Tutti i colori del buio (1972) Reviews

• Psychedelic and stylish Sergio Martino thriller

  Red-Barracuda2010-11-04

  All The Colors of the Dark is a combination of a giallo, an occult horror and a Roman Polanski style claustrophobic apartment-based thriller. It's possibly director Sergio Martino's most ambitious film from a period when he produced a series of excellent pictures. Unlike Martino's other gialli, this one is much more psychological in approach. It doesn't have a series of murders or anything like that but instead focuses on the troubled world of its female protagonist played by cult actress Edwige Fenech. She is recovering from a car crash which claimed the life of her unborn baby, shortly after this she is menaced by a mysterious man and is introduced to a black magic group by an enigmatic neighbour. The story isn't all that great to be perfectly honest it's the style in which it's presented that's its strength. It's consistently photographed in an interesting way, with unusual angles and good colour schemes. The disorienting camera angles do add to the overall theme of a psychologically troubled woman. The London settings are also used very well indeed – the apartment block and country manor are both very effectively shot. It would also be deeply remiss to not mention Bruno Nicolai's soundtrack. It's a really nice psychedelic piece that adds to the atmosphere very nicely, it comes into its own in the scenes of the cult indoctrinating Edwige Fenech's character into their circle; this scene is one of the best that Martino ever directed, it's pure 70's psychedelic delirium. It's only matched in this movie by the very creepy and bizarre opening dream sequence which includes things like a murdered pregnant woman and a hideous old crone dressed like a child's doll. The movie is immeasurably helped by the presence of Edwige Fenech. She looks like the definitive giallo heroine here, with her gorgeous mane of long black hair, porcelain skin and big eyes. She is certainly a welcome character to base the movie around and does play the vulnerable victim very well it has to be said. Her co-star, the always excellent Susan Scott, who plays her sister, is sadly underused but at least she's there. The male stars don't particularly shine but Ivan Rassimov has a fairly memorable role as the blue-eyed psycho. Overall, Sergio Martino produced another fine Italian thriller with this movie. I'm not convinced it's his best necessarily, and perhaps it sometimes promises more than it actually delivers. Nevertheless, this one should most certainly please fans of this kind of thing.

• Definitely worth checking out

  lazarillo2004-12-03

  This is an entertaining Italian giallo that has often been unfairly compared to "Rosemary's Baby", even though the only bambina on display here is lead actress Edwige Fenech. There is a satanic cult here as in the Polanski classic, but they are much more interested in making Fenech the centerpiece of their ritualized sex orgies and getting their hands on her inheritance than they are in impregnating her with the Devil's spawn. And while "Rosemary's Baby" makes perfect sense, this is a quintessential giallo where making sense is completely beside the point. There is a powerful sense of paranoia in this film, but it is hysterical paranoia of low-budget Italian thrillers rather than the subtle, creeping paranoia of "Rosemary's Baby". Basically the plot here is just an excuse to move between dramatic chase sequences, bizarre dream sequences, and delirious satanic sex. The movie is certainly aware of it's similarity to the Polanski film and cleverly uses it to produce red herrings by giving the heroine a mysterious, remote husband (George Hilton) and a very odd psychiatrist. Fenech was always good in these hysterical victim roles, and she is ably supported here by the rest of the cast. The creepily blue-eyed Ivan Rassimov is a killer stalking her. (Why? Who knows, but he's great). Nieves Navarro (aka Susan Scott) plays the conniving sister and provides some relief nudity for Fenech. George Hilton is smooth and suave as always (he even seems remarkably unperturbed that his wife is cheating on him with an entire satanic cult). This is not the best gialli with Fenech (that would be "What Are Those Strange Drops of Blood Doing on Jennifer's Body")nor is it Martino's best (that would be "Torso"). But it's the best one they did together. And there are good-looking widescreen bootleg copies of it floating around. It's definitely worth checking out.

• Psychedelic Scares

  matheusmarchetti2010-03-12

  Having recently watched and loved Sergio Martino's two other gialli "Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh" and "Your Vice is a Locked Room and only I have the key", I decided to rewatch this one, which I always thought to be a pretty average film, and I ended up loving it. It's probably the director's best tied with "Strange Vice". Highly atmospheric and suspenseful, the film opens with a bang and never lets go. It's nightmarish, dreamlike feel is about as good as anything done by David Lynch, and is enhanced by Bruno Nicolai's lovely soundtrack and Bava-style cinematography. Also, Edwige Fenech proves that she actually can act, giving a tremendous performance of a sexually frustrated housewife who may or may not be going insane. The film is often criticized for being a rip-off on "Rosemary's Baby", and while I can see an influence of Polanski's classic, both films very different in style and substance, and if anything, "All the Colors of the Dark" plays much more like an acid version of "Repulsion" than anything else. One thing that may put some people off is that the film has a very strong 70's feel, which makes it slightly campy at times, but still, I think it only adds to it's charm and 'grooviness'. Overall, a highly entertaining and stylish giallo. A must-see for genre fans.

• Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back

  ferbs542007-11-06

  "The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh" (1971) was the film that first turned me on to giallo director Sergio Martino, as well as the charms of cult actress Edwige Fenech. I just had to have more, and so checked out "All the Colors of the Dark" (1972) just as quickly as I could. This film reunites not only the director and star of "Mrs. Wardh," but also costars George Hilton and Ivan Rassimov from that previous film, as well, and although "Dark" is not the 10-star masterpiece that "Mrs. Wardh" is, it still has much to offer, even to the casual viewer. In this one, Edwige plays a woman named Jane who, when we first meet her, is something of an emotional mess. She had recently suffered a miscarriage following a car accident, and is now having persistent nightmares about the blue-eyed, knife-wielding whacko who killed her mother many years before. And soon, Jane meets the man of her dreams, as Ol' Blue Eyes (and I don't mean Frank Sinatra!) starts stalking her through the streets of London. After psychiatry fails to calm her, she takes a friend's advice and attends a local Black Mass (!), but, not too surprisingly, her new devil-worshipping acquaintances only add to poor Jane's problems.... Anyway, Martino again directs his picture with abundant style to spare, and Fenech is astonishingly beautiful throughout. Twenty-three in this film, she looks a bit like Carolyn Jones' better-looking sister, or a brunette Karin Dor, but in truth is far, far prettier than either of those lovelies. When she's on screen (which, happily here, is most of the time), you just can't take your eyes off her. Thus, we have a slightly overly plotted giallo that combines a stalker, devil worshippers, a psychedelic Black Mass, nightmare sequences AND beautiful Edwige in the buff. Can't be all bad, right?

• Visually overwhelming, great score, Edwige Fenech - and even a good story

  AristarchosTheArchivist2002-12-11

  "Tutti i colori del buio" is worth a look if you are interested in the visuals of cinema. Sergio Martino's directing of the mostly dreamlike scenes is almost unbelievable. The use of wide-angle lenses, strange perspectives and slow-motion serves perfectly the weird atmosphere of this thriller. Add to this a stylish 70s score by Bruno Nicolai and an unusually good script (well, for Italian giallo films) and you have another unknown classic. 9 out of 10