Je Suis Vivant

The reporter Gregory Moore (Jean Sorel) is found dead somewhere in Cold War Prague and brought to the morgue, but he is not really dead – his mind works, but he cannot move. Now he tries to figure out how he ended up in the morgue. Most of the movie is told through Moore's flashbacks from the morgue where an old friend of his is trying to revive him because he suspects something is wrong with the body since rigor mortis have not set in.

The next hour of the movie is very slow moving – through the flashbacks we learn that Moore had a girlfriend, Mira (played by the gorgeous Barbara Bach), who he loved very dearly. At a party she disappears without a trace and Moore starts his own investigation when the Prague police (almost dressed like the Gestapo) is of little help. His investigation leads him from place to place and he discovers that Mira is not the only missing girl in Prague. As he gets closer to the truth about the missing girls someone tries to stop him and the people who are willing to help him. It looks like a giant conspiracy… And the twist ending is magnificent and gruesome at the same time!

*****SPOILERS*****

The truth is that a satanic cult is behind it all. They sacrifice young people at giant orgies – we are so "lucky" to catch a glimpse at an orgy so we are treated to loads of old people having sex! Moore discovers the truth and is drugged. The effect of the drug is pretty gruesome since it is like being buried alive – he appears to be dead and cannot move, but his mind will be fully working! In the end the doctors at the morgue realizes that Moore must be dead and any attempt to revive him is abandoned. Instead they are going to perform an autopsy on him. Just before the autopsy is going to begin Moore gains a little control over his hand – sadly the doctor performing the autopsy is a member of the cult and he kills him! Pure evil!

*****END SPOILERS*****

Short Night of the Glass Dolls is a very unusual giallo mainly because of the pace. It is remarkably slow moving and lacks the stylish and vicious killings, which almost defines the giallo genre. The overall feeling of the movie reminds me a lot more of Roman Polanski's The Tenant (1976) and Rosemary's Baby (1968). The Anchor Bay DVD from The Giallo Collection is brilliant and the 11-minute interview with director Aldo Lado is very informative. Especially his views on how the movie reflects on how the political elite buries people alive (reassigning them for example) when they come too close to the truth about the elite (hey, he is from Italy!), and how the old generation (the elite) lives of the blood of the young generation (the young has to fight the wars the elite engages in). Aldo Lado also directed the giallo Who Saw Her Die? (1972), which is also part of the box set. Both movies have a brilliant score by Ennio Morricone, but they are used very differently – in Who Saw Her Die? it was almost vulgar and in Short Night of the Glass Dolls the score is used very subtle. This has to be my favorite giallo so far! Go see it!

My rating: 8/10

Aldo Lado's directorial debut is a mixed bag of confusion and greatly innovating ideas but, eventually, it's the director's ingeniousness that triumphs, and he makes this "Short Night of the Glass Dolls" a must-see experience for Italian horror fans, more particularly the admirers of typical gialli. Lado's intelligent script combines different styles like typically Hitchcockian thrillers, detective stories and near the end even pure occult horror! American reporter in Prague Gregory Moore is pronounced dead in a local hospital but his brain functions are very much alive and slowly reconstructing the fiendish conspiracy that put him into this disturbing medical condition. Gregory's stunningly beautiful girlfriend Mira vanished shortly after a social gathering and, during his private investigation, he discovers that many prominent citizens hide macabre secrets. I realize this is a very basic description of the story, but it really is all I can say without revealing essential clues. The actual denouement, albeit far-fetched, is truly unexpected and the grand finale at the hospital left me completely speechless…which is a rare event! Even though it was only his first horror effort, Aldo Lado proves himself to be a master when it comes to building up tension and he has a talented eye for imaginative camera-work. The classy location of Prague provides this film with one of the most beautiful settings in European horror cinema ever and Lado could also count on mesmerizing musical guidance by Ennio Morricone. The song entitled "Short Night of the Butterflies" is a real beauty. Highly recommended to fans of atmospheric, story-driven horror movies.

Outstanding Giallo where the Giallo tag barely applies, every shot looks like it was painted by an Italian maestro, and Ennio Morricone's soundtrack just adds to the eerie disorientation.

The films starts with the dead body of Jean Sorel being found in a park in Prague, although as we can hear his thoughts, he's not quite as dead as he seems. After his initial horror at his predicament, and his futile attempts to communicate, Jean tries to figure out why he ended up in this situation in the first place - while laying out on a mortuary slab.

Way back before he was a faux-corpse, it turns out Jean was a groovy US journalist based in Prague and just about to move home with his Czech girlfriend, Barbara Bach. Obviously this is back in the communist era, so he's having to do a bit of bribery in order to get her out of the country. He attends a party where most of the high-ranking politicians are present, and ends up leaving Barbara surrounded by cooing strangers while he fends of the advances of his co-worker and gets bogged down in a pointless conversation with his other co-worker, boozy Mario Adorf!

The next day Barbara has gone missing, which leads Jean and Mario on a city spanning hunt to find out where she's gone. The police aren't much help, and Jean uncovers a history of young woman going missing in Prague that leads to a truth far more sinister than a mere black hatted-killer going around knifing folk for kicks. Of course, everyone who could actually help Jean ends up dead, but this film isn't all about body count.

And that's just the flashback portion of the film, because in real time Jean's being rolled here and there, tested for responses, poked, probed, and all the while screaming in his head for help. The two plot strands come together nicely in an ending that'll have you thinking: "This is an Italian film."

Just stunning to look at it (that means when you look at the film, you fall over your coffee table or just fall off the couch), jaw-dropping (which means your mouth just falls open for no reason), mesmerizing (you starve to death looking at the film). Watch out for the nightmarish visuals and the old person orgy! Recommended.

The 'Creepy Eastern European City' plot would return in the Spider Labyrinth, probably the last genuinely creepy Italian film ever made/

Aldo Lado's directorial debut known by its English title Short Night Of Glass Dolls is a unique, cerebral experience. For those in the United States that have been searching, in 2002 was first released on DVD by Anchor Bay -- I got mine as part of a four-disc "Giallo Collection" that also contains Lado's second feature Who Saw Her Die? Currently in 2018 it's on Blu-ray from Twilight Time and 88 Films.

Short Night Of Glass Dolls was originally titled Short Night Of The Butterfly (also a song in the film), but right before its release another film came out with with the word butterfly in its title, thus the retitling of this one. Malastrana is a title Lado was originally going to call this film but at the insistence of others involved, it was then on to Short Night Of The Butterfly. Too bad Short Night Of Glass Dolls was the main choice, as the Butterfly title would have made much more sense to the story.

Jean Sorel stars as an American reporter found allegedly dead, and yet we hear his thoughts as he is examined in a morgue. His memories take us back to the beginning where he tries to find out the reason for his girlfriend's disappearance (played by a very young Barbara Bach). What follows is not your typical giallo, but a very thought provoking mystical mystery. It evokes the tone of films like Suspiria and The Tenant, and was made years before those. It really does transcend the typical Italian giallo -- most are just murder mysteries with a cast of characters that all have skeletons in the closet and you have to sort through their hangups to see if they have relevance as to "who done it." Here, there is much more going on amidst political unrest and metaphors for "power being fed by the blood of the young." I usually yawn at heavy political stuff the likes of Lina Wertmuller, but Aldo Lado's take is a nicely blended comment as well as visually stunning storytelling.

I really enjoy films from that period of time, as the actors are not so "GQ" looking, nor are they too young for the parts they're playing. The moustached Jean Sorel is nicely cast and easy to sympathize with, you'll find yourself really hoping he solves the mystery and gets out alive. The locations are used well and extremely scenic (another reason I love giallos from the early 1970s). Add to that a really well-written story along with a wonderful Ennio Morricone score and it just couldn't get any better than that! Even the famous "group" scene is handled so well that it does not come across as gratuitous nor cheap.

Short Night Of Glass Dolls is very accomplished filmmaking, and now that it has been restored and looking better than ever on DVD, those with a hunger for something very unique will be quite satisfied.

A body is discovered on the streets of Prague. Only hours before an autopsy is performed on him, we learn he's not really dead, but trapped inside his body and trying desperately to recall the events leading up to this predicament. And hopefully avoid the autopsy.

This Aldo Lado directed giallo has a lot going for it. Not a traditional giallo, but rather an inventive spin on the formula. It's cleverly written, decently acted and quite suspenseful at times but somehow misses the bull's eye. It drags a bit, could have used some trimming perhaps. Also, the end solution is bit of a letdown, but maybe that's just me. I found it a bit much, the buildup was better than the conclusion. But a big thumbs up for the chilling ending.

Lado is very stylish at times but Argento he's not. Quite good all the same.