Has anyone else seen this intriguing 5-part television series produced by Oscar Brazzi and starring his more well-reputed brother Rossano Brazzi?
It's a title that has fascinated me for a long time since - not just because it's a collaboration between the Brazzi brothers but also because Renato Polselli worked on the project as a production manager and the title song is sung by none other than Frank Sinatra! And unlike most Italian TV productions from this time it's actually in color, is nicely shot and has good production values - no doubt a result of it being a co-production with Germany and France.
I finally caught up with CORALBA through the (Italian language only) 2-DVD release by Fabbri Editori, who have been specializing in releasing Italian TV serials (so-called sceneggiati) and found it to be well worth seeking out. Rossano Brazzi stars as a wealthy doctor who is happily married to a beautiful, blonde and much younger wife (Valérie Lagrange), and who starts having a hard time when a mysterious blonde woman with big, black sunglasses starts relentlessly blackmailing him with a scandal from his past. In spite of big pay-offs, the mysterious woman refuses to leave the good doctor alone and so he decides to bring a gun when he is to meet her for a pay-off at a deserted house. Once he gets there, though, the doc finds the house seemingly abandoned. But when he goes to check the bathroom, someone slams the door shut behind him and locks him in. With no other way of getting out, the doc shoots the door open and then discovers a blonde woman lying face down on the floor - having apparently been killed by the shots he fired to break open the door. The doc panics and flees the scene but it doesn't take long before the cops come knocking on his door - telling him they've got a dead woman that they think is connected to him. He accompanies them back to the house where there is indeed a dead, blonde woman but it's not the blackmailer - it's the doc's beloved wife! Suddenly, the poor man finds himself the police's number one suspect and is caught in an intricate web of mystery and double-crossings.
While CORALBA is a tad to chatty at times, I have to say that on the whole, it is actually very engaging as it has a good story; attractive locations in Hamburg, Venice and Chamonix; super-funky costumes and decor; and a nice score. The international cast is top-notch too - with great performances by Brazzi as the long-suffering doc, the gorgeous Valérie Lagrange as his highly adored, dead wife, Glauco Mauri (the professor from DEEP RED) as the sympathetic cop on the case and the always wonderful Venantino Venantini as Brazzi's colleague, who soon turns out to be just as shady as he looks!
Most of the Italian sceneggiati are probably never going to see any sort of English-friendly releases as they probably wouldn't hold too much appeal to non-Italian viewers but CORALBA - being a co-production with Germany and France, and featuring a pretty solid international cast - is actually a very strong candidate for an English subtitled DVD. It's definitely worthy of some love!
So, has anyone else seen or even heard of this one? Or some other mystery/crime TV productions from Italy? These works are sadly quite neglected by most Euro-cult fans outside of Italy.
Anyway, here are a few screenshots to wet your appetites!
Well...where does one begin with a film like this? Obviously one I'm compelled to bring up, however, and get a discussion going about. You certainly couldn't discuss a flick like THE JAR (1984) with the closed-minded drones who post at a place such as the IMDB. Nope, they're havin' none of THE JAR over there. And that's what makes Cinema Nocturna special. We encourage it!
THE JAR is "experimental" to say the least. It's THE KINDRED on crack...somewhat. Directed by one Bruce Toscano (whom we've not seen hide nor hair of since), my girlfriend and I stumbled upon THE JAR one Summer afternoon; much like the central loner happens upon the title macabre giant jam mason nightmare in the film. I almost felt perplexed just holding the damn thing (a rarely seen pre-record on the Magnum Entertainment label).
Appropriately, coming courtesy of Nocturna International Limited Productions, THE JAR is for the most part a one man show - starring unknown Gary Wallace as central oddball, Paul. Unfortunately for him, a motor vehicle accident involving a delirious old timer carrying around a bulbous jar in a brown paper bag will be a random moment in time that becomes a literal mind-fuck of possession. Inside 'The Jar' lurks something not of this Earth. An almost parasitic alien possessor, immediately turning Paul's plain existence into a psychological attack coming straight out of the ghastly glass creature container itself and right into his psyche. Twisted hallucinations and unaccountable violence soon follow, as the visions forced into poor Paul and out for the viewers to see take us through most surreal depictions of war, sex, murder, unearthed decapitations, religious sacrifice and more unexplainable strangeness. THE JAR is a trip within a trip within a trip!
I'm definitely curious to see who else among the Nocturnites has seen this one? As I said, it was directed by Bruce Toscano, who didn't do anything following, leading one to believe that it quite possibly could have even been a student film.
However, leave it to yours truly to really dig deep into these obscurities and the wonderfully intriguing tales behind making them, as I intend to find out the answers to the above and more. I'm in the very early stages of planning something special surrounding THE JAR, in the possible form of another Devin Double Whammy EXCLUSIVE! I have vowed that 2010 WILL be the year of the exclusive here at Cinema Nocturna, and all eyes are focused from my end suddenly and happily on a hopefully soon to be, one of a kind piece profiling this Fellini-esque horror fantasy brain-spin - THE JAR.
In the meantime, as I work on tossing another iron into the red hot fire for the readers of CN, and to get those exclusive up close answers and inside looks we all enjoy - lets get some interesting conversation going here regarding the film itself. THE JAR is a picture, that if nothing else, evoked many things. From inevitable critical attack, to thought-provoking questions surrounding the ideas the film presents that some may be missing, and what it's all about; right through to the bizarre technical aesthetics, or lack thereof.
This is what Cinema Nocturna truly exemplifies; getting to the root of and at times entirely unearthing, uniquely one of a kind cinema like THE JAR and breathing new life into such films via discussion and behind the scenes investigation, as well as simply talking about what we did or didn't like about the viewing experiences themselves. I hope such will be the case with Bruce Toscano's THE JAR here.
This is opening up this weekend to a limited release and I must say with all the positive reviews out there on this, it certainly sounds like a must see! Directed by Adam Green and tells the tale of Three skiers are stranded on a chairlift and forced to make life-or-death choices that prove more perilous than staying put and freezing to death!
Well, some really great and very exciting news indeed! My good friend Chris Alexander has now taken on the top job at horror's top magazine Fangoria! Well deserving indeed! I'm sure he'll steer the battered ship in a new and much better direction to show that horror is not dead and of course that there is life in that mag!!
I'm hearing nothing but absolute praise for this new tribute like film to the Italian giallo! It's non-linear jagged transitions to the storyline and imagery are apparently quite lush and very intriguing! If this France/Belgium co-produced film is half as good as the trailer, man I can't wait to see this! Due March 2010!
I'm with you on SO SWEET SO DEAD Johan! Excellent giallo, can't wait to see it in a digital presentation. I've never dealt with Camera Obscura before...what are their releases like? Do you have a link at all for the disc?
One of my favorite C-level Italian journeymen to touch just about every genre, Tonino Ricci is certainly no stranger to fans of sublime Euro-drek. I personally have managed to score only three of his films thus far - but I'm fascinated by the man's filmography - which will no doubt fuel me to find more of his "visions" as 2010 goes on.
I have however, obtained copies of two of his rather fun 'White Fang' oriented, pseudo-Spaghetti Westerns; WHITE FANG TO THE RESCUE (1974) (ZANNA BIANCA ALLA RISCOSSA) and Ricci's later, BUCK AND THE MAGIC BRACELET (1999) (BUCK E IL BRACCIALETTO MAGICO).
WHITE FANG TO THE RESCUE in particular, is a great time for the avid Euro-cult lover, with an ultra-cool cast that includes Maurizio Merli, Henry Silva (playing another real sly prick here), Gisela Hahn, Donal O' Brien, Luciano Rossi, Renzo Palmer and Benito Stefanelli, among them. The latter, BUCK AND THE MAGIC BRACELET, is Ricci's far lighter and campier follow-up to his popular 1991 film, BUCK AT THE EDGE OF HEAVEN (starring David Hess and John Savage). It would also be his last to date (I'm assuming he is still alive by all accounts). Old favorites like Bobby Rhodes, and Ricci-regular, Conrad Nichols (aka. Luigi Mezzanotte...real name, Bruno Minniti) turn up for one last go in Ricci-land.
As well, I own a couple of prints of his Dominican Republic-shot crossover oddity, NIGHT OF THE SHARKS (1988) (LA NOTTE DEGLI SQUALI)...a mix between a JAWS cash-in (of which Tonino was no stranger to) and a crime flick. A nice later-eighties cast assembled here though as well, with American stalwarts, Treat Williams and the always jive, Antonio Fargas coming over to appear with Italian B favorites like John Steiner, Janet Agren (who doesn't stick around long enough), a sadly dying, Christopher Connelly (who by this time, was well into his cancer), Sal Borgese, and my good real life pal, Carlo Mucari. Crime kingpins chase around a disc with vital information on it while a massive Great White turns up every once in a while to chomp on someone. It is what it is, but I personally have always dug it, and the line-up doesn't hurt.
Aside from that though, I definitely need me some more Tonino Ricci. I've heard awesome things about his giallo/crime cross CROSS CURRENT (1971) (with Phillipe Leroy and Ivan Rassimov), with many folks stating it's his best work. I'd also love to see his bizarre sounding western, KID IL MONELLO DEL WEST (1973) (KID, TERROR OF THE WEST). Of course, there's his two post-nukers - RUSH (1983) and RAGE (1984) that I finally have to get my hands on as well. Long overdue with those, and a pair amongst only a very tiny bunch of Euro-post-apocalypse pictures left to see for me.
Okay guys, what are your thoughts on the films of the man otherwise known as 'Anthony Richmond'? There must be at least one other Tonino Ricci fan out there...
Since 2002, Cinema Nocturna has been covering various aspects of cinema that never really get that much needed light. Everything from the Italian giallo, to Japanese Yakuza cinema and of course the ever so important independent film world. We dive into interviewing those important people involved with bringing this films to our players, to our cinema's and most of all to our experiences. Now 2010, after a year long hiatus, The Underbelly of Film returns to it's monthly issued updates. Over the next few months we will also be changing the overall look at feel to bring Cinema Nocturna more into the modern internet experience. Of course with keeping that ever so important identity we have kept over the past 8 years.
THE EURO-EYE!
The Euro Eye is back by popular demand!
A fresh regular feature offered by Devin Kelly and Cinema Nocturna as a source for CN readers to get an opportunity to put faces to the many names of European fringe cinema. Each edition of Cinema Nocturna will cover and highlight 2 European film personalities through this new Splatter Mafioso located article. The goal of this monthly piece is to help fans clearly identify those fascinating personalities we've all become accustomed to seeing, and to get these many actors and actresses some sometimes rarely received recognition. And now to kick it all off, this month...
NEW!!!!THE EURO-EYE #4 - The Revenge of The Euro Eye's look at the careers of Marc Lawrence and Jean Seberg!
Here's the last batch of reviews for you all to enjoy! Some great choices to discover if you haven't already dove into viewing any of these! So, enjoy until our next monthly update in early March!!!
It's with great honor to share with you two brand new exclusives to The Underbelly of Film! Our first is a very indepth and very informative Q&A with actor/model Daniel Stephen entitled SUNBURNS, SPANDEX AND A SCHOOL BUS BUILT FOR WAR:
Our second exclusive is the latest installment of Cinema Nocturna's popular series written by Devin Kelly, THE EURO-EYE #4 - THE REVENGE OF THE EURO-EYE!
That's not all, we continue to celebrate our return after a year off with more to come!! Stay Tuned!!!!!!
After a year long hiatus, we're back with our monthly updates! Enjoy the first part of our update! In celebration we will be bringing more Friday morning as well! Then you can expect Devin's latest installment of EURO EYE 4-THE REVENGE OF THE EURO EYE'S look into the career of Marc Lawrence and Jean Seberg. Also, Devin's long awaited exclusive interview with actor Daniel Stephen! Plus more reviews as well! Until then, enjoy the first round of in your face reviews setting the pace for our long overdue return!! Also, visit our forums to discuss the latest reviews as well as other interesting flicks that you might have caught of late!
After almost a full year hiatus due to several reasons, Cinema Nocturna will finally return Monday Feb 1st with new monthly updates! Myself, Devin Kelly, Kit Nygaard-Gavin, Paul Cooke and Johan Melle will be covering all those wonderful films that continue to fly under the Hollywood radar. From the Italian Giallo, to Japanese Yakuza cinema and the indie film world. Interviews with people involved with making these films, to Devin Kelly's in focus spot EURO-EYE, we will be bringing a much improved offering for all of you out there who have supported our little venture since it started back in 2002!
We are also looking for guest contributors or those who might be interested in being a permanent fixture to the team. For those who maybe interested, contact us.
Well folks we have finally unveiled the new holiday reads for yet another year! Let's end 2008 with a bang and bring in 2009 with a look into a very exciting year here at the Underbelly of Film!!! Not only do we have some brand new reviews, Devin has also brought you his latest Euro Eye#3 which can be found just above here. He takes a look at both Van Johnson as well as Paola Montnero. That is not all...Devin also sits back with SCARCE actor Steve Warren for a chat into his career as well as SCARCE!! So sitback, and enjoy the new reads to tide you over the holiday season! From us here at Cinema Nocturna to you! Thanks again for yet another year of support! Look for more promsing things to come in 2009!
Folks, a mini update for you to feast before our annual double sized update coming to the Underbelly in the next couple of weeks! To tide everyone through the festive season! We hope to have a few surprises for you, including a very special exclusive here for you all to enjoy! In the meantime, feast on 3 brand new reviews!
Well, here we are back from the dead..or I mean the short retirement! After a huge demand from devote readers of The Underbelly of Film! we have decided to put things back in motion! Starting off with some brand spanking new material from some of our regular contributors. Also, we would like to thank all of our supporters over the years, those of you who continue to read our pages and of course those who are new to them as well. We wil be following a monthly update schedule, of course there will be times when we may have two updates in a month depending on the amount of material that has been submitted. In the meantime, please enjoy the fresh material!
Ok, as much thought and time that was giving to end a 6 year run of the Underbelly of Film, to put it into retirement. That same energy along with kind words from many people in the industry not to mention the guys who sweat blood for the zine, I have decided to bring back Cinema Nocturna. Yes, I know, a short retirement indeed, but the itch seems to still be there to get those films out to you guys! Though I had originally had planned to wait until the new year, I have decided to put the gears back into motion come the first of November!
For now, the site is now back online as is the old shell of the site or what I like to call our achieves, which can be viewed HERE! So, keep your eyes out for us on the comeback trail!
We're back with some new material to look over! Once again, time restrictions have seen things a tad bit crazy here at the Underbelly, so sorry for the lack of new reads. Hopefully we should be able to pump out more material throughout the fall months. So, in the meantime enjoy the latest crop of reviews. More on their way!
