{"id":6549,"date":"2016-08-20T10:10:52","date_gmt":"2016-08-20T09:10:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/?p=6549"},"modified":"2016-08-20T10:13:22","modified_gmt":"2016-08-20T09:13:22","slug":"the-bloodstained-butterfly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2016\/08\/20\/the-bloodstained-butterfly\/","title":{"rendered":"The Bloodstained Butterfly"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>
The Bloodstained Butterfly<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

Format:<\/strong> Dual Format (Blu-ray + DVD)

\nRelease date:<\/B> 22 August 2016

\nDistributor:<\/B> Arrow Video

\nDirector:<\/B> Duccio Tessari

\nWriters:<\/B> Gianfranco Clerici, Duccio Tessari

\nCast:<\/B> Helmut Berger, Giancarlo Sbragia, Ida Galli, Silvano Tranquilli, Wendy D\u2019Olive, Gunther Stoll, Carole André

\nOriginal title:<\/B> Una farfalla con le ali insanguinate<\/i>

\nItaly 1971

\n95 mins\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Duccio Tessari’s stylish murder-mystery is a forgotten, unusually complex gem of giallo<\/i> cinema.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

A most unusual entry in the giallo<\/i> cannon of explicit murder-mystery thrillers, this very fine courtroom whodunit \u2013 delivered in its entirety for this glorious restoration \u2013 boasts a breakout turn from German import Helmut Berger, here cast as a wealthy businessman\u2019s son with women on the mind.<\/p>\n

The action begins in classic giallo<\/i> fashion: a girl is murdered while out walking by an unseen assailant with a knife. Witnesses soon identify the apparent killer: well-known sports TV personality Alessandro Marchi (Giancarlo Sbragia). But the trial soon throws up more questions than it answers, particularly when we see that the accused and his legal team know more than they are willing to let on. Before long, the murders resume, and the accused is out on bail.<\/p>\n

Tessari\u2019s handsomely photographed film \u2013 the framing and texture of the Bergamo locations is exquisite \u2013 shies away from gratuitous violence (very little blood is actually spilt) and the trademark giallo<\/i> eroticism, despite some soft-focus nudity. Even the requisite animal, a butterfly, of all things, is modest by giallo<\/i> standards.<\/p>\n

The wealthy are typically up to no good, of course (two lecherous middle-aged men salivating over teenagers being a case in point), with the ever-diligent police always a few steps behind. A running gag about undrinkable coffee (from a machine!) is a nice touch. A generous amount of detail over police forensics, quaint by modern standards, adds some gravity to proceedings. The opening sequence (cut from the original in several territories) introduces a fine cast with colourful precision. <\/p>\n

Some typically Italian flourishes will inevitably raise eyebrows, particularly the access a television crew appears to have to the crime scene (filming right next to the victim\u2019s body, no less). The director\u2019s cameos, complete with carnations, and his wife\u2019s casting as a key player complete a series of in-the-know gags. <\/p>\n

Casting well-known Italian faces and a clutch of German imports, Tessari finds time to pass comment on the ethics of money in sports, while all around the faint hangover of the 1960s lingers in the air. These characters are far too nattily dressed to be leaning towards counterculture (we are near Milan, after all), but there is sufficient subversive content to keep our minds engaged. The recent Blow-Up<\/I> was an obvious influence on Tessari. Interesting, too, to note some brightly coloured macs early on, which predate Nic Roeg\u2019s Don\u2019t Look Now<\/I><\/a> by a year or more. <\/p>\n

A forgotten, unusually complex gem of giallo<\/i> cinema, this welcome reissue by Arrow Video comes complete with interviews with some of the key cast, essays on the film, a pair of commentaries and photo galleries.<\/p>\n

Ed Gibbs<\/B><\/I><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Duccio Tessari’s stylish murder-mystery is a forgotten, unusually complex gem of giallo<\/i> cinema.
\nReview by Ed Gibbs<\/B><\/I><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11,3],"tags":[108,931],"class_list":["post-6549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-check-it-out","category-dvds-and-blu-rays","tag-giallo","tag-murder-thriller"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","wps_subtitle":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/purUP-1HD","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":498,"url":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2008\/12\/01\/the-designated-victim\/","url_meta":{"origin":6549,"position":0},"title":"The Designated Victim","author":"VirginieSelavy","date":"December 1, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Maurizio Lucidi's The Designated Victim is an unofficial 1971 giallo adaptation of Strangers on a Train, and due to its emphasis on psychology as opposed to suspense, and the material obsessions of the nouveaux riches, perhaps has more in common with Highsmith's cynical world view. 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