Sunday, February 19, 2012

Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971)

Four Flies on Grey Velvet • 4 mosche di velluto grigio (1971)
Four Flies on Grey Velvet • 4 mosche di velluto grigio (1971)

Genre: Giallo • Thriller
Director: Dario Argento
Starring: Michael Brandon, Mimsy Farmer, Jean Pierre Marielle, Bud Spencer
Language: Italian
Duration: 104 min.
Rating: 7.9  

Summary:
A musician is stalked by an unknown killer who's blackmailing him for an accidential killing of another stalker. But is everything what it appears to be?



Four Flies on Grey Velvet is a film directed by Dario Argento, the third and final installment of his early career Animal Trilogy. It has historically also been the rarest of his films, for years only seen on a bootlegged VHS copy until it was finally officially released on DVD in 2009.

As his third film released in quick succession, it shares many similarities with the preceding two: A deranged killer on the loose; a twisted unpredictable mystery; a frequently recurring frightening dream/flashback sequence; not one but two perfectly executed night time stalking sequences; a cast of beautiful women who meet brutal untimely ends; a gay supporting character in a prominent role; a protagonist who can't resist the urge to play detective; and another amazing energetic score from the legendary Ennio Morricone, comprised mainly of progressive rock numbers, and easily my favorite of the three. Unfortunately, arguments over elements of this soundtrack resulted in a falling out between the two, and they would not work together again until The Stendhal Syndrome (1996), some twenty-five years later.

Four Flies on Grey Velvet • 4 mosche di velluto grigio (1971)

All of the aspects above I believe were improvements in varying degrees over his first two films. However, there are also some missteps that hold Four Flies on Grey Velvet back. The one that stands out the most for me is the painful attempt at comedy evident in some of the scenes and in the overly quirky side characters. The result is silly and absurd at best, not the least bit funny, and detrimental to the film's overall tone.

Then there is a main character who is difficult to sympathize with. Rock drummer Roberto Tobias (Michael Brandon), comes across as selfish and hollow bastard, leeching off of his rich wife's (the stunning Mimsy Farmer) inheritance, and cheating on her with her younger cousin (Francine Racette) at the first opportunity. Adding to this is a tendency for the story to often get sidetracked, making it easy to lose interest in how it all plays out.

Four Flies on Grey Velvet • 4 mosche di velluto grigio (1971)

Fortunately, there are some sequences of virtuoso film making here that make this a must see for giallo fans: Among them there's a thrilling early scene ending up in an abandoned theater that showcases all of the visual techniques that Argento does best; A later scene at a park features some brilliant editing that brings about a sudden rush of terror, and a fantastic set piece of a cobweb filled hedge maze surrounded by high imposing walls;

There's also the unforgettable attic murder. When the killer kills in an Argento film, it's never going to be a simple shooting or stabbing, and the orchestrated violence shown here is a fine piece of direction that stands alongside his more well known iconic scenes; There's possibly the first ever use of the slow motion effect now known as bullet time; Finally there's the very last scene, a car crash filmed with a high speed camera stretched out and shown in full gloriously gruesome detail.

Four Flies on Grey Velvet, may not have quite the overall impact of his debut, nor does it have the tightly wound suspenseful atmosphere of Deep Red. However, it remains a fitting bookend to the Animal Trilogy, complete with plenty of examples of Argento's signature style, a fine leading lady in Mimsy Farmer, and it's topped off with one of Ennio Morricone's best scores.

Bonjour Tristesse


Four Flies on Grey Velvet • 4 mosche di velluto grigio (1971)

Four Flies on Grey Velvet • 4 mosche di velluto grigio (1971)

Four Flies on Grey Velvet • 4 mosche di velluto grigio (1971)

Four Flies on Grey Velvet • 4 mosche di velluto grigio (1971)

Four Flies on Grey Velvet • 4 mosche di velluto grigio (1971)

Four Flies on Grey Velvet • 4 mosche di velluto grigio (1971)

Four Flies on Grey Velvet • 4 mosche di velluto grigio (1971)

Four Flies on Grey Velvet • 4 mosche di velluto grigio (1971)

4 comments:

d_4 said...

Ah! I'm torn.. I want to see it mainly because of Ennio Morricone. As a movie I'm not sure it'll really grab my attention. If anything I'll at least give the soundtrack a listen, but then those always sound better accompanied to a movie. I'll see. I'll see.

Bonjour Tristesse said...

Ahh great!  Earlier I had to resubmit 3 times before it accepted my answer.

Ruth Richards said...

Looks preeeetty creepy! I'll have to see if I can find this trilogy!

p.s  I believe I've now turned off the word verification on my comments. Yaaay!

Bonjour Tristesse said...

That is true, soundtracks always go better with the pictures. Or at least after you've seen the film and can recall the images that go with the sounds. I do highly recommend this if you normally enjoy this type of film. I think the good points do outweigh the bad here.

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