Giornata nera per l'ariete (1971) Reviews

• The Geometry of Shadows

  SJSondergaard2008-03-28

  "I am going to commit murder," whispers our killer, as the camera flits around the jaded revellers at a New Year shindig. "I can imagine the thrill and pleasure I will experience as I stalk my victim..." Shortly after, John Lubbock (Maurizio Bonuglia) survives an attack in an underpass on his way home, and journalist Andrea Bild (Franco Nero), a fellow attendee, decides to investigate. Then a second party goer - invalid Doctor's wife Sophia Bini (Rossella Falk) - is attacked and killed in her home, and Andrea's elderly editor is found dead in a local park, both bodies accompanied by the killer's calling card (a black glove with first one then subsequent fingers cut off). Suddenly, the outspoken, hard-drinking journalist finds himself rising swiftly up the list of suspects. What raises The Fifth Cord above the average giallo is striking cinematography and a couple of genuinely suspense-filled murders. The sequence involving the Doctor's wife is the most characteristic of the genre. Taking place in a huge and intimidating bedroom it also evokes the Gothic feel of old Hollywood and the memory of a certain Mrs de Winter. Bazzoni expertly handles the build-up of tension, getting the unfortunate Mrs Bini out of bed and crawling along the floor in a rising panic as first her wheelchair then telephone (her lifeline) vanish into the shadows. There's an almost supernatural element at play here. When the familiar gloved hands suddenly appear either side of the screen to slowly descend from behind and wrap themselves around her throat, they seem almost disembodied. In contrast, the rest of the film is a study in modernity. Everything is concrete and glass, clean lines and polished surfaces. Every shot is carefully and deliberately lensed and filled with geometric shapes and patterns. Edges and shadows converge to corral Nero as the finger points increasingly in his direction. A scene in which he meets with the investigating officer in a subterranean parking lot is particularly well done, where the frosted windows behind the actors are reflected in the roof of the car in front and join with the widescreen framing to form a cage. The ending comprises tough-guy fisticuffs and a pulse-quickening chase sequence through the cadaverous wreck of an abandoned factory where Nero finally unmasks the black-coated killer, having already deduced the real motive, which twists the opening voice-over in a new and ambiguous light. This is a solid, visually impressive giallo, if at times a little less engaging than it should be. The characters, other than Andrea, aren't effectively introduced or given enough screen time and are too often simply referred to by name, so it's difficult to remember who's who and why we should care. Consequently the narrative sometimes lacks clarity, getting itself into a bit of a muddle during the mid-section, and having spent most of the film presuming events have unfolded over a matter of days only to discover the killings have been occurring for roughly a five month period is a little jarring. There's nothing to suggest the passage of time, though the static environment does correspond with Bazzoni's austere vision. A cold and relatively bleak film, The Fifth Cord makes the most of its angular urban settings to say something about the fractured nature of modern city life, from Nero's world-weary alcoholic loner to the estranged Doctor and his wife to hardworking single parent Helene (Silvia Monti). A world filled with acquaintances as opposed to friends, where people choose the warm bodies of strangers (filmed here with restraint rather than a gratuitous eye for sleaze) over the ones they may have at home. Nero, though at times out-and-out brutish, brings gravitas (and a suitably chiseled visage) to his genre-standard character, and Monti, in a limited role, manages to be strong and insightful and can keep her head in a crisis, helping to counterbalance the popular view of women in gialli as merely window dressing or cannon fodder. The English dubbing is of a high standard, with Nero providing his own voice. Overall it's more of a straightforward crime caper than a horror yarn, but worth checking out for the arresting visuals alone.

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• An example of why many Giallo films should be released on DVD

  astonmartin72007-02-18

  Any fan of 1970s Italian Giallo films has seen enough of them to know what to look for, but, of course, everyone sees something different in art. We all know about The Cat o Nine Tails (cool as hell) and Deep Red (bloody amazing), but some lesser-known Gialli have been available for re-discovery courtesy of Blue Underground and Shreikshow labels. One of the better ones has to be The Fifth Cord starring Franco Nero. For me, the number one thing in these films is not plot points but ATMOSPHERE. This film not only has the great Franco Nero as its protagonist, but is brilliantly shot by Vittorio Storaro. Also, the director knows what to show most of the time, and when and how to show it. The finale is set in one of those funky 1960s European open concept homes with the stairwell to the second floor in the middle of the living room and a huge fireplace fit for Cortina! The kind of films we don't see any more, unfortunately. Without these DVD releases, we'd be stuck with a lot of modern would-be thrillers involving cell-phones and teeny-boppers.

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• It doesn't break the mould but it does have fabulous photography

  Red-Barracuda2012-05-19

  The Fifth Cord is a giallo from director Luigi Bazzoni, who was also responsible for another entry in the genre, the excellent Footprints on the Moon. This film is a lot more conventional than Footprints. In it, an alcoholic journalist becomes entangled in a series of murders that seem to be connected somehow. This plot-line is pretty unremarkable and typical. But three things make this one stand out. Firstly it has the charismatic Franco Nero in the central role, secondly it's got another impressive Ennio Morricone soundtrack and thirdly, and most importantly, it has exquisite photography from the great Vittorio Storaro who previously shot The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and later did Apocalypse Now. The cinematography really is fantastic here. Geometric spaces are shot with consummate skill and every frame seems to have been considered in detail. Aesthetically, The Fifth Cord is an unarguable triumph. It's not particularly violent for a giallo. The murders are not very graphic at all. Although it does have some impressive suspenseful moments such as the sequence where a disabled woman - played by the always interesting Rossella Falk – is terrorised in the dark by an unseen assailant. Otherwise it does have the usual combination of crazy components that are typical to the genre, such as sex parties, astrology and blackmail. Although I guess the story holds together more solidly than most other gialli. Bazzoni hasn't made a classic of the genre to be fair but he has directed a very stylish one. It comes from the slightly more restrained side of the genre but it should definitely interest seasoned fans of this type of thing.

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• The Fifth Cord

  Scarecrow-882008-08-21

  Exceptional giallo thriller from director Luigi Bazzoni starring Franco Nero as a boozing news journalist, Andrea Bild, who is assigned a story regarding various individuals who are murdered on Tuesdays representing a specific horoscopic point of birth by a killer whose chilling voice diabolically whispers on a recorded machine his plans of executing chosen prey with anticipation. The selection of the killer all tie into an inner circle of wealth, as the film introduces us to an important doctor, Richard Bini(Renato Romano), his crippled, wheel-chair bound wife, Sophia(Rossella Falk), a French businessman, Edouard Vermont(Edmund Purdom)who doesn't realize that his up-coming marriage to Isabel Lancia(Ira von Fürstenberg)is what is ultimately fueling the the unusual murder spree, and Andrea's ex-lover Helene(Silvia Monti). What Andrea soon realizes is that he has ties to all those who are chosen for annihilation, and, despite being so wasted he couldn't hardly stand, doesn't have an air-tight alibi during the time each individual was killed. He's soon removed from covering the story, approaching his editor angrily, threatening to kill him for being taken off..and, in doing so becomes an even greater suspect when his editor is found dead, dying of a heart attack as someone chased after him with a knife in the bushes near the newspaper office. To truly clear his name, and motivated and driven to bring the real killer to justice, Andrea will not stop until the madness is over. And, as each body is found, a glove with an extra finger is missing at the crime scene of every subsequent victim who is discovered, with the final chosen perhaps being Helene's own son! What Andrea discovers is quite a perverse side to those involved with the victims killed, Edouard and Richard's extra curricular activities regarding their enjoyment in watching a couple, a race car driver and underage prostitute whose father likes to watch in hiding, making out in a secret establishment. In a sub-plot, Andrea has a on-again/off-again sexual relationship with a lovely fashion model who is the sister to the race car driver and he still carries feelings for Helene. Very important is the attack of a certain character, Lubbock(Maurizio Bonuglia) in a tunnel and how he communicates with Andrea regarding supposed threats from an unknown person harassing him with phone calls and letters. But, Lubbock is a key character in this film for, unlike the other victims killed on Tuesday, he was attacked on Monday. An image that means everything in the grand scheme of things is Lubbock's reaction to Edouard and Isabel's loving embrace at a fancy restaurant. The creepy voice delightfully explaining how he/she couldn't wait to strangle and kill accompanying a fish-eye lens into the restaurant at the very opening of this movie sure sets the tone for this well crafted giallo which definitely benefits from the talents and artistic eye of cinematographer Vittorio Storaro(..who turned down working with director Michaelangelo Antonioni as a favor to his pal, Bazzoni)who was red-hot and on his way to great success(..but, he had already achieved this with Bernardo Bertolucci's masterpiece "The Conformist"). The exquisite camera set-ups, the masterful way he shoots characters from long distances in stunning locations exploiting beautifully empty spaces(..a massive flight of steps, a long tunnel, desolate ruins of skeletal warehouses), how the lens at times looks like a spying mechanism, a type of eye that's looking at the world from a different point of view all give this a thumb up over Bazzoni's contemporaries. But, to limit the film's execution to just Storaro is taking away from what everyone accomplishes, from the editing on down. I will say that while the twist wasn't that surprising, the finale(..from the moment Helene calls her son Tony about locking the doors only to discover that the killer is inside the house, to Andrea's chasing him into the ruins of decaying buildings where they scuffle often throwing each other through glass)is a nail-biter. And Morricone's musical accompaniment only adds to the visual work and tense sequences where danger possibly awaits Andreas. And, finally an actor of the caliber of Franco Nero, called Mr. Bill by almost everyone, in the lead as our troubled and fallible hero searching for the truth while confiding in the very police inspector tailing him, puts the final jewel in the crown of a gem giallo, and it comes highly regarded from yours truly. This is a must for giallo fans. The eerie sequence concerning Sophia, alone in her room up-stairs on the floor crying for help as a killer turns out the lights with only the flaming fireplace guiding her, is definitely a high-light.

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• Ambiance, architecture, atmosphere...

  fred-832007-03-14

  A stylish, atmospheric giallo. Great score, great locations, superb cinematography by the great Storaro. The story, however, is quite muddled, but here, the mood makes up for that to a large extent. The cheesiest moments are the killings, where the cinematography jarringly becomes quite sloppy and day/night continuity goes out the window. This film makes me more curious about Luigi Bazzonis Footprints On The Moon/Le Orme, which I came across on VHS in a second-hand store many years ago. I was intrigued by the cover and the summary on the box, but I stupidly did not buy it. Regretting that the day after, I went there again and it was gone. Now my hope lies with Blue Underground, may they soon release it on DVD. Back to The Fifth Cord, its interesting to watch the blocking of some dialog scenes. What could easily have become, in a lesser director and cinematographers hands, simple crosscutting between two talking heads, here often becomes beautifully composed wide shots, sometimes with a dolly, sometimes static, using the rooms, spaces and architecture in a very cinematic way, and with great variety of the framing. A great lesson for aspiring filmmakers.

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