Digitmovies issues for the very first time
two till now unreleased scores by M° Stelvio Cipriani:
Estratto Dagli Archivi Segreti Della Polizia Di Una Capitale
Europea and Whirpool.
Estratto Dagli Archivi Segreti Della Polizia Di Una Capitale
Europea was partially directed by the master of the Italian
Gothic movie genre, Riccardo Freda but due to production problems,
Freda abandoned the set and the movie was completed by Filippo
Maria Ratti.
Despite the title which may recall a police movie, the movie
is a real horror film.
Because of troubles with their car during a vacation, three
guys and a girl are forced to spend the night in a villa,
hosted by an ambiguous couple (Luigi Pistilli and Luciana
Paluzzi) devoted to black masses.
The girl (Camille Keaton, known from I Spit On Your Grave)
is going to be sacrificed during a ceremony, but her friends
save her and carry her away while all of the sect adepts kill
each other in the villa with unprecedented violence.
Later on, the guys little by little die in atrocious ways,
only the girl will survive who will be confined to a clinic,
but her existence will take a dramatic epilogue.
Powerful through the special effects by Carlo Rambaldi who
gives his best in the bloody slaughter in the villa (heads
cut in two parts by swords, decapitations, etc), the Freda/Ratti
movie differs from the Gothic horror movies of that time both
with regard to the mysterious elements (before leaving the
villa, the guys stop at a gas station, but when they come
back from the villa, the gas station seems to have been closed
for years) and to the historic period the plot is set in:
the early '70s.
The only fault of the movie is the outlandish finale with
the madhouse's doctor's very long explanation of the facts
to the police including the esoteric part, without having
ever been present during all the events.
A curiosity: in the Spanish version released on DVD, the final
part of the doctor's explanation is missing.
Whirlpool is a Spanish movie shot in 1970 by director José
Larraz and released some years later in Italy with the title
Perversion Flash starring Karl Lanchbury, Vivian Neves and
Pia Andersson.
The movie is a good erotic thriller with strong morbid elements.
In an house an aunt, her nephew and a friend delight in erotic
games.
A girl is involved in this relationship; when the situation
becomes dangerous, murder is the only solution.
The lake location, several macabre elements (dolls tied on
the walls, the photo of a screaming girl), a good direction
and decent actors make this movie a real jewel of the Iberian
thriller genre.
For this CD we could use the stereo master tapes of the original
sessions which gave us the chance to realize a product for
the joy of the genre enthusiasts.
For Estratto Dagli Archivi Segreti Della Polizia Di Una Capitale
Europea Stelvio Cipriani has written little, but effective
music based on a beat ballad with a bizarre text sung by male
voice, introduced during the Main Titles (Tr. 1) and then
reprised with instrumental variations in Tr. 2, Tr. 3, Tr.
4, Tr. 5, Tr. 9, Tr. 10, Tr. 11.
Cipriani has composed another main theme with a Gothic flavour
which we can hear performed by church organ in Tr. 6, Tr.
7, Tr. 12, but which reaches its apotheosis in the version
for piano and symphonic orchestra for the bloody slaughter
at the villa sequence (also used for the trailer) in Tr. 8.
For Whirpool Stelvio Cipriani has written a dark and romantic
theme introduced in the Main Titles performed by a big orchestra
with female vocalisms and beat rhythms (Tr. 13).
Suspenseful and mysterious atmospheres are obtained through
organ, harpsichord, rhythmics and strings in Tr. 14, Tr. 18,
Tr. 20, Tr. 24, Tr. 25, Tr. 26.
The main theme returns in Tr. 19 and in the conclusive Finale
(Tr. 32).
The suspense in the movie is broken up by a lively shake dance
floor (Tr. 22).
Two OSTs properly rescued and preserved on CD devoted to M°
Stelvio Cipriani which will make so happy his fans and the
fans of the horror and noir genres. |
