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THE
PERFUME OF THE
LADY IN BLACK
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Review
by
Troy Howarth
Film:7
DVD:7
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| Silvia
(Mimsy Farmer), haunted by the suicide of her mother, comes to
believe that her so-called friends are conspiring against her... |
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Having
already contributed to the screenplays of Aldo Lado's chilling
Who
Saw Her Die? (1972) and Umberto Lenzi's less-than-classy
The Man from the Deep River (1972),
Francesco Barilli made his directorial debut with this unusual
oddity. Indeed, his experience working on those films for Lado
and Lenzi proved instrumental in the development of the story
for this film. Barilli therefore hit upon the idea of combining
the giallo and the cannibal film — with a heavy dose of
Roman Polanski's Repulsion (1965)
tossed in for good measure. |
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The
giallo is one of those tricky subgenres that is rather
difficult to define. In essence, it's a strand of Italian thriller
with an emphasis on the sordid and/or the graphically violent.
Not all gialli follow the Dario Argento model of a killer
in black carving up attractive female victims, but some fans seem
convinced that those Italian thrillers that fail to adhere to
this model aren't real and proper gialli. This tunnel-visioned
perspective would therefore omit any number of worthy genre entries,
from Lucio Fulci's relatively bloodless Perversion
Story (1968) to Barilli's own off-the-wall contributions
to the genre, which also includes Pensione
Paura (1967). Make no mistake: The
Perfume of the Lady in Black is a giallo, but it's an unorthodox
one, closer in spirit to the likes of Armando Crispino's Autopsy
(1974; also starring Mimsy Farmer) than to any of the more popular
entries Dario Argento was cranking out around the same time. The
film is structured as a mystery, and it certainly builds to a
memorably delirious finale, but it is also a deliberately paced
psychological case study. The character of Silvia has much more
depth than the usual swooning sexpot one would find in a giallo
of this period, and the somber, reflective tone of the piece may
prompt less-than-patient viewers to hit the fast forward button
in order to get to the next gory or salacious highlight. Truth
be told, there really isn't a lot of blood or skin on display
— hardly a bad thing in itself, but something to be admitted for
the benefit of the fans looking for their fill of that sort of
thing. |
American
actress Mimsy Farmer carries the show, and fortunately she responds
with one of her better performances. Farmer got her start playing
guest bits on wholesome family fare like My Three Sons
and The Donna Reed Show, before making her move to the
world of such juvenile delinquent fare as Hot
Rods to Hell (1967) and The
Wild Racers (1968). Like so many actors, she found herself
lured to Italy, where she would be cast by Dario Argento in
Four
Flies on Grey Velvet (1971). The success of that
film made Farmer popular among filmmakers looking to horn in
on Argento's terrain. The Perfume of the
Lady in Black was one such film. While most of Farmer's
work is marred by a sense of disconnect between the actress
and the material, she responds much more favorably to the material
here. She gives a nicely nuanced performance which compares
favorably to her shrill histrionics in the not-too-dissimilar
Autopsy, for example. Silvia is
a tricky character to warm to, but Farmer's inherent coldness
as a performer actually works for the film rather than against
it. Farmer is completely credible as such a socially awkward
character, and she really helps to sell the notion of her inability
to tell the difference between her morbid fantasy world and
a potentially more deadly reality. The supporting cast performs
well, though Maurizio Bonuglia doesn't bring much to the rather
thankless role of Silvia's impatient boyfriend. Hammer Films
veteran Nike Arrighi (The
Devil Rides Out) and future EuroHorror staple Lara Wendel
(Tenebre)
also put in appearances.
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Barilli's
direction is smooth and confident, belying his comparative inexperience
at the helm. He makes stylish use of color and decor, and the
various macabre highlights are handled with a skilled combination
of restraint and glee. The film unfolds deliberately, but this
is as it should be — the almost clinical way in which Silvia's
breakdown unfolds can't help but remind one of Polanski's aforementioned
Repulsion, but the film steers clear
of facile imitation. The end result is truly one of the strangest
gialli ever filmed; whether that's a good thing or not
is clearly up to the individual viewer. Italian horror buffs looking
for something a little offbeat should have a good time with it,
regardless. |
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| Raro
Video have long been established as a quality purveyor of Italian
genre fare on R2 DVD, and they have finally opened a new distribution
arm in the U.S. While any number of their initial releases (including
Perfume) have been readily available
to Region 2/Region Free viewers, these new NTSC editions are most
welcome for American viewers. Apart from that, they don't represent
a simple port over of previously available goods —
these editions, unlike their European counterparts, also offer
new and improved subtitle translations —
allowing English-speaking viewers to enjoy their supplementary
materials. As for Perfume, the DVD
offers a superb 1.85/16x9 transfer. The film looks wonderfully
colorful, and print quality is very good indeed. Detail is strong,
and authoring is of a high caliber. Audio options include the
English track, as well as an Italian soundtrack, with optional
English subtitles. The English dub is very good, and it is worth
listening to since it preserves Farmer's vocal performance. Both
tracks are in good shape. Extras include a Barilli biography and
filmography, liner notes, and, best of all, a featurette-length
interview with Barilli, titled Portrait in Black. The director
talks of his background in the business, his inspiration for the
film and the various hurdles he faced making it (including dealing
with a not-always pliable Farmer), and getting it past the censors.
5/09/11 |
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