Luigi Bazzoni (1929–2012)

"Giornata Nera per L'ariete" (The Fifth Cord) is an exceptional giallo where a fascination with atmosphere and architecture is taken to brilliant heights by director Luigi Bazzoni and cinematographer Vittorio Storaro. After a New Year's Eve party John Lubbock (Maurizio Bonuglia) is assaulted on his way home. Thinking there may be a story, fellow party-goer and semi-alcoholic journalist, Andrea Bild (Franco Nero) begins to look into the attack. Andrea soon finds himself caught up in a web of intrigue revolving around a circle of rich dilettantes including respected doctor Richard Bini (Renato Romano); his invalid wife, Sophia (Rossella Falk); French businessman, Edouard Vermont (Edmund Purdom); his fiancée, Isabel Lancia (Ira von Fürstenberg) and Andrea's former lover Helene (Silvia Monti). When Sophia and Andrea's editor are both murdered, with the killer's calling card – a black leather glove with fingers cut off – left at each scene, Andrea finds himself the police's chief suspect.

In typical giallo fashion the script by the director, Mario Fanelli and Mario do Nardo is a brain-scramblingly obtuse concept, full of suspects, ulterior motivations, red herrings, counter-points and blind alleys. Figuring out who did what and why is virtually impossible and it takes for the final revelation for all the pieces to come together. It is not the story, but Bazzoni's approach to atmosphere and to the look of the film that makes "Giornata Nera per L'ariete" such a special piece of work. His build-up of suspense and suspicion is expertly handled, with some remarkably tense individual scenes – the murder of Sophia Bini, for example, is a sequence of almost unbearable tension. His focus on atmosphere means that the film, despite the subject matter, isn't as sleazy as some other giallo and is a relatively blood-free affair. The overall look of the film provided by Vittorio Storaro is exquisite with modernist architecture used to great effect, whether that is the geometry of the monolithic concrete buildings of the bleak cityscape or the open-plan funky modernity of Helene's house, with its odd staircases and even odder open fire and chimney combination. Storaro makes virtually every frame a thing of wonder that is worth study in its own right, with the regular use of a fish eye lens adding another layer of creepy aesthetic. Ennio Morricone deliver's a cool and functional score and the actors are all uniformly good, particularly Franco Nero who imbues his drunken journalist with a cool and jaded weariness. Overall "Giornata Nera per L'ariete" is a superb piece of work. It's somewhat muddled and muddied plot take a distant third place to Luigi Bazzoni approach to atmosphere and ambience and to cinematographer Vittorio Storaro’s approach to location and composition - a brilliant giallo.… (altro)

This fascinating proto-giallo sees writer Bernard (Peter Baldwin) returning to the small Italian village where he holidayed the previous year. He's hoping to revive a romance with hotel maid Tilde (Virna Lisi) but soon finds out that Tilde has apparently committed suicide. It isn't long, however, before he begins to suspect that there is more to Tilde's suicide than meets the eye and starts his own investigation into the mystery of her death. Co-written by director Luigi Bazzoni along with Giulio Questi and Franco Rossellini, "La Donna del Lago" is a moody and atmospheric black and white film that carries many giallo motifs despite the violence occurring off-screen and despite it not having the black-gloved killers, lurid colour photography or the standout musical score that became so redolent of the classic giallo period. It does, however, have many key giallo themes running through it - distorted memories, a reassembling of the past, a visitor caught up in a mystery, dream sequences, a blurring of fantasy and reality and of course sexual obsession. It also has an icily claustrophobic atmosphere and an eerie, haunted feel. For much of the runtime it plays as if it may be a ghost (or even a vampire) story and it isn't until the final resolution that the mystery comes into focus and the giallo-esque nature of the film becomes clear. Bazzoni's stylish directorial approach and cinematographer Leonida Barboni's stark black and white photography gives the film a cold, chilly look that works well with the downbeat story elements. The film does, however, get slightly bogged-down in the middle section and the resolution removes any sense of ambiguity but even so, "La Donna del Lago" is still a moodily fascinating and beautifully atmospheric film - a highly effective first feature from Luigi Bazzoni.… (altro)