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Post by infromthemist on May 28, 2008 10:20:23 GMT -5
I was asked a while back whether or not I thought this particular movie qualified as an American giallo. I say yes, but I'm curious as to what the rest of you think.
So...what say you? ;D
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Post by shaggyrand on May 28, 2008 10:57:17 GMT -5
uummm.... I'm gonna go with 'No'. Why? Because it's American. Also it is definitely influenced by Italian thriller flicks, but it strikes me as more of a German 'Krimi' style movie (which were large influences on early gialli).
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Post by infromthemist on May 28, 2008 12:50:46 GMT -5
Fair enough. So, you think that American films cannot be classified as "gialli" no matter what? ;D
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Post by shaggyrand on May 28, 2008 16:15:22 GMT -5
No, mainly because 'gialli' is just an italian catch all for 'thriller'. Yes, there are some Italian movies that are marketed to the US & UK specifically as gialli and some italian movies are called thrillers but that's just marketing. It's not a genre of its own...
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Post by infromthemist on Jul 4, 2008 20:01:04 GMT -5
Hmmm....there are some folks that would disagree with you on that.
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Post by shaggyrand on Jul 4, 2008 21:54:45 GMT -5
They can disagree all they want... it just makes them, you know, that phrase for when folks make fallacious statements... oh yeah, wrong. ;D Unlike Fantastique (intrusion of supernatural phenomena into an otherwise realist narrative. It evokes phenomena which are not only left unexplained but which are inexplicable from the audience's point of view... which many gialli are influenced strongly by [ they're also heavily Krimi influenced {which is just the German take on American Pulp fiction.... but I digress}]) which is a genre unto itself, Giallo is just the Italian name for thrillers. I'm of the opinion that those whom (or is it who?) coined the term should define its use.... so than I guess yes, The Eyes of Laura Mars is a giallo... if you watch it in Italy.... By the way: Welcome back... you know we had a nice group cry when you left...
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Post by infromthemist on Jul 5, 2008 7:44:37 GMT -5
I have missed talking with you, Shaggy. I always get such a charge from reading your posts. ;D The reason I said that some would disagree with you is because, well, every single bit of research that I have done on the subject supports the theory that it is, indeed, a genre unto itself. That includes the following: "Giallo (pronounced IPA: ['ʤallo]) is an Italian 20th century genre of literature and film. It is closely related to the French fantastique genre, crime fiction, horror fiction and eroticism. The term is also used to mean an example of the genre, in which case it can take the Italian plural gialli. The word giallo is Italian for "yellow" (see Wiktionary: giallo) and stems from the genre's origin in paperback novels with yellow covers (Wikipedia, 2008)." After reading this section of that same article, I began to wonder if "The Eyes of Laura Mars" does indeed fit into that category: ""Giallo" films are characterized by extended murder sequences featuring excessive bloodletting, stylish camerawork and unusual musical arrangements. The literary whodunit element is retained, but combined with modern slasher horror, while being filtered through Italy's longstanding tradition of opera and staged grand guignol drama. They also generally include liberal amounts of nudity and sex (Wikipedia, 2008)." So....maybe I'm not so far off, after all. If you would like to read the article in it's entirety, here's the link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GialloOh, and thanks for the welcome.
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Post by shaggyrand on Jul 5, 2008 9:52:20 GMT -5
Oh... Wiki... fount of all knowledge. Though if you read down a bit you'll see the line...' Films known abroad as "gialli" are called thrilling or simply "thriller" in Italy'. The page's author or editor are disqualified as experts, for many reasons, but mostly because they also claim that Lenzi (not a giallo director, but did make mysteries in Italy in the 70's...), Avati(fantasy director and acolyte of Felini , not a giallo director), Fulci (yeah, he made mysteries too [if giallo is a genre of its own, than we should keep it seperate from mystery] exploitation & splatter flicks... not giallo, sorry) as important gialli directors, but neglects many including Carnimeo.
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Post by infromthemist on Jul 5, 2008 11:52:31 GMT -5
"Oh...Wiki...fount of all knowledge." Ah...sarcasm...lowest form of wit. Since you are dissatisfied with Wiki's definition and further explanation of the term, perhaps the following will be more to your liking: www.cultmovies.info/directors/giallo/giallo.htmlNotice the first statement of the third paragraph which states, "The beginnings of the genre date back to 1963." Notice the word "genre" rather than subgenre. Then there's always this: www.rankopedia.com/ZoneID=3/30296493627337/Step1/1185.htmNotice how the second sentence states, "The Giallo genre is the italian take on thriller movies, with masked killers wearing black gloves and using blades - and a strong focus on the aesthetisation of violence." Again....the word "genre." I suppose this will have to be yet one more topic on which we just agree to disagree.
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Post by shaggyrand on Jul 5, 2008 12:04:47 GMT -5
Ah...sarcasm...lowest form of wit. Ah... quoting the frequently sarcastic Wilde... a sarcastic quote for a sarcastic jab... . We will have to agree to disagree... though I will point out that neither are Italian sites, and again those who speak the language should be the ones who define it.
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Post by infromthemist on Jul 5, 2008 12:06:47 GMT -5
Agreed.
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