The Fifth Cord

Beautiful doesn't really begin to describe this. They plausibly spent half the budget on scouting. There are some gorgeous women in this but they pale in comparison to the staircases! I couldn't tell who was who though or what connection they had to anything other than Franco Nero.

Even though the plotting tends to get tedious and unsatisfying in places, this is one of the most exquisitely shot giallos ever - the attention to architecture and space alone is fucking awe-inspiring. And we actually get an interesting and fleshed out male protagonist (a rarity in the genre usually populated by empty and undeveloped anti-heroes) with Franco Nero's flawed, alcoholic journalist turned investigator.

Can't say I was gripped by the plot of this one, but it was a very handsome giallo, making great use of light and dark, movement, colour and locations. The Morricone score was interesting too, flirting between tones as required. A fairly standard (for the genre) story is punctuated by the occasionally tense scene, and Nero is very watchable as a fairly damaged but determined character. A bit messy, but will be worth watching for giallo completists.

Loved the opening scene at the New Year’s Eve party. The great use of POV. Rest of the movie is shot beautifully with a good use of space and makes use of the architecture. One of those flicks you just want to live inside the world of because it looks so cool. Franco Nero gives a wonderful performance. It’s a bit more straight ahead than I’m used to in my giallo’s but I think that actually plays well in this one.

This felt like a weird mix of Giallo and a Eurocrime film. This is probably the best performance I've seen yet by Franco Nero.

Impressive camerawork, locations and design, but the story was less than captivating.

Gorgeous, creepy and featuring Franco Nero acting like a boss. PS: 200th movie viewed in 2020. Quarantine watching alright.

This one frankly was quite boring. Furthermore, while many praise the looks and blocking of this, I found it to be not particular aesthetically pleasing. Franco Nero, rocking a mustache, is the biggest plus playing a washed-up alcoholic reporter.

Fico imensamente feliz pela coleção Giallo da Versátil ter dado um up na carreira do Bazzoni e do Ercoli aqui no Brasil, aqui Bazzoni conta com a "pequena" ajuda de uns tais de Morricone e Storaro para dar um clima que eu não chamaria exatamente de giallo, pois não se trata de um giallo convencional e sim uma espécie de neo-noir italiano. Box Versátil Giallo Volume 7.

This is an odd one. It's shot by Vittorio Storaro, and it's an absolutely gorgeous film. It hasn't got the garish aesthetic that is so typical of giallos. It's a deep, rich and somewhat downbeat look. It's also a dull, meandering slog of a film. Nero is good, but he's struggling against a bland character in a fairly pointless mystery plot. If you want to look at the film, by all means. If you want a compelling thriller, this ain't it.

I was a bit disappointed with this after seeing the director's The Possessed the night before, which I really enjoyed. This is much more giallo-y, almost entirely so. It has some of the issues of mixed cast Italian films of this period where the dubbing isn't necessarily very good and is distracting no matter which version you watch (English version for me). Certain scenes are very good, but it meanders at times and the conclusion isn't terrible satisfying. Not bad, though.

This was a re-watch and I have to say that this is one of the most beautiful Gialli - which is quite an accomplishment in a genre famous for it's visuals. Bazzoni's direction is very professional and there are multiple suspenseful scenes. Nero is even cooler than usual and the rest of the cast is solid. Morricone's score is not one of his best, but still a good one. This re-watch made it obvious that the resolution doesn't really hold water, but that is a cardinal sin of the genre.