macabro357

This is a brilliant, violent medieval film by Verhoeven. It's not as classy as John Boorman's Excalibur (1981) but I consider it a keeper that I will add to my DVD collection. It's also one of Rutger Hauer's best, before he sunk into mediocrity. The new widescreen, anamorphic MGM DVD released in 2004 is a stunner!! It's so much better than that washed-out, old Orion VHS tape that was on the shelves of your typical rental store back in the 90s. The Spanish countryside looks awesome, the colors are vivid and there's no print damage that I can see, anywhere in the film. The surround sound is also pretty good for a movie of it's time, and there's no stupid CGI anywhere in the film. Great story. I highly recommend FLESH + BLOOD! 8 out of 10

(aka: SEVEN BLOOD STAINED ORCHIDS)

The half-moon killer is on a mission to kill the seven women who attended a seaside resort the night his brother was killed in an automobile accident with one of the women. He doesn't know which one (and doesn't really care) so all seven have to be murdered in serial killer-like fashion, including Gulia (Uschi Glas) who owned the hotel at the time.

She and her husband Mario (Antonio Sabato) then spend the next 90 minutes sleuthing the killer out after he attempts to kill Gulia on a train. The gore is restrained except for one murder where the killer uses an electric drill to dispatch his victim.

Lenzi did a pretty good job with this Edgar Wallace murder mystery and you never know what's going to happen next or what Mario and Gulia turn up as the clues mount. And the killer's identity is a surprise which makes it effective without giving away any clues before hand until it needs to be given away.

The Shreik/Media Blasters anamorphic DVD is excellent with nice widescreen colors and no damage to the film elements they used. Sound is dubbed in English although the original Italian with English subtitles would've be nice.

Extras include a brief poster gallery and interviews with Lenzi and Gabriella Giorgelli, who played the first victim, a hooker who is slashed to death at the beginning of the film. Giorgelli has aged quite a bit since the film's release in 1971. I didn't even recognize her.

If you're into giallo like I am, then this is a welcome addition to your collection. Fully recommended.

7 out of 10

(aka: THE CRIMES OF THE BLACK CAT)

Filmed in Denmark with a largely Italian cast in a setting away from the usual Italian locations for this genre. So forget that these people are Danes speaking Italian. You can't be too specific with a film like this.

OK so you've seen this before and if you've seen BLOOD AND BLACK LACE, then you'll know how it turns out. Even so, this really isn't bad watching and the story is constructed well despite a couple of suspense contrivances for the audience like footsteps approaching a door, expecting the viewer to believe it's the killer when it turns out to be the hotel bellboy delivering breakfast.

Blind composer Peter Oliver (spaghetti western star, Anthony Steffen) helps sleuth the murders of fashion models in swanky Copenhagen after his close friend Paola is murdered. He suspects something is wrong when he overhears a conversation about a crime in a restaurant while waiting for Paola to show up. She never does. It turns out Paola is blackmailing Victor (Giacomo Rossi-Stuart), threatening to expose some incriminating photographs to his wife (Sylvia Koscina).

Of course when it comes to this genre, the murders can't always be done in a straightforward way and one particular device is using a black cat who's hands are dipped in curare, scratching the victims and causing them to have heart attacks. Strange, yes, but that's typical of the genre so one has to suspend disbelief if you want to watch films like this.

I won't reveal who the name of the killer is. You'll have to see that for yourself, but I will say that it ends in one of those typical freeze-frame endings that were popular in the 1970s.

The DVD by Degored is of poor quality, taken from videotape source with dropouts appearing occasionally and muffled sound, although the subtitles in English look pretty accurate.

There are worse out there.

5 out of 10