon at the Film Experience Blog on June 12th.

My contribution: Tura Satana - An American Icon

Final Girl is holding a The Friday the 13th Blog-a-Thon on Friday, July 13th.

My contribution: Revisiting the Bay of Blood

A Lee Marvin Blog-a-thon will be hosted by Richard Harland Smith at TCM’s Movie Morlock’s blog on August 29th.

My contribution:
Lee Marvin: A Sensitive 17 Year-Old Boy

Louis Bunuel will be the subject of his own Blog-a-thon being organized by Flickhead for September 24-30th.

My contributions:
What’s in the Box?
Ode to Marcel
The Fine Art of Fashion

A Montgomery Clift Blog-a-thon is being put together by Film Experience for Oct. 17th.

My contribution:
Monty Photos

Gautam Valluri at Broken Projector is holding what he calls a Double Bill-a-Thon Oct. 22-26

My contribution:
A Double Dose of William Beaudine

UPCOMING BLOG-A-THONS:

Filmsquish will be hosting an Akira Kurosawa Blog-a-thon on November 15th.

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Happy Birthday Steve McQueen!

by Kimberly Lindbergs | March 24, 2007

Categories | Actors, American Cinema, Steve McQueen, Ann-Margret, Natalie Wood

Today would have been Steve McQueen’s 77th birthday and I’m using it as an excuse to post some photos of him since he’s one of my favorite actors and I’ve got a lot of photos of him stashed away on my computer for a day like today. Steve was very photogenic and he took a lot of great photos. He also made a lot of great films.

Some of my favorite Steve McQueen movies are The Blob (1958), The Magnificent Seven (1960), The Great Escape (1963), Love With the Proper Stranger (1963), Baby, the Rain Must Fall (1965), The Cincinnati Kid (1965), Sand Pebbles (1966), The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), Bullitt (1968), Le Mans (1971), The Getaway (1972) and Papillon (1973), which are all worth a look. I believe all of the McQueen movies I mentioned are easily available on DVD except for Love with the Proper Stranger and The Sand Pebbles which has been discontinued, but The Sand Pebbles is getting re-released by 20th Century Fox later this year.

It’s a shame that Love with the Proper Stranger hasn’t been released on DVD yet since it teams up Steve McQueen with Natalie Wood, and they’re a a perfect movie match. It’s hard to think of a cuter couple that Hollywood could have brought together in 1963. Steve worked with a lot of great leading ladies including Lee Remick, Ann-Margret, Tuesday Weld, Candice Bergen, Faye Dunaway, Jacqueline Bisset and real-life partner actress Ali MacGraw, but I think Steve & Natalie have really fantastic chemistry together on screen. Love with the Proper Stranger is a thoughtful film that deals with the complex subject of abortion and Steve and Natalie are both terrific in it. I suppose the subject matter might have something to do with why it hasn’t seen a DVD release yet. Hopefully Love with the Proper Stranger will find it’s way onto DVD soon since I think it’s a great movie, but at least you can still find copies of the film on VHS.

Steve McQueen was the quintessential ’60s American actor. There may have been better performers but I don’t think there have been many other American actors that can match McQueen’s charisma when he’s on screen. McQueen didn’t like to perform. He didn’t have to. He was natural actor and the roles he took became part of who he was, who he wanted to be and who he was running from. When you watch him you can sense that he was genuinely dangerous, but when he smiles he can light up the screen. I think he was an irresistible combination of bad boy and little boy lost. That volatile mix somehow appeals to both men and women. Lots of men want to be Steve McQueen and lots of women want to be with Steve McQueen. His last years were troubled, but I think he’ll always be remembered as a great icon of American ’60s cinema.

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The Eurotrash Pinnacle Project

by Kimberly Lindbergs | March 22, 2007

Categories | Movie Reviews, News, Horror, Alain Delon, Terence Stamp, Klaus Kinski, Helmut Berger, John Phillip Law

David Zuzelo who runs the terrific blog Tomb it May Concern started what he refers to as The Eurotrash Pinnacle Project. It’s an effort to bring together a list of favorite Eurotrash films from every genre imaginable including eurohorror, giallo, eurospy and spaghetti westerns. I recently contributed my own list of Top 10 Eurotrash films with an additional 10 titles tacked on the end for good measure, since selecting only 10 was an impossible task.

In my brief commentary for the first 10 films I listed, I used the word “sexy” a lot, which isn’t too surprising since sex often plays an important part in Eurotrash films and some of my favorite actors (Klaus Kinski, Alain Delon, Terence Stamp, Helmut Berger and John Phillip Law) often show up looking very sexy in the movies I mentioned.

You can find my list of favorite Eurotrash films now posted over at Tomb it May Concern. Be sure to click on the label link “Eurotrash Film Pinnacle Project” at the bottom of the entry because it will take you to the the rest of the great movie lists contributed by others.

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R.I.P. Freddie Francis 1917-2007

by Kimberly Lindbergs | March 21, 2007

Categories | Directors, British Cinema, Hammer Horror, Amicus Productions, Freddie Francis, Peter Cushing, Oliver Reed, Jack Clayton, Karel Reisz

I had planned on finishing up the Lucio Fulci tribute I started last week, which was slowed down by unexpected computer troubles, but I was deeply saddened to learn that the great British filmmaker & cinematographer Freddie Francis had passed away on March 17th due to complications following a stroke and I decided to spend some time writing about Francis instead since he’s long been one of my favorite filmmakers.

Freddie Francis began his career in cinema as a camera operator working with directors like Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger on The Tales of Hoffmann (1951) and John Huston on Moulin Rouge (1952), Beat the Devil (1953) and Moby Dick (1956).

In the late 50s Francis started focusing on cinematography and quickly became a master of his craft. He helped form what would later be called the British New Wave and was responsible for the impressive look of some of the best “angry young men” films of the period such as Karel Reisz’ Saturday Night And Sunday Morning (1960). He also worked with great British directors like Joseph Losey on Time Without Pity (1957) and Jack Cardiff on the Oscar winning Sons and Lovers (1960). His early work helped breathe new life into British cinema and his black & white cinematography for director Jack Clayton was especially groundbreaking. The thoughtful drama Room at the Top (1959) and the haunting thriller The Innocents (1961) are both wonderful examples of what Freddie Francis was able to do with his camera.

Francis later turned to directing and was inspired by filmmakers such as Billy Wilder, William Wyler and Tod Browning, as well as his mentors which included John Huston and Michael Powell.

Some of his best work can be seen in the early films he made for Hammer Studios. Paranoiac is an under-appreciated gem made by Francis in 1963, which is beautifully directed and shot in stunning black & white. The director also managed to get Oliver Reed to deliver one of his greatest performances in Paranoiac playing a tormented alcoholic. Another impressive early effort from Francis was the disturbing thriller Nightmare made in 1964. In Nightmare Jennie Linden plays a young girl who’s plagued by nightmarish visions and Francis does a stellar job of bringing the dark dream world she inhabits to life.

His color films were often just as interesting as his early black & white efforts, and some of his best movies included the seven horror films he made with the great Peter Cushing. Their first Hammer film together was the impressive Evil of Frankenstein (1964). Many fans of the Hammer Frankenstein films shun The Evil of Frankenstein because it takes a much different approach to the the character of the Doctor compared to how he’s usually portrayed in Hammer films. Instead of making Doctor Frankenstein a crazy & nasty man who’s out to do harm by making a monster, Freddie Francis turned him into a sympathetic character who’s horrified by his creation. I personally think the film is a great homage to the classic Universal Frankenstein movies of the 1930s & 40s, and the “birth of the monster” is especially well executed.

Following The Evil of Frankenstein, Freddie Francis began working with Amicus and made my favorite British horror anthology, Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (1965) which has some extremely effective moments and is creatively shot. It also has a terrific cast that includes Christopher Lee, Donald Sutherland and Peter Cushing as the mysterious fortune teller Dr. Sandor Schreck. Francis had the ability to weave shorter films into a wonderful whole. They didn’t always work, but more often than not they did and in Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors he was once again able to coax his cast of actors into giving some memorable performances as the tormented victims of Dr. Sandor Schreck’s prophecies.

Freddie Francis would later on go to direct many other great horror anthologies including Torture Garden (1967) and Tales of the Crypt (1972). Tales of the Crypt is based on the EC Comic series of the same name and it was the first film Peter Cushing made after the sad death of his wife Helen. I’ve always been touched by the way Freddie Francis and Peter Cushing worked together on Tales of the Crypt. Both men decided to come up with a way to pay their respects to the woman Peter had deeply loved and lost, so they changed the name of Cushing’s deceased wife in the film to Helen and brought actual pictures of her onto the set. Many people assume that Peter Cushing was distraught at the time, but Freddie Francis has always said that it was a choice that he and Peter made together to honor her memory. I’m sure that working on the film probably helped Peter Cushing work through his grief, because he delivered a terrific and sympathetic performance in Tales of the Crypt as the eccentric Mr. Grimsdyke.

Other memorable films that Francis and Cushing made together include the excellent occult thriller The Skull, the creative werewolf film Legend of the Werewolf (1975), the creepy and entertaining Ghoul (1975) and The Creeping Flesh (1973) which brought Peter Cushing together with Christopher Lee in one of their best parings.

Oddly enough, one film that Francis and Cushing did not work on together was Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968). The film was Francis’ feature entry into Hammer’s Dracula series, but like The Evil of Frankenstein, Francis didn’t necessarily follow Hammer formula in Dracula Has Risen from the Grave and Peter Cushing’s Van Helsing is nowhere to be found. What his Dracula film does include is some breathtaking studio photography and lovely use of color, which makes it’s one of the most visually striking of all the Hammer Dracula movies. It also has some surprisingly gory moments and Lee’s Dracula is smartly presented as a seductive, yet scary creature with animal instincts and a nasty temper.

As the 1970s approached Freddie Francis was becoming increasingly tired of the British horror genre he helped create. He had never intended on making a name for himself in horror cinema, but the dramas and comedies he wanted to direct never materialized. Horror fans greatly admired his skills as a director and cinematographer so studios like Hammer, Tigon and Amicus continued to offer him projects which he reluctantly accepted. I’m thankful that he did, because I think some of his best work can be found in the atmospheric horror films he directed.

Even his failures were interesting such as the The Vampire Happening (1971) which plays like a stylish gothic episode of Benny Hill and the musical horror comedy Son of Dracula (1974) which features an impressive cast of musicians including Ringo Starr, Harry Nilsson, Peter Frampton, Keith Moon and John Bonham.

In the 80s Francis worked as a cinematographer on such films as The Elephant Man (1980, David Lynch), The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1981, Karel Reisz), Dune (1984, David Lynch), Cape Fear (1991, Martin Scorsese) and Glory (1989, Edward Zwick) which won him his second Oscar.

Thankfully he returned to directing for a brief time to make the terrific chiller The Doctor and the Devils (1985). The Doctor and the Devils was a film that Freddie Francis had wanted to make for 10 years and he got the opportunity to direct it when Mel Brooks (who he had met while working on The Elephant Man) agreed to help produce it. The film is based on a script by Dylan Thomas about the infamous Burke & Hare murders, and it features some terrific performances by a great cast that includes Timothy Dalton, Jonathan Pryce, Stephen Rea, Julian Sands, Patrick Stewart and model/pop singer turned actress Twiggy. Unfortunately Francis was upset with the cuts that 20th Century Fox decided to made to the film. His disappointment and frustration with making The Doctor and the Devils lead him to end his career as a director and focus on cinematography exclusively.

There are few cinematographers that can compare to Freddie Francis and he will be greatly missed, but I also think his wonderful career as a filmmaker has few rivals as well. It’s a shame that he didn’t direct more films in his later years, but thankfully he left us with an amazing filmography of work to enjoy. Even though he often regretted the years he spent in the British horror industry, I believe he achieved his greatest success there and we are lucky that his talent was used to advance horror cinema in creative and smart new directions.

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Cinedelica News

by Kimberly Lindbergs | March 15, 2007

Categories | Movie Reviews, British Cinema, Spies & Secret Agents, Cinedelica, Sexploitation

Espionage in Tangier (1965) & Cool, It Carol! (1970)

Just wanted to remind any readers who might visit this blog that I’m also a regular contributor to Cinedelica, which is a great international site with lots of information about cult films.

My most recent contributions were DVD reviews for the new eurospy Drive-In Double Feature: Assassination in Rome (1965) / Espionage in Tangier (1965), from Dark Sky Films and the British Sexploitation comedy Cool, It Carol (1970), which was recently released by Image Entertainment.

At Cinedelica you can also find lots of news and information about new and old cinema, book reviews, festival updates and great Cult Clips from many unusual and entertaining films.

Stop by the site and say hello!

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Lucio Fulci - A Look Back

by Kimberly Lindbergs | March 13, 2007

Categories | Directors, Italian Cinema, Lucio Fulci, Michelangelo Antonioni, George Hilton

Lucio Fulci b. June 17, 1927 - d. March 13, 1996

Today is the 11th Anniversary of Italian director Lucio Fulci’s death. To celebrate the life of one of my favorite filmmakers I thought I would share a brief overview of Fulci’s early career in cinema, which is often overshadowed by his later years as a popular director of gory horror films and stylish thrillers.

Lucio Fulci was born on June 17, 1927 in Rome, Italy. His first passion was medicine and while he was studying the subject at an Italian medical school, Fulci also spent his time writing art criticism for local papers. One day while sitting on a train he noticed an advertisement on the back of a newspaper being read by a man sitting across from him which announced that the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia (Experimental Film Studios) was accepting students. Fulci decided to apply and after a rigorous examination from legendary filmmaker Luchino Visconti (president at the time), Fulci was admitted to the school. Afterward he developed a friendship with Luchino Visconti along with Visconti’s assistants, which included filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni.

At Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia Fulci studied film theory from such luminaries as Umberto Barbaro, Luigi Chiarini and Béla Balázs alongside fellow students which included future filmmakers Nanni Loy and Francesco Maselli.

In 1948 Lucio Fulci graduated from the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia and immediately began working as an assistant to the visionary filmmakers Max Ophüls and Marcel L’Herbie. During this early period in Fulci’s career he began specializing in documentaries and comedies. He also started co-directing and co-writing scripts with filmmakers such as Carletto Romano, Steno (Stefano Vanzina), Mauro Bolognini, Giorgio Simonelli and Marino Girolami.

It seems for a brief time in the late 1950s that Fulci returned to writing criticism as part of the editorial staff for the entertainment publication La Settimana Incom. During this time Lucio Fulci also continued writing scripts and in 1959 he finally made his solo directing debut with a mobster comedy called I Ladri (1959) which starred the legendary Italian actor Totò along with Armando Calvo and Giacomo Furia.

Following I Ladria, Lucio Fulci went on to direct a few Italian musical comedies known as “Musicarello,” which featured many popular musical stars of the period. Fulci had become involved in co-writing songs for the young Italian artist Adriano Celentano with Piero Vivarelli. Together Fulci & Vivarelli composed a few of Adriano Celentano’s most popular songs including the award winning Il tuo bacio è come un rock and 24 mila baci.

One of Fulci’s early musicals was the interesting Urlatori alla sbarra (aka Metti, Celentano e Mina…, 1960). The movie featured many Italian pop sensations from the 60s such as Mina, Brunetta and Adriano Celentano, along with American jazz musician Chet Baker and the cute actress Elke Sommer. I came across some great old clips from this hard-to-find Lucio Fulci musicarello on Youtube and couldn’t resist sharing them here. The first clip featuring Mina really showcases Fulci’s early directing skills and the second clip manages to perfectly capture the high-energy of the youth movement that was taking shape on the streets of Italy during the 1960s.

Urlatori alla sbarra featuring Mina and directed by Lucio Fulci, 1960

Urlatori alla sbarra featuring Adriano Celentano and directed by Lucio Fulci, 1960

Following Fulci’s all too brief musicarello period, he began focusing on comedy and directed many popular features starring the Italian comedy duo of Franco Franchi & Ciccio Ingrassia. Many of these comedies were crime parodies such as I Due pericoli pubblici (1964) or spy spoofs like 002 agenti segretissimi (1964).

In 1966 Lucio Fulci directed his first spaghetti western called Massacre Time (aka Tempo di massacro, 1966) and this film would take Fulci’s directing in a stylish and violent new direction. The movie starred genre favorites Franco Nero and George Hilton in their first big starring roles as feuding brothers. Both men would go on to gain international fame in surprisingly better known westerns such as Django and A Bullet for Sandoval (Los Desesperados, 1969) which was co-directed by Fulci.

It’s hard to watch Massacre Time and not be impressed by Fulci’s directing skills. The action and gun play is creatively shot and Fulci’s color palette is extremely eye-catching. The movie has obviously influenced many other filmmakers but unfortunately Fulci’s first western hasn’t gotten the critical attention that it richly deserves. In this brief trailer for Massacre Time you can easily see Fulci’s effective and dynamic film making abilities on display.

Massacre Time directed by Lucio Fulci, 1966

After making Massacre Time Fulci’s career as a filmmaker would take a dramatic turn towards thrillers and horror films as he he tapped into his own troubled life, which became haunted by the unexpected and tragic death of his wife. He would also begin to revisit his medical background and use it as the basis for creating many of the most violent and horrifying scenes in cinema history. This penchant towards extreme gore and unexpected shocks in Fulci’s later films would propel him into notoriety.

Four of Lucio Fulci’s best films from the second half - or middle period - of his long career as a filmmaker have recently been released on DVD, so over the next few days I hope to cover these new releases in more detail.

References
- Spaghetti Nightmares: Italian Fantasy-Horrors As Seen Through The Eyes Of Their Protagonists by Luca Palmerini and Gaetano Mistrett
- Shocking Images - Offical Lucio Fulci Tribute Site
- Lucio Fulci @ IMDb.com

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Favorite DVD Releases of 2006 - Part III.

by Kimberly Lindbergs | March 10, 2007

Categories | Movie Reviews, Favorite 2006 DVDs, Giallo, Italian Cinema, Crime, Spanish Cinema, Michelangelo Antonioni, Jess Franco, Criterion, Klaus Kinski, John Barry, Michael Caine

This is the final part of my 30 Favorite DVD Releases of 2006 list that I’ve been slowly putting together. You can find Parts I. and II. HERE.

Please keep in mind that these are all official NTSC Region 1 DVDs of films originally released between 1960 and 1979 and the numerical order means absolutely nothing except that I got these brief reviews written up in the order that they appear.

30 FAVORITE DVD RELEASES OF 2006 PART III.

The Fifth Cord
21. The Fifth Cord (Blue Underground)
Luigi Bazzoni’s impressive giallo stars the handsome Italian actor Franco Nero in one of his best roles as a journalist struggling with alcoholism, while trying to solve a series of brutal murders. The cast also includes acclaimed actors and genre favorites Wolfgang Preiss, Edmund Purdom, Renato Romano, Silvia Monti, Ira von Fürstenberg and Rossella Falk, who all give fine performances in the film. The Fifth Cord (1971) also features some truly incredible photography by cinematographer Vittorio Storaro and an amazing score by Ennio Morricone, which really compliments Bazzoni’s story. Blue Underground released some terrific gialli titles last year, but The Fifth Cord was easily my favorite of the bunch and I can’t recommend it enough. The DVD is presented in widescreen and looks terrific. It also comes with an extra feature called Giornata Nera (Black Days) which contains some insightful interviews with actor Franco Nero and cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, as well as a theatrical trailer. Hopefully Blue Underground will continue to release more hard-to-find gialli titles this year!

The Loved One
22. The Loved One (Warner Home Video)
After the talented British filmmaker Tony Richardson won the Best Director and Best Picture Oscars in 1964 for Tom Jones, Hollywood was at his feet and MGM offered him complete creative control over his next project. No one expected that Richardson would take the opportunity to make “The motion picture with something to offend everyone,” but that’s exactly what he did. The Loved One is a blacker then black comedy that satirizes the Hollywood funeral business and definitely contains something to offend everyone. The script was written by Christopher Isherwood & Terry Southern, and it’s based on the original novel by Evelyn Waugh. Isherwood & Southern manage to retain Waugh’s uncompromising wit while giving the story a completely modern twist. The Loved One has an impressive cast that includes Robert Morse, John Gielgud, Roddy McDowall, Jonathan Winters, Anjanette Comer, Dana Andrews, Milton Berle, James Coburn, Tab Hunter, Paul Williams and Liberace, but the real star of the film is Rod Steiger who gives one of his best performance as the embalmer Mr. Joyboy. The Loved One should appeal to anyone who’s ever imagined what it might be like if John Waters had directed Dr. Strangelove. The DVD is presented in widescreen and features some great extras including the theatrical trailer and a new featurette called Trying to Offend Everyone. The film was universally panned when it was originally released and that’s probably because it was so ahead of its’ time. It’s gained a sort of cult following over the years and I think modern audiences might be able to appreciate it’s humor more so it’s great to see Warner making an impressive effort to release it on DVD.

Spirit of the Beehive
23. Spirit of the Beehive (Criterion)
The Spirit of the Beehive (1973) is a beautiful and spellbinding film that will stay with you long after it has ended. It centers around an enchanting six-year-old girl named Ana (a very young Ana Torrent) who attends a traveling movie show of James Whale’s classic Frankenstein and becomes haunted by her memory of the film. This memory begins to shape her world view and effect the way she see’s the harsh world around her. The story takes place in 1940 following the Spanish Civil War and offers a deeply moving look at a troubled nation trapped under Franco’s tyranny. Director Víctor Erice bathes the film in honeycomb colors and recurring metaphors that give the film a timeless and ethereal quality. The sparse score by Luis de Pablo adds to the somber mood of the film and Luis Cuadrado’s breathtaking cinematography beautifully captures the rural landscapes. The impressive 2 Disc Criterion DVD features a restored widescreen print of the movie and contains lots of great extras including a documentary about the making of the film called The Footsteps of a Spirit and an extensive interview with the director conducted by Japanese filmmaker Hideyuki Miyaoka.

The Conformist
24. The Conformist (Paramount Home Video)
Director Bernardo Bertolucci has made a lot of terrific films and The Conformist (1970) is easily one of his best. The story centers around the disturbed and repressed Marcello, who works as an assassin for the Italian Fascist movement in 1938 and is desperately trying to “conform” to societal expectations. In various flashbacks we learn about his troubling past. Jean-Louis Trintignant gives one of his best performances in the demanding role of Marcello and the rest of the cast is also exceptional. Vittorio Storaro’s cinematography (previously mentioned above in my review for The Fifth Cord) is especially impressive here and Georges Delerue score for the film is haunting. Aldo Lado also worked on the project as Assistant Director and I think fans of Lado’s great giallo films and various thrillers will notice his fingerprints on the movie along with Bertolucci’s. Previous prints of the The Conformist that I’ve seen have been very dull in comparison to the beautifully restored widescreen Paramount print featured on this DVD. The DVD also contains important previously cut footage and features some wonderful extras including three new featurettes about the making of the film.

Deadfall
25. Deadfall (20th Century Fox)
In Deadfall (1968), Michael Caine plays a jewel thief who finds himself caught up in a complex romantic relationship. Is he being played, or is he the player? The movie will keep you guessing and offers plenty of unusual twists and turns along the way. The exotic locations, stylish period clothing and shiny sport cars provide a lot of eye-candy in the movie, but British director Bryan Forbes’ real achievement in Deadfall is getting the incredible composer John Barry to score the film and make an appearance as himself. In one of the greatest combinations of music and cinema that I’ve ever come across, John Barry conducts a concert while Michael Caine makes a desperate attempt to steal some jewels in unison with the music. It has to be seen! Deadfall is presented in widescreen and includes a theatrical trailer as well as an interesting new featurette about the life and music of the British composer John Barry, who’s scored many great films. Deadfall is an under appreciated movie that really deserves another look.

Succubus
26. Succubus (Blue Underground)
Succubus (1968) is one of my favorite Jess Franco films so I was thrilled when Blue Underground announced that they were going to remaster the film and re-release it on DVD in widescreen for the first time last year. The film stars Janine Reynaud in one of her best roles as an exotic nightclub performer named Lorna who is plagued with sadistic hallucinations that she doesn’t understand. As her dream world becomes more violent and depraved, Lorna seems to loose her grip on reality and the audience is left wondering if she is a victim of some plot to drive her insane, suffering from demonic possession or are her psychedelic hallucinations just a product of her wild imagination and decadent lifestyle? Franco regular’s Jack Taylor and Howard Vernon both have interesting roles in the film, but Janine Reynaud is especially memorable as the seductive Lorna. Franco’s directing is really impressive in Succubus and he manages to beautifully capture Lorna’s frenzied dream states. Extras on the DVD include an insightful interview with Franco and actor Jack Taylor as well as the original theatrical trailer.

The Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion
27. The Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion (Blue Underground)
2006 was a great year for fans of the Italian director Luciano Ercoli. It marked the first time that any of his films had been released officially on DVD in the US and we were treated to three impressive gialli films made by the director. I’ve already reviewed the terrific Luciano Ercoli Death Box Set released by NoShame that contained Death Walks on High Heels & Death Walks at Midnight, so I couldn’t resist including this Erocoli thriller released by Blue Underground in my list of Favorite 2006 DVDs as well. In The Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion (1970) the beautiful Dagmar Lassander plays a repressed newly married woman named Minou who’s traumatized by a sexual assault as well as obsessed with her attacker. Passions turn deadly and soon Minou finds herself being blackmailed. Genre favorite Nieves Navarro shows up in a memorable supporting role and really spices up the film. Ercoli’s directing is impressive and it’s complimented by Ennio Morriocne’s fantastic score, which is easily one of his best. The film is presented in widescreen and looks fabulous. The DVD also includes the theatrical trailer and a nice featurette called Forbidden Screenplays which contains an interview with co-writer Ernesto Gastaldi. The basic premise of The Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion is bound to offend some, but if you enjoy erotic films from the 60s & 70s that are more concerned with eroticism & aesthetics then political correctness, you might enjoy the film as much as I did.

The Passenger
28. The Passenger (Sony Pictures)
In The Passenger (1975), the talented Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni once again explores his favorite themes involving identity and isolation. Antonioni has made many brilliant films and I think The Passenger is one of his best, as well as one of his most accessible due to the presence of Jack Nicholson. Nicholson gives one of his most interesting performances here as a burned out journalist named David Locke who decides to assume a dead man’s identity and start his life again as a new person. Locke doesn’t know about the dead man’s past or what he did for a living, and he soon finds himself in over his head. The beautiful Maria Schneider is memorable in her role as the “Girl” and Luciano Tovoli’s cinematography is really impressive, but Antonioni’s directing is the real reason to watch The Passenger. Antonioni knows how to perfectly capture the isolation that his characters feel as well as the world they occupy, which is filled with detached people who rarely understand one another’s motives. The Sony DVD is presented in widescreen and the print looks terrific. I’ve never seen the movie look or sound better. The DVD also includes some insightful commentary tracks by Jack Nicholson, screenwriter Mark Peploe and journalist Aurora Irvine. It’s a shame that it has taken Sony so long to release the film on DVD, but thankfully this release was well worth the wait.

The Black Belly of the Tarantula
29. The Black Belly of the Tarantula (Blue Underground)
Director Paolo Cavara started his career making “Mondo” movies alongside filmmakers like Gualtiero Jacopetti. In 1970 Cavara decided to try his hand at making a genre thriller and The Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971) was the interesting result. This unusual giallo stars the talented Giancarlo Giannini as the suave Inspector Tellini. Tellini finds himself investigating a series of vicious murders involving a killer who injects his victims with the paralyzing poison of a rare wasp and then forces them to witness their own deaths. The rest of the cast includes many beautiful Bond girls as well as actresses who have appeared in other gialli films including Claudine Auger, Barbara Bouchet, Rossella Falk and Barbara Bach. Paolo Cavara’s directing is inspired and complimented by Ennio Morricone’s effective score. One of the most interesting elements of the movie is Cavara’s use of documentary footage showing deadly insects fighting for their lives, which is added throughout the film. It brings to mind the directors previous Mondo films and adds an interesting touch to this entertaining giallo. The Blue Underground DVD is presented in widescreen. It also includes the theatrical trailer and an interview with the scriptwriter’s son Lorenzo Danon. The Black Belly of the Tarantula is not the best giallo Blue Underground has released, but it is one of the most unique and I couldn’t resist adding it to this list.

Two Undercover Angels
30. Red Lips Double Feature: Two Undercover Angels & Kiss Me Monster (Blue Underground)
This great double feature DVD contains two of director Jess Franco’s best spy spoofs. Both films star Franco regulars Janine Reynaud & Rosanna Yanni who seem to be having a lot of fun playing the “red lips” spy team of Diana (Janine Reynaud) & Regina (Rosanna Yanni) while they seduce their enemies, solve crimes and travel to exotic locations wearing stylish late-60s fashions. Two Undercover Angels (1969) is definitely the best of the two films, while Kiss Me Monster (1969) seems a lot less inspired. Both movies are played for laughs and filled with slapstick comedy routines that get a little tired at times, but Janine Reynaud & Rosanna Yanni keep things entertaining. These are not Franco’s best films but they will appeal to anyone who enjoys spy spoofs featuring beautiful female agents like Modesty Blaise (1966) and Fathom (1967) backed by terrific jazzy scores. Previous DVDs of these films were rather bland and the movies were presented in fullscreen so viewers missed a lot of the action. Thankfully Blue Underground remastered them and the DVD features nice widescreen prints of both films as well as the original trailers and interviews with director Jess Franco.

- TV shows released on DVD in 2006 that deserve a mention: Ultraman: Series One, Vol. 1 and The Wild Wild West - The Complete First Season

- Honorable mentions that didn’t make my list: Magic (1978), The Other (1972) , Scorpion - Female Prisoner 701: Grudge Song (1973) and Satan’s Blood (977).

- DVDs that might have made my list if I had the chance to see them: The Witch’s Mirror (1962), Brainiac aka El Baron Del Terror (1963), The Curse of the Crying Woman (1969), , The Quiller Memorandum (1966), Red Angel (1966), Eric Rohmer’s Six Moral Tales (1970-72) and The Anniversary (1968).

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