Who Saw Her Die?

Italy / 1972 Directed by Aldo Lado Starring George Lazenby Anita Strindberg Adolfo Celi Color / 94 Minutes / Not Rated Format: DVD (R0 - NTSC) Anchor Bay Entertainment

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2008 Blue Underground Edition

		Review by Brian Lindsey

6     6   10 = Highest Rating

Fans of European cult cinema rejoice! Anchor Bay has just released a terrific DVD box set called The Giallo Collection, showcasing four Italian suspense films from the 1970s. If you're reading this review you're probably already aware that "giallo" (Italian for "yellow") is the term used for a subgenre of kinky, often quite violent mystery thrillers popularized by directors Mario Bava and Dario Argento. But while Bava and Argento may have been the acknowledged masters of the giallo, they were by no means its only practitioners — a slew of such films were made in Italy during the '60s and '70s. With this 4-disc box set, Anchor Bay brings to North America some relatively obscure titles that are excellent examples of the genre. Eventually we plan to review each of these films here in the pages of Eccentric Cinema; The Case of the Bloody Iris was the first to be covered. Next up: Who Saw Her Die? (1972). The fogbound cobbles and canals of Venice provide atmospheric locations for this stylish giallo from Aldo Lado.     A surprisingly gaunt, sickly-looking George Lazenby (the strapping young James Bond of On Her Majesty's Secret Service only a few years earlier) plays Franco, a bohemian sculptor living in Venice. Visiting him from London is his young daughter Roberta (Nicoletta Elmi), the product of his failed marriage to a gorgeous fashion model. Franco is quite happy to have this time with Roberta, spending their days together strolling about the city and enjoying each other's company — blissfully unaware that a sinister figure in black is stalking the girl. One day Roberta fails to come home after going out to play. Her father searches frantically for her but to no avail. Then the little girl's body turns up, floating face down in a canal. She's been murdered.     The crime would seem destined for the "cold case" file. The police have virtually nothing to go on other than the fact the girl was not sexually molested by the perp. Franco, driven by feelings of guilt that he failed to protect his child, begins his own private investigation. (Amateur sleuthing being a hallmark of the giallo.) Inquiries lead to a number of possible suspects, all tied in some way to Mr. Serafian (Thunderball's Adolfo Celi), a prominent Venetian art dealer whom Franco himself has done business with on occasion. He also discovers a possible connection to a similar child murder in France three years earlier. But he's still flailing in the dark until Serafian's sexy secretary and possible mistress, Ginevra (Rosemarie Lindt), asks him to meet her clandestinely — she has something urgent to tell him. Franco arrives at the rendezvous, a movie theater, only to find Ginevra being strangled by a veiled woman dressed all in black. He's too late. His informant is dead and her killer escapes. Matters are further complicated when Franco's chief suspect, a wealthy, well-connected lawyer and rumored pedophile, is found stabbed to death. He continues to shadow the evasive Serafian, hoping to turn up some new clue. Then attempts on his own life are made...     Given its setting and subject matter, Who Saw Her Die? naturally draws strong comparisons to Nicholas Roeg's much better known Don't Look Now — though one should note the latter film was shot two years later. That Franco is reunited with his ex-wife Elizabeth (Anita Strindberg) at their daughter's funeral, and part of the film is devoted to their shared grief and efforts to cope with the loss, will only strengthen the comparisons. Seen in its own light, Who Saw is a well-mounted giallo that emphasizes mystery over mayhem. (The body count is low; the murders are not graphic.) This is about "who" and "why" — not "how". Even so, in the hands of director Lado it is the atmosphere and mood of the piece that ultimately predominates. Here Venice is not a city of history and romance but a dank, decaying warren of secrets and lies. Aiding immeasurably in setting this tone is the interesting score by Ennio Morricone, which repeatedly uses a children's choral piece to signify the presence of the murderer and underscore Franco's sense of loss. (Extremely effective, its emotional power is unfortunately deadened by massive overuse — halfway through the film it even starts to get annoying.) The acting is generally of a better quality here than in many gialli. Lazenby is believable as the grief-stricken Franco, though some will initially be too shocked at his haggard appearance to notice. Also, an American-sounding voice actor dubs over his Australian accent.     Since the whodunit elements take center stage in this film, viewers might be frustrated that a key piece of dialog takes place during the middle of a brawl, rendering it difficult to make out what's being said. That experienced giallo fans will probably be able to guess the killer's identity from the get-go also undercuts the dénouement of the mystery. Still, there's style to spare, Venice is always an intriguing locale, and a bit more emotional involvement is asked of the audience than is customary. Devotees of the genre should enjoy it.

Who Saw Her Die? is sold separately, as an individual disc, as well as part of Anchor Bay's Giallo Collection 4-DVD box set. Audio-visual quality is about on par with Bloody Iris; more than adequate considering the obscurity of these films and their less than mass-market appeal. Colors seem a bit duller with Who Saw, though this may be a symptom of the flick's generally more muted palette. (Blood seen in the theater murder sequence does appear distinctly orange, however, while it's a more normal looking red in the trailer for the film.) Extras include the spoiler-free trailer, a text filmography of director Aldo Lado, and an 11-minute video interview with Lado speaking subtitled Italian. While his comments on the production are interesting, of special note is the problem the film encountered with censors. The last line of dialog in Who Saw Her Die? was apparently added to mollify them for political reasons. (There's nothing in the violence or sexual content of the film that drew their ire.) As is usually the case with such mandated meddling, the added dialog is completely unnecessary and even undercuts the story somewhat. 7/08/02

UPDATE On February 26, 2008 Blue Underground is reissuing this OOP title in a stand-alone edition using the identical transfer and extras.

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