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- The Fifth Cord (1971) Review
- Takashi Miike to tackle wuxia in ‘Assassin of the Tang Dynasty’
- Deal on Fire! Iceman | Blu-ray | Only $7.86 – Expires soon!
| Posted: 21 Nov 2016 02:14 AM PST  “The Fifth Cord” Japanese Theatrical Poster Director: Luigi Bazzoni By HKFanatic Barely five minutes into The Fifth Cord and Franco Nero’s character is swigging back a bottle of J&B behind the wheel of an automobile. So I had a feeling this was going to be a good giallo, and for the most part I was right. The Fifth Cord is your standard Italian horror film of the early 70’s, with Nero playing an alcoholic reporter out to solve a murder mystery before everyone in his social circle winds up dead. There’s not much exceptional about the film but for the fact that it was scored by legendary composer Ennio Morricone (The Good, The Bad, The Ugly) and lensed by Academy Award-winning cinematographer Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now, Last Tango in Paris, Dick Tracy). Indeed, The Fifth Cord is one of the most visually stunning giallos you’ll ever see. While it lacks the inventive POV shots or aerial camera work that Dario Argento frequently brought to the genre, the film is beautifully lit and features some wonderfully fluid camera movement. Although director Luigi Bazzoni never went on to become famous in the horror genre, he at least understood one thing about the giallo: besides the lighting, half the atmosphere of these films is location, location, location. Nearly every shot of The Fifth Cord showcases unique architecture or interior design that helps heighten the paranoid mood of the film, whether it’s the hospital with gray spiral staircases outside its windows; a cement apartment building with dust particles shimmering inside beams of light; or the swank home where a young boy is terrorized by a killer in one of the most harrowing scenes of the film. Ennio Morricone unleashes a dissonant score with a lot of propulsive drums. The frequent party scenes feature a kind of Morricone-style lounge music. The music is good but it’s used sparingly so overall The Fifth Chord is not one of Morricone’s more memorable ventures. Followers of the composer will still want to give the film a watch since the score displays a lot of variety: from sweet female “la la la’s” to gothic organ music depending on what the scene calls for. For giallo fans with a hunger for red meat, The Fifth Cord is disappointingly bloodless. There are a handful of murders but nothing up to the standards of onscreen brutality that Dario Argento would set later in the decade. There’s plenty of skin to go around, though: whether it’s Franco Nero romping in bed with his prostitute mistress or a kinky sex party where a bunch of rich elites pay money to watch a young couple get it on. Personally I’d rather have an elaborate murder set-piece than 70’s-style nudity, but the best giallo usually managed to fit both in. The Fifth Cord is not one of the best but it is very watchable, mostly due to director of photographer Vittorio Storaro and actor Franco Nero (Django, Street Law), who has one of those expressive faces just made for the silver screen. Sadly, this movie falls into the same trap as many other Italian horror films in which the killer just has to be someone on the fringes of 70’s mainstream society, whether it’s a homosexual, transvestite, a cripple, someone deformed, etc. As if there’s no way those kinds of people could lead a normal, well-adjusted life. It’s a bit uncomfortable from a modern perspective, but as a viewer there’s not much you can do about it. The Fifth Cord DVD is available from the always reliable Blue Underground. If you’re a fan of Franco Nero, Ennio Morricone, or Vittorio Storaro, you could certainly do worse than this film. I’d only recommend that viewers educate themselves with the best the giallo genre has to offer – the seminal works of Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, Michele Soavi, etc. – before queuing up The Fifth Cord. Oh, and make sure you’ve got that bottle of J&B ready. |
| Takashi Miike to tackle wuxia in ‘Assassin of the Tang Dynasty’ Posted: 21 Nov 2016 12:00 AM PST  “The Assassin of the Tang Dynasty” Concept Poster Takashi Miike (13 Assassins, Terra Formars) remains one of the hardest-working filmmakers in the world. Despite his 100+ filmography, which has a share of rough spots, there’s no denying that he, at least for the most part, delivers both quantity and quality to audiences. In addition, Miike has tackled just about every genre known to cinema (even a musical), and now the mega-prolific director is adding another unexpected turn to his resume: a Chinese wuxia film. According to AFS, the planned wuxia project (in case you’re not familiar with the term, a wuxia film is Chinese fiction dealing with martial arts, sorcery, and chivalry.) has the preliminary title of The Assassin of the Tang Dynasty. No casting details are available, but given the subject matter (which is curiously similar to 2015’s The Assassin), you can expect a mostly Chinese cast. We’ll keep you updated on news regarding The Assassin of the Tang Dynasty. In the meantime, Blade of the Immortal, a live-action movie adaptation of Hiroaki Samura's manga, will be Miike’s next released film. |
| Deal on Fire! Iceman | Blu-ray | Only $7.86 – Expires soon! Posted: 19 Nov 2016 12:00 AM PST  “Iceman” Blu-ray Cover Today’s Deal on Fire is the Blu-ray for Law Wing Cheong’s Iceman, starring International martial arts icon Donnie Yen (Special ID). A remake of the 1989 film Iceman Cometh, Yen plays a Ming era warrior who, along with his three traitorous childhood friends, are accidentally buried and kept frozen in time. 400 years later, they are defrosted and continue their battle in modern times where they left off. Iceman also stars Eva Huang (Kung Fu Hustle), Wang Baoqiang (Lost in Thailand) and Simon Yam (The Thieves). Don’t miss our review! Order Iceman from Amazon.com today! |
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