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The FIRST Death In Venice
Date of Review: Feb 8, 2008
The Bottom Line: Gripping thriller, 30 years old but to some degree even now beyond its years.
In 1968 a young girl out sleighing in the French countryside with her child minder is violently murdered. The mystery remains unsolved and is quickly forgotten. Four years on however the arrival in Venice of a young girl with striking red hair causes the killer to come out of hiding and strike again. Beside himself over the fact that he felt he neglected his daughter, Franco Serpieri turns private eye in order to hunt down his daughters killers. Franco is transported into the sinister underbelly of Venice encountering paedophilia, bondage, mobsters, bi-sexuality, and a quest to keep the truth buried.
Who Saw Her Die? Is an unusual film from the Giallo (who-dunnit?) age of Italian cinema, it was the first movie to show the less than glamorous side of Venice, and possibly the inspiration for Nicholas Roeg's Don't Look Now. The movie focuses on the thriller element more so than other Giallo movies of the time, many of them mixed horror and thriller. Here director Aldo Lado keeps his feet firmly on the ground, with a plot that is perfectly believable, but one that is twisted and perverse all the same.
Everything about the movie looks sinister, from its blanker than blank canvas in the French snow hills, to its transition to Venice. When you see Venice on television or the movies its always bright and sunny. Aldo Lado's Venice which he claims is the true one; is cold, foggy, dirty and certainly very smelly. The building he uses all are run down or even condemned, he obviously never wanted tourists to come to Venice off the back of his movie. In making this horribly black image of Venice, he does make something of beauty as it made me want to go just to see if this side of Venice still exits. The cafe's and restaurants that he uses all look fairly inviting despite the sinister looking surroundings.
The plot moves along at a nice steady pace, first focusing on what has past, moving on to the present; where we see Franco's speedy approach to getting justice for his daughter. Everybody he meets is somehow sinister, all with a secret to hide, all with unusual behaviour. As the movie progresses you never really know who to trust as it seems that many of the movies primary characters are all connected by something, that is not explained until the final 20 minutes of the movie. As the movie progresses the people Franco encounters are slowly eliminated by the killer who needs to obviously keep very much in the dark.
The killer although never properly seen throughout the movie until the final five minutes fills a big shadow across the movie. And the initial disturbing factor about the movie is that it appears to obviously be an old woman. As she stalks her prey you see the world from beneath her head veil. Her hands are shown only ever wearing black laced gloves, which over time the lace has become ripped and torn. Each arrival onscreen of the killer is marked by a disturbing theme tune by acclaimed composer Ennio Morricone; his sinister nursery rhyme style theme is played through the entire movie and is possibly the most disturbing thing of the movie. After all how can something innocent become associated with something so horrific.
The performances of the cast are pretty good; ex James Bond star George Lazenby fresh from his role as James Bond in On Her Majestys Secret Service, turns out a surprisingly convincing performance of an Italian in grief. Gallery owner and Mafia Kingpin Sarafian, is also played by someone associated with the James Bond franchise; Adolfi Celi played Emelio Largo in the movie Thunderball. Here he casts a long shadow over the movie as the man who seems to connect all parts of the equation; while managing to stay one of Franco's best friends. Popular 60's actress Anita Strinberg plays Franco's long suffering estranged wife Elizabeth . Also worth a brief mention is Nicoletta Elmi a young red haired child actress who appeared in many popular Italian horror/thrillers through the 60's and 70's before vanishing into obscurity after Demons in 1985. Here in Who Saw Her Die? Elmi stars as Franco's daughter Roberto, she and Lazenby both play convincing roles as a loving father and daughter, although I did find myself questioning how far the relationship was supposed to be presented to go.
On the subject of abhorrent behaviour all of the themes of darkness were big taboos at the time the movie was made. A paedophile's arrival onscreen seems to steer the movie down an unusual path which had only been hinted at in the movie prior. No sooner are we introduced to the paedophile than you meet his gay lover, who turns out to be bi-sexual as you discover he is having an affair with the Mafia bosses mistress. The story then widens its net to include a element of bondage, being performed by force by a woman being blackmailed for a secret she holds. Lots of nudity also features in the movie, which only a few years early was quite a taboo issue in Italian cinema. While managing to create a really enthralling murder mystery case, Who Saw Her Die? Does present you with a rather unpleasant taste in your mouth as any reasonably minded person will be a bit disturbed by one of the taboo subjects featured.
Special Features:
Trailer - This overly long trailer gives far too much away about the movie, but in viewing it it does prepare you for the slightly hairier Lazenby that most of us are familiar with.
Death In Venice - An Interview With Aldo Lado - This very short 11 minute feature is actually very interesting. Lado's work although highly acclaimed seemed to stay clear of publicity unlike many of his rival directors I.e. Lucio Fulci, Dario Argento, Mario Bava. This feature tells you more than 100 interviews with Argento does. Aldo talks about his movies, in particular his collaboration of Bernardo Bertolucci's Last Tango In Paris, and how if Brando had not delayed the movie to film The Godfather, Who Saw Her Die? Would never have been made. Also he dispels some myths about the stenches that come up from the canals in Venice. Its often stated that the smells come from sewage; this is apparently not the case, the smells apparently come from the dumping of fruit, vegetables and flowers dumped daily by the various floating traders. He also briefly discusses his views on religion, and that fact that most Italian boys from the 40's and 50's Italy were approached by dirty dishonourable priests.
A Filmography Of Aldo Lado - just a short two page list of his movies.
Who Saw Her Die? Is an incredibly shot, fantastically paced movie full of action, suspense and a stunning soundtrack.
