Die Nackte und der Kardinal

Incredible production values for a Fulci film. This may be his best looking work - from the set to the costumes - it's a great looking film. The acting is also much better than in most of his other films. However, the story was not that interesting. Its told in a series of flashbacks. I finished the film just not knowing what the point of it all was. Not a horror film, but it features horrific content.

I have to say that a lot of effort and great work has gone into producing such a fine Blu-ray print. I once tried to watch this some time ago and it was just too washed out but this is wonderfully sharp and colourful - a real treat for the eyes. Trouble is I must have lost concentration now and again what with all the Latin, the religious ceremony and the general historic recreations, for I seemed to miss the back and forth time lapses and got terribly confused. Got the lengthy torture scenes loud and clear and eventually caught up but this is not an obvious pleasure but certainly a magnificent looking number for Fulci completists.

Beatrice Cenci is an usual film, especially considering that it was directed by Lucio Fulci who is most known for his horror and giallo films which include A Lizard in a Woman's Skin and The House by the Cemetery. The film is based on a true story and Fulci does not approach the subject matter in the way that you would expect, which helps to elevate the film above similarly-themed films of the same time period. Although not quite cinema verite, the film does show the setting of Rome in the late 1500s in a very grim, dingy, and sweaty fashion, which perhaps is the clue that this is a Fulci film. Although we are dealing with aristocrats living in a Rome known for its excess, we are shown people who are not pretty actors on a stage, but are very human, which necessarily involves displays of brutality and inhumanity.

The film is nonlinear and involves the case of Beatrice Cenci who was alleged to have led several associates in the murder of her father, one of the wealthiest men in Rome. If there is a weakness in the film it is perhaps that it tries hard to establish the guilt of the father, immediately showing him as a heartless monster, rather than perhaps taking a modern line where everyone is guilty. The nonlinearity also isn't always successful because of a lack of distinction on film between the present and the past. The at times restrained acting and the icy beauty of the female characters is perhaps characteristically Fulci. The film is not groundbreaking, but it's worth a watch.

Those expecting a typical horror movie will be disappointed, as the horror depicted here is the Catholic Church's use of torture in the Middle Ages, and their greed. Fulci doesn't flinch from presenting the evil that was the church in that time.

Those who do not like period pieces may find this film dull, but Fulci does a great job producing a work that is both beautiful and interesting.

Adrienne Larussa was beautiful and did a very good job as the title character. Her father, played by Georges Wilson, was an evil man who kept her locked up. Wilson does a very good job portraying someone you really want to see die.

You have to love a strong determined woman. Even in the face of torture by the church, she remained strong.

Definitely not a movie for faithful Catholics.

A terrificly executed period piece from the Godfather of Gore, Beatrice Cenci(1969) is a masterpiece of tragic beauty. This movie is a contradiction to the accusation of Fulci as a misogynist from his later films. Adrienne LaRussa does a nice job in conveying the almost gentle nature of the female protagonist. George Wilson as the father does a good job in portraying someone truly evil. Cries of death to the director were shouted in a theatre due to the film's anti-catholic nature.

The Catholic church is presented in the film with absolute disdain. In fact, they are seen as greedy and hypocritical. Beatrice Cenci(1969), along with The Witchfinder General(1968) are probably the best films dealing with the late middle ages. The direction is nearly perfect, and the story is well done. The film revolves around a labyrinth of flashbacks in the style of Reservoir Dogs(1992). The main source of influence seems to been The play version of The Cenci by Artoud, Antonin as well as the five act play by Percelly Shelly.

There are two films that Beatrice Cenci(1969) compares with. One film is Don't Torture A Duckling(1972) which also deals with Catholic repression. Another film is The Devil's Honey(1986) which deals deals with a woman's urge to be an independant woman. Beatrice Cenci(1969) is not only overlooked by Fulci supporters but by Fulci distractors as well. This movie shows that Fulci was capable of more ambigious and personal films then the many ones that he direct in his career(Its too bad as he had the talent that would have made him one of the best directors of his generation in Italy).