peterosenau Reviews

The Archangel (1969)

Decent old-school comedy

[6/10 · 19 February 2015]

Failing on the job, Milanese lawyer Furio Bertuccia (Vittorio Gassman) is always open for any funny business to make money. But even he is surprised when the beautiful model Gloria (Pamela Tiffin) visits him late at night, claiming she has murdered her doctor boyfriend and is in need of a lawyer. Turns out the girl is talking nonsense all the time, and there is no murder after all. Half in love, half interested in the heritage the girl mentioned, Furio follows her to Paris, where she tells him another crazy story, this time about a planned murder, the victim: Her rich industrialist boyfriend Roda (Adolfo Celi). Furio is getting introduced into this strange circle and does not realize he might become a scapegoat for a very real murder…

As the title says, this movie's screenplay initially had an angel doing justice on earth, but it was heavily re- written, and unfortunately the final down-to-earth plot with slight borrowings in dark comedy and crime leaves something to be desired. The movie doesn't have any real highlights or outstanding scenes. It moves fast enough to avoid boredom, there are a couple of nice running gags (like Furios regular babbling that everybody takes for inapt laughing) and recurring situations (with Furio's sidekick and the police). But the plot itself is rather tame and it takes a long time until Gloria's stories make a little bit of sense.

Luckily, there are other qualities to the movie. The actors are excellent: Gassman shows off his comedian qualities various times. He, Tiffin and Celi work well together and they have some really funny dialogs. There is even an uncredited appearance of soon-to-be superstar Laura Antonelli. And Stelvio Massi's camera work is very lively, full of nice angles and movements.

Overall this is a decent one for friends of old-school comedy. Slight shortcomings in the plot are easily covered by the great actors, so I wasn't disappointed. But clearly there are better Italian comedies out there.

6,5

Viuuulentemente mia (1982)

Shcuuuusi!

[6/10 · 19 January 2015]

Italian comedian Diego Abatantuono's trademark was his unique way of speaking: A strange southern slang full of puns, grinded words, in a fascinating and funny way of pronunciation. In the early 80ies he celebrated multiple box office successes. Already the title of the 1982 "Viuuulentemente mia" indicates where this comedy is aiming at.

Due to tax fraud, the rich banker Anna (Laura Antonelli) must leave Italy immediately. On the run to the airport, dopey Roman poliziotto Achille (Abatantuono) causes her car to crash, but totally unaware, he even helps her to reach the plane. After resurfacing in Spain, Anna is caught by local police, and Achille heads over to bring her back home. It will be a wild odyssey from Spain to Ibiza, to Corsica and finally to Italy, with the resourceful Anna trying all to gain time and to escape from Achille…

This is a quite funny comedy with some adventure elements that can avoid boredom for the most part thanks to its fast pacing and variety of funny situations. It is easy entertainment that doesn't need too much complexity to the characters or to the plot in order to work. The humor is on a reasonable level and avoids cheap gags, at least for the most part. It's clearly geared towards Abatantuono and his extreme verbal acrobatics, which gave me a very hard time and I'm sure I missed a lot of gags. Dubbed versions of his movies are scarce and I have no clue how to localize this adequately.

Laura Antonelli is the elegant and beautiful, but also deceitful counterpart Anna who slowly but surely falls in love with Achille. Next to Abatantuono she doesn't have too much room for development, but the two actually make quite a good couple. An ugly hillbilly cop and a sexy glamor lady - the contrast couldn't be much higher, and that's always what makes things interesting.

Overall, if you like Abatantuono's comedic style, this one is well worth a watch, and native speakers can certainly add one or two points to my rating.

Malizia 2000 (1991)

Farewell, Laura...

[3/10 · 13 January 2015]

The 1973 comedy classic „Malizia" turned Laura Antonelli into a superstar and sex symbol. 18 years later, the sequel "Malizia 2000" killed off her career.

Ignazio and Angela (the ex-housemaid), now married for almost twenty years, have lost the spark in their love life. Ignazio is drooling after his store assistant, while Angela is deeply bored at home. This changes when an archaeologist arrives to conduct an excavation in the caves under the villa. He brings along his fifteen-year-old son Jimmy, who is immediately struck by Angela's mature beauty. But Angela makes it crystal-clear that she is not the right one for him. The pubescent boy just doesn't want to bury his crush so easily. Devious and shy at once, he devises a sinister play with Angela that even includes hurting his father physically. When Angela realizes his intentions, she decides to play along.

What a pointless sequel. As such, it must put up with the direct comparison to "Malizia", and it is a letdown in every aspect. It rips off the general situation and even copies a couple of scenes. But the class distinctions, the social comments – all gone. The sparkling sexual tension – reduced to a minimum. The wonderful visuals and score – forget about it, "Malizia 2000" seems like a cheap TV feature. This is truly shocking since the whole cast and crew is (more or less) the same as in "Malizia", including director and writer Salvatore Samperi. But I just can't get rid of the feeling that probably no one in the artistic and creative department really wanted to do this sequel.

"Malizia 2000" offers a boring story with simple, superficial elements, pieced together without any effect or depth. That Jimmy boy is so purely evil that it's almost ridiculous. To drag out his love letter game with Angela, he creates astonishing traps to hurt his father – in the course of the movie the guy will lose an ear lobe, a forefinger, and will tear open his face because Jimmy placed an extra blade in his razor! I just don't get it – is this supposed to be funny, some attempt at black comedy? Did the old "Malizia" need such crap to create tension? And what does Samperi want to tell us anyway, some comment on the role of mature women, how they see themselves, how they can or should be seen? Rather pointless in such a badly written script, sorry. And I am not even going to discuss the many plot holes and other nonsense surrounding that cave…

Speaking of the actors, it's good old Turi Ferro who had my sympathy, even though he's mostly used for cheap comic relief only. Luca "Jimmy" Ceccarelli – just look at his IMDb acting vita, enough said. Probably cast only because he could mix in some English expressions, he's absolutely pathetic. And then Laura Antonelli. 49 years old while shooting this, actually a very attractive lady with the perfect body of a life-long gymnast (there is even a brief side-boob moment). But she is not able to deliver what the screenplay requires. Sad eyes, pale skin, deep wrinkles, she seems to carry unspeakable burdens. In fact she did, this is no acting. The events before, during and after the shooting of this movie are truly infamous, but here is not the place to discuss all this. Let's just say it hurts terribly to see Laura like that.

Overall, "Malizia 2000" completely fails to recreate the "Malizia" formula. The magic is gone. And for Laura Antonelli the curtain falls forever.

The Venetian Woman (1986)

One hot night in 16th century Venice...

[8/10 · 11 January 2015]

Venice, 16th century: The young, handsome Jules arrives in the city. Staying for one night only before journeying on, he is looking for an erotic adventure. There is the attractive girl Valeria, whose husband is out of town. Jules is deeply stunned by her and a „date" is arranged at midnight. But someone else has laid eyes on him – the lonely widow Angela, said to be the most beautiful woman of Venice. Tough choice for Jules...

The screenplay is adapted from a 16th century theater play by an anonymous writer, and that play is clearly in the same vein as Boccaccio's 14th century story collection „Decameron", one of the most important and popular pieces of Italian Renaissance literature. So „La Venexiana" offers a briskly told story with subtle comedy, underlying social criticism and lots of erotic situations. Basically the plot is rather thin and would have served better in a short story collection like Pasolino's 1971 „Il Decameron". Therefore the screenplay extends the sex scenes, thus clearly setting the movie in the sexy comedy genre (I watched the 83 minutes version of the Italian DVD).

The movie is beautifully shot, taking advantage of the unique Venetian atmosphere around the Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo, an area which is even today quite unspoiled by tourism. The wonderful costumes, interiors and the Morricone score really take you back in time.

As mentioned, neither the plot nor the characters are very complex, but to make the best of it, the movie is told straightforward and manages to avoid any boredom. Jason Connery is quite alright as protagonist and womanizer, in fact it's not really up to him to carry the storyline. Most of the comedic elements are provided by the respective servants of Angela and Valeria, whereas the erotica is the job for the leading actresses Laura Antonelli and Monica Guerritore. The nudity factor is very high throughout, and it is all shot very elegantly and tastefully. Jules' romance with Valeria (Monica Guerritore), tagged as a „true love", is the rather playful one-night-stand, while Angela is the melancholic, sad counterpart. Back then, in Venetian society, a widow couldn't have any new sexual relationships and is supposed to mourn forever, notwithstanding her passion and desire. A role taylor-made for Laura, and even though she had battled her status as a sex symbol for a long time, she is pure dynamite. Little wonder her encounter with Jules is shown for very, very long...

Overall, „La Venexiana" is a diverting erotic comedy with tragic undertones, quite true to the classic play, adequately played and with great visuals, especially in the main discipline, the sex scenes. All those qualities can easily cover for the slight lack of substance in the story.

Chaste and Pure (1981)

Very, very mediocre...

[4/10 · 7 January 2015]

The old widower Antonio enjoys dabbling with the vast family heritage, but the actual heir is his daughter Rosa. And once married, she will get control over all the riches. To ensure that this will never happen, Antonio had pressed the decennial Rosa to take a vow of chastity. Now, twenty years later, Rosa has remained true to her vow, but the temptations all around her just get to be too much for her. Antonio realizes he has to act fast to secure his position and therefore stages a pagan festival, where his lustful friends shall dispose of Rosa's desires once and for all…

Many of director Salvatore Sampieri's works deal with impossible sexual or romantic fulfillment. And he is known for his biting satiric stance on bourgeoisie, old-school social conventions and similar class-conceit. All these ingredients are present in "Casta e pura", but it is just played out too simply. There is a bunch of random buffoons hanging around Antonio's villa, all deranged, incestuous, greedy and whatnot. Antonio is of course the worst, kidding his daughter for twenty years, always pretending the vow is for her own good. The contrast to the only "unspoilt" person, Rosa, comes out way too extreme to take any of these characters seriously – in the end the satiric elements serve for cheap jokes only. Speaking of Rosa, she is truly "chaste and pure", but the general setup feels very far-fetched and the situations the screenplay puts her in are just repetitive, be it the confessions, the lame gags with her dropping dishes, or not less than three nightly gatherings with the greedy cook. You can understand Rosa's misery and bitter situation, but the character remains shallow. Laura Antonelli's very own "Mio Dio, come sono caduta in basso" (1974) showed perfectly how to build up a story on a similarly awkward premise, and managed to be funny throughout. "Casta e pura" unfortunately fails.

The big turning point, the weird pagan party, is quite a disappointment as well. Resembling the Roman rape of the Sabine Women, the editing is very choppy (in two occasions we see Rosa nude, but after a cut, she is dressed again, plus rough music jumps). Of course the cruelty of the father and his friends is now pushed to the top. Now we suddenly get a rape-and-revenge situation with a very serious rape and a slapstick revenge afterwards. At this point the screenplay collapses completely and the whole payback stuff is just contrived. Rosa is suddenly like new-born, stone cold and will give everybody the just desserts. I was glad when it was over.

Laura Antonelli, while being absolutely wonderful to behold (sometimes even in the nude), is a little too old for the role (she was 39 by then), and I must say her performance leaves something to be desired. However, in view of the simple screenplay and the lack of any other remarkable actor, it is okay. The "rural" Italian dialect by some of the characters is very hard to understand, so I can't rule out I missed some hidden gags.

Overall, there is some general quality to "Casta e pura", one you can expect from a renowned director like Sampieri, but the movie never gets momentum owing to a lackluster screenplay and overly simple characterizations.

Mi faccio la barca (1980)

Harmless, but likable Italian comedy

[6/10 · 5 January 2015]

Director and writer Sergio Corbucci's passport to fame was the Italo-Western genre, but in the Seventies, the comedies were en vogue in Italy, and Corbucci churned out one by one. The 1980 production „Mi faccio la barca" quickly slipped into obscurity, however:

The Roman dentist Piero (Johnny Dorelli) wants to spend his holidays cruising on a small sailing boat, together with his two little children. His ex-wife Roberta (Laura Antonelli) is planning quite a similar thing – with her high-society friends on a luxury yacht, though. But when Piero's first forays to the sea end in disaster, Roberta is worried about the children and decides to embark on his boat. The reunited family sets sail – lots of adventures and strange encounters await them. Will they reach Sardinia? And more importantly, will Piero and Roberta get back together?

As you can guess by the description, this is a family comedy, a family adventure. There is not much depth in terms of characters, the plot is neither very refined nor does it have any surprises in store (except for one, see below). It's supposed to be easy fun, not much more. For the most part, it actually works, since the two stars harmonize quite well, the screenplay capitalizes on the unique setting, and the pacing is high enough to avoid any idleness. And I loved the locations, the Italian seaside, the Tyrrhenian Sea and of course the wonderful music. Itchy feet. Did I mention that this movie has gorgeous Laura running around in swimsuits throughout?

Unfortunately, a couple of the events are just too far-fetched. What are the chances that Piero will run into his (topless) assistant chick on Sardinia? And then, just when you might think the movie is about to end, the screenplay adds another plot with two goons who kidnap the boat and the family. The whole ending is over the top and for me, it just doesn't fit with the harmless comedy of the preceding 90 minutes. Last but not least, the kids are annoying. Luckily they don't have too many dialogs, but when they do, it is either wisecracking about sailing, or commenting on bad language by the adults and other tedious, opinionated stuff like that.

Overall, regardless of the clear shortcomings, an easy, tame, fun movie for friends of Italian comedies. I'd instantly prefer this to all the action comedy flicks Corbucci did at the time. And any Laura Antonelli fan shouldn't miss this for the world.

Sesso e volentieri (1982)

Dino Risi did much better...

[6/10 · 4 January 2015]

Dino Risi did a lot of sketch collections during his great career as writer and director, and in 1982, he teamed up with some of the most popular actors of the time – singer/actor/comedian Johnny Dorelli and the sex symbols Laura Antonelli and Gloria Guida – to shoot „Sesso e volentieri". Dorelli is seen in all of the ten episodes, Guida in five and Antonelli in three.

The structure with its secluded episodes brings along the usual problem: The movie can't keep a constant quality level. There are a couple of entertaining episodes, for some others no one will ever care for, and the rest is just very poor. And when the credits roll, you'll just wish the crap had been cut and the good stuff had been extended. Speaking of „Sesso e volentieri", the share of total time-wasters is luckily rather low, and the share of mediocrity quite high, but one thing's for sure: Risi could do so much better.

For my liking, the movie starts off with some very forgettable episodes, such as the very first with the TV show magician – ridiculous and absurd, but not in a fun way. The first Laura outing – a widow moves into a room where a hooker used to live and she suddenly kind of likes to assume that role, too – is not much better, and as a huge Laura fan, I absolutely hated her hairstyle in this episode. Right after that, an attempt at a black comedy with „Radio Taxi" - not much more than an attempt.

The first small highlight is the barbershop episode that benefits from a casual situation turning dangerous, and very fine situation comedy by Dorelli. Next up is an episode where Dorelli, married family father, is followed and openly courted by a gay. Apart from the awkward situations, there is nothing special or very funny about this. And with the next episode, „Lady Jane", we arrive at bottom level: Dorelli as a host-for-rent, dining with a foreign minister's wife who has a tendency for farting. Sounds exactly as funny as it is – although done with more decency than in modern so-called comedies.

Next up, another extremely contrived episode with Dorelli acting as a poor fiddling beggar, who is trying to get into bed one more time with his former lover (Gloria Guida). And then, one episode a little longer and far better than all the others before: Dorelli meets a very beautiful and seductive woman on the street. At first she doesn't seem to be interested in him, but after he tails her all day, she slowly gets into the „Adventure". A simple story, with likable characters, Dorelli and Laura work well together. And wow, Laura is mind-blowingly beautiful... The erotic scene with her lying on the bed in lingerie, smiling, giving a hot wink to Dorelli, is absolutely awesome. Nice twist in the end – and you have the best episode of „Sesso e volentieri".

After that, we get an episode with a couple in honeymoon, meeting a rich sheik who turns out to be after Dorelli and not after Guida. Dragged out way too long. Then, the last episode: Dorelli as a servant in a palace, deeply in love with one of the guests, a foreign princess (Laura). And the lady is surprisingly open to his advance. What follows is a slapstick orgy: While the two try to make out, the princesses' room is all but quiet. Bodyguards, paparazzi, anarchists. Nothing special, but kind of entertaining on a low level, and with a totally stupid „black humor" twist.

Given the fact that this movie even boasts „sex" in it's title, it is very tame, containing absolutely no sex and extremely little nudity (in the „Adventure" episode). Dorelli is quite good throughout, but he can't save a poor story all alone. For Gloria Guida, this was one of her final cinema appearances. Her roles are not very interesting and her acting was never worth mentioning. Laura Antonelli on the other hand had shown her comedy talents several times before and I think she could have upgraded a couple of the episodes. In the end, it is her „Adventure" episode that saves the day. Overall, if you like Dorelli, Laura or Guida (or even all of them), then you can give it a try, but don't expect too much. Mediocre with very few highlights.

Grandi magazzini (1986)

Classic comedy, Italian style

[7/10 · 2 January 2015]

In 1986, Mario and Vittorio Cecchi Gori, the prolific and successful Italian producers, assembled an all-star cast for a comedy anthology about a day in a Roman department store, the „Grandi Magazzini". Directed by comedy veteran team Castellano and Pipolo, it is just great to see all the popular actors together, regardless what you think about the quality of the humor.

A lot of random gags and short sketches, a couple of characters that are shown multiple times. But there are some elaborated story lines which I found very entertaining and funny: Enrico Montesanto as a dopey toilet cleaner, confused with the son of a store competitor, in hilarious situations with people who all want to take advantage of the relationship. Laura Antonelli (incomparably beautiful, but by 1986 with quite a rough voice) will seduce him, a dept collector will break his bones, and much more. Great stuff.

Meanwhile, the store tries to shoot a commercial with an old drunkard actor (Nino Manfredi) – true onslaughts of comedy and awkward moments. Back and forth on his route through Rome, Renato Pozzetto is desperately trying to deliver all orders in time and will meet all kind of weird people.

Many more well known and popular faces of the Italian cinema are present, although I found the random sketches and scenes nowhere as noteworthy, as the main story lines above. And of course, there is some truly awful stuff, too. Basically I disliked everything with the super-stupid watchman, and the Ornella Muti sequence was totally unnecessary. Just to cram in all the actors and gags, the cinematic version, at 110 minutes, does have some bumpy cuts (subsequent TV versions reinstated the complete scenes). Luckily this is not too distracting, and in such a movie with episodic and random structure, it doesn't matter too much anyway.

This is great Italian comedy, made during the heyday of the genre. „Grandi Magazzini" does have charm, the special Italian style is there, the typical 80ies synthesizer score, and so many loved faces. Great to see them altogether singing the end theme. Overall, great fun to watch, but it could have been much better without some of the random nonsense.

The Eroticist (1972)

Dark comedy in the world of politics by horror expert Fulci

[7/10 · 31 December 2014]

Italian cop & mafia thrillers of the Seventies regularly brought up political corruption and drawbacks, but a dark comedy on said topic was a rare thing. And that's exactly what horror cult director Lucio Fulci had in mind with „...All' onorevole piacciono le donne".

Senator Giacinto Pupis is a successful politician, bachelor, totally asexual and married to his job you could say. Now, while running for state presidency, he has developed a nasty habit: He can't control his urge to grab womens' butts. When such an incident is even caught on film and he's blackmailed, he flees into a convent headed by a friar who's dabbling in psychology and tries to help Pupis. Meanwhile in Rome, rumours around Pupis' mysterious disappearance spread: Police, army, mafia, and the unscrupulous cardinal Maravigli suspect a coup and a chain reaction gets started...

This movie did have problems with the Italian censorship board, but as so often, the extra publicity made it even more successful. It's easy to see why some people felt offended, as the politicians and state representatives are shown at their worst – stupid, greedy, malicious. The Catholic Church is getting hit the hardest, however, with Cardinal Maravigli depicted as puppet master that will work with the Mafia and will kill anybody who might cause problems to his interests. This is a very biting, dark satire that can at some points astonish and offend. Everybody gets the just desserts.

While the English title might suggest an easy erotic comedy, the movie is clearly talkative, plot-driven, has depth. A lot of parties and characters are introduced, and especially while Pupis is in the convent, a very complex subplot unfolds. For such a vehicle you need a convincing lead actor, and Lando Buzzanca is great as usual.

There is a marginal amount of nudity during the hilarious dreams (and one daydream) of Pupis. But this gets pushed extremely after 85 minutes, when Laura Antonelli is seen for about fifteen minutes – mostly in the nude. Her part is not written too well (added very late on request of the production). Why on earth would Pupis overlook the probably hottest nun ever during his crazy night at the convent? Said cathartic experience would have served far better as the turning point for him, and not this single encounter. Well, I certainly won't complain about seeing the nude Laura, what a feast for the eye, even with her extremely short „nun" haircut. There is at least one good aspect about all this: The "German" Italian of the convent members is as ridiculous as it is funny (all added in post-production dubbing of course).

So overall, „All' onorevole piacciono le donne" is a dark, fun and biting satire, focussing on the political aspects, and benefitting from the great Lando Buzzanca. Definitely offending and not stopping for anything. If you expect a typical sexy comedy, you might be disappointed and should better go for „Il Merlo Maschio" - Lando, Laura and lots of fun.

Without Apparent Motive (1971)

Disappointing!

[3/10 · 29 December 2014]

By the end of 1971, "Dirty Harry" was released in the US, and "Sans mobile apparent" in France. Both do have clear similarities. One of the two was a groundbreaking cop-thriller, paving the way for the genre, the other one was quickly forgotten. Guess who is who?

Nice: A sniper kills four people. Ace cop Carella is searching for the missing link between the victims.

This is all you need to say about the plot, there is really not much more about it. Sure, the screenplay tries to add various aspects, but fails miserably. The biggest letdown is Carella himself. I've rarely seen an uber-cop as boring as him. He is noteworthy because he continuously washes his hand, and he is apparently the best marksman in the world (ridiculously exaggerated in one certain scene). But that's about it. There is a difference between being cool and annoying. I'm not sure Trintignant knew. Either he was bored to death when shooting this, or he was just wooden – I'd rather go for the first option. But then there are two instances in the movie when he smiles – this is so unintentionally funny it almost hurts. Well, to his defense, the screenplay just doesn't have anything in store for his character. Totally implausible he were in love with one of the victims (is Nice that small?) and would even quit duty at the end of the movie. This is not working at all. By 1971 the Italians did great "dirty cop" thrillers with Franco Nero, and the aforementioned "Dirty Harry" was in the starting blocks – compared to those charismatic guys Monsieur Carella is an utter disappointment. It's just not enough to have a title cards trying to sell that guy as a bad-ass adventurer…

The screenplay does have a reasonable pace, at least enough to avoid total boredom. But the victims are killed quickly and you can tell minutes in advance who'll be next. Just in very few sequences some real tension and speed can be found, otherwise this is just tedious and resembles a TV procedural. The missing link then arrives out of the blue and is totally far-fetched. A poor excuse to connect the random victims, just to drag out the police investigation. No surprise then that the finale is just as rushed and constructed as the rest of the plot, failing to provide any tension.

Of course it's not all bad. The Mediterranean scenery is quite nice (let's forget about the shaky helicopter shots in the beginning), Ennio Morricone provides a very cool score. In a small role we get to see Laura Antonelli, whose striking beauty and fragility is quite memorable. Unfortunately she kind of overacts in one particular scene, but otherwise she is very convincing and a better screenplay would have capitalized on her character. And I basically liked the real-time approach in some sequences, but it's just done too rarely and without too much effect.

Overall I could recommend this to die-hard fans of Trintignant only. Anyone who just wants to see a good cop thriller should avoid it. There are plenty of better alternatives out there.

Black Journal (1977)

Sickening and weird, but interesting

[28 December 2014]

Leonarda Cianciulli was a housewife who became one of Italy's most notorious serial killers. She murdered three women and boiled down their bodies to soap. This took place in 1940, and when Cianculli had died in prison in 1970, the case apparently re-gained some attention, leading to the 1977 biopic/horror movie „Gran bollito".

The movie, although taking a lot of liberties for the screenplay, provides a (probably) quite accurate depiction of the woman (here called „Lea", played by Shelley Winters). She was pregnant more than a dozen of times, but lost all of the children due to miscarriage or due to illnesses shortly after birth. When her only son Michele survived and grew up healthy, Lea, highly superstitious, believed to be in a pact with the devil, and set out to do even most drastic steps, including human sacrifices, to ensure his safety. And there is a lot for her to worry, since Michele is about to be drafted for the military, and there is also another woman in his life, the beautiful Sandra, who causes heavy jealousy in Lea.

This movie is morbid and sickening throughout. Its strength is in the contrast between the normality of Lea's house and the horrible things she does in it. Her behaviour is always friendly, protective, helpful, but at the same time she is cold-blooded, determined, crazy. To add to the creepy atmosphere, all the people who frequent her house are utterly strange, her housemaid is handycapped, her husband is paralyzed, you name it. In an interesting take on the real events, the three murder victims are transvestites, increasing the strange feel of the movie.

Unfortunately there is overall quite little going on and a couple of story lines are not really too helpful. There's a lot of rather irrelevant dialogs and the murder sequences are dragged out far too long, especially the first victim and the whole „I'm going to America" thing. It was hard to endure for me and I actually just kept up in the hope that Laura Antonelli as Sandra would show up more often. In fact she does near the end, but her part is quite shallow and serves only to build some tension in the over-constructed finale. Still, her elegant beauty and „normality" makes her an anchor in this sea of madness.

Despite the problems of the screenplay, the actors perform very well, especially Shelley Winters as Lea on the thin line between normality and madness. But it's also very surprising to see an actor like Max von Sydow as one of the transvestites, and as mentioned, Italian superstar Laura Antonelli in a supporting role (replacing Ornella Muti on short notice). Another noteworthy aspect is the perfect time period recreation by „Caligula" artist Danilo Donati. Although not too graphic, this film is hard to come by in an unedited version.

„Gran bollito" is successful at creating a sickening atmosphere and the actors are very good, but all that can't offset the weaknesses of the plot. As a biopic, it is just too superficial and filled with irrelevant subplots, as a horror movie it can only offer its creepy mood, but barely any real tension except for very few scenes. Still, not too bad and watchable if you're into Seventies weirdness.

Wifemistress (1977)

Truly a splendid period drama

[10/10 · 26 December 2014]

After „Divina Creatura" (1975) and „L'Innocente" (1976), 1977's „Mogliamante" was Laura Antonelli's next step in the world of auteur cinema. Perhaps even her best performance, although the movie is – unfortunately - kind of obscure.

A small town in the Veneto, the winter of 1912: Traveling wine merchant Luigi de Angelis (Marcello Mastroianni) is witness to the murder of a business associate. Although innocent, he realizes he would be the prime suspect and therefore decides to fake his own death. But from his new hideout, he can see directly into the rooms of his home. He sees his wife Antonia, a rich heiress. Their dysfunctional marriage has tormented the beautiful woman for years, has even confined her to bed due to delusional illnesses. When she hears about Luigis death, she seizes her chance to break out of the cage. She follows Luigis itinerary and discovers all he had hidden from her for years. His works, his ways, his hobbies, his vices. And she learns all what was kept from her – love, sexuality, self-awareness. Luigi has to silently witness the awakening of his wife, mirroring his former life, and the more she blossoms, the more he suffers...

This is an outstanding movie in every respect. Most praise must go to the finely balanced, sensitive screenplay. The circumstances around Luigi's suspicion of murder and his injury are a little bit too constructed, but this is just a small nit given the unique and fascinating premise that unfolds. Everything that Antonia does is seen by Luigi (or is reported to him). And the more of his secrets she uncovers, the more is he embarrassed. At some point Antonia realizes that her husband is very alive and watching her, and from then, she will hurt him by living out his vices directly under his eyes. The scenes when Antonia is watching over to Luigis hideout, knowing he's there in the dark, are breathtaking. While the empathy of the viewer is clearly with Antonia, the screenplay carefully manages to shed a different light on the (initially cruel and self-righteous) Luigi. This is just excellent, and you will wonder where and how far this will go for the two. The story is also very complex, not just covering the awakening of Antonia, but providing sub-plots and multi-layered social criticism as well.

The beautiful landscape of the Veneto in winter adds a lot of atmosphere, be it the town square, the vineyards, the pompous villas and residences, or just the romantic mill in a valley. The wonderful score even tops that, with an incredibly charming, bittersweet main theme that will reappear frequently. Highly memorable.

Marcello Mastroianni is excellent as always and it is also thanks to his personality that in the end you can feel sorry for Luigi, knowing what he has done (and has not done). But it is the performance of Laura Antonelli what makes the movie so special. Her Antonia evolves from a allegedly frigid, mistreated hypochondriac, into a self-confident, strong woman. Step by step, subtle nuances. This is fascinating to watch, and is played perfectly by Laura in all her outstanding beauty, sensibility and fragility, leaving the old „sexy comedy" clichés way behind her.

Overall, this is an accessible „arthouse" period drama with erotic touches, full of emotions, tragedy, tears, but also dreams, fullfilment, hope. A feel-good-movie with an unique storyline and outstanding actors, marvellous to behold and to listen to. A shame it's comparably unknown in both Antonelli's and Mastroianni's filmographies.

Tigers in Lipstick (1979)

A waste of time, with one exception

[3/10 · 24 December 2014]

What a great concept: Take 4 of the most popular European actresses of the Seventies and pop them into a Italian- style comedy that takes place mostly in bed. Unfortunately, „Letti selvaggi" is another one of those anthology comedies with eight separate episodes. It goes without saying that the quality ranges from terrible to okay. You'll get Sylvia Kristel, Ursula Andress, Monica Vitti and Laura Antonelli for two episodes each.

The movie starts off with Sylvia Kristel, playing a seemingly bored girl in a flat on the beach. She lures in a mobile trader who thinks she wants to have sex with him, but there is actually a body she must get rid off and the guy is just her scapegoat. Sylvia Kristel was hot and sexy in the Emmanuelle films, but she definitely was no good actress. Her wooden play is painfully obvious here, and it's up to co-star Orazio Orlando to save this quite promising episode that in the end suffers from bad writing and bad acting.

Next up, Ursula Andress as a grieving widow, visited by a journalist. He can convince her to pose for some pictures which then evolves into a whole striptease. No fun here, no gags, no surprises, no twist, nothing. A waste of time.

Next. A (weirdly dubbed) kid asks hooker Monica Vitti to act as his mother and bring him to school. She agrees, but in the principal's office she must find out that the kid is a terrible pupil. What an awful episode! Vitti is actually a good actress, so is Roberto Benigni, but there is no way they could save this pointless nonsense.

Then Laura Antonelli as the beautiful wife of a distrustful old jerk. It's only about two minutes long and the less said about it, the better.

Back to Kristel, playing the wife of a nutty professor who is constantly quarreling about her lack of quality as a cook and in bed. Kristel's acting is even worse than before. But it fits this horrible ordeal of an episode.

Then Andress in a very short one: To boost business of a garage, she'll strip in lingerie on the nearby street, causing a huge pile-up. Watchable, but also forgettable.

The second Vitti outing is surprisingly good and while the storyline is ridiculous, it is also high-paced and more or less entertaining. Vitti as a jewel thief who is after an invaluable necklace. She doesn't know yet that another crook is already close on her heels. Vitti and Co-Star Michele Placido harmonize quite well and the episode definitely benefits of the two.

Then we have the final episode with Laura Antonelli, and they saved the best for last. In fact, this one even saves the neck of the whole movie. A shy orchestra conductor meets a beautiful woman on the street and to his surprise, she agrees to dating and shows up at his home a little later. While there is something going on between the two, this Giovanna is a pure businesswoman and she has calls and meetings one by one. Not much time for a romance, and actually Giovanna is more in need of a servant than a lover. The story then shows the two constantly rushing around while trying to make out in some two-minutes-slots. This is quite funny, at a very high pace and with good actors. Jose Sacristan is a nice guy and quite likable, but it's of course the fantastic Laura Antonelli who makes this worth watching. Once more she proves her talent for comedy, she is bursting with energy, as always pleasing to the eye, and there are a couple of lingerie scenes thrown in.

Overall, it's hard to rate these anthology comedies as impartially as possible, but I doubt this could have appealed to audiences back in the day. Especially the first episodes are just awful and I know dozens of Italian comedies of the Seventies outclassing this totally. Best thing to do is probably to skip all this rubbish and go for the last two episodes only. To those I would give 5 and 6 stars, if watched separately.

La rivoluzione sessuale (1968)

A failed experiment

[19 December 2014]

It's 1968 and the sexual, cultural, social revolution is going on full speed. New concepts, ideas and contents are brought into the world of movies, too. And the European filmmakers scene, especially the Italian, is up front. "La rivoluzione sessuale" is one of those progressive, provocative and daring movies. But it's not a good one.

A professor invites 15 people of various age, gender and profession into a hotel. For 12 days, they have agreed to take part in an experiment: Every day the prof will allot a man and a woman to spend the night together, without any obligations, boundaries, love. His son Giorgio falls for the beautiful Stella and can't stand it seeing her allotted to other men. Others leave the experiment early or don't take it seriously. Tensions arise everywhere…

This was certainly a new and interesting concept, trying to replicate the feeling of the hippie communities of the time, but in a more controlled environment. In today's media, swinging and adultery is omnipresent and has lost all taboo, but in 1968, this was still new and certainly fascinating to audiences. So this must be taken into account when criticizing the movie for being slow, boring, and comparably tame – which it is. After all there are a few glimpses of nudity.

We get to see the regular draw, then the couples move into their rooms. Some get right into the action, others talk, and in a few cases, nothing is going on. Most of the characters remain shallow and uninteresting – you don't really care if they sleep together or if they don't. And even when it's becoming evident the experiment isn't really working, the tensions between the participants do not add any value because you just don't care about the characters.

There is one slight exception – Giorgio, the professors' son, who is in love with one of the girls, is characterized a little bit better and you can reasonably understand his motivation. He's played by Ruggero Miti, who also played the weird kid in "Top Sensation", he performs quite well in both parts.

The aforementioned Stella is played by the very young and beautiful Laura Antonelli. By that time, she transitioned from TV and fotonovelas to the big screen. But this Stella is not a well-written part – she just does what everybody wants her to, walking around like after a lobotomy, claiming she's a free woman, but behaving more like an engaged hooker, and boy are her lines stupid…

The screenplay is co-written by Dario Argento, whose later works are well known for fantastic visuals and atmosphere, but also for plot holes and incomprehensible character behavior. Especially the latter can be stressed for "Sexual Revolution". The weirdness begins when the professor introduces a stimulation chamber (it looks like a shower cubicle) that is apparently increasing the horniness of the girls. Almost sci-fi, it divulges the actually interesting premise to ridiculousness. Between the nightly gatherings, we get to see totally crazy parties and orgies in which the characters dance around either in the nude or in bizarre costumes. None of all that helps to build psychologic depth that this movie would need to work.

Well I watched this just because of Laura Antonelli. She didn't have too many 1960ies movies with large parts, but if you're just in for her, you'd better go for "Venere in pelliccia". I won't rate the movie, although I think you could say the deficiencies are obvious and can be witnessed without any subjectivity. An interesting concept not handled too well.

Till Marriage Do Us Part (1974)

A splendid Laura Antonelli in a great movie

[9/10 · 18 December 2014]

After the über-success of 1973's "Malizia", Laura Antonelli was a top star in Italy and considered as the new Sophia Loren. Yet her following movies – "Sessomatto", "Peccato Veniale", "Simona" – were average at best. Then came the 1974 "Mio Dio come sono caduta in basso", a definite highlight of her career in comedy and a small step towards the world of the auteur cinema. In fact, this works so well that she would resume similar roles in "L'innocente" and "Mogliamante".

Set between the early 1900s and 1920, we follow the life of the Sicilian noblewoman Eugenia. Raised in a convent, all of a sudden a marriage to the nutty Lord Raymondo is arranged. The wedding night turns into a disaster: Not just that Eugenia has no idea about sex beyond some mysterious temptation of the flesh, Raymondo receives an information saying that he and Eugenia are actually brothers and sisters! To prevent any damage for the house, Raymondo decides to keep it a secret. So they both play husband and wife. But already on the honeymoon trip to Paris, the beautiful girl is flirted at and gets seduced constantly, and soon, tormented and miserable, the temptation of the flesh becomes unbearable…

Let's face it: The general premise with the brother and the sister is hard to swallow. Even though the writers were well aware of that and explain it in detail: what a huge coincidence. But once it's taken for granted, this becomes an ingenious and unique vehicle for hilarious comedy. Eugenia, a complete newcomer to anything beyond God and the Bible, suddenly confronted with sensuality, intimacy, desire. She knows she wants it, she needs it, but she doesn't even understand it, she is not capable of it. She doesn't know why she should undress on the wedding night, she'll immediately faint when one says a certain word, she'll scream in horror when she sees a nude man for the first time (and will faint again, of course). While deeply caught in her churchy morale, she'll constantly cry "no!", "never!", "have mercy!", but at the same time you see her trembling lips, her thirsty eyes, her body pumping, actually saying "YES!!!". But the only man she feels the right to be with is her husband and that's her brother, so it's out of the question.

This may sound like Eugenia is hard to bear, but that is definitely not the case. It is actually an incredibly bitter, crushing situation, and any viewer with a heart must immediately fall for this so beautiful, yet so sad girl. And in spite of all that tragedy, the script manages to keep a high pace and is funny throughout. The situations are awkward, for instance, you'll see the longest, un-sexiest and funniest striptease scenes ever (including three times full frontal Laura nudity). She wants to commit suicide, but doesn't know how. She desperately seeks the help of her church, but the priests don't see her problem. Finally she'll subject to sexual adventures, enjoying it while it lasts, but being disgusted afterwards. In general, all the scenes with Eugenia and her driver are a true delight, especially when they enter the hayrick. Laura Antonelli is fantastic, just perfect for the part. In my opinion she always excels when being innocent, romantic, somewhat sad and mistreated, and not in her more flashy, alluring, sexy roles. The face of an angel, the body of a sinner. And she is very talented for well-written comedy.

And of course, Alberto Lionello as Raymondo is a great counterpart for Laura. A total buffoon, easy to influence, easy to distract, easy to inspire – a pain in the ass but funny as hell. He is also the script's entrance to provide snappy satire about Italian nationalism, imperialism and social conventions of the time. Everybody is obsessed with the works of Gabriele d'Annunzio, the (involuntary) forerunner of Italian fascism. These elements grow stronger in the last third of the movie, pushing the comedy more and more in the background. And at the same time, the subtle, underlying sad mood for our Eugenia grows stronger. This all culminates in the breakout of the World War.

Overall "Mio Dio come sono caduta in basso" tells a unique, tragicomic story with strong social criticism, along with hilarious comedy and an endlessly lovable main character. It is highly recommended for Laura Antonelli fans, but also for anybody looking for a great period dramedy with clear overweight of the comedy.

Simona (1974)

Totally different than you might expect

[12 December 2014]

"Simona" was produced in the early Seventies, definitely during Laura Antonelli's most prolific and successful time of movie-making. It is surprising then that this movie quickly slipped into obscurity. But it doesn't take more than 10 minutes of watching to understand why.

It is a desolate village somewhere on the Belgian beaches, it is fall. The shy young man George meets the hooker Simona, and they quickly fall in love. Then they encounter the strange young girl Marcelle and two plus one equals three. Marcelle's problem is her degenerate father, a body preparator, who has never gotten over the death of his wife and sees Marcelle as some form of replacement. When he finds out about the girl's contacts to George and Simona, he locks her up in his castle. The rescue attempts have tragic consequences…

While this may sound like a love drama, the movie is 70ies weirdness galore. No other decade could produce anything comparable and bring it to the big screen. I guess the name Laura Antonelli would sell everything at that time, but that's a little bluff anyway. Lauras role is not too big and that important to justify naming the movie after it, if any, the movie should be called "Marcelle".

Don't expect anything here, especially no deep plot, no character development or even comprehensible behaviour, just a lot of "what the…" moments. This movie wants to be strange, different and vanguard by all means and is definitely successful at that. There is plenty of nudity, but it's never erotic. The sex is weird and disgusting (unless you got a fetish for doing it covered in slimy stinky seaweed). All characters are either weirdos or complete maniacs, with the exception of Marcelle who is the tragic center of events and the only person you can relate to.

The thin story is less about telling, but more about experiencing and breaking conventions. There are long sequences which, I guess, are supposed to resemble a drug trip, where statues come alive, they dance, they feast, it's an orgy and the trio is in the middle. And there are many more dream-like (or rather nightmarish), supernatural elements throughout the film. The father and his freak brother(?) are of course the icing on the cake in their pure insanity, the only elements to give this movie an edge of excitement.

I really liked the locations chosen for shooting. They are very moody and creepy, be it the empty beach, the forgotten theatre in the woods or the castle.

By 1973-1974 Laura Antonelli obviously wanted to leave the comedy genre behind and went for more serious roles that challenged her as an actress. "Simona" was not too good a pick, as said, although having the main credit her part is not too important, and running around and behaving utterly idiotic is nothing to distinguish yourself as an actor. While there is not too much Laura nudity to see, oh boy, is she beautiful. You'd really wish she had more scenes, especially in the second half.

Overall, it's not hard to see why this movie is so little known and why the IMDb average is so low. It goes straight past general audiences' expectations and conventions. I clearly admit I watched this just because of Laura Antonelli, and I didn't like it. Definitely not my cup of tea, but giving a rating wouldn't do it justice. Writing this a couple of days later, I must say the images and the whole experience stuck more with me than I expected. I guess that's what the director wanted.

X-Rated Girl (1971)

A Must-See for fans of Laura Antonelli and of Italian Comedies

[8/10 · 10 December 2014]

In my opinion this is one of the best Laura Antonelli comedies of her whole career. There can be no doubt she did better films per se – Malizia, Mogliamante, L'Innocente – but when it comes to a truly successful comedy, „Il Merlo Maschio" is definitely high in rank in her filmography.

Niccolo Vivaldi is a talented, but failing cellist at the famous Verona amphitheatre orchestra. Slightly neurotic, he feels disregarded, disrespected, unfairly treated all the time. When his wife, little dorky but likable peasant girl Costanza, needs to go into rehab, Niccolo is there when she undresses in front of the doctors – and all of a sudden he realizes his wife is a bombshell like no other! And how to get the admiration he desperately seeks. Niccolo starts out easy by taking pictures of Costanza in the nude, and gains self-esteem after showing them to his colleagues. But his role plays and increasingly wild sexual phantasies put their relationship to the test...

Lando Buzzanca is just fantastic to watch as Niccolo, going from deep depression up to maximum excitement and then anew. Of course it's a role taylor-made for the comedy veteran Buzzanca, and he succeeds in generating sympathy for underdog Niccolo right from the very first minute.

Costanza is played by the young Laura Antonelli, in 1971 still not too well-known. But films like this one surely made her stand out. Laura is just adorable as the simple housewife, and she does some really funny „peasant" dialect in the Italian version. Her dialogs are just hilarious, and although the part lacks some depth, she acts very decently and is definitely convincing.

There can be no denying the script relies heavily on the typical „sexy commedia all'italiana" ingredients - frivolous dialogs and female nudity packed in funny and awkward situations. And oh boy, this film delivers plenty of that. Or let's say, Laura delivers plenty of that. She is a feast for the eyes, and there is a variety of very memorable scenes. Truly awesome.

But at the same token, this is not just a Laura inspection. We take part in Niccolo's career efforts at the orchestra, there is a surprising amount of not too far-fetched psychological elements, and the two get into a marriage crisis due to Niccolo's desires. There is considerable substance beyond the nudity. Music plays a huge part itself, and the score provides wonderful renditions and variations of classical tunes, combined with very pleasant original music.

However, the situations that Niccolo puts Costanza in during the final twenty minutes, are going a little over the top, some scenes felt repetitive. But this is complaining from a very high level, as the movie remains entertaining until the end.

As said, this is a very good comedy with a funny script and a great pair of actors. Laura Antonelli fans mustn't miss this!

Devil in the Flesh (1969)

Way ahead of its time

[9/10 · 8 December 2014]

The 1969 "Venere in pelliccia" could have been Laura Antonelli's big break, had it been released in Italy. It would have predated "Malizia" by four years, but due to censorship problems, it came out in other European markets only. Finally, in 1975, in Italy as well – but in a heavily edited and changed version. More on that later.

The lake Tegernsee in Upper Bavaria: Writer Severin's leisure is interrupted when the gorgeous model Wanda arrives at his hotel. He can spy on her through the wooden wall between their rooms, and quickly falls in love with her. After a rather old-school advance, they get together. Severin then discloses his sexual fantasies: In his view a man is defined by his childhood experiences and traumas. For him, this means he has to suffer in a relationship, both physically and mentally. Wanda on the other hand is used to cheat on her partners, but she falls in love with Severin and agrees to play along in his games. This means for her to have sexual encounters with other men, enforced and watched by Severin. But after a couple of weeks, during their honeymoon in Spain, Wanda is sick of it and the relationship spirals downwards into disaster…

This may sound very plot- and dialog- driven, but it actually isn't. Characterisation and motivations are explained very quickly and mostly through thoughts (in voice-overs). It's up to the viewer to interpret the rest, although there are instances where this doesn't work out completely. Especially regarding Wanda's actions I was not convinced throughout. At one point she is obviously sick of it all, beats Severin down and we see him hurt and bruised. But in the next scene, the bruises are gone (some time must have passed) and they are back in their role playing. Why would she stay with him after that, given that she is a nymphomanic, self-confident dream girl and can do whatever she wants? But maybe that's just me who can't see that, as said, it's up to the respective viewer. A little bit of explanation would have helped, especially since this is a rather short film, not reaching the 90 minutes mark.

Problems like these are easily forgiven, as this is a fantastic film to watch. The visuals are incredibly well- made, every single scene is shot perfectly. The locations are beautiful, too, especially the lake and meadows of the first half. The score supports the plot perfectly. A fascinating mix of 60ies lounge-piano and wild, psychedelic flower-power feel.

And oh boy, this movie is hot. Incredibly hot. For the time of production, it goes surprisingly far, but this is still the time when you couldn't show all and had to be creative. The amount of nudity (including full frontal) and sex scenes performed by Laura Antonelli is absolutely incredible, and the director and camera knew what they were doing. Tasteful and absolutely arousing.

Speaking of the actors, Régis Vallée performs decently and is convincing, although he may seem a little bit too passive towards the end of the film. Laura on the other hand puts her heart and soul into her role. She steals most of the scenes with Vallée, and definitely not just for appearances.

Now let's speak of the Italian version of 1975. You can see by the way it was made that the censors have had problems with two things: The sado-masochistic aspect of Severin wanting to suffer, and some of the sex scenes were too explicit. So they brought in Vallée to shoot a background story: Severin is in jail (and later in court), being accused of the murder of that guy Bruno (they shot some extra scenes with that actor, too). Severin tells the story of his relationship to Wanda and how it could come to the murder. It is terribly boring. The 1969 scenes are arranged differently (mixing Bavaria and Spain scenes at random), and strongly edited. The voice-overs, all the "suffering" dialogs, all gone. It's not true the sex scenes were all cut, many are completely intact. Others were shortened, for the scene at the lake, when Severin satisfies Wanda orally, they even added a filter on the right side of the picture in order to cloak what's going on. And the horse sex scene is gone, too, luckily. The film was re-dubbed completely and shows Severin as a normal guy who falls for Wanda, who is the one to openly cheat on him and cause them to break up which leads to the murder. Anyway, the 1975 one is a total waste of time and should you decide to watch it, you should do it before you watch the 1969 version.

Overall, this is a very good film and an absolute must-see for fans of Laura Antonelli (although I didn't like her dyed hair and the strong make-up too much). The sexual liberality is surprising, sometimes shocking, clearly the film was way ahead of the times. Superb cinematography and soundtrack, convincing actors and a controversial subject – but go for the 1969 version please.

Venial Sin (1974)

Enjoyable, but don't expect a second "Malizia"...

[6/10 · 7 December 2014]

The sensational success of „Malizia" obviously called for a sequel of some kind. So one year later, in 1974, most of the „Malizia" production staff including the main actors, Laura Antonelli and Alessandro Momo, came back together to shoot „Peccato veniale".

Somewhere on the beaches of Tuscany, in the 1950ies, a well-off family spends their vacation. The old parents, constantly quarreling, are the least of the problems of their son Sandro. Sixteen years old, pubescent, rebelling, spending the days with his friends playing pranks and starting to get interested in women. However the only woman he is seriously interested in, is the beautiful Laura (guess the actress?), the wife of his older brother Renzo. And while Renzo is usually out for „business" reasons, Sandro and Laura get to spend a lot of time together on the beach...

Well, that's the obvious and constructed vehicle to replicate the success of „Malizia", bringing the same two actors back together in a romantic situation. But apart from that goal, the two films are not really comparable. This is because „Malizia" has a strong dark side to it, the sexual tensions there are not mutual, but forced. The characters are credible and you can sympathize with them. In addition, although usually categorized as comedy, the humor is subtle, clever and discreet, and you could easily call it a drama film with social comment as well.

„Peccato veniale" is quite different in all of these respects. The gags come with a wooden mallet and are usually not very good. Slapstick-style sequences on the beach you would expect of some cheap „Insegnante" flicks, but not of a production like this. The family mechanics are not much better, though, and it's only good old Lino Banfi who made me smile a couple of times. These „comedic" elements are predominant in the first half of the movie. The script is trying hard to be more funny than „Malizia", but can achieve that only by making basically a fool out of all the characters, except for Laura and Sandro of course.

Their relationship is developed rather lacklustre until it gets momentum after the first half. It's not too badly written from then (most of the earlier beach nonsense ceases) and felt convincing to me, albeit not surprising at any point. Initially Laura doesn't even notice Sandro's interest in her, then she does, but smiles about it, until she develops feelings of her own. This is actually inevitable in view of her husband Renzo who is so completely stupid and unbearable you wonder what made her marry him in the first place. Once you consider this, you can see the problem that somewhat limits the characterization of Laura. On the part of Sandro, it's mostly the same as with „Malizia"'s Nino, but without the dark, cruel elements. Missing those, it's doesn't take too long to imagine how „Peccato veniale" will turn out.

For Laura Antonelli, this is probably the last time she took the role of a youthful, naive love interest. It barely works out here, and she did well to choose more mature and better roles after 1974. Nevertheless, she is absolutely radiant throughout the film in her implausible beauty. Apart from very sexy beachwear and a couple of shots in semi-transparent lingerie, there is no nudity at all – rather surprising that they didn't want to beat „Malizia" in this regard.

So overall, this is the more shallow, comedic and forgettable follow-up to „Malizia", and in spite of the many similarities, there are even more differences. If you liked „Malizia", it's not necessarily the case you'll like „Peccato veniale" as well. While it's okay to watch, the rather low level comedy of the first half dragged it down for me and it took long until it could grasp me a little. Overall it's a slight disappointment, and it totally fails to top „Malizia" in any way.

Incontro d'amore (1970)

Unfortunately quite boring, but with some certain qualities

[4/10 · 4 December 2014]

After 1973's "Malizia", when Laura Antonelli was at the height of her popularity, inventive producer Alfredo Bini dug out an old box office failure of hers, the 1970 production "Bali". But he didn't just re-release it as it was, but shot about half an hour of new scenes. They serve as a framing background to the 1970 material, and apparently, the new version was very successful due to the Laura Antonelli craze. Unfortunately this means that the only version available today is the 1975 release, and what was cut from the 1970 version is probably lost forever.

Two problems are obvious: The 1970 version, at least what's left of it, is not really good to begin with. And the 1975 additions are pointless and boring for the most part.

So you have photographer and journalist Carlo (Emmanuelle 2&3's Umberto Orsini) working on a book about the island of Bali, while he is assisted by the introverted dropout Glenn (John Steiner). Then Daria, Carlo's wife, played by Laura Antonelli, arrives for a visit and she is quickly fascinated by Glenn's weird state of mind. Glenn is grasped by the island's folklorist and social ways, dabbles in black magic and voodoo, and is deeply depressed because his guru friend is soon to die and does not speak to anybody anymore. Daria's fascination turns to love , Carlo gets jealous, and Glenn wants to die...

Well, it's a classical love triangle served here, but it just never gets any momentum. It's hard to relate to any of the characters as they act so completely strange and incomprehensible. Daria falls for Glenn by just staring at him, while he mostly ignores her and she's making constantly scenes because she can't understand what drives him. Carlo is proud of his "open" marriage to Daria that allows them both to cheat on each other, but turns jealous when he finds out about her feelings for Glenn, who on the other hand makes it crystal-clear he doesn't care for Daria and just wants to die. It all just doesn't work. You are treated to highly sophisticated discussions about island polygamy, frog statues, betel nuts, life, death and all the exorcisms and black magic rituals in between. The script wants to feign depth that's not really there.

If it weren't for the wonderful scenery, you would be bored very quickly. But truly the production managed to find great spots, viewpoints and access to genuine, sometimes quite disgusting events on the island. This is supported by the fitting soundtrack.

Speaking of the actors, it's Steiner who can convince the most, since his character is the actual key of the story. Orsini relies on his playboy looks, while Laura, I hate to say it, performs miserably and doesn't seem to care at all. At least there are some sequences of her wearing a wonderful black bikini. I admit I could watch her running around like that probably for the rest of my life.

So let's speak about the re-cut, about thirty new minutes mostly with Orsini. It clocks in at 90 minutes, so you can guess an equal amount of the 1970 version had to go. It's five years later and Carlo reports to the police that he has killed Daria. Then he tells the police officer the whole Bali story, and how he recently met her again. For the most part, it is totally boring, and it continuously interrupts the actual story, along with hard, noticeable cuts on the 1970 scenes. It causes considerable plot-holes. For instance, Daria meets Glenn for the first time at the airport and on the ride to the village they talk briefly and superficially. Then all of a sudden she tells Carlo how much Glenn fascinates her - something is missing here...

Well, at least the producers realized what was definitely missing, too, in the 1970 version - sex and crime. To replace Laura, who had certainly better things to do at that point, they brought in Ilona Staller, so the nudity was secured, and for the gore, they just let Carlo become crazy. Ridiculous, but what would you expect. Antonelli criticized the re-release fiercely, by the way.

Overall this film just wants too much and delivers too little. If you are happy to see young and beautiful Laura Antonelli, you won't be too disappointed. I wouldn't recommend "Bali" to anyone but hardcore Eurocult fans who may just get enough enjoyment out of Laura, the visuals, style and score to outweigh the weak and boring plot.

How Funny Can Sex Be? (1973)

Only for Laura Antonelli Fans

[6/10 · 2 December 2014]

Collections of shorts, all played by the same main actors, were quite popular up to the 80ies. The actors had the chance to portray multiple characters and show their versatility, the script could quickly tackle various topics without lingering or the need of elaborate explanations. "Sesso matto" offers eight comedy shorts, all focusing on sexual fantasies, perversions, weird behavior and stuff like that. While none of its contents will raise eyebrows by today's standards, back in the early Seventies this was probably deemed a daring movie. Male lead is Giancarlo Giannini, who is generally running around in ridiculous hairdos, outfits and tends to overact all the time. On his opposite we have the irresistible Laura Antonelli who suffers from the varying quality of her roles, but overall gives a far better performance than Giannini.

As you can imagine, the quality of the shorts ranges from okay to terrible. So what's to see? No Spoilers, there isn't much to spoil anyway.

(Madam, it's eight o'clock): The relationship between a rich lady and her servant, who has continuing problems to wake her up at the time she ordered him to. It's obvious why this is the first episode. Laura is looking absolutely gorgeous and there are some small topless scenes. The Italian-French dialogs are quite funny (noblesse oblige!), but apart from that it's rather dumb. 5/10

(Two hearts and a hut): A poor couple at the bottom of society suspects each other of adultery and then try to have sex next to their thirteen children in their crowded hut. I immediately forgot about this one as it was rather disgusting (volitionally, I admit). Neither funny nor interesting at all. 1/10

(It's never too late): Giannini plays a weirdo who is attracted to grannies. He stalks one and when he finally succeeds in his advances, he takes it to the next level. Another rather disgusting topic. While played for laughs, the stalking itself is actually shown quite seriously and that's not really a good thing. Laura is completely wasted in this one. Again, not funny at all. 2/10

(Honeymoon): A freshly married couple on its honeymoon at Venice. Super-Macho Giannini turns out to be failure in bed, but Laura finds a way to turn him on… This could be considered a centerpiece episode, as it is made far more elaborately than the rest, with nice location shots at Venice, and an actually working vehicle for the two lead actors. Well, the solution is ridiculous of course, but this is still an enjoyable episode. 6/10

(Come back my little one): Giannini as a weirdo who picks up a hooker and takes her to his home. Turns out he chose her because she resembles his wife who has left him and he wants her for role playing. This one is not bad at all and quite unusual with its sad mood and absence of trashy dialog. Laura as a hooker is a strange, but fascinating sight, reminded me somewhat of her look in "Bali" (1970). That's a good thing, in case you wonder. 7/10

(Italian worker abroad): A guy comes to a hospital/sperm bank and while he's "delivering", he fantasizes about the nun he met moments before. A totally strange and unique episode, judging from the gibberish it's supposed to take place in Scandinavia (although a German porn magazine is shown for whatever reason). Anyway, you can't make out any of the dialogs, and it's done kinda funny. Laura's admirers are in for a treat here with an extended sequence of her dancing and posing in a semitransparent cowl. 7/10

(The Revenge): Laura's husband got killed by the mob, and at the funeral, Don Corleone shows up to pay his respects. As he advances on her, she sees the chance to take revenge for her husband's death – in bed. With Giannini only briefly shown (dead), this one is carried completely by Laura Antonelli, who is very convincing as the grieving widow full of anger. But then, the stand-out aspect of this very short episode is not the acting, but the sizzling erotic dance she performs towards the end. 6/10

(A difficult love): The longest and probably dumbest of all episodes. The complete absence of Laura makes it even harder to endure. Giannini plays once more a fool who falls for a transvestite hooker, without realizing it's not a woman. This is Incredibly unbelievable to begin with, but when he finally sees his mistake, it all gets even weirder… I guess there weren't too many movies by 1973 trying to show transvestite prostitutes halfway realistically at their job, so it may have had a different impact back then, but this episode has aged terribly and is completely ridiculous. 0/10

(The Guest): Probably to make up for the previous episode, this one is a pure Laura show. Her husband invites a geeky professor into their luxurious villa, and Laura starts to seduce him. The husband doesn't seem to notice – or does he? Well, how can you go wrong with the young, incomparably beautiful Laura Antonelli in horny mode? Even Giannini as the professor with his nerdy and ridiculous way of speaking is quite funny in this episode. 7/10

So overall, as so often with Italian comedies, it is a matter of taste what one will think of the single episodes. But there can be no doubt the quality is fluctuating wildly. For admirers of Laura Antonelli, "Sesso matto" is a must-see, at least a couple of the episodes. Surprisingly, for a movie of that name and of that topic, there is barely any nudity on offer. But clothed or not, Laura is always a delight to behold. If you are looking for a really good "sexy commedia all'Italiana", you better pass on "Sesso matto".

Malicious (1973)

Classic "sexy comedy" with a stellar Laura Antonelli

[10/10 · 1 December 2014]

„Malizia" is a unique crossover of comedy, coming-of-age drama and exploitation, and it's not hard to see why it was the most successful Italian film in 1973. It made Laura Antonelli a superstar and every Italian teenager's wet dream. I can really say I've seen my share of Italian movies of that time and more than enough teen/sex dramedies with Fenech, Guida, you name it, but "Malizia" outclasses those on every level.

Spoilers: While I will speak about some stuff that happens throughout the movie, I certainly will not spoil the ending or outcome.

"Malizia" is not out for cheap laughs or in-your-face slapstick. It has a subtle, humorous atmosphere, there are a couple of gags thrown in, sometimes risky, but never too vulgar or even offensive. As soon as Angela, the new housekeeper, starts working, the film quickly gains momentum and the script manages to explain the situation with some lively sequences of the new life of the widower and the three sons. Without any dialogue, those are easily carried by the fantastic score. It cleverly combines the brisky pace and the slowly building romantic aspects. If you do have a soft spot for this distinctive Italian music style, you'll be in for a 90 minutes treat. Waltz, tango, 70ies Synth - it's all in and it is always spot-on.

While at first we see the father and the oldest son courting Angela openly, the story then focuses on 14-year-old Nino, who has a pubescent crush on Angela. But he soon realizes he can't have her like he wants to, and it disgusts him even more to see her becoming engaged to his father. So he tries all he can do to prevent the marriage. And he succeeds by inventing nightmares of his dead mother, which is a big deal for the father and the local priest - mind this movie is set in the deeply catholic Sicily of the 1950ies. Modern audiences might have to think twice here, but it is definitely convincing.

Halfway through the film, the subtle, funny tone disappears and the whole thing turns darker by the minute. This is not really what one would expect in a typical sex comedy. Nino discovers that he can't prevent the marriage forever, but he can make Angela suffer for it. The lower-class girl, trying to put a brave smile on everything, has to follow her master's orders, and those orders humiliate her, take away her pride and dignity. There's not much she can do but to play along. These are the moments when Laura Antonelli's performance shines, as you can really feel for the girl, being in the hands of a sadistic boy full of sexual hatred.

All this tension culminates in a uniquely done climax that you wouldn't expect considering where it all started off some 80 minutes before. The cinematography in these sequences is excellent. This goes for the whole film by the way. It is marvelous to look at and really brings to life the past.

Laura does have a couple of nude scenes, but only short ones and in the dark, so don't expect too much. It's certainly no "Venus in furs". Nevertheless, "Malizia" does have some of the actresses' most memorable shots ever, showing her at the height of her radiant beauty. One striptease scene in particular - sizzling and unforgettable.

"Malizia" starts out harmless, lures you in and then all changes and it won't let you go. A fantastic work and a well-deserved, true classic. The box office success was certainly due to some "obvious" elements (just look at the movie poster), but "Malizia" offers much, much more. Highly recommended.