Giallo time again--with the Blu-ray release of Duccio Tessari/THE BLOODSTAINED BUTTERLY

Giallo lovers can, if not rejoice, get at least a little excited by the new Blu-ray release of a would-be giallo with the alliterative, if crass title, THE BLOOD-STAINED BUTTERFLY (Una farfalla con le ali insanguinate). The movie is much more a plain old mystery thriller -- and not a particularly good one, at that -- than it is a giallo, a genre that usually revels in blood and gore and beautiful women getting killed in grisly set pieces. All this would be commendable, were the movie very good on any level. Instead, it's merely passable entertainment for the nostalgia set.

What it does have is a very young and handsome Helmut Berger (above, of various Visconti movies and The Garden of the Finzi-Continis) in the kind of silly role that would presage much of his remaining career. The actor is still at it, actually, having now made some 64 film and TV appearances, the latest of which has recently completed production. (In the extras on the Blu-ray disc is a present-day interview with the actor, the viewing of which will make you marvel anew at what the ravages of time can do to even the most handsome of men.)

The filmmaker here, one Duccio Tessari (shown at right), is pretty much unknown to American audiences (including giallo aficionados), and if this film is a good indication of his output, that status would seem perfectly appropriate. This writer/director proves certainly adequate in turning out a genre movie, But despite the rather glowing comments offered up about Tessari and this film by giallo author Troy Howarth, yours truly feels less inclined to perceive this filmmaker as anything special.

By the end of this meandering film, which lacks much suspense, pacing or even plot, you may feel as did TrustMovies that your time might have been better spent. Having said that, I must admit I initially found the film engaging, due to a few unusual things this director and co-writer (with Gianfranco Clerici) does.

At the film's beginning, we're introduced to many of its character by name (and sometimes by occupation) via identifying titles (which I initially mistook for the names of further cast members -- until the words, "a lawyer" appeared on screen). We also get a soupçon of humor via a police inspector who proves very fussy about the quality of his morning coffee.

Along the way we get to view some gorgeous Italian architecture, as well (the film was shot in Bergamo, Lombardy), and the director does seem to have an occasional eye, as above, for spatial relationships and people placement.  There is also some interesting courtroom pyrotechnics to keep us occupied -- even if, finally, much of what happens seems over-manufactured and -manipulated.

The acting is problematic throughout, with Berger becoming so very dramatic and bizarre at odd times that you expect the character playing opposite him to beat a speedy exit for fear for her life. Other actors do better, and on the disc's extras you'll get to see and hear some of them (like Ida Galli/aka Evelyn Stewart, below) talk about what happened way back when.

Mostly the movie is given to introducing its murder suspects -- three or four of them -- and then letting the mystery unravel... very slowly. That titular bloodstained butterfly finally appears close to the movie's end and seems about as germane to the proceedings as would, say, a shit-stained salamander.

There is also a scene with kids in yellow (giallo, get it?) raincoats running around, which leads to the discovery of the first victim, and later to another victim, who proves a bit more closely related to those children. The finale, however, while somewhat surprising, remains more ludicrous than anything else. And the over-the-top manner in which Tessari filmed it simply adds to the ridiculousness on hand.

The movie does take in its special time -- 1971 (a year in which, according to Mr. Howarth, some 25 giallo movies were released in Italy!) -- with a nod to the fashions, as well as to politics and philosophy (during the film one character mentions that there's no longer any art for art's sake, and a protester carries a banner reading Art Beyond Status).

From Arrow Video, distributed here by MVD Entertainment Group, and running 99 minutes, the movie -- a "must," I would guess, for giallo completists -- makes its Blu-ray and DVD debuts this coming Tuesday, August 23 -- for sale and/or rental. As is usual with most of these Arrow titles, the Blu-ray transfer is a very good one. And the "extras" are every bit as informative, entertaining and interesting (more so, actually) than the movie itself.

Tinto's brassy SALON KITTY (1976) brings some awfully naughty Nazis to Blu-ray

What in the world? Trust-Movies had heard about SALON KITTY off and on for more than three decades since its release in 1976. Riding the wave of Radley Metzger soft-core and Gerard Damiano hard-core, Italian impresario/
would-be history buff/sexcapade connoisseur Tinto Brass came up with the marketable notion of combining the sex and decadence of Visconti's The Damned (including two of its stars, Ingrid Thulin and Helmut Berger) with the based-on-fact tale of a brothel catering to important Nazi military men that simultaneously recorded their most debauched activities, while assessing the level of their fidelity to the Führer.

To this end, the brothel must be stocked with the cream of the Aryan crop -- ladies who were both gorgeous and loyal to National Socialism. In what is definitely Signore Brass' (shown at right) finest moment, the recruitment and training of these young ladies are shown to us in the kind of full-bodied (and then some!) attention-to-detail that might be described as eye-opening and shocking -- if it weren't so damned funny. Not simply full of full-frontal (and this goes for both the gals and the guys), the movie's private parts are often played with, decorated and -- in my favorite moment -- used a bulls-eye by a randy Reich marksman.

The young ladies first appear to us in military uniform (above) looking exceedingly daunting. And then, uh, out of uniform, below.

Soon they are introduced to the cream of the SS, who, when called upon to serve their country in an unusual new manner (below) are more than willing to strip --

and, as it were, engage....

Up to this point, what we've seen is simply raunchy, randy, rather silly fun.  But then our young ladies must be trained to service every possible type of desire, and at this point things take a decidedly more unusual turn.

In these short scenes, I think, the movie reaches its pinnacle and nadir simultaneously -- jolting us beyond mere titillation and turn-on into something that touches the profoundly trangressive because it combines things we don't often see, let alone think about, in the same frame.

All this takes place within the first half hour or so of the movie, and once the brothel has been set up -- Mr Berger (above, in Nazi drag) plays as the officer in charge and Ms Thulin the madam -- the film wanders into more typical  territory, with the young whore we get to know best (Teresa Ann Savoy, above, with Berger, and below) falling in love with a military man (Bekim Fehmiu, below, right) who's had second thoughts about Socialism, Nazi-style.

Did I mention that the movie offer a collection of musical numbers, too? Yes, with Ms Thulin (below) singing her heart out in English -- or perhaps she's been dubbed. Here, Brass filches from Fosse's Cabaret, but the numbers at least make for interesting filler.

Overall, Salon Kitty is an original, all right, but this is not necessarily a recommendation. A crazy combo of cunts (natural, shaved and decorated), cocks (mostly flacid, just like the storytelling, but a few at half-mast or higher) and cabaret, the movie moves too soon from stupidly bold and bizarre to simply soap opera.

For Berger fans, however, the film offers a nice surprise: Throughout the actor has been dressed to the teeth (mostly in Nazi-themed black leather) while around him clothes are coming off like crazy and bodies writhing to beat the band. Finally at the finale, the actor gets his moment in the sun (in the steam room, actually), and, yes, he's a sight to behold.

Salon Kitty is available now, for rental or purchase, on DVD and Blu-ray -- and the transfer for the latter is a damned good one: crisp, rich and bright with gorgeous colors and decent enough sound quality.  Oddly, Netflix doesn't stock the Blu-ray edition, only the DVD, so for Blu-ray, you'll have to go to GreenCine for rental, and for sale, to the film's distributor Blue Underground. (Blockbuster appears to stock the movie, and in Blu-ray, too, but when you click "Get It", you discover that you can't -- a typically annoying Blockbuster move.)